Giant Bombcast 12-13-2011

@Turambar said:

@Humanity said:

@Turambar said:

@Shaanyboi said:

Oh yeah, we really needed to see Bilbo walking to Rivendell for 20 fucking minutes. Or how about having Faramir completely ignore the threat and malice of the Ring? But really, the gravest failing was not having a totally tangential Scouring of the Shire sequence, which ultimately added nothing and negated the whole build-up and eventual climax of the whole story.

I get that Tolkien was an influential writer, and his works, if nothing else, have some amazing depth, and the core plot is fantastic. But they are poorly fucking written. He wrote them totally from a historical perspective, not a narrative one, and as such, they are a fucking chore to read.

The book didn't depict Faramir being some how immune to the ring. He was simply a negation of Elrond's assertion that men is a failure of a species, and overcame the temptation. The Scouring of the Shire was meant to depict the growth of the hobbits as a species, dragged kicking and screaming into a world where they can no longer hide behind the swords and shields of men, isolated from the world. How you felt it negated the climax of the story is beyond me. You're right, they were written from a historical perspective given conciet of the entire thing being a journal written by the Hobbits to record the events of the story. And I fucking loved it and found nothing chore-like about it.

The historical relevance of Tom Bombadil was needing the, what felt like, hundreds of pages dedicated to his character. I won't even mention the measure of importance this encounter had on the remaining plot of the story.

Given how the sword of the barrow-barrow downs was specifically designed to help slay the nazgul due to the lineage of those buried there, that side story was very much intentional. Tom Bombadil's character himself though is a mystery. For all of his very specific and vivid descriptions of people and places, Tolkien intentionally left exactly who and what Tom Bombadil is blank (intentionally by his own words.) My guess is he was meant to be a reference to another short story that Tolkien never had a chance to put to paper.

Uh huh. Because that sword really played into the plot in meaningful ways. I mean miss that part, you're basically missing the whole story.

Tom Bombadil added nothing. He's nothing more than an elaborate distraction that moves the plot forward in no meaningful ways, and adds no truly worthwhile knowledge into unraveling the mystery of the ring. Yeah, okay, he's some fucking spirit thing. Oh, and trees can potentially come alive. That's cool, though it's far more of a revelation when you actually see them fucking walking around.

And the Scouring of the Shire was pointless. If you want to see the strength of the hobbits, how about the fact that two of them carried evil-incarnate all the way to a fucking volcano as it tried to kill the entire way, while two others went off to war of unimaginable scale? I'd call that "proving the strength of the hobbits" just fine enough. If he wanted to make a point of the hobbits being dragged into the modern world, he should've found a way to do it in a way more meaningful and relevant to the main plot that you just read three fucking books about.

Again, great stories overall. And amazing level of detail, the metaphors behind it are powerful, and that's great. But Tolkein is not an interesting writer. He's a history professor who feels the need to stop all current action in the plot because he needs to describe the significance of a fucking fence or a hill every other page.

@Shaanyboi said:

And the Scouring of the Shire was pointless. If you want to see the strength of the hobbits, how about the fact that two of them carried evil-incarnate all the way to a fucking volcano as it tried to kill the entire way, while two others went off to war of unimaginable scale? I'd call that "proving the strength of the hobbits" just fine enough. If he wanted to make a point of the hobbits being dragged into the modern world, he should've found a way to do it in a way more meaningful and relevant to the main plot that you just read three fucking books about.

It's not about proving the strength of hobbits as a individuals. It's about forcing the growth of hobbits as a race. The race of hobbits at the end of the movie and at the end of the books are two incredibly different things. The former still believes the race as a whole can hide from the world at large, that it does not concern them, and the 4 long absent travelers returning were just silly and dumb, much like how they thought of Bilbo when he returned from his journey. The latter realizes that the world has changed, and the race as a whole has a closer relation with the human kingdoms. Not to mention their ultimate treatment of the four returning heroes are vastly different as well. If you can't grasp something that obvious, that is your problem, not the books'.

@MrOldboy said:

@Make_Me_Mad: Catherine was fantastic, oh except for playing a mediocre puzzle game for a large chunk of your time with the game.

The gameplay was my favorite part of the package. Nothing mediocre about that! Story on the other hand, was pretty flawed in some ways.

Little disappointed there was no discussion of GSC shutting down. But then again, who other than Dave has even played the Stalker games at Whiskey media?

some nice conversations on the Bombcast recently, definitely enjoying who the entire crew is now adays, a lot of good give and take.

Before listening to this bombcast, I had never heard N.W.A and now I have now bought Strait out of Compton. Thank you Ryan and Jeff for introducing me to this delightful music.

I am a 24 year whiteboy from the suburbs, so its nice that I finally found some music that I can relate to.

So about an hour into this podcast, right after Jeff says that the crew shouldn't have a video game the podcast warped into a previous one where Ryan is explaining an overview of AC:Revelations. I just kept listening. I'd rate the transition a 7.

Geez, was "pedantic" on your word-a-day calendars or something? I think it came up 3 times in this episode.

I'm really looking forward to the Star Wars TNT thing this week, I've been staring at that notice on the front page forever!

@Humanity said:

@Turambar said:

@Humanity said:

@Turambar said:

@Shaanyboi said:

Oh yeah, we really needed to see Bilbo walking to Rivendell for 20 fucking minutes. Or how about having Faramir completely ignore the threat and malice of the Ring? But really, the gravest failing was not having a totally tangential Scouring of the Shire sequence, which ultimately added nothing and negated the whole build-up and eventual climax of the whole story.

I get that Tolkien was an influential writer, and his works, if nothing else, have some amazing depth, and the core plot is fantastic. But they are poorly fucking written. He wrote them totally from a historical perspective, not a narrative one, and as such, they are a fucking chore to read.

The book didn't depict Faramir being some how immune to the ring. He was simply a negation of Elrond's assertion that men is a failure of a species, and overcame the temptation. The Scouring of the Shire was meant to depict the growth of the hobbits as a species, dragged kicking and screaming into a world where they can no longer hide behind the swords and shields of men, isolated from the world. How you felt it negated the climax of the story is beyond me. You're right, they were written from a historical perspective given conciet of the entire thing being a journal written by the Hobbits to record the events of the story. And I fucking loved it and found nothing chore-like about it.

The historical relevance of Tom Bombadil was needing the, what felt like, hundreds of pages dedicated to his character. I won't even mention the measure of importance this encounter had on the remaining plot of the story.

Given how the sword of the barrow-barrow downs was specifically designed to help slay the nazgul due to the lineage of those buried there, that side story was very much intentional. Tom Bombadil's character himself though is a mystery. For all of his very specific and vivid descriptions of people and places, Tolkien intentionally left exactly who and what Tom Bombadil is blank (intentionally by his own words.) My guess is he was meant to be a reference to another short story that Tolkien never had a chance to put to paper.

I thought they were hallucinating throughout the entire Bombadil "sequence" and was literally waiting for the 'and then they woke up' part. When they left I was almost horrified that it was all considered an authentic experience.

I read somewhere a long time ago that Tolkien was good friends with CS Lewis, and it was CS Lewis's heavy Christian influence on the Narnia series that prompted Tolkien to craft the Bombadil character for his own epic. Bombadil is the closest thing to "God" in the whole Middle Earth world. Even the ancient Maiar's like Gandalf, Sauruman, Sauron, etc.. don't really know what he is, and have been quoted as saying that Bombadil was older than even they were.

That whole sequence in the books is one my favorite in the whole series.

The way EA is using the Bioware brand name now a days is only going to end badly.

@Phoenix87 said:

Before listening to this bombcast, I had never heard N.W.A and now I have now bought Strait out of Compton. Thank you Ryan and Jeff for introducing me to this delightful music.

I am a 24 year whiteboy from the suburbs, so its nice that I finally found some music that I can relate to.

It was supremely enlightening to me as a 16 year old white kid. It blew my fucking mind. I'm 24 now, and I have no idea what my musical tastes would be like if I never heard it. I remember just getting my car and just driving around listening to NWA.

I could also recomment Snoop Dogg's first solo album, Doggystyle, and Dr. Dre's first, The Chronic. It's a lot different, but I would also suggest Liquid Swords from The GZA, and Notorious BIG's first album, Ready To Die. Ready To Die, is probably my favorite piece of hip-hop ever. It's certainly one of the most creative.

Those albums are like a Cliff's Notes for poular IMPORTANT (in all caps) hip-hop. That's without even diving into Wu-Tang or Tupac which are fucking incredible, but (I think anyway) take a little deeper appreciation for hip-hop to get into.

And now I've written a post all about rap and hip-hop on a games podcast comments page. That just happened.

Brad playing DotA 2 great news, can't wait too hear him what he thinks! Just don't call dota a moba game because "moba" is a concept made by Riot and people don't like it when it's being called that.

3 hours planned out! /mutes sounds of [insert random indie game]

Interpretive dances to movie soundtracks may not be much less dumb than a running teabagging joke, but at least it doesn't make movie fans look like a bunch of frat boy man-children. I'm slightly disappointed that the closure of GSC didn't even come up, though I'm guessing Dave is the only one who really cares that much, which is why I'm hoping he comes on the podcast again, someday.

Also, regarding the RTS talk: Don't see why you have to be into the most popular game of a genre in order to like said genre. Dawn of War 2 is my RTS of choice, Starcraft 2 is certainly a more polished game, but I find Dawn of War 2's focus on smaller forces and more tactically complex combat encounters far more exciting. Actually, if you want an RTS that turns the genre on its head, DOW2 is it. Too bad multiplayer has a rather steep learning curve.

3 hour Bombcast? Hellyeah. Saving this for my flight home Saturday. <3

@thornie said:

@Humanity said:

@Turambar said:

@Humanity said:

@Turambar said:

@Shaanyboi said:

Oh yeah, we really needed to see Bilbo walking to Rivendell for 20 fucking minutes. Or how about having Faramir completely ignore the threat and malice of the Ring? But really, the gravest failing was not having a totally tangential Scouring of the Shire sequence, which ultimately added nothing and negated the whole build-up and eventual climax of the whole story.

I get that Tolkien was an influential writer, and his works, if nothing else, have some amazing depth, and the core plot is fantastic. But they are poorly fucking written. He wrote them totally from a historical perspective, not a narrative one, and as such, they are a fucking chore to read.

The book didn't depict Faramir being some how immune to the ring. He was simply a negation of Elrond's assertion that men is a failure of a species, and overcame the temptation. The Scouring of the Shire was meant to depict the growth of the hobbits as a species, dragged kicking and screaming into a world where they can no longer hide behind the swords and shields of men, isolated from the world. How you felt it negated the climax of the story is beyond me. You're right, they were written from a historical perspective given conciet of the entire thing being a journal written by the Hobbits to record the events of the story. And I fucking loved it and found nothing chore-like about it.

The historical relevance of Tom Bombadil was needing the, what felt like, hundreds of pages dedicated to his character. I won't even mention the measure of importance this encounter had on the remaining plot of the story.

Given how the sword of the barrow-barrow downs was specifically designed to help slay the nazgul due to the lineage of those buried there, that side story was very much intentional. Tom Bombadil's character himself though is a mystery. For all of his very specific and vivid descriptions of people and places, Tolkien intentionally left exactly who and what Tom Bombadil is blank (intentionally by his own words.) My guess is he was meant to be a reference to another short story that Tolkien never had a chance to put to paper.

I thought they were hallucinating throughout the entire Bombadil "sequence" and was literally waiting for the 'and then they woke up' part. When they left I was almost horrified that it was all considered an authentic experience.

I read somewhere a long time ago that Tolkien was good friends with CS Lewis, and it was CS Lewis's heavy Christian influence on the Narnia series that prompted Tolkien to craft the Bombadil character for his own epic. Bombadil is the closest thing to "God" in the whole Middle Earth world. Even the ancient Maiar's like Gandalf, Sauruman, Sauron, etc.. don't really know what he is, and have been quoted as saying that Bombadil was older than even they were.

That whole sequence in the books is one my favorite in the whole series.

Tom Bombadil was also my favorite part of the books, I do understand why some people don't like that part of the story though. I always thought he was a Maiar like Gandalf. I also think it's interesting that a lot of people who consider themselves fans of the stories don't understand that Gandalf is pretty much a lesser god.

As far as Tolkien being to much of a historian, as a historian that's probably why I like the books, never thought of it that way though. I did find the first chunk of the Silmarillion to be a bit of a chore, but after things started existing it picked up.

Also I didn't mean that the movies should have been an exact 1:1 depiction of the books. I understand why Peter Jackson changed everything he did, the story in the books wouldn't work as a movie. I just still believe that the story in the books is better than the one in the films. The films do win in the visuals department.

Vinny absolutely nailed it with "Dads never know what you do for a living". The man's a poet.

Favorite part of this week's Bombcast was Ryan discussing how he doesn't want to chat with random people on Xbox Live.

Ryan: "...it's Xbox Live, you've been on there? It's disgusting! It's not a place for human beings to go and talk to other human beings."

Jeff: "Eh, I just like to meet people, so you know, I put my headset on, and curse until someone says 'man, you curse good!' And I say 'where you live?'

Ryan: "...you homo!"

Jeff: "Yeah, that's the end of that sentence."

Ryan: "And that's how they know you are one of thier people."

Uhhh, the fact that Nolan North is a potty mouth off-camera doesn't vindicate Patrick, far from it.
Calling interviewee an asshole on-camera is un-fucking-professional, there's no positive way to spin this. Stop trying.
 
Aside from that, Patrick's on-camera personality is very aggressive, rambling and occasionally doesn't leave room for the interviewee.
Just tone it down a little.

@Parsnip said:

Uhhh, the fact that Nolan North is a potty mouth off-camera doesn't vindicate Patrick, far from it. Calling interviewee an asshole on-camera is un-fucking-professional, there's no positive way to spin this. Stop trying. Aside from that, Patrick's on-camera personality is very aggressive, rambling and occasionally doesn't leave room for the interviewee. Just tone it down a little.

Get over yourself.

@Subach said:

Interpretive dances to movie soundtracks may not be much less dumb than a running teabagging joke, but at least it doesn't make movie fans look like a bunch of frat boy man-children. I'm slightly disappointed that the closure of GSC didn't even come up, though I'm guessing Dave is the only one who really cares that much, which is why I'm hoping he comes on the podcast again, someday.

Also, regarding the RTS talk: Don't see why you have to be into the most popular game of a genre in order to like said genre. Dawn of War 2 is my RTS of choice, Starcraft 2 is certainly a more polished game, but I find Dawn of War 2's focus on smaller forces and more tactically complex combat encounters far more exciting. Actually, if you want an RTS that turns the genre on its head, DOW2 is it. Too bad multiplayer has a rather steep learning curve.

Have to agree. I really don't know why the Ryan+Jeff+Patrick trio were so adamant that it didn't matter or was not fixable. Yeah there are people that probably didn't care. There's a whole mess of isht some people don't care about, but the rest of society doesn't just accept that lowest standard and wash their hands of it. I mean yeah it's on Spike and trying to appeal to a certain demo...but WHY accept that the most visible awards show for a multibillion dollar industry be relegated to that?

@Parsnip said:

Uhhh, the fact that Nolan North is a potty mouth off-camera doesn't vindicate Patrick, far from it. Calling interviewee an asshole on-camera is un-fucking-professional, there's no positive way to spin this. Stop trying. Aside from that, Patrick's on-camera personality is very aggressive, rambling and occasionally doesn't leave room for the interviewee. Just tone it down a little.

Get over yourself.

I would pay good money for a Crytek CryEngine game set in Jurassic Park

@Parsnip said:

@mbr2 said:

@Parsnip said:

Uhhh, the fact that Nolan North is a potty mouth off-camera doesn't vindicate Patrick, far from it. Calling interviewee an asshole on-camera is un-fucking-professional, there's no positive way to spin this. Stop trying. Aside from that, Patrick's on-camera personality is very aggressive, rambling and occasionally doesn't leave room for the interviewee. Just tone it down a little.

Get over yourself.

Astounding retort.

Parsnip had it right. What happens on camera, during the interview, is what matters. And Patrick failed as an interviewer - he cut off the interviewee multiple times, acted like a giddy school girl for a lot of the recording and finished with an insult. Ryan kept that thing on the rails, Patrick's knee slapping forced laughter and over familiarity with someone who is basically a stranger to him was bizarre.

This isn't coming from someone who wants to see Patrick fail, take his job or complain about Giant Bomb for no good reason... instead I'm a subscriber with a complaint, one that's echoed by other users. "Get over yourself" isn't what this is about.

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

@Bassman2112: How old are you?

Ryan's advice for the week: Don't go to the toilet with a strap-on.

@Bassman2112: How old are you?

@Bassman2112 said:

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

+1, he was a good addition to GB but he is leaning into the immaturity a bit too much. The Nolan North interview was an excellent example of this, even Nolan was like " wtf is this guy talking about...?"

@Bassman2112 said:

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

Jesus fucking christ you're embarassed of a person you don't personally know? He's too childish for Giant Bomb!?!?!?! What the fuck are you talking about!?!

@mbr2 said:

@Bassman2112 said:

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

Jesus fucking christ you're embarassed of a person you don't personally know? He's too childish for Giant Bomb!?!?!?! What the fuck are you talking about!?!

Calm down, kiddo. Take a deep breath before losing your cool over the internet, it's unbecoming.

What I'm talking about the fact that Patrick was talking over who he was interviewing, is excessively rude and constantly tries to over emote reactions. Also, I never said anything about embarrassment. What I was saying is that what Patrick is doing during interviews, quick looks or whatever other form of media he's being captured on is not what an audience wants. I constantly find myself tolerating what he's on rather than actually enjoying it, and I'm voicing that complaint.

Edit: Also, I should just point out and reiterate: I like Patrick's writing and I like the articles he brings to the site. It's just the recorded content he's in that really bothers me.

@Bassman2112 said:

@mbr2 said:

@Bassman2112 said:

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

Jesus fucking christ you're embarassed of a person you don't personally know? He's too childish for Giant Bomb!?!?!?! What the fuck are you talking about!?!

Calm down, kiddo. Take a deep breath before losing your cool over the internet, it's unbecoming.

What I'm talking about the fact that Patrick was talking over who he was interviewing, is excessively rude and constantly tries to over emote reactions. Also, I never said anything about embarrassment. What I was saying is that what Patrick is doing during interviews, quick looks or whatever other form of media he's being captured on is not what an audience wants. I constantly find myself tolerating what he's on rather than actually enjoying it, and I'm voicing that complaint.

Edit: Also, I should just point out and reiterate: I like Patrick's writing and I like the articles he brings to the site. It's just the recorded content he's in that really bothers me.

That's your opinion. Personally he doesn't bother me one single bit. Sure he might be more expressive during interviews, but that's just seems to be his personality. It still fits with what Giantbomb is about for me.

@selbie said:

@Bassman2112 said:

@mbr2 said:

@Bassman2112 said:

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

Jesus fucking christ you're embarassed of a person you don't personally know? He's too childish for Giant Bomb!?!?!?! What the fuck are you talking about!?!

Calm down, kiddo. Take a deep breath before losing your cool over the internet, it's unbecoming.

What I'm talking about the fact that Patrick was talking over who he was interviewing, is excessively rude and constantly tries to over emote reactions. Also, I never said anything about embarrassment. What I was saying is that what Patrick is doing during interviews, quick looks or whatever other form of media he's being captured on is not what an audience wants. I constantly find myself tolerating what he's on rather than actually enjoying it, and I'm voicing that complaint.

Edit: Also, I should just point out and reiterate: I like Patrick's writing and I like the articles he brings to the site. It's just the recorded content he's in that really bothers me.

That's your opinion. Personally he doesn't bother me one single bit. Sure he might be more expressive during interviews, but that's just seems to be his personality. It still fits with what Giantbomb is about for me.

Absolutely haha, I totally agree. For some people - like yourself - I'm sure this is a non-issue. That's totally fine, I'm just being honest with my opinion. I'm definitely not saying it's a binary thing that should either stop or be allowed to continue, I'm just saying I'd prefer a little more composure at times, haha =)

@Bassman2112 said:

@selbie said:

@Bassman2112 said:

That's your opinion. Personally he doesn't bother me one single bit. Sure he might be more expressive during interviews, but that's just seems to be his personality. It still fits with what Giantbomb is about for me.

Absolutely haha, I totally agree. For some people - like yourself - I'm sure this is a non-issue. That's totally fine, I'm just being honest with my opinion. I'm definitely not saying it's a binary thing that should either stop or be allowed to continue, I'm just saying I'd prefer a little more composure at times, haha =)

Yeah I think everyone is just freaking out because GB was interviewing a renowned actor, and if I were in Patrick's position I know I'd be doing the same dumb shit as him :P

I may or may not be the proud owner of dublifecrew over on tumblr now. 
 
.....I have no idea what I'm going to do .-. Reblog/post GB dubstep stuff?

I fully echo the complaints about Patrick...

I've been a supporter of his since he got here, and enjoyed a lot of the stuff he's done; but since the Trine 2 Quick Look and the Nolan North interview, I'm having a harder and harder time defending his actions.

It's nice that he's having fun, but it comes across as incredibly unprofessional. I don't end up wanting to show my friends videos of things they'd be interested in simply because I think Patrick gives off a childish and slightly annoying vibe. I think he needs to start acting like an adult when he is on camera or being recorded, it is bringing a tone to Giant Bomb that isn't too impressive.

I am for two things this year; Patrick Klepek and a fuck load of Nor'Easters.

Guys you're talking about a website thats big shtick for a lot of people is they say fuck in podcasts. What.

I understand professionalism is incredibly important in journalism, but if the guys saw anything wrong with Patrick's screen presence, I don't think they'd have him doing so much video shit. Chill.

@Bassman2112 said:

Absolutely haha, I totally agree. For some people - like yourself - I'm sure this is a non-issue. That's totally fine, I'm just being honest with my opinion. I'm definitely not saying it's a binary thing that should either stop or be allowed to continue, I'm just saying I'd prefer a little more composure at times, haha =)

Composure is good, but I think a little sense of humor is needed aswell. Patrick may be trying to be humorous too often, but I think we should be a bit patient and let the new guys grow into the site.

A bunch of people complained about Brad and Vinny aswell. I'll admit I've never been much of a fan of Matt Kessler, but recently, he's been less ... well, just less - and now I'm not so annoyed by him anymore.

People are completely entitled to their opinions, I'm just saying we shouldn't be so quick with the finger-pointing. I don't think many of us would be good at it at first either.

Hey guys, when did video game websites suddenly become all American Idol to the point where people endlessly bitch about who they like best and who should be voted off? We're here to discuss games, and Patrick just as much as any of us has the right to do so in his own manner. Whether you agree with his methods or not.

@otoboke said:

Hey guys, when did video game websites suddenly become all American Idol to the point where people endlessly bitch about who they like best and who should be voted off? We're here to discuss games, and Patrick just as much as any of us has the right to do so in his own manner. Whether you agree with his methods or not.

none of us are on camera doing so, and they make video content that people buy (through subscriptions). No one's voting anyone else but we do have a right to voice our opinions.

@DystopiaX:

But it's not like complaints do anything besides ruin other peoples mood. I don't like to be that guy but can you guys just not comment if you don't like something? You can't change it retroactively and if it really was a problem it would have been fixed already. In the end I just feel bad that the community I love acts so horribly. I can completely understand how you feel here. I too didn't like some people before. Brad was at some point just unbearable for me but when you stop focusing on it you learn to appreciate people for what they are, their character and the dynamic they bring. They are all still just dudes, not some crazy rich movie stars so please have some basic respect.

P.S.

Nobody pays for bonus content. It's a bonus for supporting the site. Please don't act like they are selling it to you. It's also mighty upsetting and pretty rude.

@ZagZagovich: It's a discussion. People are allowed to have negative opinions, and I see nothing embaressing about people in the community saying that they don't like someone. it's not like we have to be all rainbows and sunshine all the time, and voicing complaints within reason is fine.

Regarding your view of payment- there are certain things, such as subscriber videos, that cannot be accessed without payment, and this is Whiskey's primary way of making money. I see nothing wrong with saying that people buy content from Whiskey, cause it's true. Nothing rude about calling a spade a spade. They make money from subscriptions, I expect a certain amount of bang for my buck. That's all. As much as we love the content they put out it's not like they're running a charity, and I'm not going to pretend that it is such.

@DystopiaX:

Sorry, man. I just do not see your point at all. And feeling entitled to have content made specifically to a group of people is pretty crazy and upsetting for me too. They should make what they want to make with at best suggestions for new features. Anything else just creates really undeserved negativity. It's a fun personality focused website about video games. If you feel like you need to constantly complain about somebody then you are just doing it wrong. Same with expecting to control the output of the site if you are subscribed to it. Try enjoying things, please. For the sake of everybody.

@ZagZagovich: I never said control, I just said that as a paying subscriber I have a right to voice my opinion, whereas you seem to be of the "shut up and take whatever they give you" mold. Which I admit is a fine one to take- if you don't like it, don't pay for it- however, that doesn't mean I can't chime in with a "I don't like this feature" once in awhile, because I have an opinion and I can voice it. I'm not DEMANDING that they act on it, just that I have the right to voice it. I don't feel the need to "constantly" complain about things, but if I don't like it I don't see what's wrong with saying I don't. I'm not going to praise things I don't like and I'm going to state my opinion. You seem to be of the "praise them, and if you don't like it shut the fuck up cause no one wants to hear it", which is idiotic.

You also seem to view this as a dichotomy- either I like everything, or I hate everything. I subscribe because there's alot that I like- but that doesn't mean I like ALL of it, and the fact that you seem to expect me to, or at least that that would be the "ideal" user on the site, is baffling.

edit- addressing some points I missed in your previous post-

1. "You can't change it retroactively"- that's not the point, providing feedback is so that they can use (or not use) our opinions on the site content for future content. The staff have shown that when certain things are demanded for- like a "subscriber only" tab- then they'll do it. That's the point of saying you don't like something- so it gets changed, if it's within reason.

2. "Nobody pays for bonus content"- is just baffling to me, because there are many things- TNT archives, Jar Time with Jeff, etc.- that I cannot get if I don't pay them a subscription fee. That is bonus content, that I paid for. Your view of subscribing as charity that I happen to get gifts for makes no sense at all. That's not how I view it, and it's certainly not how Whikey Media have positioned it.

@DystopiaX:

I'm saying none of those things. It's fine to say "I didn't like it" once in a while. But it becomes a clear problem when people start to complain about every single thing they don't like "ugh they didn't give magic to Bucca right away", "ugh Alex inserts too much of his personality into his writing", "ugh Patrick is opening his mouth", "ugh the podcast is too long". I'm not talking about you or even any other specific person. It's the constant stream of unreasonable nonsense that is plaguing every comment field on the site right now. And sorry if you see not spoiling other peoples fun for petty reasons idiotic.

@ZagZagovich said:

@DystopiaX:

I'm saying none of those things. It's fine to say "I didn't like it" once in a while. But it becomes a clear problem when people start to complain about every single thing they don't like "ugh they didn't give magic to Bucca right away", "ugh Alex inserts too much of his personality into his writing", "ugh Patrick is opening his mouth", "ugh the podcast is too long". I'm not talking about you or even any other specific person. It's the constant stream of unreasonable nonsense that is plaguing every comment field on the site right now. And sorry if you see not spoiling other peoples fun for petty reasons idiotic.

I don't think it's one dude complaining about everything, I think it's different people disliking different things. No thing is going to get 100% approval so you'll always see complaints about everything.

And if your mood can really be ruined by criticism on the internet, I don't know how you've survived on any internet forum, ever.

@DystopiaX:

In retrospect I should say sorry, dude. I'm doing exactly what i hate seeing and it's just not right. We have different views on how the site works and I don't necessary disagree with you. The worst thing is that I really shouldn't argue with you. You were articulate and didn't act like a dick. I'm really sorry man. It's just got too annoying that I went to the other side of the extreme. Payment stuff is a bit of a different issue but mostly because they already did an enormous amount of content that I enjoyed (and continue enjoying to this day) even before the subscription stuff, giving them some money to keep it up only makes sense and the special features never were anything more than a bonus for me (especially the happy hour stuff), probably other people care more about that stuff. So hey, no hard feelings, it's just been bugging me for a while.

Edit to follow up:

Criticism on the net is fine and understandable (and can be really bad and unreasonable too). This site is just not another forum though. I never was so attached to the site in my life and the community has been just amazing when united under some idea. I really wouldn't care about that stuff on a different site.

I happened to be listening to this episode tonight. Perhaps the most ominous and chilling thing in Giant Bomb history is said around 0:05:30 after Brad mentions 2013 games (in this December 2011 podcast); Ryan says, "I try not to think about that...the future. That's too far... There won't be an Earth by then (2013)." Then Jeff goes (to Ryan) "...why are you worried about preordering it then? You're gonna be dead, what do you care?"

Absolutely the most frightening foreshadowing. I miss Ryan Davis so much. :(

RIP Taswell. LOVE RYAN DAVIS!