People like my older brother and some other jerk-off excuses for ?adults? would come to me when I?m playing a game or suggesting to them and say things like ?that?s pointless? or ?you?re a nerd? or some other stupid crap. And when I say that I know this good band or have seen this awesome film because of a particular video game, I?m told it?s ?pathetic?. Really? Have you even had any experience with making a simple game? a pen-and-paper game or something on Flash? or even a PowerPoint game? You think that games are easy to make? That their only purpose is gratification? That it?s ?silly? to be exposed to good films and good music from video games? Are you a schmuck?
My older brother seems to be fond of movies involving the Mafia, especially The Godfather Trilogy and Scarface, both of which came to my interest and became my own personal favorites relatively recently. Both are considered by many as art in the films industry. What sparked my interest is a well-crafted but nonetheless flawed computer game: Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. I got exposed to good composers like Michael Giacchino and Jeremy Soule after I played Medal of Honor and TESIII: Morrowind. I?ve talked to several people on the internet who discovered the awesomeness of Rock N Roll after hearing a few licensed songs and pop culture references in video games. I got exposed to Tool, one of my favorite ?stoner music? bands, while watching a gameplay video on YouTube. Why does it matter which way I got exposed to these good forms of music and film? Are these the only media out there? Why are games said to be nothing more than ?play things?? Do these people understand how long it takes to make a game that can be finished in just a few hours? It took me weeks to figure out and make a game on Flash with two other people, and it can be virtually finished in a few minutes, and in just a few seconds if you already know all the ways to win it. Films and movies take effort to make, but so do video games. Watching a film, listening to music, playing a video game, those are all the same, and if you can?t get it, then you?re in no position to say that one medium is better than the other without even getting to understand them equally, and you should base any criticism on each individual motion picture, each individual song, and each individual game, and all of their aspects, and not just dismiss one piece for the medium it?s presented in.
Besides? My brother?s also a sports fan, and I know most of you are a fan of something too. What makes you any different from me? You?re also a nerd, just a different kind, but a nerd nonetheless. What if I told you that your constant fascination over UFC or the NBA are even weirder than my constant fascination for video games involving zombies? Think about it. You like watching half-naked men pounce each other in a cage, and sweaty men flinging a ball into a metal ring? And you?ve joked about questioning MY sexuality? LOL. The only reason I like killing tons of zombies or gangsters or Nazis is because I get the idea that I?m helping people by ridding them of flesh-eating zombies or taking on organized crime? or Hitler, which is something I doubt you can emulate while you jack off to men in jerseys.
Point is, there?s nothing wrong with trying to get into a different medium, or getting exposed to good songs or good films from video games, or any combination of the three. You might hear a good song from the credits of a movie, or a good video game from a song (I heard ?Still Alive? before I even know what Portal is), it doesn?t matter, and games are as much valid as a way of enjoying or learning or whatever as music and films. When something is crappy, it?s the problem of the piece, based on the tastes of the audience, not the entire medium.
To quote a rather infamous game critic: ?If being passionate about something makes me a nerd, then I would rather be that than the aloof, tedious, empty shell of a person that you are.? - Yahtzee Croshaw
(Just to clarify for UFC and NBA fans out there, I don't hate those two, I was just making a point... and I do like UFC.
)
My older brother seems to be fond of movies involving the Mafia, especially The Godfather Trilogy and Scarface, both of which came to my interest and became my own personal favorites relatively recently. Both are considered by many as art in the films industry. What sparked my interest is a well-crafted but nonetheless flawed computer game: Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. I got exposed to good composers like Michael Giacchino and Jeremy Soule after I played Medal of Honor and TESIII: Morrowind. I?ve talked to several people on the internet who discovered the awesomeness of Rock N Roll after hearing a few licensed songs and pop culture references in video games. I got exposed to Tool, one of my favorite ?stoner music? bands, while watching a gameplay video on YouTube. Why does it matter which way I got exposed to these good forms of music and film? Are these the only media out there? Why are games said to be nothing more than ?play things?? Do these people understand how long it takes to make a game that can be finished in just a few hours? It took me weeks to figure out and make a game on Flash with two other people, and it can be virtually finished in a few minutes, and in just a few seconds if you already know all the ways to win it. Films and movies take effort to make, but so do video games. Watching a film, listening to music, playing a video game, those are all the same, and if you can?t get it, then you?re in no position to say that one medium is better than the other without even getting to understand them equally, and you should base any criticism on each individual motion picture, each individual song, and each individual game, and all of their aspects, and not just dismiss one piece for the medium it?s presented in.
Besides? My brother?s also a sports fan, and I know most of you are a fan of something too. What makes you any different from me? You?re also a nerd, just a different kind, but a nerd nonetheless. What if I told you that your constant fascination over UFC or the NBA are even weirder than my constant fascination for video games involving zombies? Think about it. You like watching half-naked men pounce each other in a cage, and sweaty men flinging a ball into a metal ring? And you?ve joked about questioning MY sexuality? LOL. The only reason I like killing tons of zombies or gangsters or Nazis is because I get the idea that I?m helping people by ridding them of flesh-eating zombies or taking on organized crime? or Hitler, which is something I doubt you can emulate while you jack off to men in jerseys.
Point is, there?s nothing wrong with trying to get into a different medium, or getting exposed to good songs or good films from video games, or any combination of the three. You might hear a good song from the credits of a movie, or a good video game from a song (I heard ?Still Alive? before I even know what Portal is), it doesn?t matter, and games are as much valid as a way of enjoying or learning or whatever as music and films. When something is crappy, it?s the problem of the piece, based on the tastes of the audience, not the entire medium.
To quote a rather infamous game critic: ?If being passionate about something makes me a nerd, then I would rather be that than the aloof, tedious, empty shell of a person that you are.? - Yahtzee Croshaw
(Just to clarify for UFC and NBA fans out there, I don't hate those two, I was just making a point... and I do like UFC.
)
