Why do you say that Extra Credits is preachy?

[XzarTheMad]

I'll be the first to say I ain't a fan of EC. Not that I'm an anti-fan, I just don't bother watching it.

It's hard to put one's finger on what exactly would make a show like Extra Credits condecending, but I can see why some people would feel that way. The general notion I've gathered from the few episodes I've watched seems to be that the guy/s behind the show knows a lot, or at least wants to seem that way. It's not up to me to say which it is, frankly I don't care. I think there's a general sentiment inherent to the style of delivery that says: "You ought to know all this, and if you don't we'll come out and tell you since you didn't bother to research this yourself". Is it what they're going for? Probably not. Much of what they talk about seems to be, to me at least, more common sense than "inside knowledge" from the games industry.

I think the EC guys really feel that games are an artform, and want it to evolve as such. While I don't have a personal bias for or against this argument, I think there's a general tendency in people who talk about art to get preachy. Probably in the same way that anybody who is passionate about something will become preachy on the subject. Doesn't make it a bad show. Personally, I gave up watching it 'cause the whiney voice filter gives me a headache and seems to be more of an annoyance than anything.

 

[Ashcrexl]

what? preachy? what? they're explaining things! would you call every single professor and grade school teacher preachy? they have a pretty comic and calm tone, so i can't see how people would find the way they're explaining things preachy. what the hell guys? do you just hate learning things?

 

[Atmos Duality]

They may speak in the abstract at times (and given maybe 5-10 minutes per episode, who can blame them?), but apart from that they use evidence, provide a solid line of reasoning and I can respect their experience.

 

[Arawn.Chernobog]

Because some people can't handle that the gaming industry and the gaming market aren't as they envisioned it and therefore will continue to deny reality and realistic & educated opinions on possible future occurrences within the industry and fan-bases, in favour of their own disillusional fantasies on "hardcore gaming", thus ending up calling those who ARE educated in the matter as "preachy".

tl,dr: People can't handle that someone knows more then them.

 

[Necromancer1991]

Some one thinks EC is preachy

But seriously I like their series, to those of us who were already thinking that way it may seem that way, but to those who never really devoted thought to it before, it's quite enlightening

 

[Scars Unseen]

I don't think that they're preachy. Now, the Game Overthinker(aka Movie Bob) can get full fire and brimstone preachy at times, but he still usually makes a good point.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I wouldn't say preachy, more condecending

 

[Eumersian]

I don't care if it's preachy. I feel like sometimes it goes a little against my opinions on those topics, but that's all that Extra Credits is. It's some guy's opinions. EC covers many interesting topics, and they are all interesting to watch, even if it does get a little preachy at times. But then again, anything is preachy if it's basically a guy on his soapbox.

 

[oplinger]

..Maybe they have to be preachy, since they keep the videos so short? Consider this, Preaching means inclined by tedious moralization, So they get what they mention the topic, the moral dilemma it brings up, how to change it or notice it or why it is....then end the video. It sort of makes them seem preachy because they can't or won't cover every thing and they condense it down to basically nothing. It should get better when they cover all the HUGE topical gaps they've created for themselves. So as the library gets bigger, the less preachy they should seem.

 

[adrian_exec]

I don't think the guys from Extra Credits are preachy, I never heard them say "you must repent, my son". ^.^


They only point out things that we may not realize about our love for games, that's all.

 

[the lapalminator]

if caring genuinly about your medium is preachy, then there is something wrong with this world

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The only one I found a little preachy was the one all about the term "gamer". I'm still undecided on that one as I haven't met a person who reacted to me like I was a couchpotato racist when I said I was a gamer.

Other than that, I find them to be pretty fair. That and they know what their talking about.

 

[mitchell271]

no, i don't think so because they know what they're talking about and they wish to educate people who aren't trolls. NOTE: if you google daniel floyd, you can find 8 videos that he made with james without allison before they got picked up by the escapist

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I actually find it too preachy. The guy has a pretty narrow perspective and he hammers away on it too hard. It's like, "why can't we all get along, we would all get along if everyone all thought the exact same way as me." I guess that if you find him convincing and don't know that much about the alternatives to what he is saying then it would just seem informative. I stopped watching it.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

Because this is the internet, and with the anonymity granted by it comes an innate dickishness revealed in certain people. These are the people who say things like Extra Credits is preachy, or ***** that Crysis doesn't look that good because there is this one texture that is kind of plain, or that a Halloween/cosplay costume isn't that great and they could do better if they had the money and time of the person in question, or that a free patch/DLC for a game doesn't add x feature so isn't that worthwhile, etc.

Want to see the worst dregs of the internet? Find these people. They're especially prevalent on sites like Youtube or Kotaku for hosted videos showing a player doing something impressive. The number of comments saying hack, exploit, trainer, obsessive, etc are staggering. Jealousy seems to become people here.

 

[SageRuffin]

Because they are, in a sense.

Doesn't stop me from enjoying the vids though. Besides, understanding the little things about gaming like character motivations, diversity, and symbolism can help you enjoy it more.

Or maybe I'm just weird like that.

 

[SalamanderJoe]

Everything Extra Credits has done has been deep and thoughtful, and pretty much 100% right.

However...if there was any kind of 'preachy' or 'patronizing' video it was that one where they talk about James not being able to decide about re-programming Geth in Mass Effect 2 and then tieing it into something WAY off the scale of games. THAT episode did sound a bit OTT honestly, but everything else has been spot on.

 

[VanityGirl]

I feel that the Family Guy episode with Rush Limbaugh is very relevant to this topic. Some people want to seem intellectual and are contrarians. If a vast majority are saying one thing, they'll automatically say the opposite.

In the case of Extra Credits, there is so little to be against, their stance of it being "preachy" is the only way they can show their contrary attitude.

This is a loose accusation because whenever someone expresses an opinion in an attempt for some sort of change, one can argue that the person is being "preachy".

Very well put. I saw that episode of Family Guy and thought "wow, I know an outstanding number of people just like Brian."

OT:
I think the word "preachy" means different things to different people. Hell, some could argue Zero Punctuation is preachy when Yatzee goes off on devs for making ultra gritty games.

I love Extra Credits and have not found it preachy in the slightest. I know a good number of people in the gaming industry myself and I can say that I agree with most of the things said on EC, so I may be a tad bias.

 

[albear]

i guess they do sound a little preachy, might be the tone and voice of the speaker

but generally i enjoy Extra Credits, tis food for thought

om nom nom nom

 

[boholikeu]

Because some people are under the mistaken impression that simply having an opinion = preachy.

Same with people that think talking about the artistic/political qualities of something = pretentious.

Because there's two methods of imposing one's opinion. In terms of Escapist, you have the "Yahtzee" method in which you loudly exclaim that X is wrong and if you don't think so there is something wrong with you. Then you have the "Floyd" method that involves cajoling people with the idea that Y is 100% right, therefore X is wrong because it is the opposite of Y, so you should really think the way I do, here have a trophy.

If you don't believe Extra Credits is preachy, go back and watch a few episodes. Floyd is at a pulpit and telling gamers on esc how to think, he doesn't give anyone else the benefit of the doubt. In fact he personally chided me in the comments for pointing out flaws in his arguments in the gaming diversity episode. Maybe it's not linguistically correct to say he's preaching, but that's only because he's not talking about god.(yet) As I see it, Floyd is another guy belting out opinions, and I and everyone else are expected to accept those opinions because he gets a salary for them.

Hey, Mr. Pitts! I have lots of strong opinions and can make shitty drawings too. Can I have a show?

Re-read the post where he "chided" you. He was actually agreeing with your original point that games shouldn't shoehorn in diversity. I still don't see why you think he was mocking you.