Bombin' the A.M. With Jim Sterling

@noizy: I actually took that back and deleted that post.

I thought that I was actually going a little to far there. Hey all I can say is that I'm passionate.

@noizy: I don't think anyone says all games are just as good as each other. I'm sure people do say every game is just as much of a game as every other game, which is a valid opinion because there is no concrete definition about what makes something more a game than another thing. Spelunky may have more mechanics than Gone Home, but depending on your definitions, that doesn't make it "more of a game".

Its weird how this division seems to only happen in games (I could be wrong on that, though). No one says that Great Expectations is, "more of a book" than The Hungry Caterpillar. They're just different types of games.

RT

@wes899 said:

Anyway I don't care for Flappy Bird, it's really not the kind of game of that nature I've ever appreciated (I prefer something like Canabalt, which was a cool flash game I was willing to pay money for to have on the go.) The zeitgeist was overbearing at times for a game I never even felt played well, and there are games just as straight forward that are much more satisfying.

Jim is a great dude. Seems very humble outside of his Jimquisition persona. And always insightful!

Great episode duders

I would actually really hope that no game dev felt that way and would probably think less of them as a developer if they do. It strikes me as a jealous and petty reaction IMO. Flappy Bird is in no way game of the year (or game of the month), but I really do think there is a lot of good lessons there for what appeals to people. It's a good learning experience. And if your goal as a game dev is to make a game that appeals to a lot of people and you can't make it work... then maybe its worth it to learn a thing or two from Flappy Bird.

I almost always partake in Bombin' the AM in audio format. Real glad I went video this time. I'd have lost watching Jim's expressions when he said "that guy's sword is made of a skeleton."

I totally agree. I feel like the people who dislike him the most know him the least. He's a real swell guy.

That's cool. I was watching this morning while working so I'm not sure what the context was. Is it the whole Flappy Bird thing? I'll go watch the show more attentively to see what's the big controversy.

@koolaid: well I prefer a game dev make the game they want to. If the whole point is to make a game that appeals to a lot of people, that's actually the worst thing imaginable. If that's what your trying to do, the you get Fuse.

@noizy: no it's just my personal thing of flappy bird gets all the attention of every single thing in the industry. Then there is like a billion other games that are a billion times better, that get no attention ever.

@jz: I'm really curious, did you actually play Fuse? I've never met someone who has, and it just looks too dull for a morbid curiosity-type purchase

Half the time I hate this guy, half the time I agree with him. Still, I guess that makes him more interesting than 80% of people writing about games.

@brasshi: yes, I bought it for 20 bucks and only played one level. I was so bored of it after that one level that I will never play it again.

I totally agree! Which is why I don't care if Flappy Bird is popular. And if a dev is jealous of Flappy, then what do they really want? To make a cool game or to be famous for making a cool game? I would say morale would only take it hit if you are competing for the same audience as Flappy Bird, which is not served by "real" games anyway. And by real I mean complex.

@koolaid: well alright then

Muddy Buddies! ...oh wait that was Jonathan Holmes' idea.

Loved this episode! Jim was great and I'm looking forward to his return sometime. I enjoy his frankness and have really come to like the guy over the years.

When a Monday show goes well, it goes really well.

Jim's awesome, and he's always fun to listen to (I think so, anyway). When I heard him say "clearly Rita Repulsa" I nearly laughed my way off the highway.

Good show, as usual.

Great episode of Bombin'. Jim's great.

It's spooky how being in any way connected to a GB feature can immediately 180 your reputation on GB. Leigh being the exception to the rule of course.

To be honest, I haven't watched a lot of Jim, but wow is he different then what I expected after some of his videos. Guy seems really down to earth and honest, this is a great bombing episode, loved it, and Jim has a new fan in me.

Here's my thoughts on Flappy Bird. If your game is super popular and you can't handle the attention from it, just put your head in the sand and wait for it to pass. Don't pull it down. All that will do is inflame the people who are rabid about it and make the situation worst. If he would have just let it run it's course, people would lose interest in a month. The knee jerk reaction of removing it seemed to cause the fans to hate him as well as the people that hated the game in the first place. This whole thing is like watching gasoline be used to put out a fire.

I've heard some different things about this Jim Sterling, but I got to say I like that picture of him for the show. Good job.

@brasshi: "I think it sets out to do one thing, and does it fantastically well"

I can't agree. The game is not difficult because the mechanics are well done. The game is difficult because the hitboxes are shitty. The game is not good in any way. It is not original. It does not have good art. It does not have variety. I'm not one of those people that get angry about it existing, but I do think the game is bad in every sense of the word.

If you don't want to play Flappy Bird, the solution is to play something else. Not send the guy that made Flappy Bird death threats like a disgraceful lunatic.

@hailinel: well I didn't send him anything.

No, but an unfortunate number of people did. Either way, it seems bizarre to paint Flappy Bird of all things as this existential threat to gaming and all it entails.

@luck702: I also think you have to take into account that all this might not just be down to Twitter bullshit. Remember that the dude is from Vietnam, a country ruled by a Communist party not exactly known to like entrepeneurs who make money without any connections to the state. We do not know the entire story here.

He went sans fedora?

Never was a huge fan of Jim's work in the past, but I actually really enjoyed him on this episode. Would love to see him come back.

You know what? Jim is kinda like a british Ross Matthews.

Is that just me?

It will blow over just like the whole Phil Fish rage quit. Both dudes probably had really good reasons for what they did. I'm sure this happens all the time in the industry, but because Flappy Birds is mainstream, it gets the attention.

Unlike Phil Fish, who did nothing to discourage such idiocy with the way he tended to cartwheel willingly into minefields, Flappy Bird's creator did nothing to actively antagonize anyone in this whole ordeal.

Ooohhh, I hope he's irreverent!

Honestly his twitter misogyny outburst really soured me on Jim a few years ago. But he seems like he's become a bit more self conscious now.

I feel the same exact way. I pretty much stopped going to that site because of how much he would sensationalize his articles.

@disembodio: was that the thing he repeatedly has apologized for like a thousand times where he apparently called Leigh Alexander a femenazi bitch?

@tdot: Yeah I believe it was Anna Anthropy's girlfriend or something; I can't remember the exact origin. It was just kinda out of hand (def on both sides to a point) and some of the things he said just seemed a little gross (c word, femanazi slut) so I stayed away for a while. I wasn't trying to troll I mean he actually seems like he's gotten past that and become a better dude!

I unlocked two characters in one run in Risk of Rain while listening to this.

@amyggen: I'd never heard about that. You're right though, we shouldn't make too many conclusions if we don't have all of the information.

This was amazing, I love Jim Sterling! So a year ago I had never seen any of Jim's videos, I only heard his name being brought up every now and then and that he worked for Destructoid. But last year I started watching The Jimquisition around the time that Sony and Microsoft were introducing the new consoles and Microsoft came out with the no used games stuff, and I fell in love with the man and haven't missed a Jimquisition since. I haven't seen anybody else in games media tear publishers a new one when they deserve it, most of them let publishers get away with way too much. Jim Sterling is the voice of the people.

Bravo!

@bunnymud: In merry olde England, wearing a hat inside a home is considered rude. Jim is a proper gentleman like that.

@wes899: THE WOOORLD IS A VAAAM-PIRE!

Thank God for Jim.

Ars Technica's Kyle Orland?

"Did nothing to discourage"? I get what you're saying, but Phil's twitter is littered with apologies and breakdowns pertaining to the constant antagonising between himself and his critics. And, ya know, you shouldn't need to discourage people from sending you death threats and hate mail, it should probably be a given.

Jimbo was an excellent guest, he should definitely be brought back again sometime.