Are games inherently wussy?
- Thread starter The Gnome King
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Indeed. The first rule of design, entertainment, public speaking, and pretty much anything that involves an audience is to know your audience; so again you can't blame the developers for doing their job so well. It just so happens that the biggest audience for those military-esque FPSs like CoD and MoH are 12-14 year old idiots who's main ideas of the military come from bad overdone action movies.Vegosiux said:
EDIT: *Note: I said "the biggest audience" which was in no way meant to imply that every one who plays them falls into that category.
Funny article. I suspect, and hope, that it was tongue in cheek, since judging all games and gamers solely through Modern Warfare 3 is like judging all of cinema solely through the films of Michael Bay.
And... the Guardian is espousing the cause of Real Men? The Guardian? On what planet?
And... the Guardian is espousing the cause of Real Men? The Guardian? On what planet?
Are you calling THIS wussy?!
In all seriousness, playing video games doesn't make one a wuss. Its just testosterone inducing jocks who are being assholes who say it does.
In all seriousness, playing video games doesn't make one a wuss. Its just testosterone inducing jocks who are being assholes who say it does.
Sixcess said:
1. Clayton is no wuss
2. Clayton is not a homosexual
3. Gears of war is no parody, hater
4. I used Clayton because it helped emphasize the whole "Gamers are not wusses" thing
5. You are not helping my joke....at all.
It IS Charlie Brooker, who ran Gameswipe for quite some time. He's more trustworthy in these matters than most.MrDeckard said:
Not sure what Gameswipe is. I was just judging by this article. He may be a great guy, but that doesn't make THIS work any better.Da Orky Man said:
Though thinking about it now, I am becoming more and more convinced that he was just trolling everyone...
I agree completely. Even on this forum, I often get a chuckle out of seeing people brag about how they'd fuck up a burglar trying to steal their Gundam collection because they have a shotgun or something. It's almost as good as they leather-trenchcoat/heavy metal nerds.
Also, isn't Charlie Brooker the guy who directed that zombie apocalypse/Big Brother thing?
Also, isn't Charlie Brooker the guy who directed that zombie apocalypse/Big Brother thing?
This is a totally pointless and pathetic generalization to make. Games aren't inherently wussy. They're inherently stimulating. Sports are games, just as chess is a game, just as Call of Duty is a game.
Does no one remember the controversy for Medal of Honor not being stocked in shops that provide for the military's needs? Gee, that couldn't possibly be because actual manly men, who do manly things, enjoy games too could it? Playing games are no more inherently wussy than watching TV or brushing your teeth.
Does no one remember the controversy for Medal of Honor not being stocked in shops that provide for the military's needs? Gee, that couldn't possibly be because actual manly men, who do manly things, enjoy games too could it? Playing games are no more inherently wussy than watching TV or brushing your teeth.
Considering both games are free and run on a very common free emulator known as DOSBox which is designed to operate on modern OSs, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting them up and running. If you can read a forum, you can surely play these two games. Though I can't supply you with any word on whether or not you'll actually beat or enjoy them, of course. If you need any advice, feel free to PM me.Zack Alklazaris said:I was unaware of that. Might have to skip a few gamestargren said:
I don't know how any textual medium can be "wussy" compared to any other, or, if you're comparing it to other real world hobbies, be anything other than wussy. I don't know, maybe if you were carving scripture on the skulls of your enemies or turning their femur bones into flutes then you'd make forms of artistic expression non-wussy.
I don't know why he went with that comparison though when the point he was trying to make was clearly that games are largely adolescent in tone. I think he just confused the point he was trying to make.
I don't know why he went with that comparison though when the point he was trying to make was clearly that games are largely adolescent in tone. I think he just confused the point he was trying to make.
Haha, true. The hipster eugenicists, hipster racists and hipster homophobes are good for a laugh too at how hard, unique and "intellectual" they think they are. Good times with teenage boys.similar.squirrel said:
Comparatively speaking and with all human actions take into consideration on a spectrum with abstract concepts of "wussy" and "manly" acting as the extremes, gaming is undeniably on the former thanks to its escapist, roll-playing, and passive nature. Its frustrating reading people dismiss games' inherent wussiness on the basic of games needing imagination and providing stimulation. It's like watching someone dismiss cars as a means of transportation by virtue that cars drive you places.
The only question is how much weight and validation you give to the words "wussy" and "manly." I give none, Brooker gives none, a mature culture gives none, but the critics of this article seem to give it a lot and it's coming across as suspiciously over-defensive. That picture of the weathered space marine? Is that wussy? Yes. Yes it is. Very much so. To a staggering and knee-slapping degree.
And this "its troll" bullshit I'm seeing everywhere is really getting on my tits. It's like some form of intellectual McCarthyism where a view can be disregarded as if mentally blacklisted and casually dismissed, never to darken your mind again.
The only question is how much weight and validation you give to the words "wussy" and "manly." I give none, Brooker gives none, a mature culture gives none, but the critics of this article seem to give it a lot and it's coming across as suspiciously over-defensive. That picture of the weathered space marine? Is that wussy? Yes. Yes it is. Very much so. To a staggering and knee-slapping degree.
And this "its troll" bullshit I'm seeing everywhere is really getting on my tits. It's like some form of intellectual McCarthyism where a view can be disregarded as if mentally blacklisted and casually dismissed, never to darken your mind again.
From the perspective of the fratboy douchebag secure in his self-superiority, games are for pussies. But for the rest of us normal people, it's just as legitimate a way to spend your time as watching TV or reading a book.
You may not have quoted me directly, but I do feel you were somewhat responding to things I said, so I'm offering a reply.
To give an example of a game not so easily drawn into this type of argument, I propose a flight simulator. This could very easily be interpreted as training, as indeed real pilots go through simulator practice. And training, I would argue, is in fact a well-esteemed manly aspect (men respect it) known as the art of preparation.
darkfox85 said:
This may just be semantics on my part, but these two statements are self-contradictory. (note that I edited out the weight part, which is a fair perspective)
I admit, bringing up the stimulation aspect of games was kind of a non-sequitor, but (very vaguely) it was kind of my point. My argument is that wussiness is not inherent to the medium. There is such a wide spectrum and understanding of what makes a game, to start out with that kind of generalization is simply wrong in my opinion. It seems to me that you come from a vantage point where gameplay is somewhat like book reading, that is, largely in the imaginative realm and it's fine if you wish to come at games from that angle. For me personally though, that is not an inherent quality of games, but rather of your perspective. As far as not being the real thing goes, I have to argue from the viewpoint that gaming can largely be associated with practice.
To give an example of a game not so easily drawn into this type of argument, I propose a flight simulator. This could very easily be interpreted as training, as indeed real pilots go through simulator practice. And training, I would argue, is in fact a well-esteemed manly aspect (men respect it) known as the art of preparation.
I don't intend to start comparing different games 'wussiness value' (though I might be inclined to dictate some on a personal level), but I certainly feel that your view of the picture being wussy as highly contentious. I'm not entirely sure the angle you're coming from there, so I'll leave with the expectation that you defend that viewpoint with reason so that someone may fairly argue against it. I assume you're talking about the Gears marine in Terminate421's first post on this thread.
Ah. I see where the problem occurs. I?m drawing a distinction between an individual's relativist idea toward wussiness and manliness; and wussiness and manliness as an objective cultural status outside any one of us. Regardless of how bad it is to take the general view of things (and it is bad) I do take the latter into consideration, then apply gaming to it, and then I apply my own relativist views. No contradiction. The general view could and should be challenged, but never ignored in its entirety. "Gaming is wussy"? I can see why someone would think that, but I most certainly don't agree with it, and being very intimate with Brooker's ideas I know he doesn't either. And I know none of us truly do.arealperson said:
For me, the picture represented a role-playing experience (amongst other things, but first and foremost.) I'm not saying GOW is an RPG but many games do require the player to assume a role. And this is part of that general view of wussiness (it's also one of my favourite things about games.) There are many other things, but I'll leave it there for now and see what we come up with.
But I must admit, gaming as a training or practice device (the flight simulator example) is interesting and I hadn't taken it into consideration. Perhaps in a dystopian future the military will take a note from this and then a vast chunk of games will gain considerable macho points. I can't deny that this does indeed hold a general view of machoism, but it's not what any of us ever talk about when we talk about gaming. We all presuppose the word *recreational* when we talk about gaming. Inherent wussiness of the *medium.* Indeed, perhaps not. Inherent wussiness of *gaming* (recreational gaming.) I say yes. To get out of this would involve using arguments like saying L4D is practice for the zombie-pocalypse; and this is a level of wussy nerdiness I don?t think anyone wants to go to.
He DID present Gameswipe for quite some time, and is quite the accomplished gamer. And of course he's a tosser. He would describe himself as such.Tin Man said: