Topical Tuesday - What The Escapist Means to You Contest

[Mr_Elddir]

(Alright.. i'll have a bloody go!)

Ironically, this is my first post. I've been plucking up the courage to dive in, so why not now?

I've been coming to The Escapist for about 3 years... I remember quite vividly that it was Metroid that brought me here. I was searching for Metroid-related stuff when an article popped up in Google... (this one, actually: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_39/235-Metroid-Primed (I hope that doesn't go towards my word count!)) and it was obviously way above the quality that one expects from anything game-related, especially when balancing on the surfboard of the web.

I was immediately intrigued.

So, of course, I then read the rest of that issue (back in the PDF days, young whippersnappers).
Then, as you do, I read all the past issues.
If only I'd joined from Day One and there was a badge for reading every issue (there's not.. is there?).
I couldn't click 'favourite' fast enough.

Since then, I've visited this place almost daily (it's the cornerstone of lunchtime each Tuesday) and have been delighted at every addition.
It was lovely to find a site that was interested in getting into the thick of it, into REALLY discussing games. No nonsensical 'previews' here, this was the discussion of the CULTURE of games and what they mean to us.

Hooked Factor 10, Mr Sulu.
Hmm.. that was a bit.. Trekkie.. BOOM BANG WALLOP! HALO, COD, GTA!!!

Ahh, don't get me wrong, I love a good explosion as much as the next man, but I also like to consider what might have set it off.

But, I remained silent all this time.
In the end, after what seems now a foolishly long time, I created an account. Now I realise that this is where the real fun begins. This truly is the game website that became a game itself, and we go full circle.

Thankyou.

(this isn't part of my entry.. i'd just like to puff my chest out and say that THAT was exactly 300 words, and a great big 'ello' to all of you. I shall try not to be so shy in future)

 

[mountainfire]

Like so many others, I was driven to The Escapist by Yhatzee and his Australian charm. My love for LoadingReadyRun solidified our relationship. While my profile badges can surely attest to my video watching habits here, that is hardly what The Escapist means to me.

Last year, I roomed with someone who enjoys all the traditional gaming sites. He?s a big fan of 1Up and IGN and listens to all these great gaming podcasts. I?ll admit that I occasionally raid IGN for their thoughts on a game I?m considering purchasing, but that is usually the extent of my relationship with them. You see, while I?m not trying to rag on sites like IGN, because they?re great gaming sites, but they?re not gamer sites.

The Escapist is like a sensual massage to the gamer soul. I don?t watch Zero Punctuation to find out whether or not Yhatzee will like a game (he won?t). I watch ZP because it?s hilarious. While I can expect to see traditional gaming news stories like Activision?s latest folly, the features that keep me coming back are the features about the experience itself of gaming itself.

Tuesday?s articles are an essential part of this tasty soup bowl. They really delve into the meat of games, beyond the nuts and bolts of game design. Articles instantly come to mind about storytelling, the portrayal of female characters, and villainy. The Escapist zeroes in on the gaming and the gamers who experience it.

If anything highlights The Escapist the best, it?s I Hit It with My Axe. I admit to not often watching the series, but I think it says the most about this site. It?s a series showing real people enjoying D&D, just having fun. In short, The Escapist is a place for real gamers.

 

[tlozoot]

What does The Escapist mean to me?

A community is all about a gathering of people with something - anything - in common. This straightforward criteria is all it takes to define a community, but the necessities for a good community, while simple, are often lacking in one form or another. A good community shares passion, enthusiasm and an intimate knowledge with their common thread.

This is why The Escapist is a good community - it's a place where both the writers and the readers are steeped in passion and knowledge of their chosen medium.

When I first came across The Escapist it quickly became apparent that the site had a very different flavour to other gaming communities I'd been a part of. The forums are alive with intelligent and interesting discussion, and during my first post - a review I felt compelled to add to the huge pool of user-contributed work - I was personally welcomed by some of the members here.

The weekly articles are interesting and, to me, are a glowing bastion of thoughtful gaming journalism. They've gotten me thinking about the most elementary and obscure aspects of game design, and have inspired me to turn my writing to examining the nuances and intricacies of the games I enjoy every day.

The news updates are frequent, objective, but with shades of the writers personality that really goes to show how the staff are as invested and as enthralled by the medium of videogames as all us readers are.

The Escapists is to me the ideal gaming community. It's a place where subject passion and knowledge are evident in both the readership and the writing, and it's something I'm sincerely excited to be a part of.

- Aled Morgan

 

[Lucifer dern]

New kid to the scene but still want to try,
I love this sight and ill tell you why;

From zero punctuation to d&d playing porn stars;
you don't ask or charge you just give and its ours.
The only way this place could be cooler is if it dispensed beer.
Hay now you know what to do for your next update here!

So crash on the sofa or pull up your seat.
Lean back and laugh at the people you meet,
or enjoy the ranting or a man in a hat.
He even throws imps and nob jokes in with that!
And after you've watched every last video...
You can rant that Snake would own Mario.
I mean seriously he so would through!
I mean even if you gave him a mushroom to grow...
Hang on i digress, getting back on subject...
Theres a muse from a musical Yahtzee love reject!
And a group of "warriors" for hire;
They even have a mage who set a cat on fire!
And if your bored you can read the editor's thoughts,
Or watch in with enn reports.

So be it gamers, elves, new, or burning cats you seek;
The hard working staff will only make you wait a week.
For each update arrives prompt to the hour.
Just make sure you play nice or be killed by the moderators power!
For some strange reason there office is filled with exercise balls???
But most of the editors have interesting stuff on there walls.
especially the one dude with the Adam West drawing.
No matter how many times you see that i bet i don't get boring.

Look in my heart of hearts what i want to say,
Is this place is a home or a friend who's house i can stay!
I've pissed off the cat and drank all the beer;
But for some reason you guys encourage me here.
And soon i should finish before i shed a tear.
The escapist i thank you and hope you have another great year!

So to conclude the escapist is the best if you ent realised it yet!
But ill be honest theres on thing i really don't get...
why do all my essays rhyme....
and not adding that beer update will be a crime...

 

[TheTygerfire]

For me The Escapist is about the community. I wouldn't be here for longer than it would take to watch Zero Punctuation if it weren't for the excellent community aspect of The Escapist. The forums were a great place to have fun and hold discussion, but when I got bored of those, the higher ups pull out User Groups to suck me right back into the site.

The Escapist, come for the videos, stay for the articles, and bookmark it for the friends.

 

[hopeneverdies]

I joined the Escapist a little over a year and a half ago and frankly, I don?t plan on leaving anytime soon, maybe not even ever. When I first joined, I just left a stupid comment on a video and forgot that the forums even existed. Come February of the following year, and I decided to start using my account for something. I will admit, I was a huge idiot back then and my posts prove it. Go ahead, look at some of them and point and laugh. The Escapist didn?t have very much value at that point. At least not until my password was stolen and my account was abused, leading to a ban. When I saw what this person had done, I broke down into tears because I realized the Escapist was almost a part of me, and losing it would be like losing a loved one.

After the repeal, I changed my attitude. My posts were more intelligent and I started to find some friends here. While they weren?t the closest friendships, they were still friends and the site felt less lonely to me. Many of them have stuck with me, while others disappeared forever. As time went on, they became closer to me, comparable to some of my real life friends. Losing them would be an absolute tragedy.

The question is ?What does the Escapist mean to me?? It means a place where I can find enjoyment in its content and a spot to meet others like me and find comfort with them. As sappy as it sounds, it?s true.

(264 words)

 

[runnernda]

Here's my submission.

The Escapist is very aptly named for me because it is precisely that: an escape. It's a place I can go to discuss the things I love with like-minded people without being judged by my gender or my sexuality or my color. The people that I've found on the Escapist may be judgmental, but they judge you on the content of what you post or what you say rather than preconceived notions based on your appearance. As long as what you say is meaningful and on-topic, chances are you'll find someone who agrees with you. I've been a member of the Escapist since February, and I've only been posting on the forums since the end of May. It was one of the best choices I've ever made. I've laughed. I've made friends. My ideas have been both challenged and cheered. I've gone from someone who only checked on Wednesday afternoons for Zero Punctuation to an active member of the forums and an enthusiastic viewer of the content. I've even joined a few user groups. I check back several times a day now, from when work gets overwhelming to when my brothers throw another gender-themed barb my way. I can come here and be my geeky self and know that people here will appreciate it.

That might be the crux of the matter. It's a place where I'm accepted and appreciated. I'm proud to call myself an Escapist. I couldn't be happier about it.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[DeathChairOfHell]

The Escapist is a website that I am truly happy I found. I love the quizzes. I love the greatd videos by Yahtzee, Graham and Paul and The Escapist crew itself. i loved Unforgotten Realms, I loved Doomsday Arcade and I loved Apocalypse Lane. I love the threads, and I love the smart and funny comments from the Escapist users. In fact, there's not a single thing I dislike in The Escapist website. That is what I think of The Escapist.

 

[Orange Monkey]

Before I became a frequenter on The Escapist, my love of video games left me ostracized from most people, even several of my friends. Though I found the games I played fascinating and wonderful, most others saw it as a waste of precious time and money. Ironically, instead of making me love games less, this negativity only pushed me to delve deeper into the worlds of fantasy and escape completely.

In my mind, gaming was something beautiful, but to others, it was as much a degrading addiction as cocaine.

Then, one glorious day, I was sent a link to a video. It was witty, hilarious, and bathed in yellow, and is what introduced me to the community of games and the ones who loved them as I did.

To me, The Escapist represents more than just a safe haven where others such as I could talk to each other, learn about the subject that enthralled us and enjoy some marvellous content by others who shared our passion. It represented a new era. A dazzling light that can cut through the vapours of ignorance and misunderstanding, perhaps even show the grandeur of the thing that we all love to a new generation.

The Escapist is a beacon of unity, in its light people from every corner of this earth can gather under the banner of recreation, fun and technology. It is accepting of those who did not accept it and encompasses the best of human intentions.

 

[maantren]

It's simple and selfish: The Escapist was an escape route from my day job.

I grew up with videogames and roleplaying. I never really thought about a career - I'd just keep doing what I was doing and somehow the world would provide. Planning? That's for lawyers and civics geeks. Which is how I found myself in my late 20s with an interesting list of experiences on my resume, in a job that was good and challenging but a long way from what I'd imagined adult life to be. Probably because I'd imagined adult life to be like Gary Gygax meets Macgyver.

I found the Escapist, like so many others, through Zero Punctuation. I'd worked in videogame journalism, I knew what advertisers were like, and couldn't believe someone had free rein to take the piss out of any title he liked. Reading the articles it seemed that people were being encouraged to take videogame writing seriously, like Rolling Stone treated music writing 40 years ago, as something whose real potential could be uncovered if the shackles were taken off and experimentation beyond teenybopper pandering was allowed. Plus the writers got paid!

It seemed tremendously exciting and I wanted to be a part of it. Would you consider some half-mad pieces from someone on the other side of the world? I asked Russ Pitts, Acquisitions Editor at the time. Sure, he replied, it can't be any weirder than the local stuff...

Several years later I've got a very different career, one the 8 year old me would understand perfectly. The Escapist staff have let me try all sorts of things, some good, some bizarre and awful, but have never, ever said: don't do that, it wouldn't please the sales guys. This is a rare and awesome place. Long may it thrive.

Colin Rowsell

 

[2fish]

Here we go:

The Escapist is my virtual safety blanket, a small piece of the internet that I can wrap myself up in and hide from the horrors of my daily life. When I enter the Escapist I shed my mortal skin freeing my soul to be who I want to be rather than whom society says I should be. I get to leave behind my medical issues, my financial issues, my everyday worries, I get to become 2fish. In this persona I can discuss my love for video games, Warhammer, books, and all my other hobbies with no fear of being marked as a nerd as the negative term. I am always amongst friends on the escapist.

The façade of real life is a game to me, I play the game make the right moves and thus I am seen as a normal person. However I am simply wearing a mask as is everyone else in the world. We all hide our true selves for fear of judgment by our peers. As one steps into the internet they can drop their mask and show their true self to others, making friends from all over the world based solely on similar hobbies, and ideals. The removal of sight of the other people helps us make friends with those we might never have spoken to before, thus allowing us to experience new things and learn about ourselves.

To have a website where I can discuss whatever I want whether it be a serious topic or fun off the wall debate allows me the freedom to activate all of my cerebral pleasure centers on one website. I have yet to find another website that takes such good care of its members and keeps such a wide variety of people happy on so many different topics.


Done:
There... I poured my heart and soul out onto the internet, who is gonna piss on it?
Come and get me grammer nazi! *runs*

 

[Smokescreen]

In my experience, if you want to get to know someone quickly, there are three ways; drink with them, sleep with them, or play a game with them. Only one of these activities is accessible to anyone, regardless of age or creed. Nothing reveals the character of a person quite like a game will; what someone likes says a little but how they play that game can tell you almost everything.
In ways we may not think about, the games we play have a chance to not only tell us something about what we enjoy but the worlds that we create and would like to see. What is fair and unfair? How do we solve a problem? Who do we chose to cooperate with or distance from? What lengths are you or I willing to go through to win? To ensure everyone has a good time? What do you value?
This is true of all games but right now, videogames, like other cultural forces before it (hip-hop, sci-fi, rock + roll, comic books, jazz) are at the forefront of media that speaks to us and bridges gaps between humans who may not have spoken otherwise.
So when I come to the Escapist, I?m coming to learn about who we are. And the reason I come back to the Escapist is because they (both the staff and the community) continually provide food for thought. Not answers to the questions, so much as questions to your answers. They?ve found ways to take the issues of gaming seriously, without becoming serious gamers. The Escapist means, for me, not just playing games, but understanding ourselves and why we play and even challenging my notions about people. Then when it?s over, kicking back and having fun because hey, that?s why we?re here, right?

 

[Looking For Alaska]

I should probably get started on this.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

This is my submission:


Out of all the literally millions of places to spend time on the internet, why would one devote any spectacular amount of time to a single site such as the Escapist? Perhaps the plethora of unmatched series have come out of the site, from the critical humor of Zero Punctuation or Unskippable, to the epic narratives of Doomsday Arcade or Unforgotten Realms. Or perhaps the excellent columns, from Experienced Points, most likely discussing DRM, or Check For Traps, for sound DMing advise. However, out of all features, the one that makes the Escapist stand out is the forum community.

On the Escapist forums, people do not judge you on how you believe or where you are from, but how you behave. Communists, Libertarians, Anarchists and Fascists all congregate and civilly share their ideas with one and other. Whereas on another forum, a debate between a Socialist and an Objectivist would break down into name calling, on the Escapist such conversation can pleasantly run its course. Unlike on other sites, where unpopular ideas would simply be shunned, the community of the Escapist accepts all belief systems- shunning only ignorance, or harsh bigotry.

Citizens of countries all over the world display their differences and, more importantly, their similarities to one and other. While on other international forums, such as the infamous /int/, international discussion dissolves into bigotry, and discrimination, on the Escapist a truly beneficial international discussion can occur. While, spending time on other international forums, you are most likely to see a discussion of what heritages can be considered ?white?, on the Escapist you are more likely to come across a discussion of the small cultural differences that separate us and, more importantly, the overarching human characteristics that unite us all.

word count - 290

 

[Cherry Cola]

Spoiler: I am finished!

?The Internet? is a scary place. The individual freedom provided borders on anarchy of the mind (if one can call it that), a fact that makes it hard to find balance. Some places provide no rules, letting their community say and do whatever they feel like, a method that often results in discriminatory behavior and a strongly divided membership. Others provide rules too strict for an individual to feel welcome, giving them no incentive to stay.

However, there are several locations where equilibrium has been attained, where it is not too free for everything to fall into chaos, yet not too strict for people to feel suffocated. The Escapist is one of these places.

Not to say that it is a perfect place. There will always be a couple of rotten eggs in the basket. What is important is the general state of mind, the belief that the site is closer to perfection than others. While such a belief can be viewed as elitist, and justifiably so, I feel more comfortable calling it a sort of patriotism.

Settling down on the Escapist is easier than one might think. First impressions are important, and when seeing what the site has to offer, it is hard to deny that one becomes impressed. The content of entertainment provided is of top quality, ranging from the thought provoking and interesting ?Escapist weekly issues?, to the articles musing about the general state of affairs in the gaming world, and as icing on the cake, the several different web-shows provided on the site, with series such as ?Zero Punctuation? and ?Loading Ready Run?, both of which have immense fanbases.

The patriotism, while slightly annoying at times, helps to keep the forum in line, and there is always entertainment to be had. A great place for everyone.

I wonder if I'll win...

 

[Lord Krunk]

I first found The Escapist on a friend?s recommendation back in late 2007 (I was aged 15 at the time) to watch Zero Punctuation; I can recall my inexperience with the internet at that stage beyond IMs and Youtube. In early 2008, another friend suggested that I join a forum to experience cultural diversity; the first place I thought of was here. I haven?t looked back.

As ?Lord Krunk?, I came face to face with a tight-knit community with faces from across the globe. Embarrassingly, I grew a strong hatred for a user named ?wilsonscrazybed?, who seemed to leave a trail of suspensions within his wake. I stalked him tirelessly, reporting his every post. It was only within a few days of doing this that I discovered what a Moderator was.

After I was done kicking myself over my rather immature reaction to who was effectively the law in this ?ere town, I got myself an avatar and got to know my fellow man [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.108007-Escapism-Sydney-09-Labyrinths-Tale-The-Second]. Over time, the community taught me many things and broadened horizons in many aspects of my life. I discovered new tastes in popular culture, discovered my own political and religious standing and even improved my writing ability. I improved so well, in fact, that I not only got a review published [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/5924-Review-Destroy-All-Humans], but I also wrote the forum rules [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.112832-The-Banhammer-and-You-A-Users-Guide-to-the-Forums]. Yeah.

I?ve done a lot here, and I?ve seen a small group explode into thousands of dedicated friends. In that way I find The Escapist rather ironic: instead of escaping from the world I lived in I discovered my place in it.

Ultimately, my musings boil down to this: this place has become more than a magazine to me; The Escapist has become family.

And I haven?t even touched on the Features yet.

- Chris Warbrick

 

[ImpostorZim]

The Escapist Magazine: The dictionary doesn?t really have a definition for what it is exactly. To me, it?s comparable to a gelatinous cube that devours and digests anything and anyone that comes into contact with it. I know this, because I ran into it about a year or so ago. It gobbled me up and hasn?t let me go since. I?ve been a dedicated visitor since the moment I first laid eyes on an episode of Zero Punctuation. As time passes, this site continues to offer great content both with their videos and articles, but what really makes this place so special for me is my ability to share a common interest with likeminded people. Just being a member, reading through articles or commenting, I myself feel like a contributor. I truly feel like part of this gooey cube of goodness.

I know it sounds absurd, but even though the internet is huge and full of juicy content, the only place I really want to be is right here. The Escapist is my home away from home. It?s the first place I log into when I turn on my computer and it?s the last place I check before turning it off. This is because I?ve fallen in love with its friendly faces and the feeling that my opinion really does matter, much like the opinion of every other member or visitor on this site. What occurs then is a synergy of millions of people that feel the same way I do. We may not say it to each other on the forums, but you can tell that there?s a sort of unspoken love shared by us all. So I guess what I?m trying to say is, I love the Escapist and everything in it. Underline love till your pencil breaks.