It takes a village
Greetings, gentle gamers. It’s your old pal, Mr. Westructoid here, and I’m on a mission. Not like the Mormon kind of mission – I can’t imagine having to wear slacks and a tie while riding a bike around all day in the heat. No, my mission is far less ball-sweaty, and far more important. My mission is noble and pure, but also a simple one.
My mission is to get more C-Blogs. And I need your help.
This is part of the reason I wanted to resurrect the long-dormant Monthly Blog Recaps. I remember being a wee lad and seeing the monthly recaps, and catching up on some of the fantastic community posts I had missed over the course of the month. It was a great way to get some new eyes on things that were posted, as well as maybe get a little extra attention to things that might have been missed in its first go-around. It was awesome. And just like that, it left the mortal coil.
Now, here we lie, directionless and monthly-recap-less with no guide to lead us to the Blogging Promised Land. Until that Moses comes to lead us through the desert that our blogs section is swiftly becoming, you’ll have to settle for me. The bad news is, I’m kind of an idiot, so you’ll need to make sure I don’t break anything, or offend any of the locals with my brash American-ness. The good news is that I’m very open to suggestions, so if you know of a way to help make this feature the smashing success it once was, let me know! I’ll do my best to live up to the legacy set forth by my pontificating, pioneering predecessors.
Join me in highlighting the wonderful, diverse, and perverted Destructoid Community Blogs, then get out there and write your own, damn it.
Promoted Blogs
If I had to choose the one best thing about how the Community here at Dtoid works, I’d say it’s that we have the power to promote a user’s blog to the Front Page. As in, your blog shows up as a regular Destructoid post that goes out to our homepage, Twitter post, and Facebook account like any other story would. It’s a power we like to abuse, when the mood strikes.
How does one’s blog achieve this goal? There’s no set way, really. Sometimes if something sparks huge debate, it’ll get the nod. Or if a blog is downright hilarious, we’ll make sure our readers see it. Or if it offers a unique perspective. Or if it’s batshit insane. Or if it’s just that damned good. Each member of the Community team has their own preference for promoting blogs, which helps to ensure that a wide variety of blogs gets to our Front Page.
So tickle me in just the right way, and get your work featured by Destructoid.
Kevin Moonsereauioux wrote a blog about several heel turns in gaming – featuring, most notably, a heel turn of his own – but somehow forgot to consider that making a heel turn first requires one to actually be a face. Burn, Kevin!
This kind of stuff is really, really awesome. Who knew video games could teach you so much about life and loss? Christopher Harper knew. Read his words on Hotline Miami 2 and how sometimes a game can be a great parable for death.
Twitter loved this one! This is an old, previously promoted blog from SpielerDad sticking it to GameStop’s wonderfully bad idea of asking you to spend all your tax return money at their stores! If you don’t know what humor is, you’ll probably hate this article.
My favorite thing about strong opinions in an article’s title (no matter how inflammatory or “clickbaity” internet randos may find it to be) is that so few people actually read the article before getting upset. I don’t love Deediddle’s title, and I disagree with most of what he said, but it’s still an interesting piece that provides a well-constructed counterargument to the widespread undying love of a game (an undying love I, myself, hold). Give it a read, and consider his points as valid criticisms, as opposed to baseless clickbait. It’s how conversations used to work.
If you like science, and art, and science-based art, you’re going to dig Gamemaniac3434’s new blog, since it’s about all of those things. I read through it and still don’t understand how one draws with bacteria, but I’m a man of reason and intellect and short shorts, not science. It’s a cool read, either way!
I bet you didn’t know we could feature Qposts, did you? Well, guess what motherfucker – we can! It’s a privilege we reserve for only the best, which is exactly what Luckrequired delivered with his birthday wishes to Destructoid. Happy birthday, Dtoid! And thanks Luck, you killed it with this drawing.
Goemar put more thought into Bubble Bobble than anyone on the history of this planet ever has. And he’s correct. It is stupid. Read this blog or I’ll apprehend you.
Bloggers Wanted
Our monthly Bloggers Wanted prompt does the hard work for you and tells you what to write about – all’s ya gotta do it actually write it! Coincidentally, a clerical error occurred and our dog, Mr. Dogstructoid, ate our homework, resulting in no new prompt for March. But, we were still accepting entrants for February’s Hell Turn prompt, inspired by the sick and twisted acts of a Community Manager gone rogue. He then went rouge once he saw his face photoshopped over professional wrestler, and civil rights advocate, Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Anyway, here are our entries for February’s prompt! I’m including February because lol why not? You’re not my mom.
I had considered making a special category for Kyle Yadlosky (nee Vadicta) with just a picture of a trash can, because that would be pretty funny. But this blog is actually pretty dope. It follows the early days of Flash on the internet, and how incredibly dumb everything was. Kyle revels in dumb, so it’s right up his alley.
Village idiot Wes Tacos writes a lot of words about how Nathan Drake is kind of a giant douche. Nothing you didn’t already know, mind you, but his mom did pin it on the fridge. So, check it out, maybe?
JPF720 treats us to his favorite heel turn in gaming, that of the main character in Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. Spoilers abound! I appreciate the subject matter, even though I’ve never actually played the game. Give it a read, either way.
Spec Ops: The Line was such a weird game to me. I appreciate the story and attempt to subvert the macho-man military shooters we seem to only get, but at the same time I couldn’t justify the gameplay being bad for the sake of being rote like all the others. That said, it’s something you should definitely play. TheLimoMaker does a great job of walking us through the plot, and the inevitable descent into madness through which it drags us.
Superman is such a fuckin’ dweeb. Zordan and I are on the same page here in enjoying the story in Injustice: Gods Among Us, as it gives us a glimpse of Supes we don’t often get to see outside of the comics. Give this a read!
Comments of the Week
Our comments sections are lots of fun. Ok, sometimes they’re awful and I want to burn the site down. But generally, they’re lots of fun! Our CotW team works hard every week to ensure that only the highest-quality comments make their roundup of highlights.
And, also, Dere’s puns.
Band of Bloggers
This is where I’m going to ask you, the Destructoid Community, to jump in. We used to have a Community-ran feature called Band of Bloggers, which in simplest terms is kind of like a book club for games. The organizer would choose a particular game or series or director, and everyone who wanted to chime in would play the game, and write about it. It’s a little like Bloggers Wanted, I guess, but less official and a little more focused. We used to get dozens of entries a month, but then The Great Schism happened. What was The Great Schism? It was when Harry left One Direction, of course. It devastated the Community, and we’ve yet to recover.
This is where you come in. Or not. Up to you.
I want to gauge interest in bringing this feature back. It would of course mean having a Community member come in to take the mantle, so to speak, and organize and lead the front. Think you’re up for it? Well, then, get to it! Drum up some interest, and get the Community writing about games again. And if no one steps up, I guess we’ll retire the feature and give it a 21 Nailgun Salute. At least I tried.
UPDATE: Band of Bloggers has returned! LaTerry revives the old Community feature for a new generation, starting out with his area of expertise – dragons! If you wanna join in on the fun, simply write a blog about your favorite dragon-related story, preface it with “Band of Bloggers:” then your title, and let that baby fly!
Staff Picks
Not everything can make it to the Front Page, sadly. There have been plenty of times where the staff decided something simply would not work for one reason or another. It’s no slight against the author; in fact, it’s usually some sort of technicality or audience engagement thing that prevents these gems from getting that honor. This section is their second chance.
Here we will highlight our favorite blogs from the month that just didn’t quite hit the Front Page. Please also keep in mind that a blog that doesn’t make this section doesn’t mean it’s unworthy of your time – I’d like to strongly encourage everyone reading to hit the C-Blogs and check out some of the awesome stuff that gets posted there every single day. Our Community is truly our lifeblood, and the C-Blogs are a huge part of that. Keep cracking at it, and you’ll see your work featured by us.
Mozsta69 (nice) drops a doozy of a first blog about racism in a particular game from a non-white perspective. Interesting read!
Deediddle writes about why he loves Dark Souls. I’m not a fan of the series, but this is a really good perspective on the matter.
Zordan writes about how Arkham Asylum rescued his video game-playing career. Crazy how one game can reinvigorate your passion in the hobby.
Bass forgot to make a card for me, but at least the series is still alive. Check out the community member-themed Magic: The Gathering cards!
Seymour reflects on his seven years with the site on Dtoid’s twelfth birthday. Some great memories in here – take the trip down Memory Lane with him!
Dere reflects on why he keeps returning to video games, despite his distaste with current trends in the industry. Another heartfelt read from this dude.
Lord Spencer reviews Bug! for the Saturn. I love bad mascot games, and I love inane and dumb games even more. This hits all the sweet spots for me.
SpielerDad is truly a Renaissance Man of gaming. He does it all, and increasingly with age, does it well. Let his gaming dad bod embrace you in its comforting grip.
LaTerry knows Final Fantasy XIII is an extremely flawed game, but he still finds himself loving it regardless of its blemishes and general reception. We can still love things we know are bad, as he so eloquently states in this thought-provoking journey.
NakedBigBoss perfectly encapsulates where I am with gaming in my life right now. When is it time to give up the ghost, and put the sticks down forever? The answer is subjective, of course, but this is a great blog to read if you’re at something of a standstill in your gaming life.
Genoforprez comes out of nowhere with a bomb-ass first blog doing a deep dive into the intricacies of NPC interaction, using ICO (an example of great empathy-building with companion characters in a game) and Prince of Persia (a not-so-great example) to compare and contrast different approaches. It even has MS Paint art! Read this.
A Brief Message from Qtoid
Do you know about Qtoid? For those that don’t, I like to put it like this: Qtoid is basically Destructoid’s less shitty version of Twitter. Here, users get to post micro-musings about games, art, music, life – whatever they’ve got going on at the time. And just like our normal-sized blogs, comments sections are there to elaborate on your point, as well as to interact with other users on their goings-on.
Using Qtoid, we’ve commiserated with our peers, helped out our fellow gamers in need, expressed our mutual joy in new releases, and loads, loads more. And also shitposted. Can’t forget about all the shitposting we do there. If the C-Blogs are the Body of Mr. Destructoid, consider Qtoid his Blood.
If you’re down to clown around with us, join up! Further integrate yourself into the Destructoid Community until complete mass assimilation is achieved. I mean, uh, post here or something.
GetNekKid is our cutest boy, and as such, it is our honor to present him as the first-ever Intro to Qtoid. Keep being a little dreamboat, NekKid!
Hopefully seeing all of the wonderful and weird blogs from the Destructoid Community has inspired you to join in on the fun. Keep at it, and you could see your work in this very recap next month!
Now get out there and blog!
– Wes Tacos
Picture credits:
Blog Header – MeanderBot
Promoted Blogs Header – Inquisitive Ravenclaw
All Other Headers – ZombieCORPS
I’m looking to cut Zombie down to just one header image, so if you want to submit an original piece for one of our headers, please contact me at [email protected]
