WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GAMING

 

Hi.

Long time no type.

The duties of my real life away from the keyboard got in the way for a bit (and still do, more often than not), but I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to get back to my little corner of the interwebs in an attempt to balance things out. 

LET’S TALK ABOUT GAMING

I’ve been thinking a lot about gaming in general, and what we talk about when we talk about gaming- and when I say ‘we’, I’m referring to gamers as a whole: let’s face it, gaming preferences pushed to the side, we all share the common fact that we like games. 

But how do we talk about them?

I read somewhere (can’t remember, sorry) that one of the main factors as to why video games aren’t seen as a legitimate artform by some critics/luminaries/whoever’s in charge of Liking Stuff is due to how we write about gaming… and I agree.

Who’d want to take the following fabricated statements as a viable opinion:

“shit sony fanboys always piss me off get a clue 360 ruls!”

Or:

“fuuuuuuuuuck u capcmo”

I certainly wouldn’t.  And while my major in college might have been Tomfoolery (my minor was in Shenanigans), I can speak Internetese, so I know that the previous statement doesn’t have any weight in the grand scheme of things.  It means nothing.  It was written by a person who might actually have an opinion to offer, but doesn’t want to take the time to express it with a bit more detail, and that’s okay.  They can do what they want.

But it makes the rest of us gamers look bad.

There are reasons why there are stereotypes about gamers, and I think some of our comments- the way we express ourselves when we talk about games, what we post at our favorite websites, what we say about developers and creators in this medium- all of that collectively paints at picture, and more often than not, it’s not a good one.

Granted, I’m not perfect when I talk about gaming- far from it.  Have you read my Twitter feed?  I say some dumb shit.  But I’m realizing that in order to talk about gaming and be heard, we have to go about it the right way. We’ve got to be intelligent when we have a dialogue about gaming.  We can be passionate, angry, thoughtful, and provoking in our expression of our thoughts, but we’ve got to do it the right way. 

What that is, I don’t know.

But I’m willing to make an effort to find out.

STATUS REPORT ON CURRENT GAMING VENTURES

Duke Nukem Forever: On hold indefinitely.  Almost snapped the disc.  Waste of money.  Looking forward to what Gearbox can really do with the property next time out, though.  If it’s a prequel, however, I will kick a llama’s ass in fury.

Shadows of the Damned:  Near the end.  Stuck on a boss.  Can’t aim right due to getting old.  Probably never could.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution:  Just bought it!  It is awesome.  Can’t wait to play more of it.

Gears of War 3: No, I don’t have it yet- but I’ll be getting it tomorrow.  Time will be gone.

RANDOM NOTES BEFORE I GO

I’ve been playing Gears of War 2 like a fiend over the past month or so in an attempt to get Veteran Gear status before Gears of War 3 drops.  I made it to level 61.  I failed miserably.  It was still fun though!

Just read the news that DC Universe Online will be going free-to-play in October.  Will Sgt. Toh, intergalactic asskicker of justice, fly again?  If my save data still exists, then yes.  Yes he will.

Does anyone want me to play Duke Nukem Forever again?  I sure don’t… but I’ll finish it if someone gives me one Brand Spanking New Internet Dollar.

I wish Capcom and Fox would hug it out so I can finally see ALIEN VS. PREDATOR be released for Xbox Live Arcade or the Playstation Network.  It’s my favorite side-scroller of Capcom’s.  I would like to play it again in a legitimate fashion before I die.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

Take care, spike your- wait, that’s not my catchphrase.

I guess I need a catchphrase…

Until I get one, goodbye.