Jimquisition: The Weird is Not Enough

The Funslinger

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Sep 12, 2010
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dls182 said:
I'm still not quite sure what I think about this...

The humour at the start feels forced. It seems like he's trying too hard whenever he's on screen. The voiceover parts of this episode were good though. He raises interesting points that are worth listening to, then he appears on screen again and it goes back to being annoying.

As I said, still not sure. I'll wait out the growing pains of a new series
Agreed. The camera seems to track the level of "twat-face" radiation. The camera's away from him showing a game clip and he rattles off a few interesting points that I mostly agree with. Camera moves back and he's prostrating himself, punctuating alternate sentences with fuck, and being condescending, quite literally, in the "I'm the best thing ever to grace the earth" way.

There's been a couple of mentions of his family now. I know he's probably just playing a character in this prick on-camera monologue, but I find it difficult to believe anyone with this sense of humor could cultivate a decent family life, let alone raise a decent kid. To sum up: He has the ability to be interesting, but whenever he's in front of the camera (which makes it seem like a nerve issue?) He starts going for that "I'm the douchebag king of the world" sense of humor. He can't pull it off. I know people who have that style of humor, and he doesn't have it.
 

DigitalAtlas

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He succeeded.

Still, loving this show. First ep was bad even though it had good points, but I just love listening to this guy's ego. Plus, off-screen shots make great points.

PS: Killer 7 is a dream. No More Heroes creator basically making Inception. Awesome.
 

RobfromtheGulag

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I hadn't really noticed this problem. I guess it'd almost be welcome if more 'weird' games were released. The 'triple A' offerings are all so homogenous that anything varying from them is welcome to some degree.
 

Grunt_Man11

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The good point he brings up can also be applied to art games in general.

I saw a video on YouTube called, "Fun is Not Enough," where the guy ranted on how more games need to focus more on being art, and making a statement, even at the expense of fun.
This is a good counter to that video that hammers home the message, "Art is Not Enough." People won't give a crap about your "art" or message if you bore the crap out of them.
 

zeekyle

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i am sorry, i just don't get it, why does Jimquisition keep on making new... what ever he wants to call them, when The Escapist already has a great rant guy who is a humble, insightful person and dose not use the F-word to get cheep laughs, The Big Picture with MovieBob. You don't really need two rant guys.

all I'm saying...
 

deth2munkies

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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

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Nov 19, 2010
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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

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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

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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

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May 25, 2010
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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

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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

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Oct 19, 2009
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A very good post, sir, allow me to elaborate.
LiquidGrape said:
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].)

LiquidGrape said:
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.


LiquidGrape said:
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.

LiquidGrape said:
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.

LiquidGrape said:
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.

LiquidGrape said:
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

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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

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MatsVS said:
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

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Sep 9, 2009
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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

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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)