I withdraw my support for RPS and eat a large slice of humble pie

[bayonetbrant]

I have been dissatisfied with RPS for some time.

Hang out here!   ;D

[Huw the Poo]

I have been dissatisfied with RPS for some time.

I feel almost betrayed by RPS.  For a long time I really thought they were the good guys.  Slowly, John Walker's bullshit became harder to ignore (his self-imposed three month exile was bliss) and then GamerGate happened, and now they've been revealed as the lunatics they really are.  The worst part is that everything I've read by them is now suspect.  Some of the games on my wishlist are there because of RPS recommendations, and now I'm inclined to just remove them.  Gone Home, for example, which I now know to be nothing like the game I expected it to be and - as some would have it - championed by the SJW brigade due to its content.  The GamerGaters point out that sites like Polygon gave it 10/10 whereas  - again, as they would have it - it's rather poor and only got where it did because of its themes.

I don't know.  I haven't played it and now I almost certainly won't, but as I said, it's made me suspicious of every game I've ever heard about in the gaming media, and that's what pisses me off.

[Bletchley_Geek]

I have been dissatisfied with RPS for some time.

I feel almost betrayed by RPS.  For a long time I really thought they were the good guys.  Slowly, John Walker's bullshit became harder to ignore (his self-imposed three month exile was bliss) and then GamerGate happened, and now they've been revealed as the lunatics they really are.  The worst part is that everything I've read by them is now suspect.  Some of the games on my wishlist are there because of RPS recommendations, and now I'm inclined to just remove them.  Gone Home, for example, which I now know to be nothing like the game I expected it to be and - as some would have it - championed by the SJW brigade due to its content.  The GamerGaters point out that sites like Polygon gave it 10/10 whereas  - again, as they would have it - it's rather poor and only got where it did because of its themes.

I don't know.  I haven't played it and now I almost certainly won't, but as I said, it's made me suspicious of every game I've ever heard about in the gaming media, and that's what pisses me off.

I certainly can't recommend it. It was praised by the "storytelling" but it was as linear as a movie or a book can be. Which kind of defeats the point of being a video game. And I can't say the story itself was fresh. Not really.

Critics and reviews are by definition "subjective" - that is, every reviewer will choose to talk about certain aspects over others, and what one person will find interesting/realistic/engaging/etc. another person can find boring/arbitrary/alienating/etc. Taking a bunch of subjective reviews usually gives me a better sense of what's the game (or the movie, or the book) about. There's no aspect in a game that can be measured objectively other than stability, and that nowadays changes quickly.

I use the critics basically as an "alert" to check things out (usually I take a look at the devs' webpage to get a sense of who they actually are). Then I go into Steam and check the user reviews. And this isn't just about checking what's the proportion of thumbs up/down. I actually read a good portion of the reviews - there are a couple games I have bought because of the "negative" reviews they got :)

Of course, the degree of effort I put in doing homework is proportional to the price of the game. A 10$ game which is an stinker isn't a big deal. A 80$ game which turns out to be shite IS a big deal.

[undercovergeek]

by way of PM, someone let me know that some articles are been put behind a paygate now at RPS - you went the best most current content? you have to pay for it

[Arctic Blast]

by way of PM, someone let me know that some articles are been put behind a paygate now at RPS - you went the best most current content? you have to pay for it

And yet, if I go to their site, I see a ton of content free of charge. I'm really not sure what this even means. They have additional subscriber content...and? A lot of sites do the same.

[undercovergeek]

i dont know - it was just a 'hey, guess what mesage', i havent looked into it - apparently theres a multi page thread in the site feedback section with non happy people asking why and what the implications are

[bayonetbrant]

an interesting summation of where GG is now:
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/09/09/gamergate-reveals-silencing-women/

Of note, follow the links where Quinn has been lurking in some of the 4chan rooms and posted screenshots of their 'planning' - it's pretty nuts

[undercovergeek]

there are some crazy people out there.

for me it boils very basically down to this

Man reviews game X - it does this, you do that, stuff blows up, explosions, guns, bank jobs, raids, soldiers, war, graphics, helicopters, rocket launchers - awesomeness

Woman reviews game X - it does this, you do that, stuff blows up, explosions, guns, bank jobs, raids, soldiers, war, graphics, helicopters, rocket launchers - awesomeness, but why do the women have to wear torn tops, and hot pants, and the male character is clearly attracted to her

just leave it be - the vast majority just want this - 'it does this, you do that, stuff blows up, explosions, guns, bank jobs, raids, soldiers, war, graphics, helicopters, rocket launchers - awesomeness' and if its women who consistently add this 'but why do the women have to wear torn tops, and hot pants, and the male character is clearly attracted to her' then youre undermining your stance

if you want to write 'but why do the women have to wear torn tops, and hot pants, and the male character is clearly attracted to her' then take it away from games journalism

[Arctic Blast]

Except that few besides the crazies are saying that. What they're saying is "Why does it ALWAYS have to be exactly like this?"

What's been interesting has been the responses from some developers, where they talk about falling into lazy habits without even realizing it. Then they read some of this and come back with "Huh...why are we using the exact same trope every single time?" Anything that leads to more creativity and less 'same thing in a slightly different shade of brown' is good, in my opinion.

[Jarhead0331]

This is a different individual, but the issue has now made national headlines. I wonder how many members of the press she has slept with?

http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.html?/video/us/2014/10/14/pkg-burke-female-game-developer-death-threats.cnn&hpt=hp_t2&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

[LongBlade]

This is a different individual, but the issue has now made national headlines. I wonder how many members of the press she has slept with?

She's married, and while that's not a bar to philandering, my guess is none.

The real headline is that there are miscreants out there making threats about this.

I cannot believe this. I hope the cops find whoever is behind it fast and lock them up for a good long time. Hopefully in a women's prison.

[Jarhead0331]

This is a different individual, but the issue has now made national headlines. I wonder how many members of the press she has slept with?

She's married, and while that's not a bar to philandering, my guess is none.

The real headline is that there are miscreants out there making threats about this.

I cannot believe this. I hope the cops find whoever is behind it fast and lock them up for a good long time. Hopefully in a women's prison.

dude...while I agree with your sentiment, lighten the fuck up.

[bayonetbrant]

this is what happens when internet fuckwits go too far.

you don't have to agree with Sarkeesian
but you don't threaten a massacre if she speaks

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/15/anita-sarkeesian-feminist-games-critic-cancels-talk

The feminist pop culture critic Anita Sarkeesian has been forced to cancel a talk at Utah State University, after a threat of a "Montreal Massacre-style attack".

Sarkeesian, who is best known for her YouTube series "Tropes v Women in Video Games", assessing various anti-feminist trends in gaming, was scheduled to talk at the university on Wednesday, when the unsigned email was sent.

The author of the email threatened that if the talk was not cancelled, they would carry out an attack in the style of the 1989 Montreal massacre, when Marc Lépine murdered 14 women, claiming he was "fighting feminism".

"I have at my disposal a semi-automatic rifle, multiple pistols, and a collection of pipe bombs," the letter said. "This will be the deadliest school shooting in American history and I'm giving you a chance to stop it."

"You have 24 hours to cancel Sarkeesian's talk ... Anita Sarkeesian is everything wrong with the feminist woman, and she is going to die screaming like the craven little whore that she is if you let her come to USU. I will write my manifesto in her spilled blood, and you will all bear witness to what feminist lies and poison have done to the men of America."

Initially, Sarkeesian stated her intention to hold the talk despite the threat, but was forced to back down after the discovering that it was impossible to prevent guns being taken to the event.

"Forced to cancel my talk at USU after receiving death threats because police wouldn't take steps to prevent concealed firearms at the event," she tweeted. "Requested pat downs or metal detectors after mass shooting threat but because of Utah's open carry laws police wouldn't do firearm searches."

The school confirmed Sarkeesian's explanation in a statement. "During the discussion, Sarkeesian asked if weapons will be permitted at the speaking venue. Sarkeesian was informed that, in accordance with the State of Utah law regarding the carrying of firearms, if a person has a valid concealed firearm permit and is carrying a weapon, they are permitted to have it at the venue."

Sarkeesian was the subject of a hate campaign before she began the Tropes v Women in Video Games series. A fundraiser on Kickstarter two years ago led to vandalism of her Wikipedia page, a DDoS attack on her website, and the creation of a game called "Beat Up Anita Sarkessian".

[Jarhead0331]

Initially, Sarkeesian stated her intention to hold the talk despite the threat, but was forced to back down after the discovering that it was impossible to prevent guns being taken to the event.

"Forced to cancel my talk at USU after receiving death threats because police wouldn't take steps to prevent concealed firearms at the event," she tweeted. "Requested pat downs or metal detectors after mass shooting threat but because of Utah's open carry laws police wouldn't do firearm searches."

The school confirmed Sarkeesian's explanation in a statement. "During the discussion, Sarkeesian asked if weapons will be permitted at the speaking venue. Sarkeesian was informed that, in accordance with the State of Utah law regarding the carrying of firearms, if a person has a valid concealed firearm permit and is carrying a weapon, they are permitted to have it at the venue."

Good for them! Finally, an official takes the stand in favor of the 2nd Amendment. One crazy makes a violent threat so we should trample on the Constitution? I think law enforcement needs to do everything within its power to catch the individual or individuals responsible for making this kind of a threat, but to strip others of their Constitutional rights would have been criminal and, especially in this instance, would have only made the venue more dangerous. Bravo to USU. 

[bboyer66]

I have been dissatisfied with RPS for some time.

I feel almost betrayed by RPS.  For a long time I really thought they were the good guys.  Slowly, John Walker's bullshit became harder to ignore (his self-imposed three month exile was bliss) and then GamerGate happened, and now they've been revealed as the lunatics they really are.  The worst part is that everything I've read by them is now suspect.  Some of the games on my wishlist are there because of RPS recommendations, and now I'm inclined to just remove them.  Gone Home, for example, which I now know to be nothing like the game I expected it to be and - as some would have it - championed by the SJW brigade due to its content.  The GamerGaters point out that sites like Polygon gave it 10/10 whereas  - again, as they would have it - it's rather poor and only got where it did because of its themes.

I don't know.  I haven't played it and now I almost certainly won't, but as I said, it's made me suspicious of every game I've ever heard about in the gaming media, and that's what pisses me off.

I certainly can't recommend it. It was praised by the "storytelling" but it was as linear as a movie or a book can be. Which kind of defeats the point of being a video game. And I can't say the story itself was fresh. Not really.

Critics and reviews are by definition "subjective" - that is, every reviewer will choose to talk about certain aspects over others, and what one person will find interesting/realistic/engaging/etc. another person can find boring/arbitrary/alienating/etc. Taking a bunch of subjective reviews usually gives me a better sense of what's the game (or the movie, or the book) about. There's no aspect in a game that can be measured objectively other than stability, and that nowadays changes quickly.

I use the critics basically as an "alert" to check things out (usually I take a look at the devs' webpage to get a sense of who they actually are). Then I go into Steam and check the user reviews. And this isn't just about checking what's the proportion of thumbs up/down. I actually read a good portion of the reviews - there are a couple games I have bought because of the "negative" reviews they got :)

Of course, the degree of effort I put in doing homework is proportional to the price of the game. A 10$ game which is an stinker isn't a big deal. A 80$ game which turns out to be shite IS a big deal.

My original impressions of Gone Home from a post in January

Im not exactly sure what the hell is going on here. All these reviews have gushed over games such as The Stanley Parable., Dear Ester, and Gone Home. Dear Ester I found to be boring and not all that thought provoking. The Stanley Parable I found to be less boring, and slightly more thought provoking. Which brings us to Gone Home. Best game of 2013 on quite a few lists. So I think, lets give it a shot.

When it was done I was like "are you fuckin kidding me". It, like the other games mentioned, is not a game in any way. Its a narrative tale, told through you walking around a computer generated environment.  Zero gameplay elements. The designers just wanted to tell you a story, not make your own, or feel like your contributing.  Now I can understand some slight entertainment value in these titles, but when people are calling Gone Home game of the year, I have to wonder what the hell is going through these peoples heads. Gone Home is literally a love story that could have been easily found in any teen book section at Barnes and Noble. None of these games have left me with the memories or stimulated my mind as say the story in Red Dead Redemption, Dishonored, or Sleeping Dogs.

Anyways, am I the only asshat playing these "games", and wondering what the hell is all the hoopla about?