So, I just watched Halo Waypoint's preview of Apt. 117 a cartoon about a straight fellow and his Halo obsessed roomate, or so the description says.
Coming from 343 Industries, spearheaded by Frank O'Conner, who himself has stated that he is constantly afraid of Halo oversaturation, this seems surprisingly cheap. The humor looks tacky, however I'll be fair, as it was merely a preview, but what's worse, is that this "Halo obsessed roomate" is portrayed as an overweight, out of work looser, with no respect for his roomate's obligations, or at all contact with the real world.
I see this not only as a way to use the gamer stereotype as a way to sell Halo to non gamers, at the latters expense, but also as an alarming display that this stereotype still exists, even amongst our own ranks. Let's be honest, we all do think of other gamers this way, but we as gamers, if we ever want to be taken seriously with our hobby, we need this to stop, and we should not accept being put in this light.
I'll be reasonable, this show will likely not have the greatest impact, as it's supposedly only available through Halo Waypoint, so you'd likely be a gamer when, or if, you watch it, so the "damages" dealt by this show will be limited. However, this is more a matter of principle than actual "damage control", or whatever.
Feel free to pick apart my post and disregard it, but I believe that it is the responsibility of every gamer to help put ourselves in better light in the eyes of the general population, if we ever want to be taken seriously. Then perhaps games will no longer be the scapegoat of every Jack Thompson out there.
Coming from 343 Industries, spearheaded by Frank O'Conner, who himself has stated that he is constantly afraid of Halo oversaturation, this seems surprisingly cheap. The humor looks tacky, however I'll be fair, as it was merely a preview, but what's worse, is that this "Halo obsessed roomate" is portrayed as an overweight, out of work looser, with no respect for his roomate's obligations, or at all contact with the real world.
I see this not only as a way to use the gamer stereotype as a way to sell Halo to non gamers, at the latters expense, but also as an alarming display that this stereotype still exists, even amongst our own ranks. Let's be honest, we all do think of other gamers this way, but we as gamers, if we ever want to be taken seriously with our hobby, we need this to stop, and we should not accept being put in this light.
I'll be reasonable, this show will likely not have the greatest impact, as it's supposedly only available through Halo Waypoint, so you'd likely be a gamer when, or if, you watch it, so the "damages" dealt by this show will be limited. However, this is more a matter of principle than actual "damage control", or whatever.
Feel free to pick apart my post and disregard it, but I believe that it is the responsibility of every gamer to help put ourselves in better light in the eyes of the general population, if we ever want to be taken seriously. Then perhaps games will no longer be the scapegoat of every Jack Thompson out there.