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djpretzel

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Posts posted by djpretzel

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Moreover, she does not concede that there is the slightest possibility of ambiguity in how someone should interpret the trope examples. Instead, by offering one conclusory interpretation after the next, she has created an unsubstantiated opinion piece rather than a well-argued and fair opinion or expository piece. As a result, I ended up very confused about what the goal of this video series actually was, aside from getting people to talk about women in video games.

    You could say that I'm just complaining about form over substance, but in my experience, they really do go hand-in-hand. I mean, my whole career is about crafting persuasive arguments. :)

    P.S. Before anyone calls me on it, yes I did change my opinion a bit from earlier in the thread. However, I still don't have any ill will toward Anita. This is only a critique of her work, not of her.

    I personally think it's great that this thread has changed anyone's opinion :nicework: It's been rather clear to me that folks tend to mentally allow for only two sides - you're either in agreement with everything she's saying, or you're against everything she's saying. In trying to articulate my own viewpoint that doesn't fall squarely into either category, I think I've at least convinced Andy that some of what he was describing as being logical & self-evident really wasn't either; that doesn't make those opinions worthless, it just changes the dynamic a bit. Unwavering certitude is actually a pretty BAD thing to have when it comes to interpreting art or postulating its effects upon audiences, in my opinion. I don't want to neuter or reduce the role of cultural critics to helpless bystanders, but when they speak in absolutes and extend their domain well into the field of psychology without batting an eyelash, you know something's gone wrong. It's not "cultural criticism" anymore, it's just someone ranting on the Internet.

    Gonna let this speak for itself

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFpNTcYmid8

    Peach remains in character... shocker.

    Dragon Army Revival thread

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Given the history, I'm obligated to point out that the previous incarnation of Dragon Army involved users' passwords being compromised. So long as the new DA doesn't involve passwords of any kind, that particular risk is eliminated.

    Obviously Sam is awesome and I support anything he does that results in more music, just had to chime in with that word of caution!

    Final Fantasy XV

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by djpretzel

    legit EVERY non-gameplay related complaint in this thread has been about something a japanese person wouldn't even bat an eyelash at so what i hope everyone is realizing is that you actually don't like japanese culture (even though you think you do)

    Because FF13 epitomizes all aspects of Japanese culture? Your theory here is all sorts of weird, as if the later FF installments could somehow encapsulate an entire people. I wouldn't presume to speak knowingly about what a Japanese person would or would not bat an eyelash at - or an American person, for that matter.

    For my money, I'd summarize the problem with two bullet points:

    • The FF universe has not survived the move to voice acting all that well; what once was text dialogue that the reader could imbue with emotion & gravitas now leaves less to the imagination, and suffers from it. I'd rather SE spent HALF of their CG budget on A/B testing different voice actors & voice acting directors, & writers that understand the difference between written dialogue and spoken dialogue. At this point, if that's not possible, I'd prefer they just switch back to text. I actually like the system that Fire Emblem: Awakening uses, with little mini-phrases & expressions substituting for the full text of what's being said, augmenting it. OR just make it ALL in some gibberish made up language. ANYTHING is preferable to what we've been getting.
    • There seems to be a general, fundamental mistake that MORE ELABORATE = BETTER. It's easy to confuse intricacy with quality; I'm not saying that as FF games develop they shouldn't alter the formula a bit, but it feels like there's this false pressure to make most changes additive, when I think stripping away & making subtractive (or even regressive) changes makes a ton of sense, based on the story you're trying to tell.

    I really TRIED to play FF13, but for the life of me, everything felt so elaborate but simultaneously so devoid of soul that I simply couldn't proceed. Storytelling has been at the heart of the series & is what I feel it has excelled at in most of its cherished installments. It makes no sense to attribute bad storytelling & pacing to Japanese culture when they've gotten it right so many times in the past.

    Anime

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I find Attack on Titan to be kind of overhyped. But I will give massive props for its amazing production values.

    The plot and the world its based on are fascinating, but the characters themselves, to me, are something left to be desired.

    It's not particularly character-driven, but I do think they do a decent job focusing on more than a few individuals besides the primaries; specifically, a lot of the internal thought processes that are depicted remind me of the types of leadership crises on Battlestar Galactica. There's a lot of emphasis given to individual reactions and psychology during the very heat of each battle/situation... some folks might criticize that as being "emo" or whatever, but it's completely warranted & feels authentic when you consider the situation.

    I'm personally loving the show so far; it's VERY moment-to-moment, such that the logistics of the battles are actually part of the plot, the shell-shocked hopelessness that the soldiers face seems plausible & genuine, and there's something quite disturbing about giant humanoids eating people - far more disturbing than monsters, robots, etc.

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