Why do you say that Extra Credits is preachy?

[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.

 

[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.

He certainly didn't make that clear, did he. Especially since I felt his arguments were questionable and he quoted someone else to say he agreed with them who said I was wrong.

I was that other person.

You said his arguments were questionable because we shouldn't "shoehorn" in diversity. I said that EC basically said the same thing at the end of their episode. Then, the guy from EC jumped in to say that I was right, meaning that they basically agreed with your original point.

The only thing they said you were "wrong" about was that your post and the EC episode were saying different things. They weren't. That was my point.

 

[viperxvii]

OT:
I think the word "preachy" means different things to different people.

That's exactly what I began thinking after reading these comments. I don't think "Preachy" means the same to many people here. Some are seeing it as "They're introducing revelations" which some interpret as "things we didn't realize, or realized but never fully articulated" and enjoy it as intelligent expressions...and others interpret as "condescending pretentiousness as if claiming they're the first to realize these things." The later seeming like the viewer's own personal insecurity or defensiveness.

Others are interpreting the "Preachy" as though they're saying "how things SHOULD be" or "This is my opinion and you must believe it!" which again, seems a viewer's misinterpretation and desire to jump to conclusions, likely after seeing many forums of people actually doin the "This is my opinion, WORSHIP IT" thing. Is it absolutely necessary to say "in my opinion" after everything we say to avoid being labeled as pretentious?

What I can't understand is when people claim that someone is being condescending, patronizing, or insulting ...and the person who's the cause of their perceived indignation apologizes and says it's not their intent...why can't the self-proclaimed victim accept that? If they don't intend to talk down to you, then they're simply making sure everyone's on the same level before continuing the topic, which is simply a good thing to do when trying to express a message to a large group of people. If you get offended by that, that's more of a personal problem you need to overcome.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Patronizing and preachy? Perhaps it's because all the information they give is a common sense truism that they use to smuggle in their constant moralizing and regurgitating of social reform values at every oppurtunity. And orders like " don't let freinds buy bad games," when the only games they ever talk about are narative focused pieces of shit and "artsy" indie garbage.

I can't believe so many people learned anything from their show, no actual specialized knowledge is ever demonstated. I'm certain I've watched most of their show and have yet to see one mechanic in video games anylized in any capacity. They should devote themselves to an article that demonstrates actual technical knowledge (like Seth Killian's Domination series) if they want my respect. But I'm sure their to busy trying to please the people who want hear about art, storytelling and mediums.

 

[Fensfield]

I wouldn't call it preachy but.. perhaps a little bit too definitive. Strangely, looking at the creators' Youtube channel from before The Escapist absorbed them, this wasn't so much the case. Very even-handed, fairly informative .. that's still true, but now .. I dunno. Only thing leaps to mind was that recent one about women in games bashing on female characters I seem to remember being half-decently written.

Meh, oh well, suffice to say I'm becoming slightly uncertain about how 'this is how things must be'-ish Extra Credits gets at times, especially while attempting to make clear games are an artistic medium (which in itself undermines claims things ought be a certain way).

Oh well, at least it's not ZP's endless Eastern-product bashing.