Jar Time w/ Jeff: 20 Questions, One Jar - 11/30/2011

I'll keep in mind not to say hi to Jeff if I ever see him.

I do think there's something to your argument about the video game hobby being perceived as childish. Children pretty much participate in any and all recreation that adults do but with kid shit. Kids and adults both play sports, read books, watch movies, and listen to music yet no one says any of those very general activities are exclusive to kids or adults. I think some people are just thoughtless when making that judgement call in the modern era. The amount of times you shake your head and shrug your shoulders in these videos really disheartens me. I worry about your emotional health sometimes. I hope you feel better about life and what not in the future.

The amount of times you shake your head and shrug your shoulders in these videos really disheartens me. I worry about your emotional health sometimes.

Why did Jeff put the guy (Jeff) who hates MMOs and Star Wars on the Star Wars MMO? That seems fucking weird.

@Shaanyboi

Frankly, I wouldn't mind one of these from each of the GiantBomb crew...

A fine suggestion, one point of view is cool, and I appreciate Jeffs sledge hammer honesty, but yeah I always feel Vinny to be a lot more in the consumer frame of mine, probably because he's is not really part of the review focus. End of the day Jeff is doing these off his own back and I like hearing the old(as in experienced) war horses take. By the way whatever happened to the legendary Caravella and Son idea!

@nickux said:

@Duffyside said:

@DragonBomb said:

@Duffyside said:

I really dislike the claim that Tetris is the best game ever. I don't ever want to play it ever again, but yo, I'd love to play Mario Brothers for another 500 hours. Or Warlords.

I think he was just really arbitrary with that pick. I would have gone with Mario Brothers myself but I think people are willing to accept something like Tetris based on its history. I mean it is his opinion after all, you don't need to necessarily agree with it.

Yeah, I'm not like pissed off or anything dude. But he didn't just pick it out of thin air. He's said Tetris is probably the greatest game ever made multiple times, as have other people. And I AM disagreeing with them and stating why; I never want to play Tetris, in any form, ever again. But there are lots of games I've played MORE than Tetris and would gladly play still.

Again, not mad about it, have just thought about it since he last said it and this was a good time to voice my disagreement.

Nothing wrong with disagreeing- it always leads to discussion! While Tetris may not be my favorite game, I usually see why people cite it as one of the best games ever made for several reasons.

1) It's longevity. Tetris has stood the test of time and despite being a very basic game, it continues to be one of the most popular, most-played games. Clearly there is something at work here that clicks with people.

2) Beauty in its simplicity. Tetris is, at its most basic level, a pretty simple game. Move blocks, stack them up, repeat. But the gravity, timing, and shape of the tetrinos created something really special. Easy enough so as to be accessible to all and challenging enough to be difficult to master.

3) Tetris comes from a time when games were all about the mechanics. Amazing graphics, etc. didn't really matter as much as they do now because they just weren't possible. So what really mattered were the mechanics and Tetris really shines. The controls, the aforementioned gravity, etc. as so fine-tuned that it's, well, perfect (depending on who you ask, I suppose).

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents and add to the discussion! Now to watch the video...

The biggest problem I have with any statement as to the greatest game ever made is that it so often the criteria for what makes it the greatest game aren't clarified. I'm with you that I can see why someone would say Tetris, and I can also see someone picking Pacman, Super Mario Bros, or even Donkey Kong. However, as I said, without stating the criteria for what constitutes the greatest game, any of those choices still come off as slightly arbitrary in my opinion. /shrug

Re: Man caves. As a married man with no children and a humble living arrangement (2 BR apartment in New York City). I can tell you that a man cave has little to with "feeling ashamed" and more to do with RESPECTING ONES SPACE. It's obvious to me that Jeff has probably never lived with a woman, or a significant other for any extended period of time. I have all of my "stuff" in one room because it's "MY STUFF" not "OUR STUFF". There is a big difference. The couch my wife and I bought, we bought together and is ours. My collection of vintage guitars is my stuff and belongs in my room, the same goes for my other "toys" and hobbies. There are times where I bring my stuff into the common area to just stretch out a bit, but I always remember bringing that stuff back to my room. My wife doesn't want to trip on my toys any more than I want to trip on her shoes or underwear thrown around in my room. The key to a successful relationship, and a successful living arrangement is respecting each others space and having a place where you can be by yourself to enjoy the solitary activities that make you happy. I am proud to say I have a man cave, and I am not ashamed by ANY of my hobbies. Sorry Jeff, stick to talking about things you know about, like the video game industry and leave the relationship advice to those who know better.

Yeah, maybe Man Cave is fucking stupid term but whatever. At least I don't call it my "office" or something pretentious like that.

Jeff being damn smart and sensible. Love it. Just hearing this really makes me think he's one of the smartest game journalists out there.

Jeff is bustin' heads today

@wompa421 said:

i played the star wars: old republic beta and i really really enjoyed the shit out of it til i realized my character would not carry over to the full game and decided to quit playing till it comes out (i got to level 11) where as i played WoW and was bored with it i actually cared about the quest lines (which were pretty good) because they were voiced as opposed to every other mmo where i would just accept the quest without reading it and i thought everything else in swtor was pretty awesome i can't wait to get early access to it and play the hell out of it and see what the ship stuff is all about. on completely unrelated note

Dude. Punctuate.

@Skytylz said:

When I watch these videos I feel like I'm being indoctrinated by a cult leader.

This is the best cult, 'cause all we do is play video games.

@SuperJoe said:

Jeff's not a celebrity...he is a CYBERSTAR!

sounds like a transformer.

@thornie: Easy tiger. I'm pretty sure Jeff's gonna talk about what Jeff's gonna talk about. Disagree all you want, but let's not get into a disscusion about "who knows better," because then we all lose. Also, to be fair, being married doesn't really make you an expert on anything, let alone how to cultivate a successful relationship. The sheer amount of divorced people in America today can well attest to that.

This is not to say that I totally disagree with you. For the record, I don't like the term "man-cave" either, and I'm all for having your own space.

@avantegardener said:

@Shaanyboi

Frankly, I wouldn't mind one of these from each of the GiantBomb crew...

A fine suggestion, one point of view is cool, and I appreciate Jeffs sledge hammer honesty, but yeah I always feel Vinny to be a lot more in the consumer frame of mine, probably because he's is not really part of the review focus. End of the day Jeff is doing these off his own back and I like hearing the old(as in experienced) war horses take. By the way whatever happened to the legendary Caravella and Son idea!

I remember Brad doing one about a year or so back that was rather interesting. I think it was him talking about Star Craft 2 for like an hour or something. Hope Brad can get over his stage fear and get in front of the camera more often. I can't remember the last time I seen him in a QL or anything outside of the Bombcast.

The jar version of Tetris is the greatest version of Tetris ever made.

The answer to the windows question fucking killed me. Comedy gold!

I usually love this but 35 minutes in and I've heard Jeff berate 3 people for asking questions. Telling one to stop playing games completely. Seems kinda negative tonight, just my opinion.

I wish he'd give a tour of his room, kinda like how ryan did back in the early days of Giant Bomb.

Yes! I fucking HATE the term Man Cave. Holy shit...spot on Jeff!

Japan made Dark Souls, so they're OK in my book.

Well, From is, anyway. As far as I'm concerned, if From was the entirety of the Japanese game industry, I'd not notice a difference. Dark Souls, and Demon's Souls before it, are the only Japanese developed games I've enjoyed in a very long time.

"Jeff: YOUR PARENTS ARE DEEAAAAAD!!!!!"

Jeff got pissed this episode. Still enjoyed it!

@Buckfitches said:

@wompa421 said:

i played the star wars: old republic beta and i really really enjoyed the shit out of it til i realized my character would not carry over to the full game and decided to quit playing till it comes out (i got to level 11) where as i played WoW and was bored with it i actually cared about the quest lines (which were pretty good) because they were voiced as opposed to every other mmo where i would just accept the quest without reading it and i thought everything else in swtor was pretty awesome i can't wait to get early access to it and play the hell out of it and see what the ship stuff is all about. on completely unrelated note

Dude. Punctuate.

Also capitalize. ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU TYPE IT!?

Thank you very much, Jeff, for actually recognizing the problem of "Peter Pan-ification". I think even as video game fans we should never forget that there is more important stuff to do than to save some virtual place from its demise. Games can be a great hobby, a great distraction, great escapism, or just a lot of fun. But entertainment should never be the ultimate purpose of our lives. There's just too much stuff that needs fixing in the REAL world ...

@the_korben said:

Thank you very much, Jeff, for actually recognizing the problem of "Peter Pan-ification". I think even as video game fans we should never forget that there is more important stuff to do than to save some virtual place from its demise. Games can be a great hobby, a great distraction, great escapism, or just a lot of fun. But entertainment should never be the ultimate purpose of our lives. There's just too much stuff that needs fixing in the REAL world ...

As a 32 year old 'adult' I find this a very interesting, and not too easy question to answer. I love playing games but the time and commitment they require has become, relatively speaking, a much larger segment of my life in comparison to the other things I've got going on. Whereas it is still relatively easy to put aside an hour or two to watch a film (to completion) playing any game - even the shorter ones - can become a real exercise in frustration. Either because the shorter chunks of time I have available make playing any game a much longer prospect, or that the expectation other people have on you make it much harder to justify the amount of time you actually wish to spend playing it. I really do think the very nature of many games leads to this 'Peter Pan-ification' being talked about here in that to commit to this hobby you kind of _have_ to remove yourself from those around you to a greater or lesser extent, and that can be viewed particularly by people who do not play games at all as the 'social regression' implied in that term. I suppose there is an argument to be made on either side, but for myself I know I'll be playing the likes of Skyrim on and off for the entirety of next year. Not because I'll be replaying it 50 times with all the different character classes. It's because it'll take that long for me to complete it just once! I'd love to be able to plough hours into it like I did with Morrowind but my lifestyle just doesn't allow for that anymore. And even if it did would that make me the 'man/child' that Pan title infers? As I say, I'm not sure there is an easy answer either way.

Kept it extra real. Respect.

I'd like to visit Jeff's man cave if you know what I mean..

@KingHippp0 said:

I usually love this but 35 minutes in and I've heard Jeff berate 3 people for asking questions. Telling one to stop playing games completely. Seems kinda negative tonight, just my opinion.

Yes, agreed. Jeff does seem to consistently read somewhat bad questions, after which he proceeds to either insult the asker for asking such a stupid question, or say something like, "I don't know, man, that's not my thing." And he does this despite apparently curating them beforehand. It's strange, and sometimes I wonder about his motives with this 'vlog,' but I watch all of them and enjoy it nonetheless.

Man, Jeff's angry tonight! I liked it though, a divisive, painful point of view is just as valuable as an agreeable, comforting one. And I agree, I'd love to hear Brad and Vinny do a similar thing, Ryan would also be interesting.

Yeah, Jeff seriously came across as angry and full of contempt in this one. Case in point...his short rant about people who read Halo books as "out of their fucking minds." Cool story from the guy buying up Skylanders.

All I have to say is make these podcasts. Their not worth looking at 90% of the time because it's just a dude sitting and talking, and you can do multiple podcasts for the sites now so please do it?

Screw the haters i like when you go off on rants, the review thing NEEDED to be said, people who stay hung up on trivial bullshit like this shouldn't be playing games, clearly they far too busy complaining about said trivial things to actually enjoy what is supposed to be a fun hobby.

As for the halo book comment i am actually amused that people took offense, they are poorly written books that doesn't need to exist, if you enjoy them cool, try to bring the fact he bought skylanders stuff as a counter argument? ignorant.

@MordeaniisChaos said:

All I have to say is make these podcasts. Their not worth looking at 90% of the time because it's just a dude sitting and talking, and you can do multiple podcasts for the sites now so please do it?

eh, I like Jeff talking to me in a little window in the corner of my desktop while I do my homework. If fact, it'd be kinda cool to have a camera in the regular Bombcast room as well.

But, yeah, maybe Jeff can upload an audio only version of Jar Time too?

@Moonling: Oh yeah, I think the video version is good because Jeff in particular has stuff to show off, but it wouldn't (doesn't) break the experience to just listen.

Man, that was depressing. I enjoy a bit of healthy (?) cynisism, but damn, this felt a bit dour. Good show though, I guess I can't fault much of what he said.

Jeff looked really tired, don't stay too late for our sake, remember to take your time to relax :D

Well well, here we are in 2015 and the second question asked is spot on and Jeff thought he was crazy (yeah, more so for the use of "7th gen" but you get the gist). Always interesting to go back to these old conversations.