Jimquisition: Prepare to Die - General

[video]https://youtu.be/SXUzbcNM6K0[/video] Opening skit ends at 1:43

This was a totally pointless Jimq and really had no substance compared to most others. That and yes Jim we get it you're gay and into kinky sex, can we please skip that already?

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;50111846]This was a totally pointless Jimq and really had no substance compared to most others. That and yes Jim we get it you're gay and into kinky sex, can we please skip that already?[/QUOTE] Did you watch past the openning skit..? His entire point is that the soulsborne franchise shouldn't sell itself on "Wow! Look how hard it is!!" and instead on its amazing lore, worldbuilding, addictive and precise gameplay. From/Namco lets the game get boiled down to something it's far more than when the only thing they sell it on is how "hard" it is.

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;50111846]This was a totally pointless Jimq and really had no substance compared to most others. That and yes Jim we get it you're gay and into kinky sex, can we please skip that already?[/QUOTE] I'd disagree on the first bit. Usually videos, comments, reviews and etcetera on the souls game either have to do with the lore or about how the gameplay and level design is tough-but-fair, occasionally dissecting the gameplay mechanics along with it. Instead, this video was about the game from a marketing standpoint and how disingenuous stuff like "prepare to die'" is.

[QUOTE=Paige;50111865]Did you watch past the openning skit..? His entire point is that the soulsborne franchise shouldn't sell itself on "Wow! Look how hard it is!!" and instead on its amazing lore, worldbuilding, addictive and precise gameplay. From/Namco lets the game get boiled down to something it's far more than when the only thing they sell it on is how "hard" it is.[/QUOTE] All of the marketing around DS has always been wildly disconnected from what the game actually is. I think they latch on to "prpur 2 dai >:)" because it's the only part of the game they understand.

[QUOTE=Paige;50111865]Did you watch past the openning skit..? His entire point is that the soulsborne franchise shouldn't sell itself on "Wow! Look how hard it is!!" and instead on its amazing lore, worldbuilding, addictive and precise gameplay. From/Namco lets the game get boiled down to something it's far more than when the only thing they sell it on is how "hard" it is.[/QUOTE] I get that but I don't see the point of this video. As Scorpio said, this has been a strategy for DS games ever since. And not only DS games, most marketing campaigns are distanced from the actual product in similar ways. You can't market lore or world building (you can but the results will be as cringy as current stuff, just in a different way). Marketing is to draw in new players, a souls veteran won't care about DS3 ads or spicy wings challenges. Like it or not, such campaigns work wonders to draw in large amounts of people.

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;50111904]I get that but I don't see the point of this video. As Scorpio said, this has been a strategy for DS games ever since. And not only DS games, most marketing campaigns are distanced from the actual product in similar ways. You can't market lore or world building (you can but the results will be as cringy as current stuff, just in a different way). Marketing is to draw in new players, a souls veteran won't care about DS3 ads or spicy wings challenges. Like it or not, such campaigns work wonders to draw in large amounts of people.[/QUOTE] They don't. Almost all of Soulsbornes marketing has been down by word of mouth. Like jim and scorpio said the whole "prepare to die" and "wow look how difficult and hardcore this game is" is really disingenuous to all the other wonderful parts of the game. [editline]11th April 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;50111885]All of the marketing around DS has always been wildly disconnected from what the game actually is. I think they latch on to "prpur 2 dai >:)" because it's the only part of the game they understand.[/QUOTE] It's really a damn shame because most of my friends who won't play the game won't play it on the merit that "oh it's that really hard game, i don't wanna buy it because i'll suck at it and never beat it."

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;50111885]All of the marketing around DS has always been wildly disconnected from what the game actually is. I think they latch on to "prpur 2 dai >:)" because it's the only part of the game they understand.[/QUOTE] Personally I think it's largely due to the difficulty being something that's relatively easy to turn into marketing materials and slogans. You need something simple and direct that the uninitiated can understand so they can take interest in the product. Dark Souls lore for example isn't meant to be immediately visible or simple, it's a lot of subtle clues scattered around for you to piece together yourself. Combat allows for a variety of character progression paths and playstyles that may differ greatly from player to player, and in general is about carefully and slowly learning enemy movement/attack patterns to outsmart and counter them. I mean, what are you gonna put on the box for these? "Depressed knights abound!" and "Dodgeroll your heart out!"?

I think if I were to choose a solgan it'd be more about bravery instead of being really hard. I'm not one who makes slogans though, so I can't think of one, but that'd be the theme that would be more fitting imo.

So now referencing the main factor that made the franchise popular with the mainstream is disingenuous? Tell me, what 3 word tag line can you come up with that portrays the game better?

It's as stupid as all the shit at the beginning of DS2 "You're going to die a lot and not know why lolol Dark Souls is hard and the story is kinda hidden away isn't that what you waaaanted????"

[QUOTE=Zeos;50112155]It's as stupid as all the shit at the beginning of DS2 "You're going to die a lot and not know why lolol Dark Souls is hard and the story is kinda hidden away isn't that what you waaaanted????"[/QUOTE] Yeah, a "prepare to die" tagline is pretty innocent in comparison.

[QUOTE=HybridTheroy;50112172]Yeah, a "prepare to die" tagline is pretty innocent in comparison.[/QUOTE] I took "Prepare to die" as genuine advice. When you accept that you'll die eventually you panic less, meaning you actually die less. Of course they had to go and ruin it by constantly referring to the the difficulty in marketing after that. The Souls games aren't even particularly hard they just offer a different type of challenge to most games. They're more similar in how they play to Devil May Cry or Bayonetta than they are to The Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age, just much slower.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;50112345]I took "Prepare to die" as genuine advice. When you accept that you'll die eventually you panic less, meaning you actually die less. Of course they had to go and ruin it by constantly referring to the the difficulty in marketing after that. The Souls games aren't even particularly hard they just offer a different type of challenge to most games. They're more similar in how they play to Devil May Cry or Bayonetta than they are to The Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age, just much slower.[/QUOTE] When you're new to the franchise, first getting into it, it can seem very hard. Like with most RPGs, if you don't look up a guide or something beforehand your first character is gonna suck ass. It becomes an even bigger problem in these games if you don't know any better. I think that's the reason a lot of people think the games are just "hard as fuck". There are plenty of people who play until they get stuck on the first or second boss and give up. Also, yeah, I've always seen them as character action games with stamina.

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;50111846]This was a totally pointless Jimq and really had no substance compared to most others. That and yes Jim we get it you're gay and into kinky sex, can we please skip that already?[/QUOTE] ^ This guy doesn't know that he can skip parts of videos on youtube 10/10 [editline]11th April 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=HybridTheroy;50112126]So now referencing the main factor that made the franchise popular with the mainstream is disingenuous? Tell me, what 3 word tag line can you come up with that portrays the game better?[/QUOTE] The souls series isn't actually really that hard it's hard, but it's accessable to even casuals fuck, even DSP beat the game* *with people giving him advice and free help items so maybe that doesn't count

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;50111904]I get that but I don't see the point of this video. As Scorpio said, this has been a strategy for DS games ever since. And not only DS games, most marketing campaigns are distanced from the actual product in similar ways. You can't market lore or world building (you can but the results will be as cringy as current stuff, just in a different way). Marketing is to draw in new players, a souls veteran won't care about DS3 ads or spicy wings challenges. Like it or not, such campaigns work wonders to draw in large amounts of people.[/QUOTE] To be honest, it's a pretty strategy shit that can very often be a detriment to the series. I've seen tons of people straight up say they don't care about it because "Oh it's just that super hard game right?". And even if you get people to try the game, the idea that it's supposed to be teh hardest game evar!! can ruin people's first impressions. My first exposure to the series was Dark Souls 1 at a mate's place, he loaded up a save at Firelink Shrine just after the tutorial section with a pretty default knight character, explained the controls and passed the controller over. I promptly took the most obvious path down to the graveyard, got my shit kicked in by skeletons and went "Oh gee this game really is as hard as they say!" before continuing to die repeatedly to the skeletons for about half an hour because I thought that's how it's supposed to be played. It's hard and you get killed until you git gud, right? Needless to say, that got fucking boring fucking quickly and I actually ended up hating the franchise for a while, until I got a chance to actually play it properly.

Its still possible to beat it while being bad. Ur SL will just be higher than "normal"

[QUOTE=HybridTheroy;50112126]So now referencing the main factor that made the franchise popular with the mainstream is disingenuous? Tell me, what 3 word tag line can you come up with that portrays the game better?[/QUOTE] How about "Test your courage/might/determination/skill?" [editline]12th April 2016[/editline] Or how about "Overcome your fears" or something like that.

[QUOTE=villa;50117080]How about "Test your courage/might/determination/skill?" [editline]12th April 2016[/editline] Or how about "Overcome your fears" or something like that.[/QUOTE] Dark Souls 3: Prepare To Yell At Your Computer Edition

He's a bit late to the party with this video. There's always been talk about the disconnect between marketing and the game.