Poll: So...Spunkgargleweewee. Does it need broader terming?

[Sir Shockwave]

So, Spunkgargleweewee - a term created by Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw to describe the average generic shooter that crowds the market these days.

Only thing is, his initial description seems to mask over a few other popular games as well, and miss others.

I bring to mind Metro 2033, and Metro Last Light if it continues series traditions. On the one hand, the game is very hard - ammunition is scarce, monsters and bandits are everywhere, and you need Medkits over regenerating health. On the other hand, it has a dingy colour palette, you NEED the cover in a gunfight (though admittedly, the game does trust you can put a piece of wall between yourself and the target without giving it a hug), and of course there's quite a few showy setpieces, especially in earlier chapters. While technically a Survival Horror game, signs of Spunkgargleweewee-ism is there.

On the flip side of things, we have Halo. Which as we all know, has a sizable fanbase, and kicked off things like the two weapon limit and regenerating health (as far as we know), all things you find in many Spunkgargleweewee games.

DISCLAIMER: We enjoy both mentioned games, even if we're currently enjoying Metro alot more right now. This isn't intended to be an attack on either game series/franchise.

 

[mad825]

I think Metro 2033 is a bad example as it is a linear and a more gritty, realistic environment which is justified by it's setting and story. If nuclear winter was bright and colourful or the underground was decorated by a fashion designer it would lose it's atmosphere and be a different genre in itself, it would be campy.

No, not really, the Spunkgargleweewee can be judged by the business practices that the publisher/developer employs.

 

[King Billi]

This term does not need further definition it was a joke in a video.

I saw it, I laughed at the time but I seriously hope this doesn't catch on... I mean do you really?

 

[tippy2k2]

No, this is the stupidest term that has ever attempted to break out of a ZP episode into "regular" talking; it needs to be eliminated completely, not broadened. The "term that does not even deserve to get mentioned" is a term used by people who want to look down on modern FPS's but don't want to sound like they're an anti-fanboy. This term is the most ridiculous crap I've ever heard.

 

[shrekfan246]

I agree with posts #3, #4, and #5.

Can we please stop parroting Yahtzee. Oh, I know, you hate modern first-person shooters, and more specifically "modern military shooters", but seriously, it's just tired now.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

This term is sticking? Seriously?

It's an inside joke, hardly something that needs to be used as an actual descriptor.

 

[DustyDrB]

This is painful...

Just let a joke be a joke.

 

[WoW Killer]

It just means "shit games", doesn't it? Each observer can fill in the ambiguity with their own pet hates. Then you can generate win no matter the audience with purposely meaningless statements like "Boo! Down with shit games", "We want less shit games", "Stop playing shit games you non-gamer you".

It's just like the Nazis in a way. Yeah, you just took a Godwin's Law to the face.

 

[StriderShinryu]

No, it just needs to be dropped and never brought up again. It's a stupid offensive term that I don't understand the appeal of (well, I do, but it's not a reasoning I'd ever support for naming anything).

If you want to talk about modern military shooters, just call them modern military shooters. They don't need some silly offensive name.

(and no, I'm not some butthurt CoD lover.. I haven't really even played the series since CoD Modern Warfare)

 

[CityofTreez]

Yawn.

No games series/genre/franchise needs to have that label. we get it, military shooters aren't his favorite/escapist favorite. No reason to go ahead and ruin a funny tidbit by making it a real word.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

This term does not need further definition it was a joke in a video.

I saw it, I laughed at the time but I seriously hope this doesn't catch on... I mean do you really?

This is Ben Croshow. He's pretty much a cult leader on the escapist. When he says jump, a good percentage of the site says how hi and by the way that episode this week was the funniest EVER, Yahtzee. Whatever his opinion on a game is, that's THEIR opinion on a game. If he assigns a label to a game, any label, any game, you can rest assured you'll see it being tossed about by the faithful.

FTFY.

He's not /that/ influential, you just wouldn't realize it if this was the only gaming site you frequented. His fans do get incredibly annoying with parroting him, though. I can't get over how they take his word on multiplayer (you know the whole "a game should stand on single player alone" thing) as gospel when he's an admitted socially awkward misanthropist who just doesn't like dealing with other people, let alone other gamers.

OT: I agree with the people who are saying the term needs to die. This is more Yahtzee worship here, where the opinion of one anti-social jerk is being taken as gospel. His show can be funny, but please don't take it seriously. For all of our sakes.

 

[anthony87]

It doesn't need a broader terming. It need to stop being said......right now. This is just another case of "OOOOOOOH! Yahtzee made a funny! If I say the same thing then I'll make a funny!!!!".

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

I'm pretty sure Yahtzee never actually meant for the term to take hold. God, why do so many people just copy everything he says and try to spread it around. It was supposed to be a singular joke, don't go and make it into a new word because Yahtzee said it. Form your own opinion about things.

EDIT: Where's the poll button for let a joke stay a joke, it doesn't need to exist, let alone be revised.

 

[N3squ1ck]

I will stick with the term that TotalBiscuit uses: Modern Military Shooters, or MMS.
The name already covers almost anything you need to know, I guess.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

Why are some people taking that joke seriously, it was clearly meant as a joke. I'm referring to parties who are trying to validate it as a meme, and those who are ragging on it. I don't think Yahtzee was trying to coin a term for the FPS saturation in our market. It was just a joke that he decided to stick with. Nothing more, nothing less...

 

[ThisGuyLikesNoTacos]

His fans do get incredibly annoying with parroting him, though. I can't get over how they take his word on multiplayer (you know the whole "a game should stand on single player alone" thing) as gospel.

The sad thing is that I've seen being a fan of ZP used as an insult. Mostly about being a dumb sheep who thinks he's smart for watching it.

OT: No, it's pointless and makes the now funny joke into an obnoxious meme.

Don't. Ruin. This. Joke.

Didn't he also once in his articles say that running a joke too long would harm the joke? Or something like that?

 

[MoreThanANoob]

Well, linearity isn't necessarily a bad thing, if handled properly. What most(all) Spunkgargleweewee games do is lead the player by the nose down a strictly defined path, allowing no deviation or freedom of pace. Whereas other games could let the player deviate from the path a bit, choose how they want to tackle a given challenge, experiment with methods besides "shoot everything" and, ideally, have an impact on the world they are in. If I can get the same results from a given firefight by sitting around letting the NPCs do the shooting as I would if I had actually participated, that's bad.