The Escapist and Me

[Shamus Young]

The Escapist and Me

Despite changes at The Escapist, Shamus assures readers that nothing is going to change in this space.

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[Kenjitsuka]

"grumpy-old-man Shamus"

W000t?! You, grumpy?
This can only mean one thing; time to get back to posting Stolen Pixels more regularly, to show off your humor chops (and make me laugh, thanks!)...

 

[Robyrt]

It's ironic to be worrying about the Escapist prohibiting grumpy old men when three of their featured columnists - Yahtzee, Movie Bob and Shamus - are famous for their grumpy old man articles. It's practically the magazine's distinguishing factor when compared to, say, Game Informer, which is relentlessly upbeat and hopeful about even the most haphazard pre-alpha.

 

[P-89 Scorpion]

Not a good time to be working for a gaming site layoffs here and at sister sites and joystiq being shut down I guess it really is the time of the youtube star.

 

[luckshot]

so you have over the years gone from curmudgeonly to happily forgetful? well every site needs a dr farnsworth "good news every one..."

 

[Albino Boo]

I have been reading your columns since about 2009 and I agree you have mellowed over the years. In last few years your column has been one of my main draws to the site. I don't always agree with your concussions but your articles are well argued and well written. Its a shame people lost their jobs but I have to say I think things became a little too vitriolic. Games are a form of entertainment and people lost sight of that and were too busy on their particular trench line. I am glad that this column will continue unchanged.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I agree that you're still nit picky. I remember reading your take on Shadow of Mordor. You pulled that game apart in terms of...well, everything. It was impressive actually. I liked reading it. I like reading a lot of your stuff actually. Glad to hear that you're not going anywhere.

 

[StriderShinryu]

While it's nice to read this, I can't say it really allays any of my worries about the site. Yahtzee, Bob and Shamus already fit pretty soundly in their own niches but if the site as a whole starts to back away from anything negative or controversial (and especially if it starts cracking down on even user based discussion in those areas) will really hurt things overall. I know some of the big topics get discussion enough to make them overplayed at times, but that's better than a site intentionally ignoring them and pretending they're not happening. 3 small but tasty meatballs on a giant plate of bland flavourless pasta doesn't suddenly make the giant plate of pasta palatable. In fact, those meatballs really just make you realize how bland and flavourless the rest of the plate is.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Happy thoughts, everyone. Happy thoughts!

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

It's ironic to be worrying about the Escapist prohibiting grumpy old men when three of their featured columnists - Yahtzee, Movie Bob and Shamus - are famous for their grumpy old man articles. It's practically the magazine's distinguishing factor when compared to, say, Game Informer, which is relentlessly upbeat and hopeful about even the most haphazard pre-alpha.

Those guys are more critical (though Bob much less so than the others, as he'll cheerfully ride almost any bandwagon over the cliff if it says "80's geek nostalgia" on the side), but simply being critical or a contractor has shown that it doesn't provide a very solid shield. The Escapist has ditched people from all ends of the critic spectrum, and sending a message after a mass firing about want to make the place "more positive" sends warning signs about what sort of new content they will accept, and who they might put on the chopping block the next time they do cuts.

That said, I'm glad that Shamus is staying around, at least for the foreseeable future. It's nice to read measured work by someone with a real depth of knowledge about the subject (a reason I also like Rath). I just hope that he has the opportunity to talk with management and get something in writing.

 

[LaoJim]

Ok, great news.

This seems like as good a place as any to say how much I've enjoyed your articles over the last 3-4 years.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

so you have over the years gone from curmudgeonly to happily forgetful? well every site needs a dr farnsworth "good news every one..."

Is it weird that i read that last bit in his voice?

And i can't say I've ever thought you were that grumpy Shamus, Just calling stuff as you see it.

 

[Scow2]

Wait... isn't the primary draw of this site the 'curmudgeon criticisms"?

We've got Yahtzee tearing apart and griping about new games.
We've got Shamus talking about how technically terrible/wasted games are and how they COULD be better.
We've got Moviebob talking about how stupid the movie industry is being and how dumb all the non-Marvel blockbusters are.
We've got Graham Stark mocking how terrible game cutscenes are...

... And we've got nothing else of any value.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Wait... isn't the primary draw of this site the 'curmudgeon criticisms"?

We've got Yahtzee tearing apart and griping about new games.
We've got Shamus talking about how technically terrible/wasted games are and how they COULD be better.
We've got Moviebob talking about how stupid the movie industry is being and how dumb all the non-Marvel blockbusters are.
We've got Graham Stark mocking how terrible game cutscenes are...

... And we've got nothing else of any value.

*cough* Robert Rath telling you how every game has something fascinating behind it *cough*

I prefer the enthusiast mentality. Low-energy pessimism is all well-and-good, but after a while, like sarcasm, it gets tiresome and embitters the community.

Besides, gaming is awesome: we should be having more fun instead of grumbling disapprovingly

 

[shiajun]

Not a good time to be working for a gaming site layoffs here and at sister sites and joystiq being shut down I guess it really is the time of the youtube star.

Joystiq is shutting down??? Wow, I hadn't heard of this. That's awful.

 

[John Wedge]

As a long time lurker I think I've read pretty much all of your articles on here, and I think what I've liked is that as you have mellowed I have matured (late teens to mid twenties) and over time my views have mellowed too. It's funny reading back over some of your earlier more 'firebrand' articles thinking 'I remember feeling like this'.
Keep up the good work sir!

 

[MattTHM]

I miss the weekly topics, that got me to read a lot of articles that I wouldn't have searched out on my own. I suppose that's just the migration from magazine format to news format.

 

[Shjade]

Don't really have all that much to say about this, just one thing:

I, too, miss the old "topic of the week" format. That led to some really great bundles of critical exploration.