Worth Reading: 10/06/2014

There's probably not a game I've been looking forward to this year the same way I've been looking forward to Alien: Isolation. There are lots of games that I'm interested in, plenty of games I've enjoyed, but Alien: Isolation is the rare time where I'm reminded I'm not totally cynical yet. I can still act like I'm 14.

Even though I was tasked with reviewing Alien, I tried to simulate how I would have normally played it. That means spreading it out over several nights, likely more than a week. I don't tend to marathon games, albeit largely because I don't have chunks of time available to marathon anything. Even still, when you get your hands on a game like that, are you able to hold back, or do you just dive in and not stop?

The last time I marathoned through a game was Dark Souls earlier this year, and that's because my wife was out of town. There were no rules, my playing habits were lawless, and I ate pizza on a livestream. But I also find experiences like that tiring. There aren't many games that can hold my attention that long, even if the time is available. Often, I'll find myself resenting the game, as mechanics wear thin when held to the scrutiny of repetition.

It depends on the game, obviously. I have fond memories of summer vacations spent stay up until the crack of dawn with Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII. The presence of sun was actually my reminder that I should probably go to bed. Back then, I had spent weeks training myself to sleep until well past noon. I can't even do that with a serious hangover these days.

You Should Read These

• "Confessions of a Former Internet Troll" by Emmett Rensin

One of the reasons I've dropped the term troll is because the term dehumanizes people. (It's the same reason I stopped saying "gamer" years ago, too, since it puts people into a boring, defined box.) Behind every mean Internet comment is a human being, and so is every person reading one. What makes Emmett Rensin's piece so compelling is that he used to be someone who spent his time trying to get a rise out of people, and makes the argument "trolling" has now changed--it's more sinister. I don't know if I buy that, but his confessions are interesting.

"I am going to find it difficult to tell you precisely why I was so taken by this scene and why I threw myself so enthusiastically into its underworld. The simplest and likely sufficient answer is that I was 14 years old. It all felt vaguely dangerous, vaguely revolutionary, but with ill-defined goals. Its romance was the same one that makes Randians of so many high-school sophomores. It gave the sickly sense of power one gets from finding the next button to push, laughing in a rapidly reddening face. It's no different from the power trip a bully takes at school, except now I was the powerful one and not the victim. It was something between having power for the first time and the guilt of knowing it was ill-gotten. Power, because there is nothing quite so seductive to a teenage malcontent as a world that offers belonging coupled with authority; that is secret in the way that everybody knows you're into something slightly criminal. Guilt, because it was all schoolyard. Even when it was less dangerous, it was offensive, vaguely sexist and vaguely racist and vaguely homophobic in the daring-to-transgress kind of way. Even if I wasn't better than it then, I already had the sense that I might like to be."

• "Destiny's Unintended Critique of Consumerism" by Simon Parkin

I just bought a new iPhone. It's pretty good, but it's not that different. The screen is bigger, and it's certainly faster. While I'd like to say the reason I picked one up was "hey, my contract's up," it's definitely more than that. There's an allure to having the newer, shinier thing that's all about the newer, shinier thing. Parkin extends this idea to the game of the moment, Destiny, explaining the allure of the elusive loot cave underscores the whole reason for playing a game like Destiny: the never-ending pursuit of the newer, shinier gear.

"So you return to work in order to save up. The better your equipment, the greater your social status with other players. The greater your social status, the more they will want you on their team and the more they will envy your achievements, which are clearly displayed in the clothes that you wear (in the game’s later stages, the only way to advance your character is by equipping him or her with better items). In this way, from a certain angle at least, Destiny exposes the alluring futility of the consumerist systems on the other side of the screen. The game is designed to keep you dissatisfied with your lot so that you will continue playing and investing. Like World of Warcraft, when you peel back the metaphor, the game offers a bleak (if unintended) critique of consumerism: once you reach the endgame, you become a character that has everything in world. Everything, that is, except for a purpose."

If You Click It, It Will Play

These Crowdfunding Projects Look Pretty Cool

• No Pineapple Left Behind is about running a school where kids have turned into pineapples. Yup.
• Elegy for a Dead World challenges players to write fiction, based on a series of sci-fi prompts.
• Human Resources comes from Uber Entertainment, and pits giant monsters against giant robots.

Writing From Giant Bomb's Community, Courtesy of ZombiePie

• Raven 10 talks about the beautiful world from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
• Sparklykiss has started a podcast with members of the moderation team.
• MooseyMcMan tackles the prickly issue with Destiny's reliance on grinding.
• Mento has started an incredibly ambitious project to fill out every SNES game page.

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• Kevin Wong breaks down what makes the introduction of Resident Evil 4 so good.
• Brenna Hilier tries to explain what it's like to attend the Tokyo Game Show.
• Rick Lane explains how Left 4 Dead managed to change his life.
• Rebecca Watson outlines some of the truly problematic elements of video games journalism.
• Alexa Ray Corriea answers the age old question about why pumpkins aren't in Middle-earth.
• Tom Battey helps dismantle the argument that criticism is the equivalent of censorship.
• Jason Coskrey speaks with Hideo Kojima about making a horror game when he's scared of them.
• Frozenbyte hangs out with its QA team to profile what it's like to be a member of a QA team.
• GB Burford does a deep dive on how the Dead Space series got off-track by the third game.
• Jordan Erica Webber shows how games fail to take disabled players into account.
• Zach Gage ponders whether Shadow of Mordor made the right call with its "kiss your wife" joke.
• Tiny Cartridge argues the fan service-y Senran Kagura Burst deserves more consideration.
• Bo Moore investigates why PC games on Steam cost more in different regions.
• Jon Bois gets in the Halloween spirit, and finds a ghost to haunt quarterback Cam Newton.

Still waiting for that Dark Souls II PC stream, Patrick. All 3 DLCs are out. Just sayin'.

Middle-earth doesn't have pumpkins? Such a terrible world to live in.

@patrickklepek (I can still act I'm 14.)

Oh man, I am good friends with the guy who made the silent movie clip of Patrick. I'm pretty much going to flood him until he gets back from work and realises it's up here.

Hey, thanks for linking to my blog! :D

The silent film was a great touch.

The Simon Parkin piece is brilliantly written, as usual, but it completely misses the mark.

People aren't shooting into a cave for hours on end because they want fancier clothes to improve their social status, they're doing it because it is the most efficient way to bypass the inherent gating that blocks out users from what has been widely cited as "the best content in the game". They have a goal; the gear is a means to an end.

It would be like saying that runners only run every day so that they can run every day. But really, they do it to compete in events that will allow them to participate in the Boston Marathon (for example).

You can't piss on hospitality! I WON'T ALLOW IT!

@patrickklepek

Kevin Wong breaks down why makes the introduction of Resident Evil 4 so good.

That "why" should probably be a "what".

I woild add this to the list of worth reading: http://leighalexander.net/list-of-ethical-concerns-in-video-games-partial/

Now I've gotten quite curious why you can't 'marathon' a game, when your job is to review it? Don't you 'schedule it in' or something or how does that work?

By the way; can't wait to read the review, I'm still on the fence of getting Alien Isolation.

I feel as though there needs to be a piece or a set of open dialogue with the current issues. It feels that every week's "Worth Reading" just alludes to issues that people seem to have with the GamerGate thing. Why not have a piece addressing all the concerns rather than skirt around the issue and seemingly, at least to me, poke at the other side of the argument. Lay out all of the concerns with the movement, an open letter of sorts, then allow positive and constructive feedback. I'm sure many think that is impossible, but it just hasn't happened for true and open discussion. Let it happen.

Wow, did that guy in the first article actually say that trolling isn't what it used to be?

Fuck that guy, a prick is a prick. Trying to convince yourself that it somehow had a nobler purpose back when you did it is pathetic.

I can barely see the difference between the SOM comparison.

Yeah, that sort of raised a red flag for me. "No man, we weren't as bad as those guys". Well guess what? You likely would've been if Twitter existed in 2006.

@cyberfunk: Thanks for linking, it's about time we focus on the real problems of bias and capture in the video game industry. There are so many larger controversies and issues to explore rather than focus on the fractured and mostly-unsubstantiated one that is "GamerGate."

I listened to a Bombcast clip on Youtube today. In it, the gang discusses the Super Mario Bros movie, the TMNT movies, and @patrickklepek mentions his friend having a digitized copy of him singing "Coming Out of Our Shells" on his computer.

It has been over a year at this point, man. Where is it?!

But there's still Demon's Souls that he needs to not end up playing before BloodBorne comes out.

I would guess he means he can't marathon it at night when his wifes home. Obviously during the workday a marathon session could be justified, but not to the exclusion of your loved ones, if life balance is a concern.

The nice thing about being ummarried in my late 20's is that there are no rules ALL THE TIME.

I don´t think your analogy works very well, but you prove exactly his point you need to gain status and its external signs to enjoy what has been widely cited as "the best content in life"

That article on the Shadows of Mordor tutorial is full of some hypersensitive nonsense. Both cases of sneaking, tutorial and regular gameplay, have the same goal of getting close to someone without being seen. You're sneaking up on your wife to surprise her with a kiss. In gameplay, you're sneaking up to enemies to surprise them with a knife in their throat. The sneaking part is what they're teaching you and they do an effective job with a believable premise in the tutorial. Click-baiting is hitting new lows every day.

Splinter Cell: Conviction and Dishonored did similar things in their tutorials. Sam with his daughter at the start and Corvo hiding from Emily. Personally I love that style of tutorial as it's much less immersion breaking and gets you more into the character.

@garbagewrappedinskin said:

I disagree. The only reason I'm still playing Destiny is because I want better gear, not because I want to tackle the Vault of Glass.

The trolling underworld?

@conmulligan: I'm not sure you're in the majority there, though. The sense I've been getting (although I could easily be wrong) is that most people have just stopped playing Destiny. The cave thing was happening pretty soon after the game had launched, before the bloom was off the rose.

TGS sounds terrible for a journalist, but I'd be thankful for each terrible moment because a terrible TGS moment is way better than a boring regular life moment.

Yeah, they're pretty damn close. There's some small details in the textures that are just slightly blurrier on the PlayStation 4 version.

There is Zach Gage of Polygon's feelings on the Shadows of Mordor kiss.

Here is Mike Krahulik (Gabe) of Penny Arcade's feelings on the Shadows of Mordor kiss.

One seems slightly more realistic. As in, one seems like a reaction that a person who lives in the real world would have.

Yeah, my television is located across the room anyways so I can't tell the blurryness from that distance, that and the action requires you to pay attention to something else.

Holy cow, could Zach Gage gaze any deeper into his navel? I suggest he read Alexa's piece and begin a course of chill pills immediately.

@homelessbird: Yeah, that's certainly possible.

I haven't been able to find it. :(

That trolling article reads like every article written by a bully looking back on their days bullying and trying to slightly romanticize or excuse what they did as a kid, separating it from the nasty bullies of today that are all in the news. "What we did back then was all in fun and slightly noble! We picked targets who had it coming! It was all kids being stupid!"

Its a standard piece of justification masquerading as reflection and insight. It's interesting in reading internal description of the world of trolls. But don't act like the guy is coming out confessing his sins. He's trying to absolve himself and separate himself from his counterparts.

The Zach Gage piece is the epitome of the type of writing that makes me roll my eyes and write an author off forever.

100% agree. I will say, if I was a writer and my well being depended on just my articles, this is the stupid shit I would write. Find something people like and that is popular, then tear at some little corner that walks the line just enough to be defensible in the "IMHO" department. The "modern journalist" isn't concerned about the subject, just that you fucking click on it and respond to their lunacy. We will get better (and are starting to more and more) at seeing through this facade of "concern" and not give it the time of day.

I actually think both of those are realistic and equally valid reactions after reading them. Of course, one goes much more into detail as to mechanics and why they felt the scene was unsuccessful, while the other is more just a description of the emotional reactions one had while playing a certain piece of the tutorial.

Frankly I think they're both pretty believable and I find myself able to see both arguments. It's an interesting situation, and I haven't played it so I don't honestly have my own opinion on it, either way. It's nice to see two sides expressed in ways that can make me feel that both reactions are perfectly normal and understandable.

I never liked those videos because you're trying to compare high res textures through a goddamn youtube video and its disgusting compression.

@grantheaslip: I truly, truly love that P4R parody article.

Zach Gage has been arrested and is facing charges after police say he killed his wife in a brutal attack inspired by the game Shadow of Mordor. Gage insists that he was only trying to kiss her and that he simply executed the wrong move.
...
Police say that Gage was pretending to give his wife a goodnight kiss when he suddenly started stabbing her with a kitchen knife. Police chief Bill Testa argues that in order to prevent tragedies like this in the future, the public should actively ignore people like Zach Gage.

I always wondered why people came to associate the term "troll" more with the creature of mythology rather than the fishing technique of trolling, which is where the term originated from. Waiting for a fish to bite is more descriptive, accurate and helpful in discussing and conveying what trolling is, the other type of troll wanders the woods and can only be killed with fire?

@jadegl: Explain to me how the original article Patrick linked and written by Gage is "believable, realistic, or valid." Don't get me wrong, I'm open to discussion but nothing in that article at any point made any concrete point on why the tutorial was wrong. It was a ton of loaded terms with allusions to other derided objects and faux-intellectualism with no thesis.

If you can find a thesis that isn't something puerile like "I didn't like the tutorial because kissing women and killing men shouldn't be in the same game."

I feel like whenever a piece on former trolls comes up (either about the author or subjects), there's always a part of it that tries to justify the trolling back then.

That gamasutra piece is fantastic, and imparts a lesson that any critical gamer should try to understand.

That piece about Kojima and "P.T." was pretty neat too. I never knew Kojima was that averse to the horror genre (a lot like me, actually), given that he's making a horror game.

Wow, lots of really pretentious garbage in this one. Zach Gage's article more than most

A double-decker bologna sandwich!

Thanks for putting up my silent film version of the bit bash video, @patrick. Really neat to see it on here.

@r3dt1d3: I think the thesis is that he doesn't like that the game teaches a stealth mechanic that you use to brutally kill people by having you stealth kiss your wife in the tutorial. Now, I have no idea the impact and what I feel about it since I haven't played it. If I did cultivate an opinion either way, I'd be offering a woefully misinformed one. However, my point was slmply that I see both arguments and find them both compelling in different ways, with some ways being more compelling based on personal ideas / opinions / experiences. It's an interesting thing to me and I've seen the debate about mixing your sex with your violence in all kinds of mediums, film especially. Games give you a control over that mixture more so than film. His article felt that that may be troublesome. I can't say I agree, but I found it an interesting and thoughtful read nonetheless and enjoyed the offered counterpoint as well.

That Human Resources Kickstarter seems representative to me of all that is good in life. I will gladly pledge money to sometime acquire that game.