Tuesday, July 1, 2008
WORST. TREND. EVER.
I'm so tired of people putting periods between every capitalized word. Usually starting with "BEST." and ending with "EVER." It's so irritating and over-dramatic. "!!!!1!1?!!!!1!" just doesn't cut it anymore, they have to write out their dramatic pauses. Do you think that SP4RT4N_KILLER who is on the fence about the Saints Row 2 trailer is going to be so impressed by your ability to misuse punctuation that they'll Digg your comment and XBL friend you? I guess what really gnaws at me is that behind their statement is a smug feeling that their statement is so simple yet powerful that they have to use what they imagine is the internet equivalent of chiseling it in stone.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
GTAIV Launch! YAO!
I don't know where to begin! As you can see from my last post I was watching some G4 special event coverage last night when I was whisked away by G-friends parents to red robin for dinner. Then I took aforementioned G-friend to Yogurt Oasis which is our new dessert destination. 9:15 I roll up to gamestop and BAM! No line. The employees are setting up BBQ. Soon enough a line starts materializing (behind me) I met some really nice people, friend paul showed up. We just stood around being cold, eating burgers and having a generally good time waiting ecstatically for what IGN called the best game since Ocarina of time. We traded gaming stories, talked about the good and the bad and what we were looking forward to, it was fun, I just love gathering with like minded people, especially when they're strangers turned friends. The low point of the evening was creepy Red Bull girls coming and flirting gratuitously while giving out free Red Bull. It's just really uncomfortable that they hire girls to use themselves to sell a product. They were asking these leading questions that were meant to make us perform for them. One guy had another brand of energy drink and they asked him "What can I do to make you pour that out and drink Red Bull." That just grossed me out. Paul summed it up best "How much does Red Bull pay you hourly to act like you're our friends." Anyway that was just gross and they left and it was great. I took some pictures. The line was like 50 people at least. Traded PSN IDs and then suddenly they let 6 of us in, and I got my special edition.
The gun is neither part of the special edition nor real.
Letter to G4
I rarely watch AOTS though I do love X-play ( I don't have cable so i check it out online or at my friends house). Yesterday I tuned in just for the special GTAIV coverage. I was put off by the gadget pr0n when Kevin (I think thats his name) was showing off the camera by focusing the camera on Olivia's chest. Especially after the ridiculous Open Source boob groping crap at ConFusion, I think it's become clear (whether it's true or not) that gamers, technophiles, nerds, etc. are grossly out of touch socially. I feel like the aforementioned segment of your show only reinforces that (both the public conception of gamers and the actual awkward mindset thereof ).
I want to convey that I am a gamer, I'm a PS3 fanboy and was the first one to pick up GTAIV at my local gamestop last night. I am aware of the inherent sexism in the some of the games that I play, but I feel that the example on your show is a little more potent in a couple ways.
GTAIV is obviously set in a fictitious world, it should be judged along the same lines as other fictitious media like movies, books, and music. AOTS is a show with real people talking about real things so people will probably take it as somewhat of a representation of the real world. I also feel that Olivia and Kevin are portrayed as equals: co-hosts (Like Adam and Morgan) so when one blatantly objectifies the other, it creeps me out and makes me feel guilty as part of the target audience. I feel strange bringing gender politics into a show about games and technology, but I want to have pride in being a gamer, games are such a huge part of my life right now and it's hard when I see evidence that being a gamer means taking part in a culture that doesn't necessarily actively objectify women but may not know better because of the way women are presented to them.
I would like games to be viewed as an art form just as TV, Film, and music. I feel like GTAIV is a step in that direction, but I feel that the negative view of the video game audience is stifling.
Ken
I want to convey that I am a gamer, I'm a PS3 fanboy and was the first one to pick up GTAIV at my local gamestop last night. I am aware of the inherent sexism in the some of the games that I play, but I feel that the example on your show is a little more potent in a couple ways.
GTAIV is obviously set in a fictitious world, it should be judged along the same lines as other fictitious media like movies, books, and music. AOTS is a show with real people talking about real things so people will probably take it as somewhat of a representation of the real world. I also feel that Olivia and Kevin are portrayed as equals: co-hosts (Like Adam and Morgan) so when one blatantly objectifies the other, it creeps me out and makes me feel guilty as part of the target audience. I feel strange bringing gender politics into a show about games and technology, but I want to have pride in being a gamer, games are such a huge part of my life right now and it's hard when I see evidence that being a gamer means taking part in a culture that doesn't necessarily actively objectify women but may not know better because of the way women are presented to them.
I would like games to be viewed as an art form just as TV, Film, and music. I feel like GTAIV is a step in that direction, but I feel that the negative view of the video game audience is stifling.
Ken
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