Jimquisition: The Weird is Not Enough

[deth2munkies]

Well, each one is getting better, but it's still kinda mediocre IMO. Keep it up and maybe it'll get better once you're used to it.

 

[rda_Highlander]

This is really getting interesting. I actually really agreed with his points on male/female sexuality and this topic is quite interesting as well. Also, self-irony always works for me, be it good or bad.
Also also, could he all this time actually talk like a jerk on purpose, for the sake of irony? Don't know him outside the show, so it's just my thought, but maybe he actually wanted to do a parody of typical game critic, but did it too good?

 

[Errnor]

Well, he had good points about "Cargo!".
But show got alot better the moment I've thought he looks like typical 'buddy' from that game. Just with his clothes on. Too bad I'm not Flawkes...

 

[LordofPurple]

Good Christ I can't stand this guy.
It sucks because he has such good points, but damn is his personality annoying. It's so forced and uninteresting. I honestly feel like this guy would prolly be a lot more interesting if he were less of an attempted caricature and was instead just himself.

 

[APSunder]

Uhhh...the analogy at the end was weird and innapropriate and, to be honest, made me a little uncomfortable. Aside from that, I really don't like this show.

 

[Faux Furry]

The introduction of an utterly alien protagonist to an otherwise mundane game world would also be an effective way to engage the player in the weirdness rather than leave them a befuddled,frustrated bystander.

In the process of exploring this extra-terrestrial or god or machines' mind, all of the bizarre things that people within any given society take for granted can also be addressed. Even something as seemingly insignificant as providing a third option for gender or a 'not applicable' neutral option, could provide an chance to play a character whose everyday experiences interacting with the average Joe or Jo on the street will practically be other worldly (and possibly reveal something about gender as a social construct as well as a biological condition).

Over-all, that was a pretty solid Jimquisition.
Still, I have to wonder if MovieBob were to broach this topic, would he have just thrown up the 'Video Games Are Weird text, reference his own weird and awkward teen years then dismiss the whole subject as pointless to worry about too much or see it as a barrier to new gamers becoming immersed in game narratives than needs to be knocked down.

 

[Iron Lightning]

A very good post, sir, allow me to elaborate.

While I agree with the fundamental sentiment of interaction being essential, Sterling has a history of advocating this notion of "fun" as absolutely vital to the form, an angle which I cannot agree with.
I feel that always applying the label "game" is limiting in this sense, considering the inherent connotations of the term. (i.e frivolity, amusement, entertainment)
Saints Row 2 is definitely a game, and a brilliant one at that.
I'm not sure I would describe The Void as a game, however.

It's a common problem but the idea that all games should be entertaining is not in itself a bad idea. I find The Void to be an incredibly satisfying experience in a way very different from AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, but that doesn't make The Void any less entertaining. The problem is when the aforementioned idea is combined with the concept of a dichotomy between "fun" and "art." This creates the problem where a game must be mindlessly shallow to be considered "fun" (e.g. Bulletstorm) and pretentiously uninteresting to be considered "art" (e.g. [a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/567370"]Psychosomnium[/a].)

That does not imply an assessment of value, mind you. I think both are perfectly legitimate approaches. I simply believe a distinction is called for, considering the radical difference in their respective sensibilities.

I agree insofar as that all games are not created with equal intentions and it would be very silly to apply the same set of criteria to everything. However, one must bare in mind that the best art is entertaining in some fashion.

To continue on that point, the inclusion of The Path felt thoroughly incongruous.
What exactly is "weird" about it?
Granted, it's an allegorical account of Little Red Riding Hood, but we've seen that done many a time before. The fact that it operates on a symbolic rather than literal level doesn't render it incomprehensible, nor does it detract from the experience.
It is involving because it invites the participant to consider the manner in which he or she is complicit in the events unfolding.
Far Cry 2, a much more populist title, is quite similar in that respect as it asks the participant to commit the most heinous crimes, all under the guise of traditional progression through gameplay.

I believe that Jim considers The Path weird because of its aesthetics. This is an issue of perception: that something is weird simply because it looks a bit odd. Consider Modern Warfare 2 a game which purports itself to be one of the most realistic shooters on the market, and yet once you get past its aesthetics it's completely bonkers. We have a game staring protagonists which can heal multiple gunshot wounds in a few seconds and is somehow able to go back in time a minute or two whenever he dies yet is unable to survive a single pistol shot in a cutscene. We have a game where Russia launches a total invasion of the United States because of a very suspicious massacre at an airport that doesn't make any fucking sense for a country to do. By comparison, The Path is a tad more realistic with its permanent deaths and open spaces.

There seems to be a lot of moaning about pretensions and artistic snobbery abound, but honestly, does any medium evolve unless there's some level of pretension involved?
What I admire about a developer such as Tale of Tales is their seemingly endless desire to disregard the unspoken rules of the interactive medium as we know it today.
Be it successfully or not.
The Endless Forest, available free of charge, is probably the most original multiplayer experience I've had as of yet in its utter dismissal of established norms in online interaction.

Agreed, no medium gets anywhere without experimentation. Sure, a lot of the first talkies sucked but without them we'd still be watching silent films.

I'll readily agree that this policy of theirs occasionally renders their work a bit too willfully obscure, however. The intentionally incomprehensible control scheme of "Fatale" is a perfect example of this self-indulgence. But frankly, I'd much rather spend my time being exposed to an interesting, new and unfamiliar approach; albeit genuinely confusing, than simply submit to yet another run-of-the-mill, predictable exercise in box-office lucre à la Epic Games.

To me part of the fun of games is figuring out how to play them. I'm sure a fair number of you have played Super Mario Galaxy, tell me, what was the most fun part of that game? The answer is obvious: the way it played with gravity. Super Mario Galaxy found an entirely new way to express the weakest of the four forces and was much more fascinating for it.

P.S
I find it delightfully ironic that Sterling criticises something for being self-satisfied to the point of disregarding the enjoyment of its audience.

I still dislike his approach, and I still find him a very problematic commentator.
D.S

Well, at least he's not assaulting our eyes with crudely drawn pictures of penises anymore. Which isn't to his credit at all in the same way that a car manufacturer should not be praised for making vehicles that don't explode when you turn the ignition.

Deadly Premonition, Jim, really? That game is The Sims crossed with Resident Evil. It also had the terrible idea of putting a pistol with infinite ammo. I can respect Deadly Premonition for at least trying something different, but it made so many bad design decisions (e.g. unpredictable QTEs within gameplay) and coding errors (e.g. can't walk through a zombie's corpse for 10-20 seconds after it disappears) that it just came out as a complete mess.

I haven't played Cargo! The Quest for Gravity but even I know there's a bit more to it then kicking gnomes and building vehicles. You can collect notes to play music (the music being taken from any of your own music files, happily,) you can summon objects out of the stratosphere in order to progress, and the Devil is involved somehow. You make it sound like the game is just putting on a show for you without letting you do anything, but frankly you're the only one who does anything whatsoever. It does seem like a bit of a grind though. I can't make a determination of its value right now. All I'm saying is don't misrepresent things.

 

[Mantonio]

First of his videos I've watched, and I did like it. He seems to be trying a bit too hard with the on-screen persona at times, but the caricature that it is I find humorous. And the voice-over bits are great.

So well done Jim. But for the love of god, tone down the live action bits.

 

[Meanmoose]

This is also a prevalent issue in films, in a way; they get so caught up in their own eccentricity they forget what it was they set out to actually say. Think crap like 'Juno' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World'. Weirdness is a means towards an end, not an end unto itself.

These are getting steadily better, by the way, and Mr. Sterling's abrasive personality is actually bearable at this point. I still object to much of what he's said in the past, but I will judge these on their own merits from now on.

maybe you just hate Michael Cera =P

 

[spikeyjoey]

I like the new direction he seems to be going in..

plus, and i know this has probably already been posted but it needs repeating - "orangufang" = sheer genius

 

[Mr Companion]

This is better than the first episode, I watched this one through to the end and it also strikes an interesting topic. Unfortunately Jim reminds me of unlikable people I knew in secondary school. He is that "generously proportioned" kid who thinks everybody loves his personality a whole bunch, and thus shouts all his sentences loudly and proudly, forcing himself on people like a sex offender (which in his case would be like having a wardrobe fall on you with the key still in)

 

[DazBurger]

THANK YOU FSM! Thank you for making Jim!

 

[Magical Crab]

I'm sorry, it's like there is a discussion in there somewhere, a topic worth exploring, but he only touches on the surface of the issue. He does not present any other views than the shallow onlooker's perspective, nor does he spend a lot of time exploring the depths of the actual issue, and his jokes are just too juvenile to be funny, and it just feels like he is catering to the... dare I say it? The derpy crowd.

He's just too lost in his internet-personality for now. I just hope he'll pop out of it eventually.

 

[Jumplion]

A better episode that the previous ones. No "ums" or pauses that I could see, and no crude MS paint drawings (thank god).

I think you are best when discussing topics that not everyone has talked about before because if you go on to talk about, say, DRM and piracy it would be boring because you'd be saying the exact same thing that everyone else has been saying except offering no real in-depth analysis. However, with a more abstract topic, like today's, it's easier to make comments on without parroting others and with less need to go really in-depth.

So, yeah, I'd stick with these more obscure topics. I don't think your strength is in the heavy hitting topics, it would just come off as preaching to the choir and getting on bandwagons.

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

Annnnd 3rd strike means you're out. Sadly, after wading through all the forced mastrubatory jokes and the narcissism (faked or not, I honestly can't tell), he does make a few good points. But the whole production is so juvenile and forced, it takes away from the message. I get that you need to set yourself apart from Extra Credits and even Zero Punctuation. But you've picked one of the worst ways to set yourself apart: acting like a douche. Yahtzee already cornered the sweary, hate-filled narcissist market. Find your own thing.

I wonder if you knew that he was doing this video segment over at destructoid for a while now...

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

Man what happend to you jim? you were so much better in this over at destructoid more natural and real...it seems like your conforming to what escapist wants you to be...
(and yet again I hate the fact you cant delete a post I thought someone had replied and thought it was okay to post again but i ended up double posting...)

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Whine and thee shall receive.

I loved this episode. Orangufang? Genius!

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

Much better then making me look at his paint pics.Now we're cooking with hellfire!

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Dude you are too picky. Why would you need anything else OTHER than kicking naked midgets?

 

[Avaholic03]

Annnnd 3rd strike means you're out. Sadly, after wading through all the forced mastrubatory jokes and the narcissism (faked or not, I honestly can't tell), he does make a few good points. But the whole production is so juvenile and forced, it takes away from the message. I get that you need to set yourself apart from Extra Credits and even Zero Punctuation. But you've picked one of the worst ways to set yourself apart: acting like a douche. Yahtzee already cornered the sweary, hate-filled narcissist market. Find your own thing.

I wonder if you knew that he was doing this video segment over at destructoid for a while now...

Nope, I didn't know that. And it's probably better that way, otherwise I would have been sick of it long before he made it to the Escapist. How long was he doing it there before the Escapist picked it up? If anything, that makes me more disappointed because that means he's had more time to polish the presentation, and it's still crap.