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Unlicensed criticism should be silenced!

denizsi

Arcane
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
9,927
Location
bosphorus
He sounds more like complaining about real morons who are eager and all too fast to slap around labels to pass their "ill-informed opinions", as put by him. The example of a Harry Potter fan, declaring the new book the best piece of literature even before reading it, should be evident of that. However, his stand and reaction is stupid, demanding more weight for "paid" reviews, and spewing things like "If this is the democratization of criticism, maybe I'm all for some totalitarianism for a while".

His stupid position seems to have been summed up by Benjamin Franklin when he said "People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both." Instead of suggesting and promoting intelligence filter and offering a help in guiding one's way in forest of opinions that's internet, he only suggests going back to old days when only a few snobs, instead of the tens of thousands today, had the ability to reach the masses. Perhaps he and others like him shouldn't act like snobs in the first place, and learn to adapt to the change.
 

kingcomrade

Kingcomrade
Edgy
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
26,884
Location
Cognitive Elite HQ
I've been sitting here, reading this article and sniffing my stick of deoderant and I've realized that it smells quite nice, enough to mask the bullshit seeping from my monitor.
 

Shoelip

Arbiter
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
1,814
kingcomrade said:
I've been sitting here, reading this article and sniffing my stick of deoderant and I've realized that it smells quite nice, enough to mask the bullshit seeping from my monitor.

:? Well, whatever works.
 

kingcomrade

Kingcomrade
Edgy
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
26,884
Location
Cognitive Elite HQ
It is Extreme Value Ultra Dry Degree for Men Extreme Blast Body Responsive Anti-Perspirant & Deoderant Invisible Stick.

edit- It was a serendipitous event, the reading of the article and the sniffing of the deoderant
 

Morbus

Scholar
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
403
I usually go with the Aloe Vera, quite refreshing really, if a bit expensive.
 

Relayer71

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
538
Location
NYC
GREG KASSAVIN IS GOD!!!!!!!


Lol.
What's wrong with the world these days? Seems like EVERYTHING is just so fukced.
 

The_Pope

Scholar
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
844
Gaming journalist means journalist who couldn't get a job at a tabloid.
 

DarkUnderlord

Professional Throne Sitter
Staff Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2002
Messages
28,343
The Escapist said:
Posting publicly endows authority, even when undeserved
LIKE THE GUY WHO WROTE THIS ARTICLE AMIRITE?

He should keep his damn critiscism to himself, hypocrite.

The Escapist said:
while no opinion can truly be wrong, they can be ill-informed.
Like the Escapsts article about Fallout?

This is quality Gold. These guys really should read their own articles.
 

Ismaul

Thought Criminal #3333
Patron
Joined
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Messages
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Location
On Patroll
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech A Beautifully Desolate Campaign My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
The Escapist said:
it seems the nature of critical thought has changed for the worse. It seems, in giving everyone an equal voice, we've somewhat diminished the value of informed thought.
He's quite wrong on this. Critical thought hasn't changed for the worst. Actually, I'd wager it hasn't changed at all. Only, communication through internet has made possible for the masses to express their thoughts publicly and massively. And it's this massive amount of stupid and low quality of comments that brings light to the lack of strong critical thought in the masses.

What I think he means though is that we now have highly multiplied the amount of information, but most of it is of low quality. That's right, but it's not because we don't shut up and let professionnals do their jobs, it's again the cause of feeble critical capabilities of the masses. If theirs was better, their comments would be. Now, on who does this large amount of low quality information have an impact? Again, on those with low critical thinking capabilities (or usage), because they won't be able to discern quality from shit. So basically, it's the dumb mass keeping the dumb mass dumber. And the professionals acting dumb to cater to the masses is clearly not helping.

This is where the Codex shines, I think, because if there's one thing that defines the Codex, it's a critical line of thought that is applied to everything, to the point of being hyperbolical. Hence the beautiful dumb satire we get here, the manly sparring sessions of insluts and the volontary exposure to shock media that challenges our view of ourselves. The Codex is a pearl, and any attempt to shit on it will only make it shine brighter.

:salute:
 

Erzherzog

Magister
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
2,887
Location
Mid-Atlantic
The article comes close to making a valid point, but their argument is fucking nuts.

I'd say the big issues fall under human nature. For one, people like to be told what they want to believe. Therefore we see alot of stuff getting bashed by people who fear change.

Another problem is how alot of people complain about the most absolutely trivial shit. There's many forums I can't visit because people complain about stuff like the color of the player character's pants, or shit like that. Now if you had a complaint about the art direction, that's a valid one. (Or if the player character's pants really are that fugly. A situation which I've never seen occur...)
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
Vault Dweller said:
Why? Why should we dismiss opinions of people who are passionate about the subject, expect quality, and don't care about offending delicate sensibilities of gaming companies?

His point isn't that far from being valid.

It looks like he was caught unawares by Net 2.0 and by the freedom of interaction given around the world via open reviews, previews and blogs. It can be a bit unhinging if you let it flow over you freely.

The idiotic thing is that he isn't recognising the different layers of exposure. He's saying "every votes counts for one" and that's idiotic, and simply not true. NMA's preview doesn't count the same as Gamernode's which doesn't have the same impact as Gamespy's which is inferior to Gamespot's which takes second place to Game Informer's exclusive (maybe). That's simply a wrong assumption, just because everyone can say something doesn't mean everyone else will read it, Amazon's review function isn't as widely read as the average gaming magazine.

It's there where his logic breaks down. He fears some theoretical breakdown and democratization over professionalism, but that's simply not how it works. People read what they like and what they trust. If Gamespot writers have the same gaming tastes as you, you read Gamespot, if you feel the Codex fit your tastes and intelligence, you read the Codex.

There's nothing changing about with the wider platforms of speech except that "professional" game (and other) writers will simply have stiffer competition. With the internet, it's easier to find a platform you agree with or a writer you respect, which means you aren't forced into the limited scope of television or magazines. The amusing thing is that this is an obvious step forward for consumers, but a step backward for writers. And that might be what's scaring him.
 

obediah

Erudite
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
5,051
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

We should shut up and let the professional gaming reviewers educate us with their decades of training and experience.

I agree with the article in spirit. Not all opinions are equal. It's just that video games is the worst fucking medium to try to make this point on.
 

Lingwe

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
519
Location
australia
He just doesn't quite seem to grasp that the internet is the most powerful tool for giving normal people a voice that others can hear. Internet bloggers in China are able to criticise their government (until the government finds them) thanks to the internet. He just sounds like a whiny brat because other people are able to do what only he used to be able to.
 

IClaudius

Novice
Joined
Jun 17, 2004
Messages
9
I think the appeal to authority used here would be much more convincing if it were employed in the service of protecting some other group than gaming journalists from criticism.

Anyone taking even a cursory look at what passes for official game reviews these days can see there is a serious lack of accountability and coherence in the professional gaming journalism. Just take the yawning chasm of logical disparity between original reviews, and their public reception, or the way they cover previews for sequels from the same company. Invisible War is an obvious example of the former. But looking at the latter, take the way Morrowind & Oblivion were reviewed, and compare it to the Fallout previews..

A clear majority of professional gaming journalists lauded Oblivion as an almost flawless execution of a perfect non-linear, emergent RPG game. Yet, when we read look at Fallout 3 previews, at least from the better outlets, we can see them talking about hitherto unknown problems which will be addressed in the game such as problems of static NPCs, meaningful dialogue, better models and more realistic physics. But the exact same pattern was already true for Morrowind vis-a-vis Oblivion reviews. It's almost like they need the sound bite from the company itself to write anything less than a hagiographical praise..

So, is it any wonder we look to the streets to find honesty? When so-called professional coverage consists of these hacks who lack the integrity and fortitude to push back against publisher hype, and point out flaws in a game at the time goes to market, not just after it is safe, with a sequel on the horizon, gamers will naturally seek out boutique sites like this one, and maverick individuals, who are capable of offering proper critiques..
 

Jason

chasing a bee
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
10,737
Location
baby arm fantasy island
I do think that gaming journalists should not be bribed by developers through all expense paid trips to their offices and that kind of thing, though.
Sorry to pick on a very minor point, but it's the journalists' employers (i.e. Gamespot, PC Gamer, etc) that pay for those trips, not the developers. There are very few developers in the world that have enough wriggle room in their budget to fly random yahoos around the world just for a press event, complete with hookers and blow and dancing neon midgets. Except for Popcap Games. Popcap is all about the hookers and blow.

By the way, has anyone ever seen 4too and Blargh in the same room at the same time?
 

Lurkar

Scholar
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
791
Didn't we all used to like the Escapist, or was that a sort of rare, "Holy shit, they said something that made sense" thing? I remember one or two of their articles were good, but recently they seem to be in a contest of "who can shit the nastiest turd?" with themselves.

Pretentioussigwithmyname
 

4too

Arcane
Joined
May 20, 2004
Messages
287
Consoles: The Missionary Position

Consoles: The Missionary Position


My readings of Escapist tracks has enlightened me with precessional opinions.
Steady me in this change in spin.
I would like to modify my sweeping statement that the Escapist is an exclusive XBox
purveyor.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/article ... tes-and-E3


Russ Pitts:
... But the closer the consoles get to looking and handling like their PC cousins, the closer they come to sharing PC gaming's irrelevance. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are each fantastic machines in their own right. I can't get enough of my 360, in fact, and am considering buying a second. From playing DVDs to Xbox Live games to downloading videos and the like, I've simply never owned as versatile a machine, outside of a PC.
Still, the Wii is a better gaming machine. ...
...
It's part of our mission here at The Escapist to help introduce games to those who don't already know the joy to be had in playing them, to explore the methods of play in all forms and expand our understanding of escapism. We've always said gaming won't become an accepted medium until everyone who has a Monopoloy, Clue or a deck of cards in their closet also has a game machine. The Wii is that machine. Welcome to the future. ...
Sad, my poor PS2 has played more DVD's and CD's this year then games.
Maybe I'd spend less PC typing with the rest of the lonely hearts, if i could just let the love glow and chose my console consort. The 'ism' this missionary offers is "escapism'. The light at the end of the tunnel, the -power on- LED's of the console of preference.
Open partisanship is good in this Escapist dominion. Opinions from the staff are readily dispensed. Never shy to procure love for the console. This declaration of each marketed game media platform's kink's and allures is a benign ecumenical stance, after confessing the necessity of a second XBox.

My broad gestures must be choreographed anew.
"Better living through XBox" appears after this editorial a limited orbit.
The mission as stated may be spun as "better living through console gaming".

Perhaps the middle berth is the best position to service all three.

4too
 

Trash

Pointing and laughing.
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
29,683
Location
About 8 meters beneath sea level.
There is one point in this otherwise rather elitist piece of crap. It becomes harder and harder to filter out relevant information from the many sources provided. But that's digitalisation for you.
 

Severian Silk

Guest
Don't forget that Amazon can stop allowing user reviews any time they want. It is not a public forum. People do not have the right to post there. If Amazon were in danger they would stop it.
 

Gambler

Augur
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
767
I'm so freakin' tired of all the people, who pretend that the actual content of reviews is not important. In the end, quality of content is the only real measure of professionalism.
 

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