tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931022126565487681.post5543166827557734392..comments2018-02-09T08:21:37.788-05:00Comments on Blackout: Better Late Than Never - Game of the Year 2016Xann Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13906307366981644121noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931022126565487681.post-51095927658289843932017-04-21T15:42:12.761-04:002017-04-21T15:42:12.761-04:00(5) While insular thinking - best practiced in the...(5) While insular thinking - best practiced in the engineering marvel known as an echo chamber - can certainly lead to stagnation, subjecting oneself to the Groupthink of a fandom isn't any better. I can no longer count the number of times I've witnessed an alternative / dissenting opinion about a work be shouted down or drowned out. Admittedly, while I've been the victim of such lambasting, I unfortunately am also guilty of participating from time-to-time.<br /><br />For instance, right now everyone seems to have a hard-on for saying The Force Awakens wasn't very good or original, while heaping praise on Rogue One. While I admittedly liked Rogue One better on second viewing, I still think it's only a mediocre movie, and would have almost no interest if the words "Star Wars" were not in the title. On the other hand, I feel there is evidence - both from an objective storytelling and film-making standpoint, and in the form of admittedly subjective canonical in-universe material - that Episode VII is exceptional.<br /><br />There's plenty of crossover here with what we've been discussing on my recent Mass Effect post, which only shows that this is a genuine phenomenon that is having an increasing impact on how we view and interact with not just media, but the rest of the world. People seem more than happy to just form an opinion based on limited facts and let that ride, or to forego even that and have someone else provide an opinion for them. <br /><br />Of course, the absolute pinnacle of Groupthink occurs when there are enough folks on the "other side" to form a collective "Them." Once that happens, tribalism kicks in and we all get to abandon all pretense of rational discourse, because if we don't all stick together, "they" might get a leg up on us, and fuck if we can sit back and let that happen.Xann Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13906307366981644121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931022126565487681.post-35241657141614107412017-04-21T02:36:14.430-04:002017-04-21T02:36:14.430-04:00(5) Ah, yes, the fabled Groupthink. I'm incr...(5) Ah, yes, the fabled Groupthink. I'm increasingly inclined to simply not engage with fandom in that way, and since some of the critics I've historically followed have begun writing as much about how fandom reacts as they do about the thing the fandom is reacting to in the first place, I'm increasingly inclined to ignore critics. Bottom line: if you aren't on a preapproved list, your voice isn't making it to my ears. This leads to insular thinking, which, of course, is its own problem. But it's preferable, at least to me.<br /><br />(7) That's about what I expected. Good to know!Bryant Burnettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01189356171455609865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931022126565487681.post-65848853235825404182017-04-21T01:44:04.947-04:002017-04-21T01:44:04.947-04:00(1) Moving back has definitely impacted my time sp...(1) Moving back has definitely impacted my time spent gaming - not that I mind! - because I spend so much more time with people in person. Then when I do have time to myself, gaming has to share it with reading, writing, building models, and various other hobbies. For instance, tonight could have been spent playing video games, but instead I played board games with folks.<br /><br />(2) Hahaha. That's perfectly understandable, but if you knew my buddy Nick - who had Xbox LIve randomly generate something for him and got that - you'd see how well it fits.<br /><br />(3) ^See point #1. But yes, I figured you would recognize the sentiments in that bit. <br /><br />(4) It really has! Recent Call of Duty games have featured digitized Kevin Spacey and Kit Harrington; Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has Robert Carlyle, Jason Isaacs, and Patrick-Freaking-Stewart.<br /><br />(5) There was severe backlash over the half-hour live-action episodes between each chapter, but most of it started before the game was ever released. This is one of those "people reacting to the conversation more than the work itself" things we've discussed over the past year. Essentially, the right journalists / bloggers / gaming personalities got snarky about it, and the community just rolled with that. It's a real shame, because the game is great by just about any standards.<br /><br />(6) It did! That's in no a slight against the game; I've loved every minute for the most part, and the four main characters really are well written and executed. It'll probably see some more playtime this summer.<br /><br />(7) It depends. The new DOOM (capitalization intentional; that's the official title) I mostly enjoy purely based on it being a balls-to-the-walls-punch-a-demon-in-the-dick-to-get-health shooter. At the same time, I avoid the Call of Duty series almost entirely because they have generic, predictable storylines that even the admittedly tight gameplay can't salvage for me. <br /><br />Even a great story can't save tedious gameplay, though. One of the most critically-and-player-acclaimed games of recent years was Spec Ops: The Line. It plays with player expectations of a military shooter in interesting ways, and supposedly packs a pretty solid wallop with certain revelations. I wouldn't know, though, because the lackluster gameplay turned me off by the end of the second mission.<br /><br />So there's definitely a balance to be struck, though if you forced me to choose, I'm going to say story is critical. The games in my library / games I do actually play to completion support me in that; they tend to be titles where the story is a major selling point.Xann Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13906307366981644121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931022126565487681.post-81445602854314382422017-04-20T23:18:53.553-04:002017-04-20T23:18:53.553-04:00(1) If you played ANY game to completion during t...(1) If you played ANY game to completion during the year, you outdid me. I've been out of the gaming game since, like, '02. Shameful! But there are only so many hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the year, years in the life. Cuts had to be made. (I say this like you don't already know my thoughts on the subject. For the benefit of any onlookers, then, let's say.)<br /><br />(2) The handle "GarlicWalrus" makes me nervous for some reason I cannot quite define.<br /><br />(3) "Part of this realization stems from getting older, and though I love video games every bit as much as I always have, but there are other events and concerns which occupy both my time and money more frequently." -- Deja vu!<br /><br />(4) "which features highly-detailed digitized versions of Iceman, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Petyr Baelish involving time travel." -- Casting for games has stepped up since my day!<br /><br />(5) "It received relatively high reviews, was largely panned by most people representing themselves as gamers on the web, and then limped off into the mists of early-in-the-year titles." -- What accounts for the disconnect between critics and gamers on this one?<br /><br />(6) "a J-Pop boy-band road-trip simulator with action bits" -- I'm sure this probably caused some people to invest in it even more, though.<br /><br />(7) Does a game these days need good story/character AND good gameplay to work for you, or is it an either/or thing?Bryant Burnettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01189356171455609865noreply@blogger.com