PixlBit

That is why I have done my best to erase my presence on those sites.  One seemingly innocent comment and half the commenters come to rip you a new one. 

That's true. Fucking assholes.

We hate you too, heffer 

But in all honesty this isn't a gaming problem it's seeping into many forms of popculture, the thoughtless gut reactions, the lack of intelligent debate, mob mentality. 

I'm mostly anoyed at the next gen snobs just say mention Nintendo and they foam at the mouth.

Yeah, it is a part of every form of pop culture. It's just annoying as hell.

One thing I learned even before 1up and people are cruel, mean, and ignorant, I think my first time was on gamespot and I wrote a blog on ps2 strategy and everyone that commented were people dogging strategy games or correcting my spelling, or punctuation its like if you can talk like adults simply dont talk, but dont let it get to ya Blake just a bunch of immature children who cant talk or act like adults.

I'm not a multiplayer FPS player, so I don't see much of that stuff, but I hear about it all the time. I still remember turning on the sound for the first time in a Halo firefight match (the only mode I'll play) and the first thing I heard was a racial slur. THE FIRST THING! Turned the sound off, never looked back. 

What annoys me a little lately though are the Indie snobs. I like all sorts of games, but when certain Indie games are gushed over for hours on a podcast, I wish I could tell them, "your talking about a two hour experience!" Is that really enough gameplay to make it game of the year? I think not. People just got to make a stand against the big bad triple A publishers and create their little elitist club. Anyway, that's my rant of the day.

I disagree with your last point. Games should be judged by the experiences they give, not the time they can be played for. My game of the year is a 3 hour indie game. It made me cry, it made me feel awe and it told a story through game mechanics, not 20 hour cutscenes. Also, Portal was a 3 hour indie game that got picked up by valve. Game length doesn't mean shit IMO.

 That said, people who only look to indie games are stupid, as there is merit and flaws in both spaces. Indie games copy each other just as much as triple a games.

Yea, I thought about the time thing later as being a weak argument but it does enter into it for me to some degree. 

I guess it's the attitude that Indie games are inherently better because they are made by only a few people and that they are doing it for the love of it and not the money that really bothers me. 

 No, they are only better if they do something unique or different, which one or two of them seem to do every year. The thing about indie games is that while they may take less to complete them, they also cost a lot less.

I don't know if The Cave is considered Indie, but that was one of my favorite games this year. It's still not beating out Etrian Odyssey Untold though.

You flipflop a lot Blake. Your stance on feminism I mean. I've seen you express anger at feminism then I've also seen you defend feminism. However, I feel as if I'm in that same position. In other words, I "do" want to see more female developers and female movie directors. As for gaming, "diversity" usually improves things.

Of course I've also been harshly attacked by so called feminists for some of my art and my ideas. By the point they call me a "misogynist" I usually give up on debating them intelligently. 

The problem is we're in a very "Your either with us 100% or you are against us" era in geek culture. In other words, if you're a feminist most feminists want you to ALWAYS agree with them. If you disagree with them once then suddenly you are an exiled pariah.

It's not just feminism though. I saw an argument where traditional Star Trek fans were labeling the new films as "dumb action flicks" and were calling everyone who likes these movies "stupid". It was very disheartening to see.

It's as if geek culture is making a profit off of making geeks fight with each other. Beyond that every elitist seems to want to be in an echo chamber where everyone says the same thing. If you say something "different" from the rest of the hive-mind,the drones attack you and cannibalize your corpse.

My position is simple: Feminism is something that should be fought for, and women deserve an equal spot in pretty much everything. The only time I have a problem is when they overstep the boundaries of equality and want dominance, or if their demands/attacks are just plain stupid. My problem is with people who attack feminists on sight just because their feminists. It's that simple.

Elitism is something I'm VERY against. Unfortunately, my two favourite things - metal and gaming - are extremely steeped in it.

My question is why the word femi-nism? "Equality" is supposed to be inclusive to everyone yet we're dealing with a word that only includes one gender. I'm sorry, but the very term is alienating for that reason. If feminists would simply call themselves "egalitarians" or "equalists" I'd begin feeling a lot more comfortable. Likewise if they also talked about "troublesome men's issues" with equal fervor they would come off as more genuine. I'm not saying all energy & effort should suddenly shift to men's problems exclusively. I simply want men's rights to be acknowledged along with women's rights.

I'm sorry Blake, but it's been my experience feminism is NOT that simple. Every cause claims to have noble intentions but every cause also has its fair share of assholes and extremists. I wish we could go into everything with rose colored glasses but sometimes we have to see the reality in front of us.

Exactly: Extremists. Assholes. We cannot deny a cause simply because of a vocal minority. The reason for the term feminist? They're focusing on one area of equality. They're spending time and effort trying to get females to be equal to men, not other races or that sort of thing. They specialise in one form of it. That would be like suggesting that a biologist change their name to scientist because it isn't inclusive of other fields :p

 Also, the name has been around for a while, and it makes them feel as though they're continuing a fight that has been fought for generations.

Sometimes I look at comments on other gaming sites if I need a good laugh... but most of the time it just leaves me feeling depressed. I've pretty much given up hope of ever understanding those kinds of people. Don't let it get to you man!

Eh. It just annoys me sometimes and I need to vent. Most of the time I just let it go.

Gamers.  Can't live with 'em, can't frag 'em.  Oh, wait.....  

I'd rather frack them with a frag grenade.

The interwebs and access to it has grown exponentially over the last few years.

Gaming sites are now lousy with little kids and mentally challenged adults who think that the fact  they play Call of the Doody on the Battlefield when it comes out once a year makes them a hardcore gamer and an authority on everything in videogame land.

Consequently the world we know is turned on it's head. FPS's and murder simulators are kiddie games and Mario is a mature title. Why? Because really "gaming enthusiasts" still play games for fun, not to compensate for their manhood. :)

Since you brought it up, let's talk about guns. 

In the US, the states with the strongest gun laws have higher gun violence.  They got higher after the laws went in.  If fact, nations with the strictest gun laws have higher murder rates.  "Guns don't kill people.  People kill people."  If someone wants another person dead, it's going to happen regardless of if they have a gun or not.  

Kitchen knives are used more in homicides than guns.  Actually, many items are used to kill people more than guns are.  By your logic, should we ban kitchen knives?  More people die in car accidents too.  Should we ban cars?  

I don't know about other countries, but in the US we have guns to protect us from the government.  It's not just for self defense or hunting, though we still do plenty of both.  The right to own firearms is to protect us from a government take over.  It seems many people want their government to take over their lives now-a-days.  These people are short sighted.  History as shown, that governments betray their people.  You actually don't have to look far to find out just how much your government has screwed you.  "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana.  History and facts are on the side of guns.  Which side are you on?  

Beware the government controlled propaganda and get the real facts.  You can still have your opinion about guns.  Nothing wrong with that.  I actually don't like guns, but I hate the government more.  You may want to have the facts before ranting on.  It's the most intelligent thing to do. 

Firstly... how are you the first person to argue about my guns rant? It seems someone would have before then. My thing is that knives and cars have uses outside death. Guns do not. Even with a knife or a blut instrument, the risk of killing them is lowered. If you want to kill someone, you're going to do it. In the cases of self protection however, you could break a limb with a bat rather than shoot and kill. It'll do less damage but still serve a purpose.

 The governent thing? Sorry, but that sounds a bit like paranoia... you live in America, not Saudi Arabia.

Firstly, I respect your opinion on guns.  I own a few.  Most are family heirlooms from growing up on a farm.  I'm not a nut but I enjoy skeet shooting and target practice from time to time.  As far as defending myself, I do not carry a gun.  I do have one in the house though.  If God forbid there ever was an intruder, I will use it to defend myself or my family.  I'm not going to risk using a bat.  Also, if ever God forbid again I am in a situation like that, I will  shoot to kill.   To be honest, if all I have is a bat, I would kill with it to defend my family.  I won't apologize for that.  If you need to feel I am a creep, so be it.

 On a farm is fine. It's necessary in some instances, and more humane way of putting down animals. Also, I'm fine with skeet shooting or target practice, I just think that it should be confined to professions that need them, or to shooting galleries where they can be monitored. I'm not against your opinion, and I guess it's part of living in a country with a different culture and attitude towards the subject that causes such differing views.

If a person doesn't want to be shoot and killed, that person shouldn't come breaking into my house.  I would expect the same if I broke into another person's house.  

Honestly dude, in all seriousness, what the fuck you know about America?  Yeah, it's not Saudi Arabia, but with all the freedoms we have, we sure get fucked a lot by our government.  There is not one group of people that haven't been fucked here.  American Indians.  Japanese.  Middle Easterns.  These are the first groups that come to mind that when the US was in a war, these poor people were arounded up and put into camps and jail for no reason but that they didn't fit the "American ideal" and the shit was order by the government!  And you think it doesn't happen now?  America has the highest number of people in prisons in the world!  People in this country go to prison for almost nothing!  Too many go to prison just for standing on the rights of this country!  We also have people that stay in prison longer!  Our government commits crimes against the people right in our face!  They've done it so long that many Americans believe there are actually laws in place that justifies the thousands of people the government has put in prison over the years.  Every year because of the increase of people that don't know their rights or their history, we lose more and more freedoms!  So I ask you, what the fuck you know about the government of my country?  Before you rant, get facts.  I don't assume to know the government of your country.  I'm sure your government supplies all it's people with puckets of gold and pure unicorn milk. 

Our government sure does love it's unicorn milk. Thing is, even if your right, what is it going to help? You stand up to the government with a gun, you'll just get more fucked than you would have otherwise.

Nations get worse because it's people are complacent and don't have the nerve to stand up to their government.  "I rather die on my feet than live upon my kness." - Emiliano Zapata.  If the government (all of them are corrupt in some way) is coming to your house, it's not to bring you big money & big prizes.  They are there to upset your world.  They're there to take your money, or your business, or your home, or a family memeber, or the whole damn family.  Rarely, but it happens, they do all of the above.  That's what governments do.  They take.  It's hard to explain if your family hasn't experienced it or you don't know of any family that has been screwed by a government agency.  All I can say is that I will fight for my family with the rights I have.  If dieing is in that plan, I will do it with or without a gun.  

Female roles in videogames is the small time.  Get involved in your government and you'll come across some real concerns that demand your attention.  This videogame shit is just a distraction. 

I wasn't trying to offend you. I apologise if I did. I'm a well adjusted white guy who has only benefited from the government, so it's hard to see your point of view. I'm well aware that video games are a distraction and that in the long run they don't matter. That's why I voice my concerns on this site - you know a video game site? Do you think my facebook page is full of the shit that I spout here? Of course not. I play a lot of games. It's my favourite hobby. I come to this site to talk to likeminded people about this hobby, and I go elsewhere when I want to talk about politics or whatever. Usually anyway.

I figured as much.  I come here to talk games too.  But..., you brought up the "American ideal" and guns.  And, on top of that a "Fuck you".  How could I hold back from a statement like that?  

Blake, I've read your blogs and comments long enough to knew that you get excited about certain topics or at least your writing does.  I understand your point of view about guns and maybe you do believe your government is looking out for your best interest.  Since no one else was disagreeing with you on the gun issue, or maybe they agree with you, I have a point of view that's opposite of yours and have reasons to back it up.  I would be doing a disservice to myself, to the people that believe as I do, and to you, if I didn't oppose your words, which were roughly 20% of your blog.  I wasn't offended by your words, but I did feel the need make my response as "colorful" as your statement.  I don't go looking for it, but I discuss politics wherever I come across it.  I don't want to contribute to the illusion that we all should think alike. 

Oh definitely, and thinking like me is probably a bad thing in general. Argument is healthy, I just think guns are stupid. Your opinion is entirely valid, and I don't live in America, where the right to bear arms is instilled from an early age. 

Even though I review games and have been doing so for 15 years, and playing games for twice that much, it's hard for me to fit in with a lot of gamer crowds because we don't share the same tastes.  While it's hard sometimes, I don't worry about it too much and just have fun playing the games I like.  Life's too short to worry about the other stuff.

Honestly, the whole divisive elitism is ridiculous. I like games. You like games. So why not like games together. Fuck whether they're casual games, family games, or "inferior" games. They're games.

Except on Pixlbit and on the webcomics I follow, I don't even risk reading the comments.

Depending on which site you are on, scrolling down to the comments is like taking a stroll through a warzone, if you aren't a friendly, you are an enemy. If you stance differs too much, then you are a freaking Nazi.

That's a smart move. Unfortunately I look at the comments for just about everything lol.

Yeah, I hate elitism and snobism. Pretty much why everything gaming related I read it here and from either forums with a balanced number of people or small websites. Just reading the comment sections on sites like IGN and The Escapist makes me want to punch a cat.

Punch a cat. That encompasses the feeling perfectly. My tastes are still better than yours though :p

HMMMPH!

"Puts on monocle"

Looks like someone doesn't apriciate the fine art of the Mario games.

Mario games? You dastardly Nintendo casual!

YOU UNCREATIVE SHEEP TO MODERN GAMING!

You whimsical, unhip douche!

You beer loaded, trigger-happy bastard!

I have to agree with this. I put up a blog recently about fighting trolls or something that went on for like 3 days. It was mostly because there were a few particular people who were just misinforming the group and it would inflame, even though some would post up facts.  It was a random discussion about "casualizing" hard core games for main stream or something like that, especially when it came to MMOs. "Get Out Filthy Casuals" was my blog post I think. 

I also watched a recent best games list from Marcus whats-his-name from GameTrailers, or Annoyed Gamer as he's knows, and he left out PC games and Nintendo or portable games for some reason. It was more like don't hate me for my fav game choices, it's what I like and not what you like, So Fuck Off! 

I shall have to read said blog. I've kinda gotten a bit behind with my pixlbit readings. Also, I concur with Marcus Beer. Fuck you, it's my opinion!

dont consider forum or comment trolls as typical gamers. These people are just trying to get a reaction out of the staff and other users. For the past few years I attended PAX East and all I ever see is the biggest group of the most outstanding people. Up to 70,000 people in one place celebrating the hobby they love. Its amazing to see. Those people are real gamers, not the punks commenting on IGN. Trust me, NOBODY wants to be associated with those people, not even the people dong the commenting.

Yeah I know. They're just the vocal minority that ruin everything for everyone and should be hung from their intestines and have rodent testicles stapled to their faces. I'm a little concerned that that was the first thing I thought of...

It's not that online assholes outnumber us. It's only that they have the louder voice and are relentless.

Don't put that evil on us, Ricky Bobby.

Don't quote Talldega Nights at me asshole!

Hahahah thank you so much for this.