Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The Sunday Papers

Posted by Kieron Gillen on June 28th, 2009 at 1:24 pm.

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It's sad about Farrah too. And all the other deaths this week. A friend went on a rant about all the deaths this week which was fascinating.

Sundays are for tea and compiling a list of interesting videogame readings from across the week for the RPS-audience’s delectation, while trying to not break into an improvised tribute to a real titan who passed this week or link to a pop song. Must… try…

Failed.

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90 Comments »

  1. qrter says:

    Heh. Those main quests really are quite shit, aren’t they.

  2. Lilliput King says:

    From the afore-linked article by Steven Wells;
    “Do you agree that I Kissed a Girl was one of the top five songs of 2008? …

    How did you do?

    Yes to all? Damn but you’re smart.”

    Am I missing something? This man was an opinionated moron.

  3. Gap Gen says:

    I’m afraid you’re right but I don’t think that should be the problem of developers, really. To me that points to a mentality problem prevalent under gamers, that they need to change. Maybe gamers should take some responsibility and/or grow up, not just jump on the first exploit they stumble upon.

    I disagree. Game design is about psychology in many ways, as this is part of how games can be art, commenting on the human condition by reflecting it back at the humans playing it. It would be presumptuous of developers to take a problem that is known about and assume it’s the fault of the players.

    A similar thing is Bioshock’s wrench. Bioshock does reward repetitiveness, which is a shame for a game with so many interesting toys to play with. Hell, the wrench is, as far as I can remember, the only way to regain health for free in the game.

  4. Tei says:

    Theres a studio somewhere that proff that shorcuts can create trafic problems (there are the same number of cars, in less space).
    What you want, maybe is not what you need.

  5. Dinger says:

    So let’s talk to the monsters. It’s shorthand for the cheapest review trick in the bag, hitting them for not doing N, where N is outside the scope. It can often bite back. (although Evil Genius actts of infamy would have been better as X-com style missions)
    But on the other hand, as much as I love smashing things up, I have broader interests. A good game should make me forget them. If you’re talking to monsters, you’re either not getting it or there’s something’s horribly discordant.
    You know, like going to a club for a Ramones concert, crowding the stage at the start of the act, only to see a skinny dude with an n-sync t-shirt place a boombox on the drumkit and press ‘play’.

  6. D says:


    The Dan Pinchback interview is actually very interesting… very keen to see how Korsakovia turns out.

    I’m sorry exactly what is this referring to? Even googling doesn’t help me out here.

  7. D says:

    Haha damn, i messed up the q cite bit.. Above was @Anaphiel

  8. Tei says:

    I have no desire to analize why smart people may like POP. But since theres not quality on most POP the quality has to come from the audience. People see on POP more than there really is in it. Theres not attemp to make something simple, POP is simple because it is. The infantilism of POP is not a trick, or a gesture, or a pose, POP is infantil.

  9. Tei says:

    Ignore my last post. I was just kidding.

  10. invisiblejesus says:

    @Gap Gen

    “I disagree. Game design is about psychology in many ways, as this is part of how games can be art, commenting on the human condition by reflecting it back at the humans playing it. It would be presumptuous of developers to take a problem that is known about and assume it’s the fault of the players.”

    I don’t see it as any more presumtuous than assuming the problem, such as it is, is always the fault of the game or the developers. Personally I’d like to have more choice in how I play games, provided that doing so doesn’t compromise the game itself in a meaningful way. You’re point about games as art carries some weight with me, but not every game is art or needs to be treated like art.

    Then again, I’m skeptical of Kieron’s assertion that gamers in general will necessarily go for the easiest route to victory, and even if they do I’m not sure why I should care; there are a lot of games out there with cheat codes and there always have been. That doesn’t keep me or anyone else from playing them without using cheats if we don’t want to. I don’t see any convincing reason to think Nintendo’s walkthrough thing will be any different.

  11. Anaphiel says:

    @D, I was referring to the GSW interview with the creator of the Dear Esther mod that Kieron links to above.

    And of course I spelled his last name incorrectly. Should be “Pinchbeck”.

  12. Mad Doc MacRae says:

    Those Swells pieces were a punch in the gut, man. And I mean that complimentary like.

  13. @oddjob’s Link, specifically Swells calling out a band I like.

    Hey, nothing wrong with Counting Crows. They’re nicely twangy, setting moody aside.

    And @nobody-in-particular, because this isn’t even on the radar:

    There’s also nothing wrong with getting wild. Absolutely nothing.

  14. Radiant says:

    In regards to MJ and nights out this weekend.
    THIS http://open.spotify.com/track/6PZDXTlPfO7nBN1Cd7c3zv
    was the absolute winner people cry-dancing god damnit!

  15. A-Scale says:

    From the 2000 AD article:
    “The moment when Judge Dredd is face to face with Judge Fear and he takes him out with a punch is a wonderful reductio ad absurdum. ”

    Nothing like first year college students throwing around complex terms they don’t really understand. Nothing.

  16. solipsistnation says:

    Lilliput King: Holy crap, an opinionated journalist? Good lord! How dare he! He should present only the blandest possible overview of whatever it is he’s writing about. I mean, you know, music journalist is essentially the same as news reporting, just about records and stuff. There’s no chance that anything like taste or quality or even craftsmanship could enter into the equation.

    …in other words, just because you disagree doesn’t make him a moron. (Or you either, for that matter. The important thing is that you think about this stuff and don’t just let it flow through you unexamined.)

  17. FhnuZoag says:

    Has anyone modded Doom so that you *can* talk to the monsters yet?

  18. bhlaab says:

    Yes, it’s called Strife

  19. sigma83 says:

    Re: The paintings. Which game is Michelle’s Place from?

  20. Saul says:

    Gap Gen is absolutely right. Most people are lazy, and will take shortcuts that are put in front of them, even if they regret it later. I have no doubt that the walkthrough feature will be popular; I also have no doubt that it’s not good for games. Like many modern conveniences, it will ultimately make life less interesting.

    “The ultimate result of shielding man from the effects of folly is to people the world with fools.” — Herbert Spencer

  21. sigma83 says:

    Nevermind, I just answered my own question.
    Grand Theft Auto 4.

  22. Radiant says:

    I want to play a mod of Doom where I get to be the monster.

  23. Radiant says:

    Wait that’s Left 4 Dead.

  24. invisiblejesus says:

    @Saul

    “Like many modern conveniences, it will ultimately make life less interesting.”

    OK, you can’t possibly not see the irony of you posting that on the internet, on a web site about video games, presumably from a comfortable and secure home of some sort while you enjoy the feeling of having a more or less full stomach.

  25. Radiant says:

    Left 4 Doom
    Let’s me this happen people.

  26. Tei says:

    $ ./gtkRadiant make me left4doom
    gtkRadiant [-map ] [ -gl ] [ -mesa ]
    Make me Left 4 Doom command not recognized.
    ERROR.
    $

  27. Scandalon says:

    FhnuZoag – Strangely, they did that in the Doom novels…and not very many people liked those.

  28. Chaz says:

    Ah 2000AD, it used to make my Saturday mornings when that came through the door, after having impatiently waited all week for the next installment.

    Shame it all started going down the pan when they brought out the Dredd Megazine and started splitting the weekly Dredd story between it. Personally I thought it was a rather cynical ploy to double their sales, and it didn’t help that the quality of the other strips in 2000AD, in terms of both artwork and storyline, seemed to be getting weaker, and I haven’t bought it since.

  29. Crispy says:

    Those paintings… aren’t very good. I guess that makes me DIM (Disappointed Internet Man)


    The ‘Automated Walkthrough System’ does, however, make me Hulk-shirt-rip into AIM. Accessibility is about making your game easier to play, not easier to not play. I feel like I’m getting more and more hadcore simply by standing still, even though in real terms I’m getting less and less hardcore as I have less time to play games and make less purchases.

  30. Paul Moloney says:

    “Edge’s review of Doom hit it with a 7/10″

    Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

    Jesus, talk about being the guy who didn’t sign the Beatles.

    P.

  31. Tei says:

    Obligatory obscure game reference:
    http://www.doomworld.com/10years/doomcomic/

  32. Lilliput King says:

    Hmm. Solipsist, im not suggesting being having an opinion is particularly bad journalism. He is, after all, not reporting.

    But theres a peculiar technique you see regularly amongst opinion columnists in which a cogent opinion is never really explained, and all you are left with is a lot of vague, generic non-conformist bullshit. That article being a particularly good example.

    Sound and fury, signifying nothing, hmm?

  33. “Less a writer, more the proverbial force of nature, he’s taught me that agreeing with the writer is never the point ”

    KG

  34. Gap Gen says:

    Actually, one side-effect of Nintendo patenting the in-game walkthrough is that it drastically reduces its chances of becoming popular, if indeed no other company can emulate it.

    Games already have hints for people getting stuck. But these are mostly subtle and only occur if the user obviously isn’t getting it – and this is a completely valid and good thing to do, since it provides a good balance between reducing frustration and giving people a challenge.

  35. Gassalasca says:

    Incidentally, just before hearaing about Wells for the first time here, I had been reading Chesterton, the writer wh taught me the same thing.

  36. Gassalasca says:

    Drat, that was not meant to be in italics, and Kieron’s quote was supposed to be just above it. I’ll never learn to use this infernal contraption.

  37. The internet will only hurt us.

    KG

  38. vagabond says:

    Given the rough description of the Nintendo patent in the article, I’d've thought that the large number of YouTube video walkthroughs, and previous in game hint systems, would demonstrate enough prior art to make it invalid.
    I guess it doesn’t help that Nintendo has a large amount of money and lawyers, which really seems to be all that counts for anything when it comes to patent law…

  39. kr8 says:

    “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by the IFPI”

    Now that’s cold.

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