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 On 04/20/2013 at 12:48 PM by BrokenH See More From This User » |
"When I was a gamer we didn't care about pseudo intellectual bullshit and political correctness!"
I watched the Dark-Shadows movie recently and it was great! It wasn’t 100% accurate to the show but it was close enough. Barnabas’s struggle to adapt to the 70’s was hilarious and it got me thinking about how the landscape for gaming has changed since the 80’s and 90’s. Akin to Barnabas I often feel misplaced and confused by some of the trends I see in my favorite past time.
The most difficult change is how games have become a sort of jumping board for pseudo intellectuals, elitists, and gamers trying to prove their moral superiority over other gamers. Yes, there’s more pea-coking now then there was in my time. Back then we played games just to have fun, bub! Can you dig it? (Warriors reference!)
Things in gaming that perplex old Benabis! (See what I did there?)
The scorn against anything Japanese
When I started gaming Japan was top dog. With games such as FF 4, FF6, Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve, Xeno gears, King Of Fighters, Wild Arms, Phantasy Star, Lunar, Star Ocean 2, Street Fighter, and Dark-stalkers it’s easy to surmise why Japan had such a strong influence on my life.
This isn’t to say I couldn’t appreciate games from America & Europe too. I was “in like flint” when it came to Diablo 2, Ultima, Knights Of The Old Republic, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, Warcraft 3, Neverwinter Knights, Witcher, Fallout 1 & 2, Jade empire, and even Dungeon-lords! (I realize many people had problems with the last game I listed but for some reason I took a real shine to it.)
Yet over the last decade I have noticed a propaganda campaign to “diss Japan”. Almost every big wig game journalist from the west was guilty of this and they tried doing it from every angle!
Japanese games & anime as “immoral”
This generation we’ve seen an increasing need to be politically correct. There have been whole articles slandering certain Japanese games as “rape culture” and “pedophilia”. The problem is the examples given are usually ridiculously harmless akin to Arcana Hearts 3, Lollipop Chainsaw, or Hyper Dimension Neptunia. Aka, games that have a little moe and a little fan service but nothing that usually is about full blown sex or full blown rape.
We all know anime and manga has a darker under-belly but because said genres are varied it would be a disservice to only focus on the bad without acknowledging the good as well.
Yes, you can find things akin to Bible Black and Return Of The Over-fiend then again you can also find stuff like Secret World of Arietty and Grave of the fireflies.
It seems many game journalists today were forced to watch the hentai equivalent of “two girls 1 cup” and told to form their lasting impression of Japanese culture and entertainment from that one bad experience alone.
I would also argue not all hentai is in fact “terrible” but with the western mindset of “cartoons & games are for kids” and “sex is worse than violence” I don’t know how far I could get before feeling as if I’m shouting to a wall!
The point is, why should I have to feel ashamed for liking Japanese stuff? Blare that noise in someone else’s face, please!
Japanese games as inferior
There’s no doubt western gaming has made leaps of improvement. I was someone blown away by Dragon age origins and I was rather impressed the first time I played Gears Of War 2. Heck, lately I’ve even sunk a few hours into The Old Republic. (And yes, I love it. Never thought I’d say that about an mmorpg!)
What I hate though is when some elitist asshole tries to come along to tell me Western games are superior to Eastern games. This would perhaps work on me if both sides of the equator hadn’t in fact suffered from a bit of stagnation this generation. For every cutesy cliché J-rpg we must endure there’s another shooter being pumped out by EA to appeal to today’s “Boo-yah,Hurr!” demographic! (One by the name of Fuse that was actually changed to be more brown, grey, and serious on account that’s what EVERYONE wants, right? Sorry, at least for me Over-strike‘s original trailer looked more fun!)
Frankly, The West hasn’t done anything to set themselves above Japan or South Korea in my eyes. We have our stupid stereotypes, lackluster repetitive franchises, and problems with corporate bullshit just like everyone else. Perhaps that high horse we think we are on is actually a donkey!
(Oh, and for the record I’m not always fond of hardcore Japanese elitists either! If a game is good people should acknowledge that and not care where it comes from! However,everyone is a little bias so what can we really do to correct basic human nature?)
Check your privelage!
I swear when the next privileged white male or privileged white female who went to college and took a class in sociology asks me politely to “check my privelage” I’m going hit them in the face with an iron gauntlet!
Have you noticed the people talking about “male white privelage” are usually upper middle class hipster suburbanites who have no idea how poor people actually live?
I know this is a shocker guys, but there’s a large percentage of poor white people. I know it’s mind blowing but try to stay with me here, okay?
Look, I walk everywhere. I don’t have a car. I make around $700.00 a month. I’ve been judged negatively for being low income and looking low income. I live in an apartment with substandard features. I’ve actually been homeless. I've been frisked by cops when wearing my trenchcoat. Before you ask me to “check my privelage” how about you get to know me first?
“Check your privelage" is an ad hominem. It makes a blanket statement about a whole group of people without acknowledging people are in fact unique individuals. By the way, why the heck is this even coming up on “gaming sites”?! I really cannot be bothered to give a fuck!
Going to college doesn’t necessarily make someone “worldly”. A degree is just a piece of paper that hangs on the wall!
Objectification everywhere
Yes, gaming is a big conspiracy to subjugate women. Every time Aya Brea loses more clothes or Jade does a pole dance with her weapon of choice another little girl is being whipped in a sex slave work shop! I would actually care if that were the case but “sexy fantasies” have more or less been in our entertainment since cave drawings! Keep into perspective I put fantasies in parenthesis on account no “real people” are hurt within a book, movie, or videogame. If you’re going to crusade for human rights please try to help living human beings. I know it’s more difficult to entrench yourselves into areas where “real rape” and “real female oppression” happen on a daily basis but those are the places that desperately need your attention, activists!
All that out of the way, I shouldn’t have to apologize for being a biological male. When I meet females in real life I’m polite and respectful. I don’t grope them in public or make lewd advances. When I’m online I treat females with the same courtesy and the only time I’d ever act frisky is in a chatroom where singles are looking for other singles. (Yes, I have a shameful history of online role-playing that got erotic & naughty now and again! I promise all key strokes were consensual!)
However, I have ogled over the ladies in Mortal Kombat. I have ogled over the anime school girls in High School Of The Dead on account they looked more like busty college co-eds. I have ogled at Cammy in Street Fighter and have ogled at many of the female characters in Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Of Orochi 3! That doesn’t mean I’m going to rape somebody or keep kidnapped women in my basement. (Um, I don’t have a basement anyway)
I realize why females sometimes feel the pressure of unrealistic expectations. For the record, I don’t expect “real women” to look exactly like celebrities, anime babes,comic book heroines, or videogame vixens. Yup, sigh in relief ladies! By the time most guys are in their 30’s akin to myself they have no more ridiculous delusional check lists of “the perfect woman” ala Weird Science. Being frank, looks fade. Most guys end up wanting a woman who brings something more to the table. Yes, we’re still governed by laws of attraction but in many cases a gorgeous woman with a bitchy personality is more undesirable than a nice woman with a cute face and minor love handles!
Lastly, guys feel it too. I don’t have the wealth,chiseled cheek bones,or rock hard body of Bruce Wayne. I don’t have the lightning reflexes or perfect good ol boy smile of Nathan Drake. I don’t have a presence that demands fear, respect, and sexual magnetism akin to Kratos nor am I in a position to save the world like Commander Shepherd. Don’t even get me started on Chris Redfield’s arm muscles!
All I’m saying is the sword cuts both ways. Besides, should we compare ourselves to “fantastical fictional depictions” anyway? Talk about being constantly disappointed! Deep down I think we all enjoy attractive and powerful characters when we need an escape from reality. As such, why is there whining over it?
Boothbabe and cosplay hate
To this day I remember Jessica Chobot’s blog about cosplay girls “looking like sluts”. The irony shouldn’t be lost on you once you realize Jessica got a lot of attention for licking her psp and dressing in sexy cosplay herself. There was also the incident where Jessica Nigri was initially turned away from a certain event on account her Juliet Starling costume was “too revealing”. Lastly Nixie Pixel was rudely insulted by certain Linux nerds for showing cleavage and not being “PC” enough.
Honestly, this kind of treatment is unfair to women as a whole. Females shouldn’t be ashamed of their bodies. There’s also no rule stating “sexy women” cannot also be nerds, gamers, and geeks.
Likewise if guys cannot control themselves and be cordial around beautiful women flaunting a bit of chest & buttocks I fear we are not as “civilized” as we originally thought!
I don't think about video games as deeply as you, but I probably should, seeing how I review games semi-professionally and all. But then, I just play a lot of silly games and have fun with them.
I do miss the good old days where I could just pop in a cartridge in my SNES and play a game right away without having to worry about waiting on dashboards and game logos and loading screens and waiting on it to connect to the Internet.
But Cary, you're the epitome of "pure gamer". Playing games for fun is how it should be,mate!
I also feel you when it comes to load times and unskippable cgi sequences. Not fun!
The whole east vs west thing is rediculous. I saw a similar attitude when I lived in Houston. " we only listen to H-Town rap or southern rap, we don't listen to that New York shit or West Coast shit. GC all the way baby!" That is the exact words I heard from this guy at a show once. It is the same stupid mentality of our team is better than yours, when it's actually a matter of opinion. I personaly don't give a fuck where you come from, if your making badass games, music, art or whatever I'm down with it.
Exactly. Why can't we just judge each piece of art,music, or entertainment from a fair perspective? As for rap & hip hop all I can say is I've recently liked Kid Cudi, Afro man, and Tyler the creator. I don't care about their "west side/east side/south side/north side" affiliations. Kid Cudi is deep and meaningful and both Afro man and Tyler make me laugh my ass off. lol.
I'm the same with games. I just want them to be fun and give me bang for my buck!
When a lot of us started gaming it was about the fun. It wasn't big business like it is today so that's one thing that has changed for sure. Developers weren't under the gun to sell so many million of game X in order to keep their jobs and therefore chances could be taken without that threat hanging over their heads.
The "hobby" or whatever you want to call it has now been diluted by millions of immature kiddies who infest on-line communities like cockroaches. They wear their choice of console like a cod piece. These mostly pre to teen males are more concerned with pretending to be he-men than playing games for fun.
They are to blame for the end of video gaming as we knew it as much as the big businesses who feed them the regurgitated crap they play
I remember I started this generation loving shooters but now I'm so tired of most of them. Still, they're nice to play with friends once in awhile. I was pleasantly surprised by RE 6 but that's probably because I wasn't expecting much.
I agree pseudo gamers are annoying. We have the immature kids trolling female gamers, other etnicalities, and the LGBT community then we have the wannabe snarky PC white knights who want to elevate themselves by pretending to be more sophisticated,morally superior, and worldly than everyone else.
I'm also utterly sick of the East vs. West debate, Pete. Why can't I enjoy games from around the world in peace?
But you can Ben. Having a place like PixlBit that has a community of intelligent gamers (If I do say so myself. LOL) you can tune all that negativity out. The East vs West debate cannot affect your enjoyment unless you let it.
It has been great here,Peter! Surprisingly, I still think I'm purging off some of the "icky malice" from my 1up days. (Places like Kotaku didn't help either)
At least for me, 1up was a very love/hate affair. It was wonderful in some ways (The community) but kind of miserable in others (Bob Mackey).
But you're right. People are set in their ways and bitching rarely changes anything. We all have to come to new revelations & personal growth on our own.
Yeah, I don't get the hate for anything that it's japanese either, and I could also apply it to things that many people diss for being different. It seems people just take the bad elements and forget about the other good things or just want to cause negativity. Like for example with fandoms in DeviantArt. I admit, there are looneys and some pretty nasty people in fandoms like Sonic, the new My Little Pony, Naruto, etc, but at the same time there are great people in those fandoms, but the thing is they get bad reputation due to things the dumb ones do, which makes the people believe that everyone is like that and it doesn't help when haters or trolls try to spread the negativity and hurt more the situation.
I respect fan artists. I find I'm good at crafting characters that are my own but find it difficult to accurately portray characters that were created by other artists. There's a certain humility and skill set that goes with being a fan-illustrator/fan-fic writer which I find admirable. Most people who devote themselves to these crafts put up with a lot of flak & negative stereotypes yet go through with it anyway.
However, I've had people shit on my work for it looking too cartoony or too anime-ish. I'm not what you would call a photo realistic drawer and there's an audience out there obsessed with only one kind of technique.
Then you have people who are super sensitive over how the artist portrays each gender.
Back in my day, we didn't care if Mario was trying to save a princess. Was Peach an object? A prize to be won? A five year old doesn't think about such complex matters! I simply enjoyed stomping on Goomba's heads and what not.
I have to admit it was disturbing seeing Aya Brea walk around almost naked. Not for the reasons most people would think though. It was always snowing in Third Birthday lol. Plus she was fighting insanely powerful hideous monsters. So that kinda bothered me. Sorry Ben. This stuff is beyond me. Like Cary, I just play games for fun.
Yeah, I felt kinda bad for poor Aya running around in the snow with damaged clothing. lol. The fan service didn't offend me though.
I always came from the perspective entertainers & artists should be free to "create" without having to adhere to a strict code of political correctness.
When we constantly try to limit what other people do & say it likewise limits diversity within a genre.
Lastly, for divinity's sake yes, play games to have fun! When we over-think things and become hyper critical an enjoyable past-time becomes "work"! Who wants that?
I agree.
So, what hentai are those girls from? They look familiar and I'm just curious. 
Bible black,James. lol.
I was afraid of that. Bible Black has some good stuff in it. Sadly, it has some disturbing stuff I don't care for too. I only watched the original series. I hadn't seen the newer stuff yet. 
I wonder if they are more of the same? 
I hate to see such nice anime babes in those crazy situations.
Bible Black made me queasy too. A shame because the animation quality and sexiness of the characters was top notch.
“check my privelage”, I've never heard that before!? I have a degree and I can't get a job, volunteering my services instead. My degree certifictae is still in it's enevelope being used as a mouse mat.. so it's been handy for that...but yeah you're right in that regard! I'm not sure I agree that Japanese games have been vilified or degraded by the press but then I avoid a lot of press, like the plague. But my understanding is that there's always been a core substantial group that have been very pro Japanese gaming. But i get what you're saying, I even mention it briefly in my JRPG blog, where I talk about moving away from those games in the last few generations. So there is definitely a lot of substance to what you're saying :) I skimmed over the objectification part, there's only so much of that topic I can take in haha! Good blog Broken, always interesting to hear your take. Matt
I think "staying away from the press" is a better way to enjoy gaming,Matt. Aka, allow yourself to have your own outlook on stuff.
This generation I moved away from Japanese gaming too. The west started to offer more good games so for awhile I was relying on Bioware,2K,Larian studios,cd projekt red, Lionhead, and Epic for most of my entertainment needs.
However, after getting tired of almost everything seeming to evolve into a 1st or 3rd person shooter I sort of went back to more Japanese centric companies again. I also wasn't happy when certain rpgs I liked started to include qtes, less choices, and more linear plot progression.
I guess I'm always swinging back and forth like a yo-yo! This generation has been one of ups and downs.
PS: I do hope your degree comes in handy! I wasn't trying to talk down to all college peeps,just the ones that act haughty and elitist. I should have clarified that better! For the record, I went to an Art Institute in Minneapolis so I've been a coed too. lol.
No offense was taken! I too get annoyed by those 'elitist' few!
In college it's worse because you have to deal with them UP CLOSE. lol.
I have noticed that too about people in American being really ehhhh about bringing over some Japanese games (either sales or some form of something being "inapropriate") But as you said it's really not that much difference from what Western games have now started to do as well. Granted I have always been use to seeing lots of boobs or what not from the Japanese side of things because their culture is so different from ours that I always expect it half the time.
Exactly, Ashley. As raunchy as Japan may get Saints Row the 3rd, God Of War, and Mortal Kombat are all expicit when it comes to both sex & violence. It's weird how certain gaming journalists will rag on Japanese games but turn a blind eye to the same kind of content that's home-grown. It really makes no sense to me.
Ben, people are really quick to judge games as objectifying women. I've been playing a fuck-ton of tera lately, and a lot of people are criticising that game as being sexist towards women because of how little they wear. I mean, the girls do wear VERY little, but the guys aren't any better. They wear open shirts, leotards, and they all seem to be oiled up. It swings both way. One thing that disturbs me about that game though is the elin. They look like 12 year old girls, and they all run around in skimpy dresses. You can make them look like they're crying too, as if it wasn't already fetish fuel...
Ah, the elin. (shudders) Kinda weird indeed, Blake! (Great now I feel like I'm discrminating against midgets and short bunny people) And why would I want to make cute lil critters cry? I'm not Kratos over here!
Like you I noticed most shirtless dudes in games seem oiled up. Also Ryu Hayabusa's ninja outfit is so tight you see his whole ass in unabashed glory. I didn't exactly want to see Ryu's detailed tush but maybe my gay and female homies get a lewd giggle out of it. lol.
Lol... Kratos. Yeah, I agree with you. I do think there needs to be more penis in games though. And movies. Entertainment needs more wangs, shlongs and hodors!
Well if we can see camel toe I have no objections to seeing distinct bulges when bros wear leotards. Fair is fair! And if you mean Hodor from Game Of Thrones, I second that motion!
Yes I do mean hodor from game of thrones. That man has a mammoth trunk.
Hodor does Westeros! A globe trotting pornographic tour de force!
I have to wonder if people who consistently bash Japanese games remember Zelda and Mario come from Japan. There are few, if any, franchises from the West that can consistently breathe life into games like those have done.
I think you're right that gamers do take games way more seriously than they used to. That may be just because you and I are seeing everything through an adult lense, but I doubt adults would be having these games as "art" conversations 20 years ago. For better or for worse...
It's "good" to question gaming to a point,Kev. The problem is I see the same complaints and scapegoating tactics regurgitated to the point I'm just sick of all the B.S.
Can games have more sophisticated better thought out characters and more innovative gameplay mechanics? Of course they can! Will using games for political or activist mouth pieces bring about this much needed evolution? Er, not from what I have seen.
Also, journalists try to find crazy conspiracies in the dumbest places. For example, I don't think Mario rescuing princess Peach was ever insidous propaganda created by "the patriarchy". Peach is no more an object to be won than Mario is a desposable male. They're just two people that care about each other! Sometimes saving the girl isn't "sexist".
I definitely agree with you on those points. Reaching deep into the story of Mario is basically like reaching into the story of Tetris: it is basically non-existent. Things like this are becoming even more common in game jouralism as the writers are pressed harder and harder for those pageviews.
I understand being pressed must pour on the frustration,Kev! Still, I wish more game journalists would take the higher road. Sensationalist tripe isn't going to progress anything.
I also hate it when gaming journalists sit in their high chairs and try to troll other gamers just to get more traffic. When they do that I always feel as if they're looking down their noses at the rest of us. Yet at the end of the day the professionals are just average joes and average jills. The only difference is they get money for their opinions.
I honestly think I could probably be called a "Japanese elitist" at times, but honestly, it's just because I have a lot more respect for the games and the developers over there than I do here. When you look at the development cycles and effort put into so many Japanese games, especially when you compare the staff numbers to Western game design studios, you can just tell that so many more Japanese developers pour their heart and soul into their creations. We're both guilty of the "pump a new one out every year" thing, but it is much more noticeable here in America.
As for the objectification part, I feel like the "cartoon girls" and all actually help many men. I know for me, it has helped me get my girlfriend who is amazing and beautiful, but if not for the "perfect anatomy" of "cartoon girls", I probably would have been too obsessed "chasing sexy tail" to recognize her. These cartoons actually can be the thing to quench our thirst for the unobtainable, and make some of us treat regular women even better. They can even help some men calm down their sexual urges, thus making them LESS of a risk for committing sexual indecencies. Just my 2 cents.
I agree humans need to "vent" sexual frustration. In the darkest period of my life I looked at and drew a lot of hentai. For me it was therapy. I admit a lot of what I sketched out back then was of a more negative extreme but once it was down on paper I felt as if it wasn't inside me anymore.
Of course not all hentai is "dark". It's just what I was gravitating towards at that specific point. Aka, I had gone through a break up and I was angry at women in general. I'm so glad I'm not in that icky place anymore!
I know some people would look at my older art today and consider it grotesque or misogynistic but I'm thankful I could channel my aggression and fantasies that way as opposed to taking it out on real people.
We all deal with our shit in different ways,aye? lol.
Sorry. My post just popped up as anonymous even though I was logged in... I keep having problems posting replies... Oh well. I just wanted you to know that I'm still reading your blogs, even though you wont always get to see my replies. lol.
It's cool,Ceva. lol. I did that a few times too when I was new to pixlbit. Just by the way your wrote your post I could tell it was you more or less. Well, you were one of 3 people I thought it could be. Now I don't have to feel dumb.
I agree Japan has become our "perverted whipping boy". Game jounalists are always quick to post something along the lines of "Oh Japan,you so crazy!" or "Yet another boring cliche J-rpg!"
I loathe how the most influential game companies are trying to make everything "mainstream" and it's ridiculous releases today get chastised for selling under 6 million copies in a single month.
Madness I tell you,madness!
The Japan hate kind of pisses me off, too. Yeah, people like different stuff, but it seems like folks in gaming forums go out of their way to be nasty about Japanese video games, and the people who enjoy them. No other country gets picked on this much, although I think some of these gamers think of Canada, Poland, the UK, and other places in North America and Europe as a bunch of "America Juniors" when discussing "Western games".
Many of my favorite games in this generation, like Valkyria Chronicles, Ni no Kuni, Bayonetta, Yakuza, and Nintendo's stuff, are fine examples of Japanese game design in the HD era. I also own a lot of very fine games on the DS and PSP, On the other hand, I've also enjoyed Fallout 3, New Vegas, XCOM, Mortal Kombat and Bioshock Infinite - all made with pride in the USA - very much. There's been more content from the US in my gaming library than at any time since the early 90's, when games like the Ultima series and SimCity reigned supreme for me outside of the arcades, and there will continue to be room for both East and West on my gaming shelves.
As far as sexuality in Japanese games goes - how about all those ass-shots of Miranda and her body-paint uniform in Mass Effect, yeah? How about all the fan-made nude/sex mods for every PC game under the sun?
The one thing I like about this generation is the west has been more active. There are so many good games from America & Europe! It's quite the testament to western gaming. I will say I'm pew-pewed out though. Seems as if almost every AAA game is a shooter in some way. Granted I still want TombRaider and Bioshock Infinite but I bet I could appreciate those games much more if the shooter genre was less over saturated. That's why having a psp is kind of a god-send for me right now.
As for Japan's sexual fetishism you're on the money. Miranda skin tight body suit, Saints row's purple dildo, and countless nudey/sex mods say "hello!" game journalism! Japanese people are no more perverted and horny than we ourselves are. #Deal with it!
The problem with the anti-Japan arguments is that I don't think people are really looking or at or thinking about what they are actually doing in any given game. Alot of the western consoles games may be more technically impressive, have more extravagant production values, but the actual gameplay design is kind of thin. Because of their need or desire to appeal to as many people as possible, AAA games are limited in the kind of depth, challenge, or oddness they can have. To put it bluntly, they're making interactive Hollywood movies instead of games. Besides XCOM and maybe The Witcher 2, the west have no answer to Ninja Gaiden, Valkyria Chronicles, Disgaea 4, Vanquish or Demon's Souls on console, outside of indie games. That's why I find myself playing mostly Japanese games on my PS3, and games like Binding of Isaac, Civ 5, and Super Meat Boy on PC.
As far as the whole sex and gender thing in gaming, how about every body, east and west, for a year stop putting cheesecake and beefcake in their games. I have no problem with people enjoying erotica or games where titiliation is a central theme, but why can't we have realistic girls and women, who aren't all beauties or have the need to show off every bit of curve and cleavage, in games that have nothing to do with sexuality. Female characters in films and novels aren't all models who walk around in hoochie wear. I mean, did Mark Twain, Tolkien, or Kurosawa need more T and A in their stories and films? Why would a warrior or special agent wear a chain mail bikini or a tight leather catsuit with high heels and no bra?
Basically, I wish the game industry would stop taking all its cues on women from superhero comics.
I wouldn't mind a year of games with bare minimal T & A,Chris. It's not as if I always "enjoy" being sexually frustrated. lol. Though I'm pro expression I think anything thrown in our faces too much can cause subtle psychological damage. Not to the point we end up in asylums but it can still effect us is small ways. Then again, I supply plenty of busty cleavage through my art so maybe I should shut up now before I contradict myself! (Oops,too late!)
I also agree most AAA western games feel like glossy huge production Hollywood movies. With that comes pros and cons but from a gameplay perspective I wish there could be more solutions beyond shooting other living organisms in their faces. (Or in a glowing pulsating weak spot) "Shit gets old" after the 100th time no matter how good the story supporting it is!
Of course Japan regurgitates the same stuff in tedium with stuff like Dynasty Warriors. As much as I love the series I recognize it as "Madden" with feudal warlords. lol. Aka, it's the same hack n slash/light strategy affair in each iteration and very little changes. (Though for the record I was pretty impressed with Warriors Orochi 3 and Dynasty Warriors 7. I'm a masochist,I realize this!)
However, Japan still seems more experimental. Aka, they still do games with platforming, puzzle solving,strategy, and unique off the wall premises. I've really been missing that.
We have risk takers here in the west too but I wouldn't say they are as common place. That is why certain genres in the west are either almost dead or only recently have been making a come back through the indie scene.
I can agree with that idea. I'd like to see more developers set aside the fetishism and cosplay bait.
I just want more good games. If a game is awesome enough I'm not going to care as much how people are dressed.
Besides, Samus spends most of her adventures in space armor yet Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Zero mission are still some of my favorite nintendo games of all time.
I played Devil May Cry 4 this weekend, and just wanted there not to be so many damn cutscenes and loading screens for me to skip. I actually really liked cutscene driven games when I was younger and MGS made that the norm, but I was playing DMC4 to have a break from watching movies on Amazon Prime, so the fact at least the first part was trying to be a movie was annoying. -_-
I know you didn't mention anything about cutscenes, but you did mention games used to be about fun, and I remember when I could pop in Star Fox 64 and just play the damn th... wait, I'm back at home and own an N64. Well, don't mind if I do. (and I realize SF64 had cutscenes, too, but they were short, skippable, and caused almost no loading time).
I did notice back in the day games had stories but they were more interwoven. Final fantasy 6 had no cut-scenes but still had memorable characters and a good plot. Same with Chrono-Trigger.
While I don't hate cut scenes with every fiber of my being I do think they're too excessive occasionally. That's why I'm grateful when the game I'm playing gives me the option to skip them. (Especially if I already beat the game once so I already know what's going to happen)
I don't know why it's a requirement for games to be "big budget" and "flashy". Does every title released need celebrity voice actors and the very best graphics?
Some of the games I enjoyed the most this year were small obscure gems that simply had fun game-play.
Sure, I can appreciate triple A titles but I think too many companies have unrealistic expectations. If shipping 3 million copies the 1st month equates to "disappointing sales" you better believe something is screwed up about the industry,Joe.
Yeah, I don't mind cutscenes, either, but this was like I'd skip one and get a loading screen, then repeat like five times before doing anything.
Final Fantasy VI had cutscenes, ditto Chrono Trigger They just weren't CG movies. Non-interactive narrative segments powered by the game engine, even if it's a 2-D sprite-based engine, still count as cutscenes.
I still don't see in game "auto story segments" as cut scenes because they don't disrupt the flow. With a cut scene you can actually be in the middle of doing something when suddenly it pops up out of nowhere. As such I still think older games handled transitions more smoothly,Andrew. But perhaps definition wise you're right! If so I guess cut scenes have been with us longer than I originally thought. (Actually Ninja Gaiden on the nes had friggin cut scenes between levels. Am I THAT senile? lol.)
I realize the more recent version of Chrono Trigger has anime cut scenes and because they look so beautiful I cannot complain too much. lol.
But I'm kinda with Joe. Aka, I wish the more modern cutscenes wouldn't trigger loading times, be overly frequent, and be unskippable in some cases. Games are more about being played than being watched. (Yes, I know Heavy Rain and Asura's Wrath want a word with me. lol.)
Ben... I think you need to check your privaledge...
lol
Sorry.. Couldn't resist..
Anyway!
I don't judge games based on Eastern/Western origins. I just play games to play games. If it looks fun, then I'm all about it. If it looks shit, meh... I may try it but I still won't judge it by origin. Judging a game by it's origin KIND OF feels a bit racist to me I suppose.
A lot of people also forget games like Dark Souls came out of Japan. lol. I'm totally with you,Chris. I don't care where a game was made so long as I can enjoy it.
As for privelege I wrote a letter to the president asking for a limousine,limo driver, and billions of dollars. I figure since I'm a white male Obama will treat me like the king I am! Still waiting for his correspondence!
By the way.....
When are we going to wrap up Resident Evil?
Whenever you have time. I can be on as soon as tonight. lol. Oh, I got a head set too,bro! Communication should be easier!
Awesome!! I'll have to let you know about tonight. It depends on what all I get into but if you see me online then just shoot me a message!
I will,mang! I'll try being on around 7 or 8 ish in the evening. For the record, it's 1:08 in the afternoon for me right now!
Ok! I'll see what I can do, but no promises though. Gotta see how the little one does throughout the night.
And we're in the same time zone, score!
Don't worry Chris. I'm not holding you to anything in a devil's contract. lol. If it happens it will and if not, we'll reschedule. No big! lol.
Such a great blog! I agree with you on all of it. Especially the "check your priviledge" portion. I know how it feels to be on a limited budget and not have much money. And you're right about how some people believe a college degree makes them somehow more worldly and superior.. All mine do for me is allow me to do my job properly. They helped me get a leg up when I went into the Navy,too. I've never understood the entire backlash against Japanese games and game culture. Not everthing showing cleavage is hentai. Yet somehow it all gets lumped into a general pile of perversion. It was always there and the Japanese seem to like it that way. I remember the whole Nixie Pixel thing. I had been watching her video podcast. Now she has vanished for some reason. Shame,because she did fine work on there. Jessica Chobot just had her baby. That will either give her new perspective or make her unbearable! Ever hear the comedy song "Pregnant Women Are Smug" by Garfunkel & Oates? That was her when she was pregnant. Other women have done this before,I would have told her.
Jessica Chobot ain't all bad but it's obvious she has an inflated head sometimes. I know for awhile she was a huge sex symbol in the geek community and it was sort of strange she played the "self righteous card" against other females flaunting sexy cosplay. If you are a kettle there's no point in reminding the pot that it's black,know what I'm saying?
As for Japanese entertainment, it's very varied. It's easy to find anime with no fan service what so ever and even many Shin Megami Tensei games are low on fan service. Aka, people looking for dirt just so happen to find dirt. It's a shame they don't look for flowers instead!
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