It’s Totally Not Objectification You Guys: More Bullshit in Video Games

Feeling this too, currently.
(via Gifrific)

We’ve all had it, that moment where all we want to do is gently place our finger against someone’s mouth and tell them “shhhh”. While shooshpapping will never work its way into the discourse, shaking one’s head in disappointment is going stronger than ever.

There are several corners of the gaming sphere I don’t slink into, and the FPS (first person shooter) genre is one of them. While I enjoyed games like Destiny and Left 4 Dead, both of those games had other enticing elements to them that made me stay. This intro is to say that while I’m speaking of Halo, I honestly don’t know anything of its canon, and as much as I look things up, there will be things I’m missing simply because I didn’t experience the game as its huge fanbase did. The much anticipated release of Halo 5: Guardians has come and gone, and the hype is real. So I guess franchise chief Frank O’Connor decided it was a great time to drop some lore explanations down for Halo’s followers. Keeping my disclaimer in mind, I have yet to run into a Halo fan who truly believes O’Connor’s addition was beneficial to the series, or that it even made any sense.

Spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 5 under the cut.

This Week in Video Game Things That Are Pissing Me Off

So, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is upcoming for the PS3 and PS4. That’s probably pretty exciting news, and the game will serve as capstone to the MGS era of Hideo Kojima’s career. So, a reasonably big deal. In case you didn’t see it, here’s the trailer from E3:

Okay. So, the other day, a funny thing happened. Dan Ellis, who works for 343i, a game developer known for its work on the Halo series, got on Twitter and called out Kojima on some new character design. MGSV will feature a sniper character, supposedly fairly important to the story, named Quiet. She appears to the right. Ellis referred to the character design as “disgusting,” and would later go on to tweet that he was in an industry “full of man babies.”

White House Calls for Research on Links Between Video Games and Violence

Yesterday, the White House unveiled “Now is the Time: The President’s plan to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence.” Super good! I don’t intend to attack the the President, his plan, or even the fact that he calls for more research into any possible relationships between video games and violence. With the trauma of gun violence being so severe in American culture, encouraging research into what many citizens believe to have a causative relationship with violence, i.e. that violent video games lead to violent crime, is the right call. While it is politically unfortunate that the President seemed unable to find a place for video games in his plan than under the section to “End the Freeze on Gun Violence Research,” (page 8), I don’t think that we have much to worry about regarding any lasting effects on public opinion. We know that all good research into the topic, assuming fair distribution and reporting of research results and data, is going to show that video games and their place in society are nothing to be afraid of.

Here is my point; how do we already know that we have nothing to fear? Hasn’t research already shown that violence in video games has a lasting effect on gamers, causing them to be desensitized to violence and therefore less likely to check impulses toward violent behavior? Since video games are more immersive than other forms of media, doesn’t it stand to reason that they affect a greater ability to impact and change the human psyche? Let’s look into why not.

Sharing Games with Non-Gamers or: How I Stopped Worrying and Got Drunk

It’s the new year, and I feel excited about video games. I am excited about the mountain of games I acquired as presents and with gift cards, as well as games coming out later this year. For as much as I love good games, I am sad over how many of my friends and family just don’t enjoy them the way I do. Whether they lack interest or skill, it’s always difficult to share this part of my life with them. That’s why I’m trying to think of new ways for me to try and share my gaming experience with them.

There are of course the games that are fun to play with a group despite the challenges of the game. Games like New Super Mario Bros. U, Call of Duty, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 are great because, due to their tendency toward bullshit difficulty spikes, the whole group enjoys the accomplishments of even two players finally beating a level. Plus, the shared suffering leads to lively conversation. Other games which have narrative arcs which tend to appeal to those outside of the medium are always fun to pass and play, even if some people are terrible. These games include Alice: Madness Returns, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Resident Evil 5, and they tend to be just as fun to watch as to play if you are already invested in the subject matter. Hell, some games are such a spectacle that it’s fun to pass and play without any narrative context. Call of Duty and Halo attract droves of casual players who only play in groups. Any of these are fine, but I feel my repertoire lacks a certain “universally appealing” punch. So imagine my delight and excitement as I realize a way to better involve more people in the same games I already love.

Web Crush Wednesdays: The Cooler Steve Martin

It’s Web Crush Wednesday, party people! Let’s take a look at the latest Web Crush!

Okay, let me be honest, I hate LMFAO. I don’t think they are very talented. They are catchy and fun, I guess, but talented? No. There are many pop artists like this that I simply do not care for, but then something happens, something that makes me change my opinion of a song, and causes me to embarrassingly sing along to a song that I once professed to hate. What brings me to this lowly state? Parodies of songs, or to be very honest, nerd parodies of songs. Without fail, if you take a song I hate and relate it to something nerdy, I’m suddenly a silly screaming fangirl, which brings me to my latest Web Crush. Ladies and gentleman—Mr. Steve Martin!

No! Not that one, you idiot! The Cooler Steve Martin! What do you mean you don’t believe me? Just check this guy out!

Cool, right? Ha! I thought so! This video has everything a nerd could ask for looting, minecraft, wizards, comic book references, the Force, big guns (“I call it Vera.“), and to put it quite simply, nerds doing awesome nerd things. Steve also got rid of the annoying part in the original song where they just say the word “wiggle” over and over. Seriously, LMFAO, what the fuck?! It’s replaced by the much more hilarious “study, study, study, study, study, yeah!”  It also has zombies. I love zombies!

I would also recommend that Steve nerdify: Fell in Love in a Hopeless Place, Love You Like a Love Song, and The One That Got Away. Those all need nerdified immediately… because they suck.

So check out, like, and subscribe to The Cooler Steve Martin‘s latest video and check out his vlog too!

Go now and support my latest Web Crush!