Borderlands 2 Writer Outs Destructoid As Corrupt In Wake Of #GamerGate - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Flubbman;45890757] bl2 had its moments but overall it was just a bunch of memes and internet humor[/QUOTE] People keep saying this but I've played the game 3 times and I can't think of more than a handful of memes. Sure, there were plenty of references to popular culture but given the game often presented itself as a comedy that's not all that unexpected. I think Anthony Burch whines far more than he should about stupid things, but I don't think all the writing in Borderlands 2 was just "lolrandom111! and memes." Some parts of the main quest caught me off guard and impressed me, especially the whole [sp]reveal of Angel as Jack's Daughter and how terrible that was. Jack's voice actor sold the hell out of it too.[/sp]

[QUOTE=Flubbman;45890757]first one was okay, nothing stellar but at least it wasn't like bl2 bl2 had its moments but overall it was just a bunch of memes and internet humor[/QUOTE] they're barely even noticeable lol people like to complain for no reason, you have 153 hours of bl2, you should know full well that isn't true at all. oh gee a few maymay's get over yourself and stop bitching about every little thing. It's tiring when people complain about meme's that happen every 5 minutes but it's like 2 characters who have like 2 lines or something.

[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;45891129]People keep saying this but I've played the game 3 times and I can't think of more than a handful of memes. Sure, there were plenty of references to popular culture but given the game often presented itself as a comedy that's not all that unexpected. I think Anthony Burch whines far more than he should about stupid things, but I don't think all the writing in Borderlands 2 was just "lolrandom111! and memes." Some parts of the main quest caught me off guard and impressed me, especially the whole [sp]reveal of Angel as Jack's Daughter and how terrible that was. Jack's voice actor sold the hell out of it too.[/sp][/QUOTE] Borderlands 2's writing is nothing to really celebrate because a lot of it was pretty generic. What sold it was the fantastic voice acting.

To be honest what pissed me off with BL2's writing is that it tried to be aloof and ironically immature.. without proving to me that it was actually mature. It was trying to ape the same tone that GLaDOS had, that black-comedy immature facade with darkness behind it, but it failed absolutely miserably and just sounded like a 12 year old thinking that he's being edgy and daring by making a joke about butts. It didn't make me viscerally belly-laugh or anything like they were going for because the game requires a vague amount of being aware of things (IE loot and looking out for overlevelled/badass characters) that prevented me from falling for that kind of immature snatch-laughs bollocks. It just came off as overly immature and they wasted time on ~wacky humor~ which could have been applied in making me sympathize for the main cast. I [B]hate[/B] the BL2 main cast, because not only do the devs not give me any reason to sympathize with them, they actively make me hate them by giving them annoyingly repetitive lines and their voice actors are really, REALLY obviously just flat-out phoning it in. There's absolutely no effort there.. whereas Angel and Jack are voiced incredibly well and convincingly, although obviously a lot of Jack's lines blow, his performance nails it. The fact I played them in BL1 doesn't make me sympathize with them, because in BL1 aside from the odd voiceline, they have no personality set or ingrained into the game, which means suddenly now they're given personality it not only removes any imagination I might have had, but it also makes me resent the false image they've created. Every five fucking seconds it's "SLAB SLAB SLAB, KILLER KILLER KILLER, SOLDIER SOLDIER SOLDIER" and their lines never fucking stop nagging you senselessly. Their voices convey absolutely no emotion and when [sp]Roland dies[/sp] I literally couldn't care less. I cared more about the fact [sp]Angel died and Jack showed up[/sp] than [sp]Roland getting popped.[/sp] And the fact it was done in such a shite way made it absolutely and completely soul-less. Every single moment of execution barring [sp]Jack's death[/sp] in BL2 was completely and totally off-paced, and the moments where they tried to garner comedy by being awkward and aloof instead just came off as genuinely awkward. TL;DR: Anthony Burch is a shit writer who can't convey tension or emotion, I care too much about video games, and I'm gonna go hit the Rum + Chocolate Milk now.

The only Character I liked was Handsome Jack. I feel he was the only one to actually make me laugh and give a shit occasionally. I didn't really care for anyone else (Claptrap was fucking disgusting though.)

[QUOTE=Tudd;45889187]If anyone has been to the actual the actual local Gearbox Community days, it shouldn't come to be a surprise that some game journalist are biased. That Hey Ash chick is up at their studio all the time.[/QUOTE] Are you really sure that this is evidence of something? Because a lot of what is being passed off as evidence of "nepotism" and "corruption" in Games Journalism is actually just evidence of journalists and developers knowing each other in their social lives. It makes sense that there would be lot close-knit groups of associates in this industry because, unless you're Geoff Keighley slinging Doritos for Halo, there isn't actually that much money to be made in Games Journalism. Like are people seriously trying to convince me that there's some secret big-money conspiracy around writing articles about text adventure games about mental illness on daily blogs?

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45891600]Are you really sure that this is evidence of something? Because a lot of what is being passed off as evidence of "nepotism" and "corruption" in Games Journalism is actually just evidence of journalists and developers knowing each other in their social lives. It makes sense that there would be lot close-knit groups of associates in this industry because, unless you're Geoff Keighley slinging Doritos for Halo, there isn't actually that much money to be made in Games Journalism. Like are people seriously trying to convince me that there's some secret big-money conspiracy around writing articles about text adventure games about mental illness on daily blogs?[/QUOTE] What conspiracy? Why can't you make an argument without making a strawman? There is no conspiracy, gaming "journalists" write positive reviews and give awards for games that their friends/lovers made, not giving a fuck about being professional and being unbiased.

[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45891825]What conspiracy? Why can't you make an argument without making a strawman? There is no conspiracy, gaming "journalists" write positive reviews and give awards for games that their friends/lovers made, not giving a fuck about being professional and being unbiased.[/QUOTE] Except that, apart from the subject of the OP of this thread, none of these accusations are ever [i]substantiated[/i]. It's the he-said-she-said that launched a thousand ships.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45891877]Except that, apart from the subject of the OP of this thread, none of these accusations are ever [i]substantiated[/i]. It's the he-said-she-said that launched a thousand ships.[/QUOTE] What hasn't been substantiated? That these people know each other and got positive reviews/awards?

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45891600]Are you really sure that this is evidence of something? Because a lot of what is being passed off as evidence of "nepotism" and "corruption" in Games Journalism is actually just evidence of journalists and developers knowing each other in their social lives. It makes sense that there would be lot close-knit groups of associates in this industry because, unless you're Geoff Keighley slinging Doritos for Halo, there isn't actually that much money to be made in Games Journalism. Like are people seriously trying to convince me that there's some secret big-money conspiracy around writing articles about text adventure games about mental illness on daily blogs?[/QUOTE] Had these kinds of close ties been revealed in any other industry, the writers responsible would have been fired long ago. But apparently because this is gaming, everything is a joke, and nothing is to be taken seriously. I mean, who cares about the fact that more than a dozen sites articles have popped up, declaring all gamers to be sexist pigs, and that "gaming is over". I mean, who cares that they all seem to be friends or more with each other, potentially being incredibly biased without disclosing it? They're all just bloggers anyways, haha right? I mean, who cares that the Indie games festival is probably rigged and that only close friends of Maya Kramer and Brandon Boyer get awarded. I mean, who cares? [video=youtube;TgW5NRUfs44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgW5NRUfs44[/video]

[QUOTE=Drsalvador;45891379]To be honest what pissed me off with BL2's writing is that it tried to be aloof and ironically immature.. without proving to me that it was actually mature. It was trying to ape the same tone that GLaDOS had, that black-comedy immature facade with darkness behind it, but it failed absolutely miserably and just sounded like a 12 year old thinking that he's being edgy and daring by making a joke about butts.[/quote] Summerizes my thoughts on the differences between BL2's humor and BL1's humor. BL2 was doing it on purpose, and it was obvious. [QUOTE=Drsalvador;45891379]The fact I played them in BL1 doesn't make me sympathize with them, because in BL1 aside from the odd voiceline, they have no personality set or ingrained into the game, which means suddenly now they're given personality it not only removes any imagination I might have had, but it also makes me resent the false image they've created. Every five fucking seconds it's "SLAB SLAB SLAB, KILLER KILLER KILLER, SOLDIER SOLDIER SOLDIER" and their lines never fucking stop nagging you senselessly. Their voices convey absolutely no emotion and when [sp]Roland dies[/sp] I literally couldn't care less.[/quote] This, too. Lilith's change didn't bug me, and I liked Mordicai in this game. Brick and Roland, however, annoyed me. I remember Roland going "Hell, yeah!" and "It's like Christmas!" but then he went to "Yes, Soldier, here is your mission." Christ, in Borderlands 2, of all games, I wouldn't expect someone with less personality than a Call of Duty protagonist. They went the wrong route with Brick in my opinion. He's [I]really[/I] outgoing and silly in BL2, when BL1 gave me the impression of a guy who would silently threaten you, and occasionally burst out into massive roars, rather than "Man, Slab, that was badass!" I want a ruthless thug, not a ruthless bro. Jack's writing is almost always A+ to me, except I wish he was less evil. His stance was always "You're the bad guy! You're the bandit, and I'm trying to do good," and I love it when games make you feel fucked up like that. Meanwhile, he's over there doing torturous experiments and being a careless ass. But holy fuck, Angel [sp]being a Siren was spoiled by the game itself in the first fucking mission. "Executing Phase Shift."[/sp] Thanks for spoiling your own fucking plot twist, Borderlands. It doesn't even work as foreshadowing, it blatantly told me [sp]"she's a siren."[/sp]

[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45891904]What hasn't been substantiated? That these people know each other and got positive reviews/awards?[/QUOTE] Of course they know each other. How is someone supposed to write articles about the indie game scene if they're only allowed to do so from the interior of a sealed steel cube?

I think people have blown the whole thing about memes in Borderlands 2 out of proportion a bit. There are plenty of other reasons why the writing is bad, but I don't recall many meme references.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45891940]Of course they know each other. How is someone supposed to write articles about the indie game scene if they're only allowed to do so[B] from[/B] [B]the interior of a sealed steel cube?[/B][/QUOTE] Either stop taking what you're taking or double the dosage. I mean where are you taking all this shit from? Secret big-money conspiracy? Sealed steel cubes? Come back when you start making sense.

[QUOTE=Flubbman;45890757]first one was okay, nothing stellar but at least it wasn't like bl2 bl2 had its moments but overall it was just a bunch of memes and internet humor[/QUOTE] For anyone interested in how many memes are actually in borderlands 2, there's like five or six challenges (in-game achievements that unlock new skins and bonus points) named after old memes like "you mad bro" a tiny le meme face on the scrap metal riot shield of one boss, and one very out of the way double rainbow Easter egg. so Unless there were a few claptrap lines where he spouts memes that i missed (highly likely considering the whole point of claptrap is hes so horribly irritating you want to avoid listening to him at all costs), that's literally it.

[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45891985]Either stop taking what you're taking or double the dosage. I mean where are you taking all this shit from? Secret big-money conspiracy? Sealed steel cubes? Come back when you start making sense.[/QUOTE] I'm saying that you [I]have to know people[/I] as a journalist in order to do your job. Like I'm just trying to get at the angle that a lot of the people complaining about "games journalism" don't seem to understand what, exactly, games journalism is and how it works and, most importantly, [i]just how little money is involved[/i] in writing about indie games on blogs. It just strikes me as a little funny that I hear people talking about corruption in games journalism and, after saying "heck yeah" to myself, I find out that, no... wait, they aren't talking about IGN, or the VGAs, or any of the [I]big[/I], moneyed institutions in games reporting and that, instead, they're talking about a small clique of writers known for writing about gender issues in video games. It's apparently [I]those people[/I] who [I]are[/I] games journalism. And then I find out that the push-back against this supposed corruption in this tiny pocket of games journalism has taken the form, primarily, of harassing people through twitter.

[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45891985]Either stop taking what you're taking or double the dosage. I mean where are you taking all this shit from? Secret big-money conspiracy? Sealed steel cubes? Come back when you start making sense.[/QUOTE] Destructoid ran in a way similar to the movie CUBE, where they would toss random people into a giant shifting array of cuboid spaces rigged with death traps. To advance to the next room, you had to play through a game, write a review about it, and then submit it. Many died. Jim Sterling became a cannibal with an insatiable lust for long pork, gorging on the corpses of the dead and inspiring the character of Smough The Executioner from Dark Souls. Only a few have made it out alive, but they have been forever changed.

[QUOTE=An Armed Bear;45891959]I think people have blown the whole thing about memes in Borderlands 2 out of proportion a bit. There are plenty of other reasons why the writing is bad, but I don't recall many meme references.[/QUOTE] it's because they get hyper buttmad over it to the point where that's all they think about but every single time they always link to the like, one or 3 meme(s) there are

[QUOTE=An Armed Bear;45891959]I think people have blown the whole thing about memes in Borderlands 2 out of proportion a bit. There are plenty of other reasons why the writing is bad, but I don't recall many meme references.[/QUOTE] [url]http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Borderlands_2_pop_culture_references[/url] Scroll down to the bottom.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892040] And then I find out that the push-back against this supposed corruption in this tiny pocket of games journalism has taken the form, primarily, of harassing people through twitter.[/QUOTE] ---Retracted, Anita is being harassed, and now I finally saw the evidence for it--- A lot of the harrassing is still done by the other side though, see below.

[QUOTE=AtomiCal;45892103][url]http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Borderlands_2_pop_culture_references[/url] Scroll down to the bottom.[/QUOTE] They're so easy to completely miss though that I don't see how it's really an issue, or how it could possibly mean the game is "Nothing but memes" not that you're complaining, or laughing at them

[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;45892159]FYI most of the harassing is done by the games journalism crowd, or the ones who think that the concerns about the close ties in the industry is about misogynism, not by the gamers. In fact, please show me the outright harassment of feminists or journalists on Twitter. Right here. And try going on /v/ and find me an example where people are actively harassing a person, and if possible, find some replies that are agreeing with it. Please do.[/QUOTE] Do you want me to draw you a bath and make you dinner while I'm at it? I mean [URL="https://twitter.com/jennatar"]a games journalist I really liked quit today because of personal harassment she's been receiving on twitter[/URL] but since I can't meet your incredibly specific criteria on how I can ascribe guilt for that to a nebulous mass of people then that doesn't count, does it?

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892270]Do you want me to draw you a bath and make you dinner while I'm at it?[/QUOTE] So are you admitting that you can't provide any evidence to your claims?

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892040]I'm saying that you [I]have to know people[/I] as a journalist in order to do your job.[/QUOTE] What? So you are saying it's fine and normal when people write good reviews of things their friends/lovers made? And give them awards in contests? [QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892040]Like I'm just trying to get at the angle that a lot of the people complaining about "games journalism" don't seem to understand what, exactly, games journalism is and how it works and, most importantly, [i]just how little money is involved[/i] in writing about indie games on blogs.[/QUOTE] So it's only bad when there's big money involved? That's your point? [QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892040]It just strikes me as a little funny that I hear people talking about corruption in games journalism and, after saying "heck yeah" to myself, I find out that, no... wait, they aren't talking about IGN, or the VGAs, or any of the [I]big[/I], moneyed institutions in games reporting and that, instead, they're talking about a small clique of writers known for writing about gender issues in video games. It's apparently [I]those people[/I] who [I]are[/I] games journalism. [/QUOTE] Gamasutra, polygon, rockpapershotgun, igf and kotaku are clique just some writers I guess. We are talking about these because information about these came out. If it came out about IGN, we would be talking about IGN. [QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892040]And then I find out that the push-back against this supposed corruption in this tiny pocket of games journalism has taken the form, primarily, of harassing people through twitter.[/QUOTE] Good job parroting the trend. "All the "gamers" are doing after finding about this "supposed corruption" is harassing people on twitter." You forgot to mention doritos, neckbeards and misogyny.

[QUOTE=AtomiCal;45892103][url]http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Borderlands_2_pop_culture_references[/url] Scroll down to the bottom.[/QUOTE] I love how if you don't go out of the way for easter eggs, don't look up specific challenges in a list that contains hundreds, and don't play with Axton you basically only see/hear a quarter of this list anyway.

an image showing even more of a horrible person this guy is: [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11517902/4chan/1409264158343.jpg[/t]

[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45892349] Good job parroting the trend. "All the "gamers" are doing after finding about this "supposed corruption" is harassing people on twitter." You forgot to mention doritos, neckbeards and misogyny.[/QUOTE] Yo dogg the briefest of twitter searches can show you plenty of harassment. [url=http://femfreq.tumblr.com/post/96569154020/yes-please-explain-to-me-again-how-this-has]Or is every single one of these twitter accounts a false-flag?[/url]

throwing people under the bus when he is just as stupid

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892270]I mean [URL="https://twitter.com/jennatar"]a games journalist I really liked quit today because of personal harassment she's been receiving on twitter[/URL][/QUOTE] You mean the guardian told her to fuck off after she wrote this [URL]https://archive.today/ylBV1[/URL] ? [QUOTE=SigmaLambda;45892435]Yo dogg the briefest of twitter searches can show you plenty of harassment. [URL="http://femfreq.tumblr.com/post/96569154020/yes-please-explain-to-me-again-how-this-has"]Or is every single one of these twitter accounts a false-flag?[/URL][/QUOTE] Now tell me on what basis can you say that it's [B]all that gamers are doing[/B] and how can you judge everyone who plays video games based on what these people did. And you didn't answer the question: Are you saying it's fine and normal when people write good reviews of things their friends/lovers made? And give them awards in contests?

[img]http://i.imgur.com/eqp8l9I.png[/img] What was wrong with this? Like, why is is fucked up that she did that short? All of the TF2 shorts are great, and the one with Miss Pauling is funny as all hell.