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Videogames are stupid and babyish, states 'games journalist' photo

A group of "videogame journalists" scaled a soapbox this past week at GDC in order to rant about the industry and bad jurnalizmz, basically calling out everyone and everything in existence. While a lot of it seemed to be self-satisfactory preening, the words of one Heather Chaplin -- game critic, author and apparently the most mature and intelligent on person on Earth -- really twisted the knife. 

"I've been covering the games industry for eight years, mainly for mainstream outlets, and I often find myself acting as a translator," stated Chaplin at GDC's rant panel this week. "... It's not that the medium is in its adolescence, it's that you're a bunch of ****ing adolescents. It's even worse because you're technically supposed to be adults."

Chaplin wasn't the only one on the "Burned By Friendly Fire: Game Critics Rant" panel. There were plenty of names that you could expect to see on a panel with such a grandiose title -- Leigh Alexander, N'gai Croal, they were all there, and they all had something to say on the subject. Still, it's Chaplin that took the gold trophy by describing how immature and pathetic the industry is. There's no Bob Dylan of gaming, allegedly, because everyone in the industry is a baby. 

I could easily and happily pick the arguments apart -- talk about how there is room for both the mature and immature, how the medium is in its infancy and it takes time for game developers to grow up and have the life experiences necessary to create a truly stunning piece of interactive art. However, I'm instead going to point out that this kind of stuff is why I never want to be a "games journalist." My job as a blogger is ridiculous and I don't ever want to lose sight of that. Think about it -- I get paid to play videogames and then tell strangers what I think about those videogames. If that's not a completely ludicrous career, I don't know what is. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I never want to give it up, but I could never attach such self-importance to myself and call it journalism. 

I am so glad I'm a "bad journalist" if this is the attitude that comes with being a good one.


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78 comments | showing # 51 to 78

Jim Sterling's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 07:32
Jim Sterling
I agree with Wardrox, really. You simply can't accurately compare games to music and film. The games industry is so corporate-led and is fighting a constant battle with rapidly evolving technology. This is something you simply didn't have when music and film produced classics.

Hell, just look at what movies have mostly become since Hollywood became a realm of corporate bullshit. Most movies are just as childish, if not more, than videogames. However, videogames never had the opportunity to escape that sort of thing. Videogames is coming from a history of profit-led marketing aimed directly at children and is now trying to find its way.

To expect Dylan or the Beatles in an industry whose history has explicitly prevented that kind of development up until now is, ironically, childishly naive.
DrPhilGood's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 07:46
DrPhilGood
i find videogames to be therapeutic. i use them to relieve stress much like beating off. regardless of what these people say, just as the sun will rise each day, these sappy fuckers will go home and be pissed off at their families, friends, and loved ones because they are bitter. they wake up bitter, they go to sleep bitter, and they will die bitter. and when this happens, i will more than likely be playing a videogame with a smile on my face. and i will sleep good that night. "Good journalists" can shove their elitists attitudes up their herpes infested asses. i hate you jim but your a good man
BlackDove's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:07
BlackDove
I kind of think she's right.

"Chaplin blamed the inability of the medium to move beyond male-centric power fantasies as a direct result of developer heterogeny and immaturity."

It sort of hits the nail directly on the head.

"Chaplin traced the paucity of more mature content in games to four basic ideas that frighten men the most: responsibility, introspection, intimacy, and intellectual discovery."

It's totally true, almost every game I've ever played, was focused on one of those four ideas, or all four of them to an extent, and hardly anything else.

This kind of thing occurred to me lately, when I saw people actually finding positive things to say about 50 Cent's Blood on the Sand. The game is complete trash heads to tails, made mostly revolting by how fucking dumb it is. But because of the gameplay mechanics, which were copy pasted from other games, (that were equally as fucking retarded, Gears of War being the most prominent example) it was deemed acceptable by many reviewers.

I've since come to adopt a stance, that in a world where 50 Cent Blood on the Sand is "acceptable" in any form or fashion, there's something wrong with the industry at large, and the expectations that are placed on it by people who are supposed to do so for a living.
SWE3tMadness's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:14
SWE3tMadness
I hate Bob Dylan's music for the most part. His voice really grates on my nerves.

The thing is, games can be a medium for high art, but just because they're deep and thought-provoking doesn't mean that they'll also be fun to play. Video games and the work that goes into them has to take that factor into consideration. So yeah, the industry for the most part is kind of immature, but that doesn't mean that the possibility to be more mature doesn't exist at all.
seamonkey420's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:34
seamonkey420
i say its hard to grow up as an industry/medium when the world/parents/media wants to blame any act of violence on video games.

how long has video games been considered an actual legit medium for art/expression? some would say 20 years or so, but i'd realistically say more like 10years, so still a very young medium.

plus, like hollywood as of late has done anything profound? where and why haven't our musicians banded together and cried out for the working class and its downward spiral in society? exactly. everyone just wants to get paid and could care less about a cause. :(
lightbombmike's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:40
lightbombmike
Yeah, it sucks when someone says harsh blanket statements about what you do huh? But when all the games bloggers and journalist have their default setting on dick, complaining about this is calling the kettle black. I understand why you do it, it gives you street cred to the hard core gamers reading your blog. It is what they want, and you gladly give it to them.

How many reviews or previews about games have you reported as saying, this game is shit and everyone working on it was just lazy? That is EXACTLY the same thing as what Heather said here. And as developers, it cuts us just as deep, and we want to lash out and say "eff you" as you did here. The difference is that we have to be professional and just let it slide.

So the crop of journalists on that panel are something game developers love to hear. People that are dissecting and criticizing the medium, and bringing a traditionally defined journalism to what is being created. And that is what developers want. So saying comments like hers are pandering to developers, to show, "Hey, look, I'm one of the good ones.", the same way when you tear into a game it says that to your hardcore readers.

Neither are the right way to go about it, but just the most sensational. And that is something our current mainstream media has given us.
Pyramid Head's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:43
Pyramid Head
You get paid for this? Like, a living wage? Shit, man. Step it up.
Jonathan Holmes's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 08:50
Jonathan Holmes
I would argue that the game industry has many, many Bob Dylan(s). I think of Dylan as sort of the first punk; the first guy to just say "Fuck image, fuck being able to actually sing, I'm just going to write lyrics that mean something to me, sing them, and hope somebody listens."

Of course, after that he got pretty shitty, but whatever.

My point is, there are a lot of game developers that have taken on that attitude, some with the goal of just entertaining (The Behemoth) and others who have actually wanted to communicate a message about the human condition (Suda51).

I hate to use this line again, because it tends to get me in trouble, but I got to say it; maybe Heather just doesn't like videogames very much. Maybe she resents working in this industry when she'd rather be in music journalism, covering who she perceives to be the "next Bob Dylan."

As for other points, I like Leigh Alexander just fine.

Also, according to the above definition, Jim Sterling is the Bob Dylan of videogame journalists.
Jonathan Holmes's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 09:05
Jonathan Holmes
Also, JOURNALISM.
SpiralViper's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 09:32
SpiralViper
The heck? Gaming has evolved far faster than most other media ever has. In roughly twenty years we've gone from blocky pixels to Crysis. Certainly there are "babby" games, just as there are "babby" books and movies, but to deny the progress that's been made is just completely retarded, especially when the person in question has been supposedly following the industry.
Niero's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 10:14
Niero
She should go talk to sportscasters next.

Why does gaming have to live up to these ridiculous standards anyway? It's a billion dollar industry. It's already grown up. She doesn't get it.
Nitex's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 10:49
Nitex
Every entertainment form is stupid and babyish, that's why we enjoy them so much. Some would even argue human existence is stupid and babyish.
Sam Spectre's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 10:56
Sam Spectre
What a pretentious little cunt. Who the fuck is she? I've never even heard of her.
Wexx's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 11:18
Wexx
What a twat.
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 11:32
Qraze
ungbac....an editor is allowed to write an opinion, not a journalist. there job is to inform us of the truth or that would be like a news reporter saying he hates the octo-mommy in his report on her childrens well-being.

thats the problem with this industry, we have no real journalists because most of them don't know what word or title really means so they throw us their opinions on something and think they reported a truth. thats what makes d-toid this great, you can scroll down and see no one here has the title of journalist, they're all editors and can freely write whats on their mind.

now if these game "journalists" sat down to shoot the shit with each other about the industry then it should have been writen word for word like an interview and reported as such. blaw
notdryad's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 11:50
notdryad
@Scralotos

...

I'll be one of the first person to tell someone about how video games have the potential to tell great storylines and have told great storylines in the past (a couple of Sakaguchi's games being among them), but VG storylines got a long way to go before they can be compared with literature.
tehuberone's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 16:17
tehuberone
what a dick
triclops41's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 17:33
triclops41
The fabulous lady also seems to forget that writing code for pathfinding, bullet and breast physics is infinitely easier than writing code for an engine that does responsibility, introspection, and intimacy well. When computer AI improves, you will see games improve. Otherwise, the only way to give those to a game is to remove interactivity. I call those things movies.
triclops41's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 17:37
triclops41
And you can make an amazing experimental book for a few thousand dollars, and a movie for 50,000, braid took over 200,000. Experimentation goes down proportionally with cost going up.
triclops41's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 17:59
triclops41
Oh, and could Heather have been any more sexist in her description of men? I guess she really wants games that involve shopping, withholding sex as blackmail, and using PMS as an excuse for everything!
Professor Pew's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 18:02
Professor Pew
^ what Sharpless said.

Honestly, I have not ever seen a single games journalist on the internet.
KMCC's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 18:23
KMCC
Actually, it's MY opinion that matters most. ME. So, here we go:

Chaplin: I don't know who she is, but her ego is disgusting. She accomplished nothing but looking immature.

Croal: I agree with his point, videogames need their own lexicon. It will greatly improve the discussion, and help move the focus away from unhelpful comparisons with other media. True. True. True.

Totilo: What was his point?

Alexander: I really like Leigh Alexander, and I think her "ego-system" model is generally true, albeit a little obvious.

Sessler: Correct, I don't know why anybody pays attention to metacritic. However, I question the assertion that mass consumption equals quality.

So, yeah. I AM actually the most important person, the one who REALLY knows. I said it forcefully so that makes ME the authority. Shame on all of you.
Paul Soth's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 19:16
Paul Soth
Irony. Pure. Fucking. Irony.
ShadowKirby's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 20:51
ShadowKirby
You know, they are right. I have to search real hard to find a place where an intelligent discussion will arise from a gaming news. On most websites, it always degenerate into flame wars, fanboyism and name calling. Pretty adolescent.

And for everyone saying that "you're just covering a form of entertainment!", that is pretty stupid. Movies are a form of entertainment too and you have "Cahiers du cinéma" and "Positif" that covers them with a pretty high level of journalism. Maybe you think they are pretentious but then again, this is Destructiod. Anything beyond Jim and ZP seems pretentious to some of you.
triclops41's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 21:50
triclops41
"I have to search real hard to find a place where an intelligent discussion will arise from a gaming news"

But you don't have to search *really* hard to find places where intelligent discussions occur on anything else in popular culture (movies, politics, etc)? Granted, there is not as much fanboyism in books, but that is because the number of people passionate about literature is about the size of the number of people passionate about Halo 3 alone.

Yes, gaming is immature, but that doesn't make the hypocrisy and double standards it faces any more palatable.

My biggest problem, however, is the assumption that games being immature is implicitly bad.
Clown's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 22:13
Clown
video games are the Fourth dimention media format. the first dimention is audio which we find most often in music and what have you. The second dimention is visual being books newspapers and such. Combine those to get a third dimention that is tv and movies. Video Games give you involvement, playing a part of the media. Those who dont like games should shove it and read a book....but my complex mind needs more than one or two dimentions....plz dont quote any of my math its just a theory
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/29/2009 23:20
Occams electric toothbrush
@Scralotos

I gotta say when I first read your comment I wanted to write something on here making fun of you. I mean, Final Fantasy VI is my favorite RPG of all time and one of my top three games I've ever played but to put his work above guys and gals like Flannery O'Connor or Carol Reed? That's a tough sell for me. However, I thought about it a bit and I gotta give you respect for loving his work that much. I guess with such different mediums (film, book, music, game, etc.) and the very different ways you engage them, it's hard for me to choose a favorite overall. Jimi Hendrix made me care about music, The Third Man made me care about film and Final Fantasy VI made me realize that playing a video game can be an emotionally engaging experience that is as valid as any other medium. The thing I loved about VI was that for me, it stopped being just a game to beat and became something more. Think that's why I play games today; I'm hoping to have more moments like that with the games I play. So yeah, no snarky comment. Glad you love the guy's work that much.
thascourge's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/30/2009 08:22
thascourge
"Also Cocks"

Are you a /v/irgin Jim Sterling?
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