TowerSixteen

Nice dinner with my wife! We try and do birthdays and Christmas big, but not valentines. And we'll probably settle in for some gaming tonight, and everything else is private (she'll probably read this).

Having a significant other who loves gaming in general and Giant Bomb in particular is the best thing.

It always sucks because I feel rather helpless about things like this. Like, the anonymity, ease of access, and freedom of the internet spawn many many good things, but it makes it hard to know what to do about its ugliness. I guess by supporting people you do mostly all you can, but it never feels like enough. You always wish there could be some justice, but I guess I've never really seen a viable route to it.

I think he has a very strong ability to enunciate - specifically- what he likes and dislikes about a game, which is a trait I wish more game journalists had.

I think his opinions on individual games are interesting, and he also makes me laugh. I think his tangents and editorials about the larger industry or, even worse, his worldview and philosophy are not very good.

Unless you have open wounds on your ass, both are just there for your peace of mind rather than any health benefit anyway, so use what you like, I guess. I'll wipe down a particularly bad toilet before sitting with a wad of paper, but there's not any actual health benefit even to that. Just don't make the mistake of thinking any bit of it matters one whit for sanitation. If you're really concerned about disease, every precaution and extra step taken while washing your hands is infinitely more useful.

@demoskinos: In a sense I agree with you, but I think just because you don't appreciate something doesn't mean you can't acknowledge it has worth. I myself find I have little patience for the medium of film, but I would never believe that someone with a deep appreciation of that medium was wasting their time and effort on something with little to no value. It would be nice to get to a place where more people who don't enjoy games or enjoy games like that can acknowledge that, and understandably frustrating to see other mediums given that leeway while this one is not. Again, I do think the youth of the medium has something to do with that. Took a while for film to get there, too.

@seppli: There are 3 more games in the main series beyond that one. Most of them have more content than that one. You will never get out. You will never be free. You will die, alone, unloved and uncared for, and you will be unable to call for help as disgaeaphasia sets in and you become unable to communicate in anything but stat numbers.

They're pretty glorious, huh?

@demoskinos: Out of curiosity, even if you don't care for that game, have you never felt like a game has- even if not anywhere close to perfectly- tackled themes and topics that are profound or deep or worth serious discussion? Have you never seen one use artistic techniques that you felt could be worth more than casual critique or appreciation, even if they hadn't completely come into their own yet?

I don't think it's wanting games to be taken seriously, per say. I would never ask that someone takes a fun, goofy game seriously. But I would like to see games which are more serious artistic pursuits be acknowledged as such. I suppose that's just part of the youth of the medium, though. Games as a more serious art form are still relatively immature compared to film, let alone books, but that's because they've had less time to explore and discover themselves. Artists and writers in a medium build and learn from the people who have come before, and when film has had over 100 years to build and grow and books have had over 3,500 games have had around 25.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by serious. Do I want even serious games to be treated seriously all the time, no joking, flippancy or laughing allowed? Of course not. Noone wants that. Do I think gaming is coming into it's own, little by little, and would like to see it more acknowledged as a legitimate medium for telling more serious stories and exploring more serious topics? Of course. Would I like to be able to have an unfunny discussion critiquing and debating the artistic merits of a game with serious themes without having people feel the need to come in and go "lol it's just a game", as if that means it's inherently less meritorious than other mediums? Yup.

Making a thread like this with no obvious immediate provocation and no concrete examples is the internet equivalent of angrily yelling at invisible pixies in public places.

It seems weird to me to treat Final Fantasy as a series. Every installment has different mechanics, different characters, a different world, and often different tones and themes. They also have large differences in quality game-to-game. Why, besides the names, would you treat it as a series?