Scott Pilgrim [video game]

[Tanukitsune]

I'm a fan of Scott Pilgrim, I even met the author at Mocca a few years ago, and having his game with Paul Robertson's pixel art and Anamanaguchi is like a match made in heaven! <3

Scott Pilgrim does start out like a bit of a douche, dumping his girlfriend for Ramona, who says she must fight her evil ex-boyfriends to date her and as he fights them he stops being such a douche and a loser... Also, I love it's wackiness!

[F4T C4T]

I don't know anything about Scott Pilgrim but I think that trailer looks cool. I'm a sucker for the retro pixel look and sweet 2D animation. Having said that I'm not interested in playing it too much.

I checked out the original comic afterwards as well and that doesn't do anything for me.

[syntheticgerbil]

I actually also love the style, colors, art direction, and animation of this game even though I despise Scott Pilgrim the comic and have no interest in getting into it.

So I probably won't be playing this game, but kudos to the designers and animators. Great job!

[MrHoatzin]

  miffy495 said:

It seems like all the parts about geek culture that I work really hard to separate myself from (geeks are losers, the primary goal in life is to find a girlfriend, finding said girlfriend is the ultimate prize, referencing shit for the sake of referencing it is clever, and that being, as you put it, "oblivious and selfish" are common traits among all geeks that deserve to be looked past because we have hearts of gold blah blah blah entitled bullshit whydon'tthecheerleadersloveme...) being extolled and celebrated.

Hooray to/for this sentence, but you forgot a verb.

  Chris said:

Everything about that sounds unbelievably horrible.

Maybe we're just getting old.

[Patters]

  Kingzjester said:

Maybe we're just getting old.

I'm 20 and hate it?

[Ben X]

Yeah, lobotomy's pitch sounds more like a damning critique! The Spaced comparison is apt, though - a funny, surrealistic and geek-culture minded look at young life - friends, relationships, jobs etc.

I recommend trying the first volume to anyone who hasn't yet. It won't take long - they're very easy reads - and will explain its appeal better than we ever could.

[Defenestrated]

  miffy495 said:

Yeah, I think I can give that a pass now. It seems like all the parts about geek culture that I work really hard to separate myself from (geeks are losers, the primary goal in life is to find a girlfriend, finding said girlfriend is the ultimate prize, referencing shit for the sake of referencing it is clever, and that being, as you put it, "oblivious and selfish" are common traits among all geeks that deserve to be looked past because we have hearts of gold blah blah blah entitled bullshit whydon'tthecheerleadersloveme...) being extolled and celebrated. These things are bad things to be and believe, and the way you've described Scott Pilgrim makes it sound like it plays up those stereotypes. I love video games. I like a whole lot of geek culture. But that stereotype is why I still feel a twinge of shame when I call myself a gamer in mixed company. In their minds, I'm being equated with people who believe that. Granted, it may not actually be as bad as you inadvertently made it out to be. The person who was recommending Scott Pilgrim to me before is a really smart girl who knows her comics, and what you described seems like the sort of thing that really irritates her. Still, if that's the takeaway, maybe I should just keep ignoring it.

If the entire comic was like this, it would indeed be inexcusable rubbish. I think what saves it is that he actually gets the girl 20 pages in, and spends the rest of the comic fighting dudes to keep her for no rational reason given.

Like I said, I think its primary sin is willful incoherence, but it has its cute moments.

[Nachimir]

I like the comics and find them amusing. Certainly not aspirational though.

Also, the final volume is released just before the film; noone (bar the creators) knows how it ends yet.

[SiN]

Another Scott Pilgrim fan here.

I dunno, the synopsis might sound awful, but it really is quite good. It's funny, well-written, and, I dunno, honest. It references video games, but not in a forced or obscure manner. It's definitely not about stupid Family-Guy-esque obscure references. And it isn't about the negative stereotype of nerds and gamers, it's about celebrating it. It's basically a coming-of-age story wrapped around a cultural context we've lived through and can relate to. You may be passed that stage of your life, I know I am, but that's beside the point.

Also, it takes place in Toronto, which is awesome.

Mo

[Forbin]

  miffy495 said:

Yeah, I think I can give that a pass now. It seems like all the parts about geek culture that I work really hard to separate myself from (geeks are losers, the primary goal in life is to find a girlfriend, finding said girlfriend is the ultimate prize, referencing shit for the sake of referencing it is clever, and that being, as you put it, "oblivious and selfish" are common traits among all geeks that deserve to be looked past because we have hearts of gold blah blah blah entitled bullshit whydon'tthecheerleadersloveme...) being extolled and celebrated. These things are bad things to be and believe, and the way you've described Scott Pilgrim makes it sound like it plays up those stereotypes. I love video games. I like a whole lot of geek culture. But that stereotype is why I still feel a twinge of shame when I call myself a gamer in mixed company. In their minds, I'm being equated with people who believe that. Granted, it may not actually be as bad as you inadvertently made it out to be. The person who was recommending Scott Pilgrim to me before is a really smart girl who knows her comics, and what you described seems like the sort of thing that really irritates her. Still, if that's the takeaway, maybe I should just keep ignoring it.

It's actually a good experience to be pissed off at something you're reading once and a while.

[miffy495]

I just got a philosophy degree. I spent the last five years getting pissed off at things I've read and replying to them with lengthy essays. I want my reading to piss me off, but for the right reasons. Being intellectually challenging and making a valid point that I disagree with and can have a constructive argument based on is good. Perpetuating a stupid stereotype and celebrating being a selfish twit is not. Your post is making me out to be closed-minded and offended by anything I don't agree with. This is not the case. I actively seek out readings that piss me off, but there is a difference between getting pissed off and motivated by your reading and getting frustrated that the pigeon-holing of geek culture is only being furthered in a way that makes you ashamed to enjoy your hobby. It's the difference between being irritated (and challenged) by something that David Lynch does as an artistic statement and being irritated that a movie has nothing relevant to say and has characters which are nothing but stereotypes.

Again, haven't read the books. I'm going entirely off a description which was probably a one-off which was not intended to capture the full breadth of the experience. This is what that description sounded like to me though, and I resent the implication that I shelter myself and ignore media which does not confirm my beliefs.

[Lu]

I wouldn't really know how to sell the comics to you, Miffy, I think I understand, although I'm not sure what is about the style that bothers you so. What I found enjoyable about the comics was solid writing, the off the wall humor and how the writer mixes an everyday-slice-of-life-world with crazy super-powered moments, with complete normalcy. It's light-hearted, sometimes whimsical and never takes itself too seriously. I take the gaming references and influences in the comic as a result of the author celebrating his heritage of having grown up on video games and comics. If the writer relied on any stereotypes, then I missed it or wasn't aware of them.

Oh, and on the movie; I'm so glad that Edgar Wright is directing this thing, as I remember him being rather perfectionistic. Maybe he can get a decent performance out of Michael Cera, instead of Michael Cera playing Michael Cera. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim, but then -- it's nice to want things.

[Forbin]

  miffy495 said:

I just got a philosophy degree. I spent the last five years getting pissed off at things I've read and replying to them with lengthy essays. I want my reading to piss me off, but for the right reasons. Being intellectually challenging and making a valid point that I disagree with and can have a constructive argument based on is good. Perpetuating a stupid stereotype and celebrating being a selfish twit is not. Your post is making me out to be closed-minded and offended by anything I don't agree with. This is not the case. I actively seek out readings that piss me off, but there is a difference between getting pissed off and motivated by your reading and getting frustrated that the pigeon-holing of geek culture is only being furthered in a way that makes you ashamed to enjoy your hobby. It's the difference between being irritated (and challenged) by something that David Lynch does as an artistic statement and being irritated that a movie has nothing relevant to say and has characters which are nothing but stereotypes.

Again, haven't read the books. I'm going entirely off a description which was probably a one-off which was not intended to capture the full breadth of the experience. This is what that description sounded like to me though, and I resent the implication that I shelter myself and ignore media which does not confirm my beliefs.

That's a lot to assume from one sentence.

[lobotomy42]

  bbX1138 said:

Yeah, lobotomy's pitch sounds more like a damning critique!

And thus, my career as a professional comics reviewer began and ended.

[miffy495]

  Forbin said:

That's a lot to assume from one sentence.

I'm sorry if it wasn't your intent to imply that about me, but that was how I read it and it felt unjustified. It read (again, to me) like you thought you were putting me in my place with that, and I thought a response was required. That was all I assumed from your post. The rest was me clarifying exactly what it was that was pissing me off, lest someone else (or you, if what I got from the tone of your post was incorrect) get that idea about me and discount my opinion as a result. Again though, for clarificatory purposes, at this point the only thing that irritates me about the comic itself is that art style that my brain finds insufferable. Everything else comes from lobotomy's synopsis, which I am completely willing to accept may not be representative of the comic.

[Armchair General]

Note to inner self: Don't get into an argument with Miffy, he's far more intelligently wordier than you are. You are science, he is art.

[miffy495]

Ahaha. Yeah, I can't do science for shit, but my words are pretty good for fighting.

[MrHoatzin]

  miffy495 said:

Everything else comes from lobotomy's synopsis, ...

I think Lobotomy's Synopsis is the name of the next James Bond movie.

[miffy495]

No, you're thinking of "007: Synopsis of Lobotomy." A very understandable mistake.

[ThunderPeel2001]

  lobotomy42 said:

Geeze, a surprising amount of Scott Pilgrim hate on this thread. I would not have expected that.

Popular things tend to draw lots of hate. I posted about how TellTale should do a Firefly game on their forums... but I wasn't prepared for the amount of Whedon hate that spewed forth. I think people just have it bottled up and don't have any outlet!

[Chris]

  ThunderPeel2001 said:

Popular things tend to draw lots of hate. I posted about how TellTale should do a Firefly game on their forums... but I wasn't prepared for the amount of Whedon hate that spewed forth. I think people just have it bottled up and don't have any outlet!

I had (and still have, really) no idea how popular Scott Pilgrim is. All I know is that whenever I see the artwork I find it totally terrible to look at, and pretty much everything said about it in this thread makes it sound bad to me.

Same goes for Joss Whedon. I don't even think Whedon is particularly popular--if he were, his shows would probably last longer--but whether he is or not, I still can't stand his dialogue.

[ThunderPeel2001]

  Chris said:

Same goes for Joss Whedon. I don't even think Whedon is particularly popular--if he were, his shows would probably last longer--but whether he is or not, I still can't stand his dialogue.

Case and point!

[Chris]

  ThunderPeel2001 said:

Case and point!

Meaning what?

[Nappi]

  ThunderPeel2001 said:

Popular things tend to draw lots of hate.

More people have formed their opinion on popular things so they will of course have more haters than relatively unpopular things. If you are implying that some people hate certain stuff just (or partly) because they are popular you might still be right, strong reactions then to have counter reactions, but I don't think that is really the case here. I had barely heard the name of the comic before I saw the movie trailer and like Chris have no idea how popular or respected the comic is. The art style and the entire setting just instantly puts me off. Even if I was the only person Bryan Lee O'Malley had sent his work to, I still couldn't imagine liking it very much.

[Murdoc]

Seriously though I'm with people on this, don't get it, don't care for it. Can we rename this thread Scott Pilgrim vs. The Haters or Scott Pilgrim vs. The Idle Thumbs?

Anyway, I love Edgar Wright and don't mind Michael Cera, so the movie should be a win for me? I may give it a chance simply because of the director, but I doubt it.