Gamer's Manifesto

[lailoken]

I just found this nice rant about the state of the market.

[linkage]

[baconian]

oh, you found it, eh? Coincidental that Ron found it on exactly the same day. :ponycrap:

[lailoken]

yeah well I found it on HelloGamer.com... so who the Fuck is RON???

[MrHoatzin]

yeah well I found it on HelloGamer.com... so who the Fuck is RON???

Ron Gilbert, the male model and polar cap explorer.

[lailoken]

ok, I of course do know who Ron was supposed to be and even though I am an avid admirer of the man's games I don't give two fucks if he posted something on his site and I APPEAR to repost it here on the Thumb. What's the point in pointing that out baconian? Apart from being an "insufferable knowitall" or maybe even a little pain up the bum?

[MrChlorophyll]

I don't give two fucks

Phrases like that, while meaningless really, do imply a great depth of... somesuch.

I can give you a rat's ass if you need it.

[Dingo Chavez]

Pointless Waste of Time is my favorite comedy site. I visit it daily, yet I've seen this article in Grumpy Gamer too before I went to the site, I think that's odd. They've written some nice Video game related articles in the past, but none come close to this one, they're all justifiable complaints (funny too).

[David]

I expected this article to be a bunch of whiny bullshit judging by the title, but I couldn't stop reading it once I started, and I agree with possibly everything stated. Maybe I should go outside.

[JoeX111]

ok, I of course do know who Ron was supposed to be and even though I am an avid admirer of the man's games I don't give two fucks if he posted something on his site and I APPEAR to repost it here on the Thumb. What's the point in pointing that out baconian? Apart from being an "insufferable knowitall" or maybe even a little pain up the bum?

Maybe you should watch your icon a little more.

[Trithemius]

oh, you found it, eh? Coincidental that Ron found it on exactly the same day. :ponycrap:

It's been turning up linked everywhere. Not everyone who reads Thumbs reads Grumpy Gamer regularly, why make a fuss about it? Are there rewards points for linking to something first?

[MrHoatzin]

It's been turning up linked everywhere. Not everyone who reads Thumbs reads Grumpy Gamer regularly, why make a fuss about it? Are there rewards points for linking to something first?

No, but random bitchiness is rewarded by annoyance.

[twmac]

The only thing he missed in the whole 'making games harder' section of complaints is the fact that game sconstantly cheat, making you crapper for no apparent reason.

Example is NBA street, highly enjoyable for about a week, then when you discover all you need is a seven foot guy to block all shots it gets boring. However, upping the difficulty levels just makes it almost impossible to block shots that were originally easy as pie. Instead of making the opponents more skilled, the game has simply made you rubbish.

I totally agree with the article, despite his obsession with doom 3.

Sorry, was that too on the subject?

[MrChlorophyll]

Sorry, was that too on the subject?

I heard you can get banned for that.

[MrHoatzin]

You're all banned, bitches.

[nickpage]

I enjoyed it, even if I did disagree with things he said. Not that they weren't true, just that I wish they werent. His example about the nintendo systems, I still play my old NES and snes, but ive only purchashed a few games each for N64 and gamecube. I don't know, I guess even though their focus always seemed more on games, the first party titles were really only the ones I bought for either system, and I always preferred the playstation and xbox exclusive stuff over the 2 latest nintendo systems (obviously not always the case, I think the only person who will tell you that blinx was better than say, metroid prime, are the people who somehow convinced microsoft to let them make a sequel).

I don't really think that I have more playstation (1 and 2) games or xbox games than I N64 or gamecube games because I use the systems as dvd players too, I have more games because of (wait for it) THE GAMES. Nintendo has a great base with franchises like Mario and Metroid and the Legend of Zelda, but if they were able to get stronger exclusive content (I think Katamari would have killed on the gamecube if they had marketed it right) instead of counting on their own internal development of their tried and true products, I don't see why more people wouldn't be buying those systems.

Really, I know there are people out there, but how many people really need or use the PS2 as a cd player? MAYBE a dvd player, but I don't think extras are what push the systems. Nintendo is dropping because their content is dropping, not because you cant watch the diehard trilogy after turning off windwaker.

Sorry for the long first post.

[Roderick]

It's a great read, but some things are a little too strong or are seen from too much of a narrow hardcore gamer-vision. Save points, as discussed here greatly, can sometimes be a designing choice to pace the game. Giving away the big guns at the start may be a gamer's fantasy but it would hurt the drive to find other items and the build-up as well. A lot of the other points are really just little tidbits of complaints about the biggest mainstream games, disregarding the expanding array of inventive titles that are appearing next to it. It's also a bit like preaching to the choir; most of the readers reading this are leaning towards more of an avantgarde approach already anyway. We're well aware of the problem. Nice that it's been poured in an amusing form for once, but to me it seems a little superfluous. Though that's far too strong a word.

[vimes]

The beginning of the article highlights some real problems but when they reach point 11, it mainly turns into "what WE, gamers, want you should provide because we know we are righteous"

... and I'm still amazed at how most english-speaking game journalists can't seem to be able to express a strong opinion or a strong feeling without using fuck or son-of-a-bitch. It's both funny and pathetic, in a way.

[lailoken]

hey! ok... excessive bitchiness... granted... anway.

There was no link here so I guess it was a good thing to link it.

[Thrik]

Cool article. Some points were a little too geared towards the writer's personal taste, but as a whole it does bring up a lot of fair points. AI that isn't utterly retarded is definitely a big one, and something that really should be worked on with multiple processors and all that taking the centre stage in the upcoming generations of consoles and PCs.

I mean, seriously. Even the most advanced AI in games these days is for the most part completely lame, and there's never a true sense of threat from anything that isn't prescripted. One problem that I see a lot is how many games offer "safety zones", which are essentially areas that you know the AI cannot make the enemy reach very easily, if at all.

These such zones should be non-existent in future games which rely on enemy threat, so that you never feel safe. It destroys the immersion if you know that you can just climb halfway up a ladder to completely escape most enemys' physical attacks, for instance. Enemies should be able to deal with any action that you take to evade them, rather than simply losing hope if you hide behind which is out of their visible range or immediate walking range.

Metal Gear Solid took some steps in the right direction with the way the enemies in it could take you on in a variety of ways, called for backup, dealt with you effectively, and generally spotted clues which hinted to your being there such as sound and footprints. The entire game was based around this though, while in today's games it should be part of the game, rather than the game itself.

I mean, take any random FPS these days. Whilst some may say you can choose to evade enemies rather than take them on via stealth, how many of these games actually offer you a serious stealthing experience when you also have the option of blasting them down with a shotgun? More often than not, they just tack some half-assed immediate range sound and movement detection and then claim it to be a stealth element.

I don't know how to really describe it. I mean, the AI isn't totally atrocious in most games these days, since you are genuinely challenged at times and such. It just feels so cheap in the way that they do so, and it definitely doesn't feel you're facing actual intelligence in any game whatsoever, it's more like "artificial competence".

[baconian]

INot everyone who reads Thumbs reads Grumpy Gamer regularly,

yeah well you probably should. Look at this shit That Is Linked To On GrumpyGamer Today.

[Dingo Chavez]

Some of you do realize that Pointless Waste of Time is a sick and twisted comedy site, the reason for all those curse words and such is because: that's David Wong's style, he's a twisted person, read this: http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/film/returnoftheking.html, some of those pictures still haunt me in my dreams.

There's also their classic review of the Silence of The Lambs sequel Hannibal: http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/film/hannibal.html, you didn't see that coming, now did you? I also disagree if a few remarks, I found Mario Sunshine's camera troublesome, but superior to Mario 64, and the save points in Metroid Prime weren't all that distant from each boss. So what I'm saying is: don't take this article too seriously, it's fine piece better than most of what you'll read in IGN and Gamespot, but it's still a parody site.

Much like Baconian, I also recommend checking Ron Gilbert's links. It's how I found out about Pointless Waste of Time in the first place, with this hilarious article Gilbert posted: http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/monkeysphere.html.

[baconian]

If some of you don't check out grumpygamer, then you also may have missed Tim Schafer's blog at double fine, along with a plethora of action comics, which was updated today, even though the thumb finger didn't notice it.

[David]

Good one.

[Trithemius]

No, but random bitchiness is rewarded by annoyance.

A fair cop.

Maybe there should be reward points?! Win a copyright-infringing t-shirt from the Thumbs Store?

[Trithemius]

The only thing he missed in the whole 'making games harder' section of complaints is the fact that game sconstantly cheat, making you crapper for no apparent reason.

Same with strategy-type games; the computer just fiddles the numbers in favour of the AI players. Very lame.