Worth Reading: 10/20/2014

I'll keep this one short, since there's lots of other things demanding my attention this morning. But I want to thank the many folks who were civil, productive, and patient during our extremely long thread connected to Friday's staff letter.

I also want to underscore the countless hours our moderation team put into helping keep that conversation as calm as possible. Our site wouldn't work without them, and they don't get told that enough. Moderation is a thankless and largely invisible job that's only noticed when it's not functioning properly.

The next time you see a mod, make sure to let 'em know how much you appreciate them.

And so, the week begins!

You Should Read These

• "Inside Star Citizen's grey market" by Wesley Yin-Poole

Star Citizen might be the weirdest thing going on in video games right now. It's raised more than $50 million in crowdfunding, and that number ticks up every single day. Besides a few interactive modules, there's precious little evidence of Star Citizen being a real thing, but the community around it continues to grow, thrive, and as outlined in this piece by Wesley-Yin Poole, establish its own grey markets. Whether or not Star Citizen turns out to be a good video game is almost irrelevant--it's been a fascinating social experiment. Maybe we'll play it at some point, too.

"Drevan tells me of one high-profile example of this. The Vanduul Scythe, coveted and infamous within the Star Citizen community, is a ship originally sold by CIG for $300 during the Kickstarter campaign. It came with LTI included and only about 500 were ever given out to players. It is no longer for sale. Half a year ago they were selling "like hotcakes" for, wait for it, $2000 each.

Let's step back for a minute. The Vanduul Scythe is a virtual spaceship with virtual insurance that you can't use in the game yet. You can't fly it in the Arena Commander module. You can't admire it in the Hangar module, your spaceship garage. If you own it, you own the idea of flying the Vanduul Scythe around the finished game - a game, by the way, that won't be feature complete until 2016. I think Chris Roberts and his chums at CIG are geniuses."

• "Why Anything But Games Matters" by Ian Bogost

Though Ian Bogost's talk isn't explicitly about the events of the last month or so, it feels relevant. It's no longer a debate about whether games are an art form or a medium to be acknowledged in 2014, but that games have come into their own in the middle of a massive shift in how culture absorbs entertainment. Is it even possible to be "mainstream"? What does it mean to be "mainstream"? Would games gain anything from achieving this unicorn-like goal? Big and largely unanswerable questions for how we think about games in the years ahead.

"The truth is, the general public downloads whatever they heard about from a friend on the App Store, or whatever appears at the top of the charts. The truth is, games have so long wavered between affinity with Silicon Valley and jealousy of Hollywood that they have effectively found home in neither. The truth is, Minecraftis a game for children. The truth is, at the “smart general readership” magazine I write for, an order of magnitude more people read me when I write about the McRib than when I write about Flappy Bird. The truth is, we have to create our own small presses for games writing because you can’t sell a trade book on games like you can sell one on social media or even on Star Wars, because games are considered to have no audience.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem. There’s no reason any art form needs to be mainstream, and indeed it’s easy to argue why one shouldn’t be. But, it’s perilous for our sense of cultural place to be at odds with its reality."

If You Click It, It Will Play

People Have Complicated Feelings About Bayonetta

• Obligatory Spider Queen argues Bayonetta incorporates both male gaze and female power fantasy.
• Maddy Myers says intentions may take a backseat to her own entertaining interpretation.
• Ria Jenkins sees the character as an empowered woman brimming with sexual confidence.
• Leigh Alexander reflects on how her views have changed since the original game was released.
• Lana Polansky posits the confusing nature of Bayonetta is exactly what makes her interesting.
• Mari Shimazaki, a freelancer artist who worked on the series, explains some of her motivations.

These Crowdfunding Projects Look Pretty Cool

• Nevermind is a horror game that changes based on the way your body physically reponds.
• A disabled veteran is trying to raise funds for the game he's always wanted to make.
• Craft Your Beer could literally result in you getting to drink a beer you've dreamed up.

Writing From Giant Bomb's Community, Courtesy of ZombiePie

• BlazehedgeHog attempted to make his horror game. He shares how and why that didn't happen.
• BabaOReily heard someone held a "Push Dr. Tracksuit" sign during Raw. He made his own.
• Yummyle provides an extremely comprehensive reviews of The Evil Within.
• oraknabo examines the flaws to his favorite video games of all time.
• Someone burned the "musical" moments of the Bombcast onto a CD to create a Vib-Ribbon level.

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• Steve Peterson believes we're on the cusp of reviews as we know them becoming irrelevant.
• Charlie Hall goes undercover with a group of Arma players who simulate real-life situations.
• Chris Kohler thinks Super Smash Bros. highlights many of the technology problems facing Nintendo.
• Marty Sliva explains how the new Dragon Ball game tossed him for a nostalgic trip.
• The Onion has breaking news on why guards walk the same paths in video games.
• Thomas Grip shares his in-depth thoughts (with some spoilers!) on Alien: Isolation.
• Andy Kelly puts the authenticity of Alien: Isolation, relative to the 1979 film, to the test.
• Jake Muncy points out the uncomfortable ways Splinter Cell: Conviction mirrors reality.

Thanks for posting this roundup of the critical chatter on Bayonetta 2, Patrick. I haven't had time to read it all yet, but I'm excited to see a bunch of different angles on the discussion. Keep up the good work!

... thanks Patrick, now I will spend the rest of my evening watching honest trailers. Who needs sleep anyway!?

Also: People should check out Extra Credits Youtube channel. It's really interesting.

My dad got scammed online again even after I said 50 times that the real Sonic The Hedgehog wouldn't be asking for $$ in a lesbian chat room

— Cool Eric (@OBiiieeee) October 17, 2014

... what?

@patrickklepek

Ria Jenkins sees the character as an empowered women brimming with sexual confidence.

"women" should probably be "woman" here.

You'd expect video game reviews to be dying, but then I remember that music reviews still exist.

Aw, thanks Patrick!

Hypothetically, at what point does the Star Citizen community begin to revolt over the lack of a released game? I'm not suggesting they can't deliver, but as a thought experiment assume that they run into massive delays, change their engine, whatever, and the release extends past 2017.

Do backers keep the faith because they have a significant investment in the eventual release, or is the backlash more extreme because people feel cheated? (disclosure: I think I backed SC at a low tier, can;t exactly remember)

@hobozero: Part of me wants to see Star Citizen fail spectacularly just to experience the fallout.

Quite a few feminists (I won't name names winkwinknudgenudge) hate Bayonetta even though her lead designer is a woman and Bayonetta is Mari Shimazaki's female power fantasy. Good job, feminists. You really have your finger on the pulse of women gamers.

@bigd145 said:

Women sometimes disagree with one another, you know. There isn't some hive mind that compels them to have a singular view on pop culture.

Lana Polansky´s write up is what I always meant that gaming critics should do , it is well done and explores many interesting things ... too bad I wont play Bayonetta 1/2 because I dont like character action games tho. Also liked Maddy Myers review as well , still dont know if I should read Leigh´s article , I dont like her at all and dont wish to give her articles clicks , but I dunno.

Thanks Patrick. I'd like to add that without Rorie's immeasurable hel0, we'd be put in a rubber room right about now.

Yeah, that's basically what I wrote. This is a difference of opinion between a creator and some critics.

My opinion:

In this case those feminists are trying to un-empower a strong female figure made by and for women and just reduce her to wank material, which seems counter to what the feminist movement is based on. They don't have a hive mind, but they do have common goals. Reducing Bayonetta to just a male sexual fantasy seems unproductive, but I don't know their long term plan.

Gaming websites seem to less informed about what news is important and relevant to me as this industry and the Internet evolves, I get better information from poorly compensated YouTube personalities. I could not care any less about industry politics or how the general public perceives video games.

A lot of PC gamers are throwing a ton of money at Star Citizen because they don't like what's happening to the video game industry, and they hope it's a catalyst to set things right again. I originally came to Giant Bomb to support Jeff Gerstmann and all his talented friends for this very reason. Perhaps there's not enough to talk about anymore but politics.

I wanted to add my thanks to Patrick for showcasing a diverse group of reactions to Bayonetta 2. We can all learn from examining perspectives different than our own.

But the tweet from Sokareemie showcases why these topics are a point of contention in the first place.

When you make a judgement about any media, it's inherently your own perspective so it leaves room for alternative opinions. I'd say that the acting, writing, pacing, and general plot of Gotham are all pretty bad, but if you dig the show and disagree, that's cool and I'm glad that you have something to watch that you enjoy. I don't want to watch it anymore, so I won't. No problems for either of us.

But if I were to argue that the portrayal of women in Gotham adds to their relentless suppression and the show revels in its backwards display of stereotypes only serving to reinforce violence and harassment in our rape culture... there is less room to disagree with me. Any alternative voices will have to begin their disagreement by trying to convince me that they aren't personally sexist and that they don't want to support sexist things.

And even if they do provide a convincing argument for why their own interpretation makes them not see the negatives I see, my own POV hasn't changed. So I would probably think less of that person for dismissing what, to me, leads to harming people in real life.

This is what changes and inflames these kind of discussions. When a claim is made that a piece of media contributes to real world problems, the people that disagree are all too often seen as disregarding or even supporting those problems themselves. So when people make concrete claims like...

Disappointed to see most major Bayonetta 2 reviews completely ignore or even praise its shameless sexism and flagrant use of the male gaze. Everything about Bayonetta's design, mechanics and characterization is created specifically for the sexual pleasure of straight male gamers.

...a dissenting voice is automatically changed into a sexist one.

Sadly I have no solution, other than to again stress the point that people's ideas are separate from the people who hold them. No human being is ever innately "problematic", and we might be able to actually progress and have specific discussions about specific things if we can accept that we disagree with some people's points, but not the people themselves.

___

I also think that Peterson essay misses a pretty big mark.

He claims that with Facebook, Twitter, and all manner of social media, everyone is a reviewer now. I'd say that, in a way he's right, but it's probably more accurate to say everyone is a shitty reviewer.

Just because we can instantly be bombarded with the masses' criticism of anything, doesn't make that valuable or helpful. The advantage of the traditional reviewer is that they (hopefully) discuss a specific work through the lens of the medium at large and the previous work of the creators.

Hearing what my Grandma (who has watched a shit ton of movies) thinks of Gone Girl is just inherently less insightful than the perspective of a person who's analyzed all of Fincher's past work and how this specific film fits into its genre.

Still Peterson is totally right that the reliance on those critics is diminishing, but I don't think that means their relevance is too. It's less a statement of "We're done with these folks.", and more a question of how can we help them survive.

Yussef Cole @youmeyou

"Part of why I dislike lore-derived narratives like Shadow of Mordor is the writers don't seem to believe they need to add sufficient motive."

I guess having your wife and child brutally murdered as part of a ritualistic sacrifice right in front of you, then your own death, and on top of fighting evil incarnate isn't enough motive? What further motive would be needed?

@studsmckewl: One that isn't cliche enough to be the talking point of an Anita Sarkeesian video.

I have to be honest, the people that spent more than say 50-100 bucks on spaceships in an unreleased game? Especially the ones that spent thousands?

I hope the game tanks, and never releases. I know, it's a harsh attitude, but follow my logic: if you were just excited about the game for its mechanics, I would never say I wanted you to miss out on the fun.

But I don't even understand people who pre-order games in 2014, having never played them and no assurance they are actually good products. Much less anyone who spent thousands. The best word I can come up with is "foolish".

Why? Because I think it's really foolish to put that many of your eggs -- whatever your income -- in an invisible, non-existant basket. They would deserve it. It's foolish. Spend your money how you want, but if you do something dumb with it and regret it, who are you going to cry to?

I actually have more sympathy for the people who risked their money in buying said invisible starships, clearly on speculation, specifically to take advantage of these people's foolishness.

(Try not to take this too harsh... unless you're one of these people).

EDIT: I have thought of something better than the whole game tanking and noone having fun. I would totally patch the game 0-day to make the "preorder/kickstarter exclusive" ships available to the general public, with a trivial amount of in-game currency.

Yay! I'm worth reading!

I read that Bogost speech a few days ago. I found his view on the fragmentation within gaming fascinating. I've really enjoyed everything that I've read from him. Would love to see him make an appearance on Giant Bomb at some point!

The Bayonetta issue reminds me a lot of the trend for hip hop artists to use racial slurs in their work, the conceit being that they are taking back ownership of something that has been used to hurt them. While I agree that their intention is noble, it's important to give some weight to the actual outcome of the situation. In the case of mainstream hip hop, most consumers do not come from a background that has resulted in them being personally hurt by these ideas, so they don't have the full context of the artists intention. The result is that you see people learning instead to glorify racial slurs, degradation of women and generally self destructive behavior, because they think it is cool. Regardless of intention, if the artist's work results in empowering their oppressors, you have to ask, what are they actually accomplishing? I think artist intention is important, but it's not everything.

@jackburtonme: I'm not really sure how your example relates back to Bayonetta. Could you elaborate?

@joshwent: Sorry, I guess my thought was if the primary consumers of Bayonetta are men, then regardless of the designer's intention, is Bayonetta still resulting in furthering the sexual objectification of women by men?

@jackburtonme said:

That is a great question and one I'm struggling with at the moment. I find myself uncomfortable with regard to Bayonetta, but I know that many do not. I'm trying to write about it, but my biggest takeaway seems to be that Bayonetta is a complex issue with many ways to view and respond to it. That may be my favorite thing about her as a character, really. Easy answers do not fit her.

@jackburtonme: Ah so!

Like when harmful language is reclaimed by those it exists to harm, the problem could be that it still exists in any form.

I'd say it's a bit harder to apply the same logic to a concept like "objectification" though, as it's just exponentially more layered, and has to do with the mere existence and perception of human bodies, rather than words created to intentionally harm. Still, the discussion of artistic intention versus audience reaction is a really complex yet crucial one that I wish more folks in the media would investigate.

All good thoughts. Thanks for clarifying! :)

Craft Your Beer sounds like a fun idea. I didn't read too closely, but should a beer be a success, who owns the right to it?

@blackout62:

Man I want to be a douche and ask you to link me to her video series on revenge for your own murder, stopping tyranny, ending slavery, protecting your way of life, helping elf spirits, surviving in hostile environments etc but I'm #endingthehate.

I think you should take the time to watch or play the first 20 minutes of the game before claiming there's one reason behind the protagonist's actions. I don't think it's well written or acted but he doesn't lack for motivation in doing what he's doing. If you are your character and don't know why or how your garrison has been overrun by giant greenish creatures led by a guy who ritually slaughters you and your family and leaves you in a state between life and death fused to an elf spirit then maybe curiosity is why you play on.

Everyone is entitled to judge how effective a story is in making you care or curious about its characters and conclusion. I didn't in this game! However, to exclaim as Youssef Cole does "Like, why should I hate this Sauron guy?" when there are obvious reasons 20 minutes into the game I feel is utterly ridiculous. You don't have to read the lore and the game makes it very very clear and extremely personal as to why you might not like this Sauron guy or specificaly the people under his command. I mean, unless you agree with Sauron's and his minions actions and intent... Again judge the effectiveness, don't make up that there is no motivation.

That tweet made me go hmmm, this tweeter didn't express his thought well and probably shouldn't be featured on tweets that make you go hmmm unless he goes hmmm and thinks before tweeting ill thought out tweets.

That Obligatory Spider Queen piece was really good. She goes a lot further with looking at the imagery of Bayonetta as a whole that had never occurred to me before. It could just be coincidence or confirmation bias, but it really makes me appreciate Bayo a lot more as a character.

Honestly, just the fact that such heroic moderation is necessary speaks volumes about why lots of people, white hetero dudes like me included, are increasingly uncomfortable with and considering leaving the community.

Star Citizen's grey market is not unlike Team Fortress 2's hat market or Counter Strike's skin market. It's just really strange that it exists when the game and the ships don't. It's kinda like bartering around limited preorders.

@patrickklepek The "Why we love horror games" video was great. When it comes to psychology though, there are always wildly different interpretations. He took Jung's approach, but another could have taken Freud's explanation of "the uncanny", or even an evolutionary take on our need for horror beyond mere chemical reactions.

Hope to see if you elaborate in another article/here on on your feelings towards why you think people love horror. Would be a fun discussion.

Reading the disabled veteran's IndieGoGo page, I feel for him and hope he gets enough money to pursue making his game.

@corvidus: It seemed like the start of that game had the most motivating-for-the-protagonist opening for that character. Granted they COULD have had the protection of your wife and son thing continue a few hours into the game, develop their characters and then kill them and you (which I assume would be good enough for Yuseff). But then you wouldn't be "banished from death" and there would be no Nemesis system until you were; does Shadow of Mordor really seem like the type of game you want to have a slow start on? I don't. I think for what it wanted to accomplish, that game gives you perfectly fine motivation.

I don't know, Ian Bogost. Maybe more people read about your McRib stories rather than your Flappy Bird ones because Flappy Bird is generally considered bad and perhaps anyone who's going to possibly be interested in Minecraft, Flappy Bird etc. has probably boarded the boat by this point. Also, maybe you don't write interesting games entries.

That DarkSouls trailer was the first time I watched one of those for a game (or movie) I really liked. I never laughed harder at one. The father yelling at his kid nails it! And I won many boss battles just like that, by shoving a +5 spear up the boss' butt over and over. The humor is in the truth of it.

I think it can certainly be argued that Bayonetta panders to the male gaze. For example, some of the camera angles (like with her legs spread).

Naturally, some women will be uncomfortable with that. I doubt that they are trying to un-empower a strong female figure; they just don't see her as one. Other women do. Bayonetta is a sexual character, and skepticism/confusion about whether or not that is done well seems healthy to me. It is opening up a larger conversation about sex in games.

What confuses me about your original post is the part where you said "Good job, feminists. You really have your finger on the pulse of women gamers". That sort of implies that feminists can't have varying opinions on a single subject, nor can they be women gamers (unless I read that incorrectly? which is perfectly possible).

Personally, I do not have an opinion on Bayonetta yet, but I am a woman who plays video games and identifies as a feminist, so I have been interested in what others have to say about it. What has surprised me most so far is how several people, including Patrick, have expressed their own surprise that there is a disparity in women's opinions about Bayonetta. As if women exist as a strange, non-human species with an entirely collective conscience or something. It almost serves as a reminder of why there needs to be more female voices out there, because each of them may have something different and completely valid to say.

There is no one great Lady Opinion that all ladies must accept - both consumers and developers. Bayonetta seems to be illustrating these differences.

I'm glad to see discussion going on about Bayonetta. There's been way too much labeling in the twittersphere of who 'is or is not' a feminist when trying to define such a thing is really besides the point. People on the same spectrum of thought often thoroughly disagree on matters, and that's a fine, great thing. Labeling someone as a 'good' or 'bad' X, or defining whether they 'are' or 'are not' Y is pretty damn demeaning and takes away from the discussions to be had - especially about characters as enigmatic as Bayonetta, like @anjinm said. That's why I dig @sokareemie's tweet so much.

I want, perhaps more than anything video game related, for Star Citizen to succeed. With all of my heart, I want that god damn thing to be worth the money put into it...

But damn. How fucking hysterical would it be if that game was garbage in the end. $50 million god damn dollars. Holy Shit.

ＴＨＥ ＦＥＭＡＬＥ ＨＩＶＥ ＭＩＮＤ ＨＡＳ ＳＰＯＫＥＮ

"Male gaze" is heterosexist.

I've not watched a Boogie video before, but the one Patrick linked above has made me a fan.

oh man you should watch his Francis videos, the one about destiny made me cry with laughter , so good.

I agree with Shawn Elliot.

Anyone else play Star Citizen's Arena Commander and kinda fear for the game? Maybe it's just my ship, a cheapass 300i, but boy am I not enjoying what they put out so far

I mean they've got time, sure, but they've promised A LOT to us

"The truth is, we have to create our own small presses for games writing because you can't sell a trade book on games like you can sell one on social media or even on Star Wars, because games are considered to have no audience."

Very sobering quote you pulled from that article, @PatrickKlepek. Thanks for the great read.

I've been following Ian Bogost for about 2 years on Twitter and still have no idea who the hell he is.

I really liked the Spider Queen article since it sums up my feelings on Bayo rather nicely. I think Bayo the character is kind of awesome. The camera in Bayo1/2 is hot anime fanservice bullshit.

As always nice set of links Patrick.

The notion that women have some sort of monolithic opinion on things has always baffled me. I've never understood exactly what perspective a person must have to assume women are some sort of hive-mind. The truth is that women are pretty much just as diverse in thought as men are when it comes to issues like this. Even on more touchy issues like abortion, where the popular narrative is often that men are the ones always wanting to crack down on women's bodies, the truth is that men and women have largely been just as divided on the issue for years and years, with only slight differences between them. Facts like that often get lost in the noise.

If Bayonetta is teaching us anything it's that we need to stop being so shocked that women actually don't all think alike and men and women agree and disagree on the very same points quite often, and there's nothing all that novel about that.

The Bayonetta thing is why when anyone who is part of a social movement says "No one in X movement wants Y" I have a lot of trouble believing they've thought deeply about the matter.

Any movement of sufficient size will have people who believe all sorts of different things, and want any number of different approaches. No group of humans in history have ever been completely unanimous in intent and/or approach. It's not something to panic and back away from. That variety of approach encourages discussion and can help people on all sides refine their opinions.

I guess it's human nature to think of it in terms of winning/losing and not wanting to show weakness.

@ch3burashka: He's a professor at Georgia Tech who has authored several books on game design & criticism, which I really need to get around to reading :/.

He was also on The Colbert Report several years ago!

@patrickklepek: Hang in there Partick. The last couple weeks look like they have taken a huge mental toll on you and others at Giantbomb. Their is sunshine through the clouds.

Also, I enjoyed the Star Citizen link. I've only put in $75 about two years back so far. However, after each passing newsletter and further developments updates I find myself drawn to put in another $125 for an explorarion ship known as a Freelancer Dur.

The funny thing is that the $200 I've sunk into Start Citizen is small compared to what I've spent on Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Lockheed Martian's Prepar3D (Prepar3D has a $200 pricetag for a Professional license, but can the exact same simulator can be purchased for $50 uner an Acedemic license.).