Jimquisition: Hardcore Hypocrisy

[Epona]

Well, I admit I didn't watch the whole episode because quite frankly, I don't care about Jims new obsession with gaming on telephones.

Jim, I like buttons and I fuckin hate touch screens. I play the shit out of my DS and PSP so I am not against handheld gaming but I LIKE BUTTONS. I don't play DS games that require use of the touch screen. I paid $170 for my DSi XL and I have no desire to scratch up my screen trying to roll into a tree. I like the dual screens, that what I love about the DS. I don't like the touch screen or the microphone or the cameras.

My biggest thing is, why would I play a hardcore game on a touchscreen when I can play a hardcore game with buttons? No, I don't mean virtual buttons either, real buttons give physical feedback.

 

[Substitute Troll]

I usually can't stand the Jimquisition, but he's had a pretty good month of videos thus far. Keep it up.

You do know that the whole "Thank god for me" thing is just a joke right? You'd be surprised at how many people didn't get that at first.

 

[jacobythehedgehog]

I really enjoyed Infinity Blade. I havent played 2, but 1 was such a good game. I liked how I could play it for 5 mins at a time and just play every so often, it was short intense and just plain fun.

 

[Danny91]

a bit tangential, but the only real gripes i have with IOS games are not that they're too simple. or that they're too casual; its that i cant get them on my pc! seriously! i would fling money at my laptop hard enough to blow a hole through it if i could get a pc compatible version for angry birds or infinity blade!... and no i wont buy an i-phone.... unless apple makes a deal with bethesda and you can buy an apple pip boy...

Sorry, just as a point, I have a version of Angry Birds I play on my pc, Im sorry I cant remember where I got it, but evidentially they released it

 

[Freaky Lou]

I don't play video games often, but when I do it's things like TES, New Vegas and Planescape: Torment. Is there a name for this?

 

[orangeapples]

I play RPGs, JRPGs, Puzzle, Brain, FPS, TPS, MMORPG, RTS, Stealth/Espionage, Action, Adventure, Action/Adventure, Music/Rhythm, Racing, Sports, Fighting. I play both 'hardcore' and 'casual' games, so what does that make me? A gamer, it doesn't matter what classification you use for the game, I am a gamer.

I find it odd that in the human search for a conflict of 'us' vs. 'them' (gamers vs non-gamers) gamers have always had this other conflict of "us" 'us' vs. "them" 'us' (console wars, hardcore vs casual). And then it isn't enough for some gamers and we have the 'US' "us" 'us' vs. THEM' "us" 'us' (genre wars, because that makes sense). AND EVEN THEN some are not satisfied with the conflict and we have the "US" 'US' "us" 'us' vs. "THEM" 'US' "us" 'us' (Brawl vs Melee). And to go even further, we have the US "US" 'US' "us" 'us' vs. THEM "US" 'US' "us" 'us' (the run and gunners of MW3 vs. the campers of MW3). It is a wonder why people even hope for world peace when we can't even find peace within the gamer community. We're on the same side and yet we still need to fight against each other. People, we are running out of sand to draw lines in.

 

[Virmire]

I agree except for his statements on Infinity Blade being a 'pure' video game. I agree completely with the sentement, but not what the statement represents.
There IS NO SUCH THIS. It IS a video game, or it ISN'T. There is nothing in between. Plants Versus Zombies, Angry Birds, and even Desert Bus (if you are the most boring person in the world) are just as valid titles as Bioshock, Half Life 2 or Team Fortress 2. If it uses computer or digital programing, as long as it has interactivity, and was made and released as a video game, it can not be called anything but, to do so is simply wrong.

Games are for fun.

 

[badmunky64]

I think is the last jimquisition I'll be watching for a while. His persona is getting stale.

 

[Saippua]

Well this is nothing but a giant strawman. Herpderp some ancient game was similar and its considered classic so if we make simplistic games now they too should be classics too derp. Its classic because it was good for its time. Then was then now is now. And i dont even give a shit about pacman or punch out. Jesus fuck.

 

[leviadragon99]

Mmm, personally I see myself as somewhere between hardcore and casual, and while I have no interest in mobile phone or tablet games at the moment, I have nothing against them.

 

[Arppis]

Right as usual. I got nothing more to add.

 

[PunkRex]

In short: Respect your roots son!

Infinaty Blade looks fun on the bun. Funny how the more simpler games make you feel like such a badass as its more reliant on you where as the more complicated games tend to have a set way to do something.

 

[4173]

Mario is simple, but I'm not sure I'd call it casual or accessible. If I was trying to hook someone onto gaming these days, I wouldn't start with a game based on memorization and tricking/trapping the player into dying.

I wouldn't introduce someone to card games with fucking 52 pick-up...


edit: I've always figured hardcore as a function of time spent playing, not game type. Those types of gamers may gravitate towards certain kids of games, but it is effect, not cause.

 

[The Cheshire]

I like your videos Jim, but I am afraid the iOS defense is getting a little bit repetitive. Most of what you said here, you already said in "Steve Jobs and iOS -- Videogame Related" and in "Angry Birds is not Shit". I still enjoy your videos, but in this week was so-so.

 

[Aeonknight]

I'm not condescending enough to say that casual games are inherently bad, and people should feel bad for liking them. I have Super Mario Bros. Wii sitting on my shelf about 4 feet away. I also have Dark Souls sitting over there as well for when I want something a little more involved.

Nothing wrong with enjoying the best of both worlds. I just think all the hate on casual games/gamers comes from the irrational fear that this "new" genre is what every developer is going to be developing for. Angry Birds is a silly "time waster" game for when you're on the bus to wherever, still holds up to the standards to be considered a real game, but is that all I want to play? Of course not.

But this fear is not completely off. Look at the staggering amount of absolute crap games on the Wii. I don't want the market to jump the bandwagon and forget how to make more involved games. I don't think anyone does.

I'm not saying that's where it's going to go of course. Square Enix will still be making JRPG's, Activision will continue milking CoD for all it's worth, but all this hate on casual gamers just seems to be an overreaction on our part. That's it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well this is nothing but a giant strawman. Herpderp some ancient game was similar and its considered classic so if we make simplistic games now they too should be classics too derp. Its classic because it was good for its time. Then was then now is now. And i dont even give a shit about pacman or punch out. Jesus fuck.

So when you said "this," I assume you were describing your own post? Or are you suffering from that same "self awareness" problem Jim mentioned with the "Casual Shooter" thing?

Mario is simple, but I'm not sure I'd call it casual or accessible. If I was trying to hook someone onto gaming these days, I wouldn't start with a game based on memorization and tricking/trapping the player into dying.

I wouldn't introduce someone to card games with fucking 52 pick-up...

I can't speak for every new Mario, but The original SMB and SMB 3 both qualify as "shit my mom" played. And my dad, too.

My mom also seemed to have no problem with Super Mario Galaxy, despite having not played a video game since like 1989 or so. And she's not exactly the type of person you expect to dive into video games.

Does that make it the rule? No, but it does make it hard for me to buy the notion that a Mario game is a poor introduction.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I don't have a problem with iOS games or casual games, I just dont think theyre that good or most of the time.

 

[Demonicdan]

What was that game pixelated 2d platforming game Jim showed when he was talking about ios games? It looked quite cool.

 

[Epona]

Well this is nothing but a giant strawman. Herpderp some ancient game was similar and its considered classic so if we make simplistic games now they too should be classics too derp. Its classic because it was good for its time. Then was then now is now. And i dont even give a shit about pacman or punch out. Jesus fuck.

So when you said "this," I assume you were describing your own post? Or are you suffering from that same "self awareness" problem Jim mentioned with the "Casual Shooter" thing?

Mario is simple, but I'm not sure I'd call it casual or accessible. If I was trying to hook someone onto gaming these days, I wouldn't start with a game based on memorization and tricking/trapping the player into dying.

I wouldn't introduce someone to card games with fucking 52 pick-up...

I can't speak for every new Mario, but The original SMB and SMB 3 both qualify as "shit my mom" played. And my dad, too.

My mom also seemed to have no problem with Super Mario Galaxy, despite having not played a video game since like 1989 or so. And she's not exactly the type of person you expect to dive into video games.

Does that make it the rule? No, but it does make it hard for me to buy the notion that a Mario game is a poor introduction.

I've seen kids that can play the shit out of an FPS but can't beat World 8-3 because of the Hammer Bros. In other words, modern day hardcore games aren't as hardcore as older Mario games.

 

[Redd the Sock]

We're a tribal species. Anything different than us scares us, so we find reasons to hate it. We're also an entitled species that feels everything must be what we want and how we want it, thus overly defend our favorites, while deriding all others.

Anyone that denies a difference between a "casual" and "hardcore" gamer is fooling themselves. I've been asked what I was playing a lot, only to get weird looks from people that just know bejeweled, even for something as basic as Dragon Quest, let alone some of the more "out there" JRPGs. One yesterday didn't even know the term RPG, leaving me with the task of trying to explain Fate/Extra in 60 seconds, all just to make conversation. I have nothing against causal gamers or casual games, but there is a line, just as there are big big readers, and people that only read Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code.

And we need to find a balance between the two. I understand the fear people have: that just as TV has been rotted down to endless reality shows, talent contests, and the antics of former stars, that we'll see further Skyrims, and more Bejeweled knockoffs. Yet, I have the fear we'll win, and videogaming can go the way of comic book: an industry dying for revenues because there aren't enough hardcore fans to support it, but those same fans won't let things become accessable. Yes, we need casual games to get people started, but we also need games that move them foreward. Infinity Blade to whatever sounds good for that.