Poll: So apparently it's pathetic that I like 28 Days Later because I enjoyed Left 4 Dead

[The Apothecarry]

Thanks to video games, I was introduced to the metal genre of music. Halo 2 had a single from Breaking Benjamin (I know they technically aren't metal) and that was my gateway to bands like Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Chevelle, Slipknot, and Tool.

I don't even care about Paul McCartney anymore. He's a fantastic songwriter to be certain, but he doesn't riff like Mick Thomson, Pete Loeffler, or Adam Jones.

 

[Cheesus333]

and Saints Row.

Oh yes, very much so for me on this one. Aside from pretty much squeeing myself half to death when "Lying Is The Most Fun [etc.]", I looked up MakeDamnSure - Taking Back Sunday and Hate - Plain White T's on Youtube and discovered that they were, for lack of a better word right now, bloody good.

 

[Oinodaemon]

How come no one ever mentions the benefits of gaming over movies, etc.? When you're watching a movie, you have practically zero brain function, it is pure input. When you play in an interactive medium, you have no choice but to be actively reacting to the situations around you, instead of just sitting there mindlessly. Have your brother message me or something so I can explain to him why you are inherently more intelligent than he is. Also, make your brother sit down and play Bioshock, and let him tell you it's not as good as a movie. He won't be able to, or at least not with any sort of backing evidence.

 

[agnosticOCD]

Have your brother message me or something so I can explain to him why you are inherently more intelligent than he is.

I'm flattered, but outside the purview of our current topic, he's got a lot of counter-evidence. lol

 

[Sejs Cube]

It's not pathetic, your older brother is simply being a twat. It's a thing that some older siblings do.

Just ignore him.

 

[Gudrests]

I don't think it's pathetic, off the top of my head I've been introduced to some fantastic songs from games like GTA and Saints Row.

I don't think it's pathetic, off the top of my head I've been introduced to some fantastic songs from games like GTA and Saints Row.

You and me both, buddy... although i haven't really played Saints Row... just GTA 3. And apparently, you just joined. Welcome to the Escapist.

Same here....you know its GG when your favorite song in a tony hawk game is ...Johnny Cash. My mom walked in going.....Are..are you listening to Johnny Cash...? You know who he is?

 

[kickyourass]

You got to see easily one of the best zombie movies ever, and you got there by playing one of the best zombie GAMES ever, if someone says something to the effect of "that's pathetic" then they're just being an asshole.

 

[Snake Plissken]

I suppose I'm glad you are discovering things through other mediums, but I'm having a hard time coming to terms with why your brother feels the way he does.

Bottom line, I can't recall any time when a game exposed me to something I didn't already know or enjoy. I get excited when I learn that some of my favorite musicians become involved with gaming (I knew of William Elliott Whitmore LOOOOOOONG before his involvement with Red Dead Redemption and Jon Coulton significantly prior to Portal) or when games take cues from films I enjoy. Then again, I'm sort of an elitist when it comes to these things. Sure, gaming is a major hobby of mine, but I geek out on a lot of other things, too, and often times it's more than I do with gaming.

Also, I'm a little baffled that you discovered how great zombie cinema can be only after playing L4D. You do realize that particular film genre existed, I dunno, 40 years or so prior to modern zombie gaming, right?

Even still, I don't much care where other people get exposure from. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you find things that you enjoy, good for you. Keep on doing that and you'll have an immense library of things to check out, read up on, listen to, or watch.

 

[teebeeohh]

that the major upside when everyone with a phone play angry birds, whenever you get called out because you like to play videogames and that makes you a looser you can ram them headfirst into a mirror to give them some perspective. verbally of course, i would never condone violence.

Plus the amount of information i got from playing video games that are not game related is enormous.

 

[mrwoo6]

While I agree that yes, Games are fantastic and can be as good as movie, I've yet to play a game that is as good as a fantastic movie, like Godfather or Pulp Fiction. Bioshock was as about as good as an above average Si-fi movie, In terms of story. we can run around saying that games can be as good as moves and we would be right, but its a young medium and I think were a little off being that good with our story telling yet.

When the best the gaming industry has to offer, is only descent. You can see why people don't rank it up there with music, films and such. That said, saying that liking something because you heard/seen it somewhere else is nothing but utterly stupid.

 

[BetterSummer]

I honestly think that everything involved in this situation is just unintelligent. I'm glad you saw 28 Days Later, but what did you think of it? Did you think it was great social commentary, or OMG ZOMBIES?

Games do that sort of thing by giving you an all around "evil" or "bad" antagonists because it fuels your ability to be desensitized to killing them. It's all schlock and idiotic when you're thinking you're actually being heroic in a game. That illusion is just impossible to get around. There really isn't anyone in the gaming industry actually attempting to make decent social commentary out of the massive potential the gaming market has to showcase it. We're all spoiled by the ideas you're talking about, and it just makes me sad to see it.

28 Days Later has so much to offer, just like so much of what Danny Boyle's done. Too many people just skim the surface of art and think it's simply "cool" or whatever. The scenes involving the soldiers in the mansion are the scariest part of the movie, the most intense, and carries the most weight of the film. Zombies didn't need to exist for these guys to be like this, just the idea. They're the desensitized dudes who think they're going to do the world a favor by raping a teenage girl, for example. 28 Days just uses the zombie idea as a backdrop to push bigger ideas through.

Left 4 Dead? You kill zombies. There's teamwork. It's intense. It's the most vacant game I can imagine. It's a shame Valve is distributing it as a full fledged title when it's the most flacid Source mod I've ever played. Hell, Brink has a good amount of substance to its story, but they hide it beneath a team based shooter; that's about as close as I've seen modern gaming hit that mark.

 

[agnosticOCD]

I suppose I'm glad you are discovering things through other mediums, but I'm having a hard time coming to terms with why your brother feels the way he does.

Bottom line, I can't recall any time when a game exposed me to something I didn't already know or enjoy. I get excited when I learn that some of my favorite musicians become involved with gaming (I knew of William Elliott Whitmore LOOOOOOONG before his involvement with Red Dead Redemption and Jon Coulton significantly prior to Portal) or when games take cues from films I enjoy. Then again, I'm sort of an elitist when it comes to these things. Sure, gaming is a major hobby of mine, but I geek out on a lot of other things, too, and often times it's more than I do with gaming.

Also, I'm a little baffled that you discovered how great zombie cinema can be only after playing L4D. You do realize that particular film genre existed, I dunno, 40 years or so prior to modern zombie gaming, right?

Even still, I don't much care where other people get exposure from. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you find things that you enjoy, good for you. Keep on doing that and you'll have an immense library of things to check out, read up on, listen to, or watch.

Well, it should be noted that I come from a family of extremely boring people so I never got to expose myself to something as simple as films or games up until recently in the last few months of high school, so... yeah. I've been missing out on a lot and having to watch the same DVDs over and over.

 

[monkey_man]

While I agree that yes, Games are fantastic and can be as good as moives, I've yet to play a game that is as good as a fantastic moive, like Godfather or Pulp Fiction. Bioshock was as about as good as an above avrage Si-fi moive, In terms of story. we can run around saying that games can be as good as moves and we would be right, but its a young medium and I think were a little off being that good with our story telling yet.

When the best the gaming industry has to offer, is only descent. You can see why people don't rank it up there with music, films and such. That said, saying that liking something because you heard/seen it somewhere else is nothing but utterly stupid.

I don't know, I've heard good things from Heavy Rain. I haven't played it, but it has been recommended to me.

Anyway, some music in my pathetically short list comes from games/flash videos.And I would certainly say that it made me see movies I'd otherwise never would. It's not pathetic IMO though. it's like watching the film adaptations from good books.
(incidentally, is book,movie,and game a possible triforce? combine these element for epic win?
narrative, flow, and interaction? I certainly think so!)

 

[A Satanic Panda]

When you're watching a movie, you have practically zero brain function, it is pure input.

Clearly you need to watch the movie The Machinist and your opinion will probably change.

OT: No, 28 Days Later introduced me to what is now my favorite band, Godspeed You Black Emperor. They did the music where Jim runs out of the church being chased by the infected and Mark and Selina roll in and set them on fire

Your brother's logic is just down right wrong, if he wants to know how much effort is needed to make one game, just make him sit through the credits of one.

 

[esplode]

Relating stuff to video games makes sense. Especially, 28 Days Later to Left 4 Dead. When I watched it for the first time, I was sitting at a computer and by the end of it, I had started playing L4D. Those two follow basically the same idea.

 

[commodore96]

Rock Band gave me some jams, so no

 

[dyre]

What? That's ridiculous. I don't know anyone who thinks that way, gamer or not :\

I mean, I know some people who are just opposed to playing games, but even they wouldn't be against me discovering some worthwhile piece of music, film, or literature from a game.

 

[Jakub324]

28 days later sucked. All it managed to do was make the British Army look like bellends.

 

[FalloutJack]

Actually, it's they who are pathetic because they feel the need to put down another in order to feel secure in themselves. They don't want to feel like they're not 'with it', because...well...they're not.

 

[LuckyClover95]

I don't really understand what you're saying or asking... but the music in GTA us amazing.