Category: opinions

The Importance of the Gaming Blog

Dryad4 Comments

Emotional Motion

I’m not talking about my gaming blog.  In fact, I feel that out of all the blogs I can think of, mine is one of the least relatable.  I avoid spoilers like the plague, even if it’s within the first 30 minutes of the game.  I always jump in blind.  I even avoid talking about them, and yet here I am trying to talk about games.  I have a ton of seemingly arbitrary rules about how I approach media, making it near impossible for me to talk with other gamers in a manner that isn’t bothersome.

So this is not about my blog.  This is about all the gaming blogs I encounter.  I’ve read so many good ones.  Why are gaming blogs so important?  What if they aren’t articulated well?  What if they don’t know any of the technical game design elements? What if they just play games?

What if they just play games?

Games are a very personal thing.  They’re like eating food.  We are considered “consumers” after all.  It’s like reading a book or watching a movie.  It’s like seeing a beautiful vista, and having your own opinion and experience.  Games are an emotional experience.  And what better way to learn about emotional experience than from emotional people?

All it takes for someone to be able to be a writer of video games, in the most non-objective sense, is to play games; they just need to have the experience.  I’m not looking for the top critics’ blogs.  I’m not looking for someone who has directed and designed two triple AAA games.  I’m looking for Frostilyte Writes, who recently wrote about their perspective for capturing audiences of all sides in the fighting genre for Street Fighter VI.  It’s a very good and informative piece.  You should read it. Why are people like this important?  Because one line sticks out to me from their article. 

“I’m not who Capcom needs to convince.“

Games are a part of the investments and feelings that we have experienced as people.  Frostilyte has this unique perspective of saying “the people you actually need to convince are people that aren’t already pilled. The people who will buy a fighting game, and never play it online.”  That’s me.  I’m the person who never plays it online!  But this isn’t coming from someone who plays for the casual game.  They play for the PvP.  Someone who plays for the PvP talking about why the PvE matters.  That’s a take I want to find. That is someone’s experience of having played other games in a non-objective way talking about what they think.  This is what I’m looking for.

I want to know why they feel nostalgic about certain elements.  I want to know what makes other people excited.  Is it a technical thing?  Are they excited for a character?  What is it that drives them to be playing games?  Because I’m just one person.  And I want to know.  I don’t just want to know why things are liked or disliked.  I want to know what led them to that.  I want to know what and how the people think.  

There’s nothing wrong with objective approaches to video games, but they’re are plenty of those.  It’s like a scientific paper.  The objective is to reach a technical point in which we can reproduce it.  In fact, I’m going to use a scientific paper to talk a little more about it. It was a recent and interesting paper called about emotional writing where they state this:

“The idea is that rather than seeing articulations of emotion as detracting from authentic metacognitive knowledge production, such articulations of emotion can and should be seen as a critical part of the metacognitive process…  …We are not claiming that emotion alone can give us a clear picture of the metacognitive process, but without accounting for emotion, we have an incomplete conception of how students understand not only their own writing processes but also themselves as writers…”1

In the article they’re talking about objective papers, ones written for more professional research.  But I’m going to argue it works just as well for video game writing as well.  Media writing if we really want to talk about this.  Again, “…without accounting for emotion, we have an incomplete conception of how students understand not only their own writing processes but also themselves as writers…” (emphasis added)

There is nothing more important to me in video game writing than realizing there is another being, with different emotions and complexities, experiencing the same thing I am playing.  There is nothing more important to me in writing, than the individual people voicing their opinions.  I’m not saying this in a “power to the people” kind of way.  I’m saying this in “the people are the power of gaming” kind of way.  That this is an empowerment of everyone in the community from the people who have friends who play games, all the way to the developers, and dare I say it, possibly even the corporate side. …Maybe. 

Our individual aspects are what makes media so much more enjoyable.  Video game blogs give us that in a readable, presentable form.  (Except for my website, which is extremely plain and possibly not very presentable.)

The irony is that valid dislikes are what it is being human.  How far is someone willing to go before technical game design is a problem?  How far before it’s a feature not a bug?  Or how far is it before it’s janky fun to “this is getting annoying?”  I partially regret adding Mass Effect 3 to the ULTRA, because it had some serious bugs.  But I kept it there.  I’ve taken down games from the ULTRA for the same reason.  Why?  Why?!  Because every one of my siblings is familiar with Mass Effect and their characters.  Outside of the actual aspects of the game, the closeness I feel with the lore is different, because for once it’s something we all can talk about and relate to.  I’ve grown close to the janky mess.

What characters or arcs evoke more of the player’s life into the experience?  We can even say, what technical aspects of games evoke a player’s life into the experience?  There’s a reason why A Hat in Time feels like a good old school platformer without actually being an old game.  

How far is this going to stretch?  I want to know, because it tells the story of what it is to be a gamer.  I disagree with some of the things the bloggers write about.  Almost every time, if they’re not writing objectively, they understand the complexity of disliking or liking a game I have opposite feelings for.  We are all individual players, and that’s okay.  I am grateful for the rapport and the kind of camaraderie of it all.

Objective reviews are read by people who have personal and emotional experiences.  Spoken of before, but the comparing and contrasting with others helps to feel what we like and dislike.  The benefit of knowing what the voices of the players think is what these personal blogs do best.  You can get to know this person in a way you can compare your own interests with.

What better way to display all this in mini form than mixed Steam reviews.  These people are almost always connected to the game in some emotional level for good or for bad.  Mixed reviews on Steam are sneaky because a 50% doesn’t sound good, but in hindsight, that is half of the people who play it.  That’s a lot.  And furthermore, they’re usually much more emotionally charged.  But 50%!  That’s a you like it or you don’t, and think of how many things we attribute that to: movies, books, theme park rides, food, dancing.  I’m not saying go play mediocre games, but remember that you are an emotive, real person that has real experiences.  Therefore, what better way than to use these tools and help from other players to guide you in how you can best approach the world of gaming, whether that is living life as a gamer or finding a game that you like.

I sometimes stare at my blog.  I’m annoyed because I find myself staring and wondering what to write about.  But really it shouldn’t matter too much.  Because the content is an emotional section just like any other writer.  I admit I enjoy more this almost anthropological approach to writing about media than anything else.

I have barely any time to do all the nothing I want to do.  But when I read other peoples blogs like WCRobinson, the previously mentioned Frostilyte, and Later Levels, I remember why I love to read about games.  I remember why I love being a gamer. That’s huge.

Their individual personalities are like bright fires burning on a dark night.  It is a refuge and reminder of how personal and human games can be.

Thanks for reading.  Stay safe, and I’ll see you again.

– Elise

  1. Scarantino, A. (2006). [Review of Thinking about Feeling: Contemporary Philosophers on Emotions; Emotion, Evolution, and Rationality, by R. C. Solomon, D. Evans, & P. Cruse]. Mind, 115(459), 812–820. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3840610

Why I Love: Kingdom of Loathing

DryadLeave a comment

The more you know

When you go to kingdomofloathing.com there are a bunch of stick figures.  You see some stats about some players and some announcements.  Currently there is a banner for their game Shadows Over Loathing.  And that’s it.

But if you make an account and go in, you enter a comical world that shows you how entertaining simple stick figures and the written word can be.  Kingdom of Loathing is a browser, turn-based RPG that has the normal elements of any RPG: six classes, skills for each, a main quest and side quests, and fun secrets.  What sets it apart is the fairly simple illustrations of monsters and the hilarious descriptions of the fights and adventures you partake in.

I mean, this is what it looks like (I’m going through a special Super Mario version run):

The game is filled to the brim with jokes and pop culture references.  Skeletons can “scwipe you with their scimitar and misc.”. And you’ll fight monsters like The Beetles or golems made of chowder.  Everything from the fights to the item descriptions have jokes and it’s an absolute delight reading new material as well.  You can take apart cottage cheese and get a cottage.  That’s the kind of humor I’m talking about.

The world is very well developed at this point and there are tons of places to explore.  Expect to do reading from all the descriptions of the events you run into.  There is a limiting factor though: every day you get 40 adventures and every combat/event encounter consumes one adventure.  Stores and stuff don’t use adventures. You might feel like this is limiting, but it’s just about the right amount to play for every day.  And you can have up to 200 adventures stored up. You can go past that with food and drinks, but the 40 given will only give you up to the 200. But also take care not to drink too much alcohol or you’ll be fallen down drunk and useless for the rest of the day.

The six classes are strange like Accordion Thief, Seal Clubber and Pastamancer.  But the themes that continue in the skills make them feel like legit real classes that have existed forever.  Admittedly they’re based off of normal ones.  Mix that with the thousands upon thousands upon THOUSANDS of items you can find in the game.  Content really does feel endless here.

All of it is free.  There are a few things you can pay money for, but the game is completely fine without them.  And if you finish the game you can ascend and start over with different challenge paths that go from something as simple as being a teetotaler and not being able to drink, to having the whole kingdom turned into a nuclear post apocalypse. Or even like my current run, being a Super Mario-like character.  Every time you ascend you get rewarded and you can start over with new content, which at this point there are SO MANY different cool paths you can take now.  

There are, of course, online components. You can shop the player maintained mall, take part in PvP, or create a clan with your friends to take on a clan dungeon.  But also of course, I do not partake in the online aspects except the mall.  

This game is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea but I highly recommend trying it.  It is available for free at kingdomofloathing.com. If you’re not into browser based mostly text adventures you can get West of Loathing or Shadows of Loathing on Steam.  They are not free though.  

But all I’ve been doing is explaining what the game is. The whole battle system set around things like fighting hippies having elemental effects like “stench damage” gives you a bit of an idea of some of the organized absurdity the game shows you.  The game is most rewarding when you know more about real life and pop culture.  References abound in nearly every description and you’ll find yourself laughing out loud (hopefully, if not I apologize for my taste in humor).  At the very least there are some puns there that you can enjoy.

And that’s the big thing. The more you know about pop culture, the more enjoyable this game gets. Things from random beer quotes (I don’t drink, but I still get some of the jokes from ads and whatnot), to references to other games, to making puns or making fun of grammar. There are so many different kinds of humor all throughout the game. Every time I read something and I get the reference I feel like doing that DiCaprio pointing gif/meme. And sometimes the stuff is just funny without getting it.

So if we get all that pop culture stuff in with an infinitely updated game that I would play forever if it updated forever and I lived forever, and you get this wonderful game. Really, I’ve seen so many mixed responses to this game. …but I just finished my 50th ascension and I still have more things I want to do in this game.

Kingdom of Loathing is #179 on the ULTRA, as of the publishing of this post. What other browser based games do you still really like?

Thanks for reading, and hopefully I will post more darn often. =_= Be safe.
I’ll see you next time.
– Elise

Why I Love: Kentucky Route Zero

DryadLeave a comment

0

I was afraid to write about this because I am always worried about spoiling this kind of stuff.  So if you are going to play this game or you haven’t finished it, I’d rather you do that first before reading this, because I don’t really think there is a way to talk about this without spoiling any of it.  Please go do so.  If you have absolutely no intentions of finishing or playing this game, or you’ve already finished it, feel free to continue on.  

There will be no spoiler tags.  

So, again, be sure that if you want to play without spoilers, stop here.  

A lot of games have less than 50% of owners playing it.  Kentucky Route Zero is like 10-20%.  I feel bad because I think gamers tend to underestimate how good writing, literally the words, juxtaposition, and everything else, can be so strong.  Kentucky Route Zero takes that and structures it around an interactive, choice-making medium in such a way that doesn’t take away from the way words evoke feeling and meaning just because you can see actions or make choices.  Its strength still feels as powerful as any traditional writing.  It truly is a visual novel.

I went into Kentucky Route Zero thinking it was overhyped.  It’s been a long time since I’ve played a classic adventure/point and click style game, although admittedly this game doesn’t really have puzzles.  So I went in not knowing what to expect.  Which…is no surprise because I tend to go blindly into games, because I like that.  Immediately I love the simplistic style in the graphics.  It makes things feel vague and mysterious.  You can’t see any of the character’s faces.  They’re just blank.  Movement can sometimes feel sluggish.  You spend a lot of time just looking.  

The way the game presents itself is like myth and folklore.  But not in the manner of viral videos or YouTubers talking about stuff.  It’s like the normal everyday life of the belief.  Everything feels all matter of fact.  The perspective of the characters isn’t in shock.  It’s a different cultural structure.  It reminds me of how my family still works with balances of elements in Feng Shui.  They just kind of exist and we exist within that sphere.  Or one that is a little strange is that there are raccoon spirits in the households.  If someone talks about them, there is no surprise if it is the spirit that caused something.   There’s no unbelief.  There is even an ancestral chart for the different spirits that have passed through the household.  To be clear, this is not a Chinese thing, it is just lore from the family.  

And saying that something happened by the raccoon spirits is not ignorance, it’s living within the in between of what is real and our mythos.  Whether or not the scenes we experience in Kentucky Route Zero are real, take place in the afterlife, or are folklore, is not important.  What’s important is that they happened and were felt.  

There is a section about halfway through the series where you go on a trippy river called the Echo.  On the Echo I notice a theme where everyone who lives there or hangs out there often becomes wanderers.  They tend to forget why they travelled on the Echo.  They end up drifting everywhere.  There are so many stories that you can listen to and experience on this river. Before long on the Echo, I too forgot what I was there for.  I became enveloped in the unique lifestyle of living in this place that resides in between the lines.  Sure, we could say that it was the fact that this river winds for what feels like forever, but the presentation and experience was quite interesting.

One of my favorite moments was in a mostly empty store.  The only thing showing you what is happening is text and audio.  There are no graphics to describe these scenes.  You can hear the hum of these machines that hold liquid in them.   When you approach it the audio changes to represent that.  And when you reach into one of the containers your mind wanders.  The audio softens to represent that as well.  It’s simple, and feels obvious, but reading text and feeling that audio is a fantastic experience.  It’s not so far that it’s video gamey.  It leans much further into the literature side of things, while also not being an audio book.  

It is also perhaps the minimalist style that also makes room for the written word.  Each graphical effect and gameplay element doing their duty, which is to tell a story through feelings, emotions, and words.  There is so much reading here.  And that is not a bad thing.  I think it tends to drive gamers away, but they’re missing out.  I love that so many of the characters are not there for you.  You might be playing the main character, but the other characters don’t really care.  I love that there is so much dialogue that is not necessary.  The only necessity is if you want to take a look at these people in this world.

Speaking of taking a look, I think one of my favorite parts are the little micro episode things in between each normal episode.  There is one where it’s just a phone and a phone number.  You call the number and it’s an information service for tourism along the Zero.  I spent a VERY, VERY long time listening to this phone.  I even leaned my head against something on my shoulder as if I had the phone in real life and was listening to it for long periods of time.  I suppose if I was not clear, this is an old wired phone.  Maybe it helps that it looks so much like the one my family had while growing up.  

Listening to this information recording talk about the different parts of the Zero as it’s a whole entire world unknown to us is so fascinating.  And then there’s the fact that it always leaves something to the imagination.  There’s always a little more mystery than can be exposed.  There’s always a little something more to the mythos.  It gives the feeling of how small we are in a world of myth and reality.  

Here’s another in-between episode that I loved.  I mean, these episodes still take place in the world of Kentucky Route Zero, so it’s not like we’re wasting time on these, but I believe they are optional.  There is one where you watch this play in this very small theatre.  If you look around you can also read how the play came to be and stories around the actors and audience’s reactions.  There’s a surreal experience of learning such in depth material about something that you’re in the process of watching.  It feels so personal that I can’t help but feel a weird relationship between the actors and also the actors as people.  It’s that strange feeling of reaching into the depths of a world we know so little about, and in the end, it’s still about people.  

I tried to be spoilery but I still kind of failed.  Ha!  I think I enjoy Kentucky Route Zero because it reminds me of the life I live.  My life is full of mythos, not for the sake of fun or role playing, but because that’s how it is.  I think I resonate with Kentucky Route Zero because it captures folklore very well.  I also love it because it feels very sentimental: here, feelings are more important than facts.  

Which brings me to my last point.  I started this blog to talk about good game design, but I find myself lately talking about things in sentimentality.  I am a very emotional person, what can I say?  However, this usually doesn’t make good writing.  I apologize for this, as I have decided to continue on this sentimental route.  I will still talk as if talking to a friend.  I’m not here to write an essay, even in my deep dives.  I obviously still talk about game design, but ultimately this is a website about praising games, and that tends to bring along with it a lot of sentiment.  So thank you for reading if you do.

Kentucky Route Zero is a very sentimental game.  I don’t want people playing it if they’re not going to like it.  I am worried people will think it will be a tremendous waste of time, but I feel that those who do resonate with it will have one of the best experiences in gaming.  Ever.

Kentucky Route Zero is #9 on the ULTRA.  

Thanks for reading.  I’ll see you next time.

Elise

Comparison: The Meta Boss

Dryad3 Comments

The Toxic Wasteland

If you’ve read my blog …or whatever this is, you probably already know that I like to play single player games.  I’m not a competitive person.  Or…rather I should say, I hate comparing myself to other people.  It always ends up being a bunch of self-deprecating madness.  But…every time I am playing a game that has stats I open it up and check on it often.  Why do I do that?  Why is that so important?  Am I insecure?  What the world is going on and why, why does this have to be a thing?  Today, I’m going to look into that.  I’m Elise.  This is Game Praisers Deep Dive.

——————————————–

Instagram is a deadly place.  As an artist, it can be extremely inspiring.  It can also be one of the absolute worst things to look at before heading into a new project.  There have been many times where I just feel totally horrible after just having improved the night before, because I decided it would be a good idea to look at some “inspirational” pictures.  That was not a good idea.

But, these pictures can inspire me.  I know they can because they have.  This is a competition.  And you know what makes it harder?  In games, it’s worse.  In video games I can look at the scoreboard and say, “Wow, I am just bringing my whole team down.”  If I look at the top player on my team, I don’t receive inspiration.  I don’t look at an amazing kill-death ratio / KDR, or as I feel many games see it now, kill-death-assists / KDA and feel inspired.  Maybe I can see inspiration when I watch professional games like ESL or Homestory Cup in Starcraft 2.  Yeah, I can, but never can I look at the people I am directly competing against and feel inspiration.  I have never, unless I personally know that player, ever gained some sort of encouragement by looking at another top player even if they’re on my side.

When we compare ourselves to others, it is usually us on the lower end of the comparison.  We’re the ones who are insufficient.1  And in the case of video games, it doesn’t matter if they’re on our side or not, these carriers are evidence that we are a weak link.  And although it has happened before, you don’t hear a lot of encouragement from your teammates when you’re not doing well.  Few competitive environments are more toxic than the video game ones.  I once played a game against medium difficulty bots in League of Legends because I wanted to see a character’s animations without going to a blurry Youtube video.  Someone was absolutely furious that someone else was in the same lane as them.  They started feeding the enemy team and then half way through the match they left.  This was a bot game.  It wasn’t even on the hardest difficulty of bots.  This is an example of the kind of people we deal with.

—————————————

But I never feel that in Guild Wars 2.  When I see someone with amazing equipment I never think, “Gosh, I wish I was as diligent and focused as that player.”  Maybe to a small extent, but never to an effect.  Nowadays it would be more like I wish I had time, which is a whole different problem.  There they are though, walking around with all their cool gear.   Guild Wars 2 is a social game, and it’s been shown that spending time on social networking things tends to make people more depressed.2  Except… there is a context we’re missing here.  Guild Wars 2 does not place me in competition, especially concerning that most of it is PvE for me.  Social networking does.  By the nature of what I do, what I like, who I choose to hang out with, they all point towards things similar to me.  So of course I’m going to end up with other artists on Instagram.  Of course I will end up with other people who play games on Facebook until I purged it of every acquaintance and false friend.  And of course there is the whole entirety of women, including women characters, that make me feel in competition with being attractive.  I don’t think I need to tell you that it does not help.3  That’s the whole point.  And when it comes down to performing well in the context of others… that’s the whole point of competitive gaming.

——————————————

It’s very difficult to pinpoint this because it’s such a specific social thing.  There aren’t that many studies that directly correlate to this.  I found a thesis on it, and while it has some nice insights, it’s just one study.  The writers themselves have noted that it is possible, and needs looking into, that playing PvP/competitive games can detract from the positive social aspects of video games.4   Self-determination theory claims that humans need a feeling of competence, autonomy, and relatedness.5  These are underlying things that help increase self-esteem and more so, motivation.  Random and unprompted positive feedback helps people feel competent and motivates them to work hard.  Relatedness as well.  Both things that are…lacking in the environment of competitive video gaming.  

Personally, I believe that to combat this we need self control and self esteem.  Self control to understand our needs concerning our games that we play.  Don’t play a competitive game to blow off steam if you know it’s going to make you upset.  Some people can play competitive games to calm down, but be sure that you are one of those people if you’re going to do it.  Think about what games would best fit for however you’re feeling.  My experience with video games has gotten a little better since I’ve tried to adjust myself to playing what would be best in the moment.  Sometimes it’s just whatever I feel like.  Gatekeeping myself from playing something else because I have to finish another game has almost always resulted in a less than optimal experience.  Though admittedly it’s not super bad, it is sometimes significant which affects how I feel about a game.  This is something I do not want just because I made myself more depressed or something.   

Then there is self esteem, which is a difficult thing for me.  I’m still working on this, and will likely be working on this my whole life.  Learning to be okay where we are as we try to improve is a big thing.  Sometimes it’s okay to not perform well some days.  What is important is that we are willing and trying to improve.  We can be happy with where we are now without compromising who we are trying to become.  But…easier said than done, right?

—————————-

So why do players still seek it out?  When Battlefield 2042 was released with a limited scoreboard people kept requesting and asking for a full scoreboard it until it finally was added, and it ended up being an announcement on many gaming sites.7, 8, 9, 10  And IGN’s subheader is literally a reference to what I’m talking about, saying, “Finally, proof my K/D ratio is trash.”11  While it is a joke, it is still frustrating to come back at the end of a long work day to play Valorant or something and then get frustrated not only because you feel like you’re letting down your team, but also because they’re yelling at you.  

For me, the extent was that I sought out these games because it could fulfill that feeling of competency and possibly even camaraderie.  It could, and when it did, it felt great.  Of course it felt great when I turned to Battlefield V after a long day and I was one of the top players on my team.  But these methods are reliant on volatile results and variables that may be outside our control.  They depend on whether or not you win, which in a team game, is very dangerous.  It could depend on either side’s attitude.  It depends on your performance, and that alone could be dangerous.  It could feel self-deprecating to see yourself not performing well.  And that one is possibly even more dangerous, because it is applicable to single player games.  And most importantly, it’s applicable to life.  If how we feel about ourselves and whether or not we’re happy with ourselves is dependent on performances, it could be a dreadful life.  

Comparison fulfills something in us, but it’s also something that is very easily out of our control.  Sometimes we just don’t do well.  Sometimes we make mistakes.  That is life.  This is not to say we shouldn’t try at all, or we shouldn’t be happy when we do well, but we cannot tie our intrinsic feeling of self worth because someone else performed well enough not only to destroy us on a bad day, but also teabag us after they did so.

Thanks for reading, stay safe, and I hope to see you again here at Game Praisers.

Elise

Citations:

  1. Gerber, J. P., Wheeler, L., & Suls, J. (2018). A social comparison theory meta-analysis 60+ years on. Psychological Bulletin, 144(2), 177–197. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000127
  2. Sunkyung Yoon, Mary Kleinman, Jessica Mertz, Michael Brannick, Is social network site usage related to depression? A meta-analysis of Facebook–depression relations, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 248, 2019, Pages 65-72, ISSN 0165-0327,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.01.026.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032718321700)
  3. Jacqueline V. Hogue, Jennifer S. Mills, The effects of active social media engagement with peers on body image in young women, Body Image, Volume 28, 2019, Pages 1-5, ISSN 1740-1445, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.11.002.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174014451730517X)
  4. Zhao, F. (2022). The role of social video game play and relatedness in players’ well-being [Master’s thesis]. University of Oxford.
  5. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory. Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness.
  6. Vallerand, Robert & Reid, Greg. (1984). On the Causal Effects of Perceived Competence on Intrinsic Motivation: A Test of Cognitive Evaluation Theory. Journal of Sport Psychology. 6. 94-102. 10.1123/jsp.6.1.94. 
  7. https://www.polygon.com/22891186/battlefield-2042-scoreboard-patch-update
  8. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-2042-is-finally-adding-new-scoreboard-see-it-here/1100-6499759/
  9. https://www.thegamer.com/battlefield-2042-scoreboard-update-live/
  10. https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-2042-new-scoreboard/
  11. https://www.ign.com/articles/battlefield-2042-update-scoreboard

Top 25 Pieces of Media of 2022

DryadLeave a comment

This is taken from another writing thing that I do, so it’s copy-pasted, but it should still be relevant.

Hey everyone!  This is an EXTREMELY LONG post that contains the Top 25 pieces of media I’ve consumed this year (there is a TLDR at the bottom). This is anything that I’ve finished or finished consuming within the year 2022.  This includes movies, music, tv shows, books, and any other thing that…I will consider media.  Things that were released in 2022 are marked with an *.  Other markers such as seasonal markers for TV shows like (1) are still used here.  For convenience I am not going to bother with the archiving/ULTRA format concerning languages for most of them because I’m lazy.

 I’ve also been asked if I get any money for advertising games and stuff.  I don’t.  I just want you guys to be able to have access to them.  I’m not listing all the accessibilities.  These are just off the top of my head, so keep in mind there may be other ways to access the given media.  Alright.  Let’s start with some honorable mentions:

Game: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons:*

I don’t know why but I wasn’t super impressed with End of Dragons.  I still love Guild Wars, and it’s still great, but something about End of Dragons just felt very off.  It probably doesn’t help that it was developed during Covid’s biggest damage.  The most impressive thing though are the new subclasses from this expansion.  They’ve all been great.  The base game is on PC for free.

Film: The Bad Guys*

A delightful movie that came from a book that I had no idea about.  The film is very cute and well done.  Definitely worth a watch.  I think it’s still on Netflix.

Film: The Black Phone*

A very good horror film that feels good.  I mean, it feels like the crew really cared about this film.  It’s different and the actors do a very good job.  It’s a weird idea, but it is executed well.  I’m not going to say much about the contents, I suggest going for it and just watching it.  It’s good.

Anime: Lupin the Third (1)

The first season of such an old anime.  It’s definitely old, because it’s got racist stuff, but it’s also interesting to see how much anime has changed, as well as how much this anime still stands.  It’s still really funny, and the characters are still great.  It’s just crazy to see how things have changed socially since then.  Also goes to show that just ‘cause something’s old doesn’t mean it is bad.

Game: Path of Exile and Genshin Impact

I will never stop playing these and Path of Exile 2 (when it releases) until I evaporate.

——————————————————-

Now for the actual Top 25.

#25.  (Song) 轉圈圈 – Crispy 脆樂團

The second this song hits, it’s like a chef’s kiss.  It still has that delicious feeling of city pop that I grew up with, and the theme of going in circles was a huge thing for me with me and my vices.  This year has been all about breaking the vicious cycles that I’ve been through, and listening to this song at the beginning of the year was like a final wave goodbye as I started a new character arc in life.  Also the music video of the woman doing the hula hoop in various places doing nothing but staring at the screen for some reason always gets me.

#24 (Game) Going Under

I did not know that this random rogue-lite satire about the working industry was going to hit this hard.  The game pokes at all the stupid stuff that offices and typical workplaces have flowed into.  Artistically this game is extreme graphic design, also in the way that it pokes at graphic design.  The humor is very good and I feel like pretty much all the satire hits all the right notes.  Camera and combat are a tad janky, but you get used to it.  You can pick up nearly everything in the rooms and use them as weapons, with puns related to office objects and other stuff.  There’s an entire dungeon that is about stock and bitcoin.  Soundtrack is a bop too. Get it on Steam.

#23 (Anime(?)) The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

I know people will try to say donghua, but no, I’m going to call it anime.  This is a 3D anime about a guy that is making fun of how dumb a web novel is, only to be reborn as the villain of the novel.  Since he knows he’s gonna get it at the end, he has to try and maneuver his way out of a bad ending, but the meta system prevents him from straight up being good, since he’s supposed to be a villain.  He has to play the system in this ridiculous and funny anime.  The budget for this is very low, so expect the animations to be… well, not high-budgeted.  We’re hoping for a second season that has a better budget, but it’s hard to survive in China as media.  Ugh.  It was on YouTube, I’m not sure where to watch it now.  It might still be there?  It is on Prime, but not if you’re in the USA.  =_=

#22 (Game) Assassin’s Creed: Origins

I played through all the Assassin’s Creed games up to Origins so far.  And finally.  Finally Ubisoft made an Assassin’s Creed game that was just…good.  Ironically, it’s higher up than Going Under, but it didn’t get on my top 12.  There are still huge chunks of it that still have that weird Ubisoft game feel that is slimy to me.  But they portrayed Egypt very, very well and the assassin Bayek is a really awesome character.  While I do like the more RPG-ish system, the way the different locations felt were all the same, even if they looked different.  For some reason the game just felt…so…the same the whole time even though the world was so big.  But still, it’s a beautiful world.  The expansions are very good as well.

You can play it on Uplay, Steam, and other major consoles excluding Switch.

#21 (Album) Further Joy, by the Regrettes*

The Regrettes’ songs are always so darn catchy.  They almost always have the f-word in it, which is a bummer.  But this album has like one third of the songs that don’t have it, and those are all REALLY GOOD.  Subtleties, La Di Da, Rosy, Step 9, and Nowhere are all just really really good.  Darn it.  

#20 (Book) Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? By Michael J. Sandel

I tend to read books that are sociology related, but here is one that is…never mind this can also count as sociology related.  This is a really darn good book that goes through what justice is like for different viewpoints.  I’m all for learning and listening for understanding and it’s very interesting seeing how my views correlate with parts of other things set by people like Kant, Aristotle, and more.  It’s a shame that students consider it just another GE book just for class, because it’s definitely worth keeping on the shelf.

#19 (Game)Final Fantasy VIII

SPOILERS

Final Fantasy does it again.  And by does it again I mean I couldn’t finish it again.  (I never actually finished III).  Games that require you to adopt a specific way of play in order to win really, really, really, turn me off.   Everything about this game is fantastic, except near the very end where if you weren’t playing the most “efficient” way of playing you’re …you’re gonna have a really hard time if you don’t cheese.  And that doesn’t stand with me.  It would be a lot higher on this list if it wasn’t for this.  

SPOILERS END

It’s on Steam now if you want to play it though.

#18 (Song) 光の方へ – Ayano Kaneko

A song about …well, it’s more thoughts to music.  All nostalgic.  You don’t really even need to understand the lyrics.  Just know that it’s nostalgic thoughts.  This takes me back to driving in the parts of Asia you don’t usually see.  The rice fields.  The small roads with the little tiny family owned breakfast place that has the friggin best sandwiches in the world.  Festivals. The rocky shores with only a few people wandering around.  The alleyways in East Asia that people walk on that all look the same.  If you know you know.  This song is that. This song is all those things and thoughts liquefied into song form.  Frick.  It’s good.  Also her voice is phenomenal.

#17 (Anime) Sailor Moon (1)

…I really loved Sailor Moon.  I said “I loved” because I felt pressured not to show that for obvious social reasons.  But as you can see from my name now, I don’t friggin’ care about that anymore.  I love Sailor Moon.  Yeah, it’s still a cheesy kids show but it hits all the teenage girl motifs that I totally missed out on in life.  Some things are crazily outdated, but it still ends up being a fun and extremely historic anime that should not be unknown.  Some of the villains would give kids nightmares though.  Goodness.

#16 (Film) Minari

What is with this year?  This film about a Korean family moving around and trying to get their hold in rural United States is painfully real.  The feeling of getting kicked down by the strange world and trying to operate in a way that lives in both worlds.  I always love films that don’t have conventional story movement, and this one is one of those.  If you’re an immigrant to the United States or have some history being in between two worlds, this is the film to watch.  Just again, be aware it’s not normal Hollywood.  It almost travels near the shallow ends of art house film.  Not sure where to watch this.  Obviously, digitally you can get it on Prime.  

#15 (Film) Turning Red*

Dang it, Elise.  Seriously?  Yes.  Another thing about being Asian.  I love this movie.  I admit the first time didn’t hit me as hard, but the second time I watched it it hit me hard.  I was bawling.  It gets so many things right about what it was like being Chinese in white North America.  Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, it was riddled with criticisms from all over the spectrum.  Doesn’t matter.  This film was good and I stand by it.  You can watch it through Disney+.

#14 (Album) PEP by Lights*

Another album with some f-words in it.  Sorry about that.  But Prodigal Daughter, Salt & Vinegar, Beside Myself and especially Money in the Bag are so DARN GOOD.  Lights has consistently been one of the best musicians I’ve listened to and while I am steering away from the increasing amount of bad worded songs, she still does an amazing job with…everything.  It helps that she’s not always singing about love.  Ever since her EP she’s been one of the singers on the playlists.  She was also my most listened to artist on Spotify this year.  

#13 (Anime) When They Cry / ひぐらしのなく頃に (1)

A violent anime about a town where people go crazy?  Sign me up!  At first it seems like a weird repeating trip of who dunnit and violent people, but the further it goes the more heart it has and you realize people…deal with stuff mentally.  There are a few arcs where it really highlights how painful it is to go through trauma without emotional support.  And while these are extreme cases heightened by the scenario given in the series, the pain is no less valid by those who go through it in real life.  There is a lot of child violence that is pretty visceral, so be aware of that if you’re going to go in.  For me, I feel a lot of heart in this anime because I feel so much empathy for what the characters go through and I wish better for them.  Well…most of them.  

#12 (Anime) Scissor Seven (1-3)

A Chinese anime that is kiiinda weird.  But in a really good way.  Although it starts out seemingly silly, it starts getting serious…er.  It’s still hilarious but the plot gets going.  As with most anime, I just love all the heart in it.  I mean, also it’s Chinese, and seeing Chinese media well received is so nice.  I just wish it came with even more understanding and acceptance in the community as well.  It’s done something though, so I can’t complain.  The animation is really awesome and well done while also being able to play off some great humor.  You can watch it on Netflix.  A film is also going to be released.  Cola.

#11 (Film) It’s a Wonderful Life

I just watched this film like a week ago and it’s really darn good.  It’s nothing like I thought it was going to be (I always dodged any info on it) and people said it was amazing so on a whim I watched it and I LOVE IT.  IT’S SO GOOD.  This really is such a good film and I’ll definitely stuff into the sack of what to watch for Christmas now.  Why didn’t I watch it sooner?  Why!?  Not sure I want to say anything about it because I love blindly walking in, but if you need to know it’s about a guy named George Bailey who is a hard working guy and crap keeps going on in his life.  Go watch it to learn what I mean by this.  I watched it on Amazon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up on other stuff during the holidays.

#10 (TV Show) Oni: Thunder God’s Tale*

I have no idea what genre to call this.  Some people call it anime but…I…I don’t know what it is.  Pseudo stop-motion animated thingy.  Anyway, it’s by Tonko House, so I already expected a lot, but holy crap this is really well done.  It’s a short four episode series that can be watched more like a long film if you want.  The voice actors did really well and the animation and story are just heart-melting.  It’s cute darn it.  It’s on Netflix.

#9: (Anime/Film) A Silent Voice

Death.  I mean, this film slaughtered my soul.  It’s hard to cram a whole series of trauma and life lessons into a film, and they tried here.  They did well.  If you’ve dealt with bullying, trauma, or disability, this is a good film to watch.  It might kick you in the guts though.  I was just weeping.  I missed out on some because it was all blurry and I couldn’t see but it was good.  It was good.  Films like this are good to help us take another perspective into what life is like for others and learn sympathy or empathy.  Oh, the story, right.  A young man who was a bully to a deaf girl ends up being outcast himself.  Later through his interactions with the girl, he learns to grow out of his trauma while she struggles with her deafness.  It’s very psychologically heavy.  It was on Netflix last I saw. 

#8 (Film) Nobody

Bob Odenkirk is a bada** and awesome in this film.  Enough said.  But seriously, for a film all about action and fun craziness, it’s still really well done as a film.  That only adds to how fricking fun this film is.  I think it’s on HBOMax right now.

#7 (Game) Prey

Arkane Studios is such a darn good studio.  They made the Dishonored series, and while this isn’t as good as Dishonored, it’s still really, really well done.  They’re so good at writing about a world.  It’s a horror game that is more actiony, but definitely still has some good scares.  Arkane once again writes an amazing world where it questions what it means to be good, but now with a sci-fi setting.  I accidentally almost 100%ed the game.  Yes.  Accidentally.  That’s how good it is.

#6 (Film) The Batman*

I was super hyped for this, and I was not disappointed.  Other than the fact that I had to go the bathroom for like two hours in the theater, this film was very well done.  Batman is always a great hero because he tends to be pretty human, even if he is rich, but in this one I think it probably is one of the most vulnerable showings of what Batman and his identity is.  Everything feels real and gloomy.  We may not live in a world of superheroes and supervillains, but the commentary of what this film says about life shows that people can definitely act like either one.

#5 (Film) All Quiet on the Western Front*

Uhm…this is a really good film.  You likely know the classic World War I story about the innocence of young boys strangled out by war.  This film is brutal, intense, and extremely well executed.  Another film that shows us just how sad and messed up war is while remembering what it is like to be human.  It’s on Netflix.

#4 (TV Show) Reservation Dogs (1)

A comedy-drama show about life on the Native American reservation.  The pacing is great, and it has a setting that isn’t visited enough.  I mean, mostly because this show is super well executed.  It’s super hilarious and really touching, but it also has a TON of f-words.  All over the place.  Frick.  It’s on Hulu.

#3 (TV Show) Better Call Saul (1-3)

Man, I’m not even done with this series.  It’s so darn good.  Who would’ve thought that a spin off could be so darn solid as its own series?  It’s less unnecessarily boob-swinging and inappropriate as it’s main show Breaking Bad, and it’s shot and written in a way that just shows what it’s like to make a masterpiece.  Definitely worth watching.  I’m not even done, so it’s probably going to show up on Top 25 Media of 2023 with the rest of the seasons.  Ha!  It’s on Netflix right now.

#2 (Anime/Film) Whisper of the Heart

Am I cheating here?  Yes.  Totally.  This film was already on the Top 12, but was re-reviewed.  I totally thought I was overrating this.  But I watched it again and I was beaten to death.  Yeah, I’m totally cheating by putting this on here again.  I just love it so much.  A very heartfelt and cute coming of age film about two youngsters finding out who they are to themselves.  It’s very…normal.  It feels like us trying to reach for nostalgia in a world that doesn’t exist and failing.  It feels like that as a film.  Yeah, I cried.  Heh, no surprise.

#1 (Game) Kentucky Route Zero

THIS. FRIGGIN. MASTERPIECE.  This is an audio/visual novel masterpiece that rocked me.  I can’t.  It’s so darn good.  This Americana fantasy realism adventure is so good.  Sometimes I am just speechless.  Ugh, I remember looking at this game and thinking, what the crap is so good that critics are saying about this weird lookin’ game?  

No.  I was wrong.  It’s so so so so soooo good.  Treat it like an experience, because that’s kinda what it is.  Sometimes the sound design is like wow.  I am…living a book right now.  It hits all the weird spiritual, ethereal notes that I love about Americana that I loved in Over the Garden Wall.  Its tone is much more serious and heavy, but man it’s so good.  The fantasy parts don’t even matter that it’s fantasy because it might as well be real.  All the experiences that we have in them might as well be real.  As you travel and learn more about the mysterious Route Zero, you’ll find yourself in head spaces that make you think and feel what it’s like to be in between spaces and existence.  I don’t know how to explain it.  Actually I do, I’m writing a review for it that will be more in depth.  However, it will have spoilers, and I definitely don’t want to spoil this for you.  Even if you’re not someone who plays games, this is a classic adventure game that will not rely on your gaming skills.  It’s simply an experience.  And it’s a darn good one. The writing is fantastic.  Just fantastic.  Okay, I’m done.  It’s good.  

It’s very…art house.  So I’m sorry if you play it and it just doesn’t connect well.  But I’m going to stand by this and say Kentucky Route Zero was easily the best piece of media I consumed this year.  It landed on #9 on the ULTRA.  It’s on Steam.

Thanks for reading all this.  Tell me some of your favorite media below!  I would love to hear from you and your recommendations!  And if you wanted a TLDR, here’s the list below:

  1. Kentucky Route Zero
  2. Whisper of the Heart
  3. Better Call Saul (1, 2)
  4. Reservation Dogs (1)
  5. All Quiet on the Western Front
  6. The Batman
  7. Prey
  8. Nobody
  9. A Silent Voice
  10. Oni: Thundergod’s Tale (1)
  11. It’s a Wonderful Life
  12. Scissor Seven
  13. Higurashi
  14. PEP, by lights
  15. Turning Red
  16. Minari
  17. Sailor Moon (1)
  18. 光の方へ – Ayano Kaneko
  19. Final Fantasy VIII
  20. Justice
  21. Further Joy, by The Regrettes
  22. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  23. Scumbag
  24. Going Under
  25. 轉圈圈 – Crispy 脆樂團

Honorable Mentions:

  • Lupin III (1)
  • The Bad Guys
  • Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
  • The Black Phone
  • Genshin Impact and Path of Exile

Sold in Translation

Dryad1 Comment

The one-inch-tall barrier

Warning: Once again, I am talking about colonialism. If you don’t like that, there’s a TLDR at the bottom, and while I do apologize for the continued use of the topic, I do not apologize for talking about it itself.

I’m a subs kind of gal.  And before you stop me there, I should let you know that my position once again involves colonialism. So, are you willing to go against me now?  The reasons that I have are good. So good in fact, that it may surprise you that for the same reasons, ultimately for the sake of media itself, I’m wrong.  It’s a sad, blurred line.

This is Elise and this is Game Praisers Deep Dive, where I take a researched and thought out look at topics that I feel are more difficult or interesting that require more than just a glance.  I hope that we all learn something from this, and while I don’t think my perspective is perfect, I think it should be considered.

I don’t know if you were here when Parasite by Bong Joon-Ho came out in 2019 and 2020, but it is a phenomenal film.  Kind of horror, more thriller-ish style of film.  I don’t want to say anything without spoiling it.  In fact, I recommend watching it without knowing very much.  It is rated R by the MPAA though, just in case you have kiddos around.

My point is that it is a Korean film that won an incredible amount of awards and was recognized by the audiences in the United States.  So of course a foreign film that catches the attention is going to bring up that subs and dubs war.  I always believe the original version is the best intended for something like consumable media.  And so here I’m going to say, watch it in subs.  As the director said himself, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”1 I think that’s very true.  Especially when it comes to acting, I think the cadence and movement of people are very important as to keeping the original feeling. 

However, I don’t like when people say subs are all superior, especially if it’s for the sake of keeping Japan-ness in things.  I know we were just talking about a Korean film but in all honesty the media of anime and video games usually concerns Japan.  I don’t want people saying “subs” to gatekeep.  That’s not the point.  It’s to preserve the cultural aspect of what it is.  Which is why I also argue the point of dubs.  

For people who can, subs are great.  But one cannot say that everyone can keep up with subtitles while watching something.  Some people struggle with things like dyslexia.  Some people are still learning to read English or whatever language they use.  For the people who are trying their best but at the moment can’t read, should have dubs.  The voice actors work very hard to try and be the characters as best as they can.  I trust them in their professionalism to do that.  So ultimately, yes, dubs are fine.  But if you can, I truly desire that you watch in subs.

This great success didn’t come with an amount of sacrifice though.  Success does not mean decolonization.  In fact, it could mean the opposite.  I mean, it’s great that things from Japan are so popular and mainstream now.  I can say that I like anime without people cringing at me now.  And yet…I can’t tell if it’s better.  I feel like there is a lot of moral licensing going around.  Once again, I’m going to outright say that it’s very possible that it just so happens to be in my gaming spheres.  So forgive me if this is just a bad coincidence.  

Moral licensing is kind of like tokenism.  The idea that because we accepted something about this foreign culture, we can now be lenient towards it afterwards.  It means we’re allowed to be a little more racist because we’ve accepted anime.  Obviously that is not the way, but I still see it in clubs and groups today.  Accepting culture is more than just saying you watched anime.  It’s more than just saying “baka”.  You can’t turn around and start making fun of Japanese food methods or traditional cultural beliefs just because you “know more” about Japan now / watch anime.  It just doesn’t work that way.

In Carlson and Corliss’ article about video game localization they start off talking about someone wanting to “be” Japanese.  It is completely fine to want to integrate yourself into a different community, especially if you come to an understanding of the cultural implications.  Not necessarily an acceptance, but an understanding. But “being” Japanese isn’t just about consuming the culture either.  It’s all the negatives and racism that comes with it.  It’s the baggage of the bad things your culture has done as well.  If you’re taking only the good things to be “foreign”, that’s colonialism.  Sometimes it’s literally that exoticism that attracts people though.2

Do you know what we did as Asians in the nineties in the USA?  A lot of us fought back at learning our own languages.  Especially those who were born in the United States and are not off the boat.  And a lot of us regret not learning our own languages now, because now it’s a nice attribute.  We colonized ourselves to try and fit in.  And now in a weird turnabout way, it’s kind of happening again, but in exoticism. There are entire videos on Youtube dedicated to this.3 And I agree, it’s not entirely the people’s fault.  It’s us trying to fit in again as well.

All this.  All this to bring me to the point as to why I’m wrong about subs, and why people would rather things get lost in translation.  I want subs because I want foreignization.  Foreignization is when things are purposely left in their cultural meaning to try and maintain what it was before.4  I want people to have to make an effort to be familiar and understanding to consume these things, not as gatekeeping, but as encouragement.  I said effort, not qualification.  

Foreignization is most commonly seen as transliteration in names.  An example is in Genshin, where some names are left as is: Xiangling, Liyue, Tatarasuna.  But games aren’t about making you learn new cultures.  I’m sorry.  That’s the truth.  Games are localized, and sometimes that’s a very good thing.  Bear with me here.  I always have a teddy bear or plush nearby.  But that phrase grouping would not have worked in another language, right?  Puns and wordplay just don’t work.  One of my favorite examples is in Genshin where Hu Tao’s ultimate is a phrase of “吃飽喝飽，一路走好！”, which is like “Eat well, drink well, journey well.”  But the cadence, rhythm, and wording is extremely difficult to combine in English, so in English she says, “Time to go!”  A lot of Hu Tao’s playfulness is lost in translation.  Although not the best used here, most people would use transcreation to maintain that feeling.

Transcreation is when new content is created in order to try and maintain the character, while localizing it so it still makes sense.  “In game localisation, the feeling of the original ‘gameplay experience’ needs to be preserved in the localised version so that all players share the same enjoyment regardless of their language of choice.”5  Sometimes that kind of content is needed.  It’s ultimately too complicated to leave content foreign.  People buy games to play the content to be enjoyed in the language they want.  

Oh yeah.  I forgot.

People buy games to play content.

Because in the end.  This is about consumerism.  Localization isn’t just here to maintain the experience, it’s to sell the game to their targeted language audience.  Unless the game is about teaching you about understanding cultural context or something, that’s not the point.  This is why no matter how much I would like people to watch Parasite in Korean, ultimately, as a movie people are there to watch a movie.  They’re not here to learn about the nuances of Korean speech.

I’m wrong because I want people to use these pieces of media as a springboard to guide them to new cultures and understandings.  And that’s just not what people do unless they already had that inclination to begin with.  There are developers who want cultural understanding and considerations of perspective, but if it’s not a fun enough game the only people who buy the game are the ones who already wanted understanding.  They’re preaching to the choir.

Can we change minds?  We can.  But we can only change minds by changing ideas of what is already being ignored.  Genshin’s presentation of Chinese opera was well received, but I don’t know if it changed any minds.  It brought to light a new style of opera that many people didn’t know about.  It simply didn’t exist yet, but that won’t change the minds of people who will act ethnocentric.  It won’t change people from recognizing privilege.  It just removes ignorance.

Interest for the sake of understanding is just not a good selling point.  And that’s why all of this doesn’t feel like it has changed as much as I’d have hoped.  People understand things and references more, but I feel like these are things thrown at the process of acceptance or denial for a person’s opinions.  It’s not something to make them question whether or not they’re acting with privilege.  

Globalization of products has changed things, but it’s not fast enough.  I met with someone making their own anime now.  They’re not Japanese, and that’s fine, but they’re also the same person that has some pretty negative, and I dare say colonialist, viewpoints of Japan, which is not fine.  In fact…that’s colonialism.  They took something from another country, made it theirs, and do not respect the origins of it.  

And…it almost doesn’t feel wrong, because the point of it is to sell products.  It’s to sell media.  I think I may have been using energy on this tide that pushes me back and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it.  Some people in the gaming group are saying this is just the way it is.  They’re all white people from the United States.  Am I just trying to be a justice warrior?  Should I ignore it all?  It’s all about selling, so why should I care?  

…I feel like I keep standing on this soapbox and I’m sure most people tire of this, which makes sense.  Elise, why can’t you stop talking about this?  Why do you always bring this up?  Because every single day I have to deal with it, so it’s rather difficult to not have it on my mind.  

…maybe this whole Deep Dive stuff is just me ranting.  Ugh, I apologize.  I really do want people to see the nuances that are more than just senpai and memes.  I just want people to see that cultures are more than just memes and jokes.  Maybe that’s what I should’ve just said.  Hold on.

TLDR: I just want people to see that cultures are more than just memes and jokes.

Or maybe I just need new communities to talk to about games.  Too bad my communities are anonymous discord people.

Thanks for reading, and I PROMISE the next deep dive will not be about racism, colonialism, or ethnocentrism.6  It’ll just be about media.

Elise

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX3obZ0lXoU
  2. Carlson, R., & Corliss, J. (2011). Imagined Commodities: Video Game Localization and Mythologies of Cultural Difference. Games and Culture, 6(1), 61–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412010377322
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNkZIJkXI6g
  4. Cai, Mengge. (2022). Translation of Culture-loaded Words and Cross-cultural Communication from the Perspective of Domestic Games. SHS Web of Conferences. 148. 10.1051/shsconf/202214801025. 
  5. Mangiron, Carme & O’Hagan, Minako. (2006). Game Localisation: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation. JOURNAL OF SPECIALISED TRANSLATION. 6. 
  6. Unless you want that.

More Complicated Than I Could Imagine

Dryad2 Comments

It’s all coming together.

Spoilers for: Genshin Impact, moderate, late game.

I think I finally figured it out.  My approach to video games.  “Oh no, Elise, not this again.”  Stop, wait!  For real this time!  I think I got it.  This is going to be a long post, because it’s…well, more complicated than I could imagine.  

I want to mention something about the beginning of this journey that I’ve been on in video games. Even previously through all of that I could not pinpoint exactly what I meant by all that I said.   I’ve talked about games that I played often, and I’ve talked about some of the political aspects of video games that affected me. 

In a terrible, incorrect, and biased way, I originally thought this was a difference in East vs West mindsets.  But that’s obviously not true. And let’s be honest, that’s a pretty racist way of me to think.  It was wrong.  However, it was not true in an unfortunate way.  The people that I interacted with that had stronger backgrounds from East Asia still had conflicts with the way I view video games.  Conflicts that drove me away.  More importantly, it’s about the way I approach them and how I can interact with other video gamers.  When a perspective you have comes in conflict with the way that you can interact with the general community, do you still feel like a part of it?

I then thought, it’s the spoilers.  It is me not wanting any spoilers. Studies do show that spoilers don’t really ruin it for most people.1  For most people.  I am, whether for good or not, one of those people.  It does however, matter where the spoilers are placed.  If they’re in the actual story itself apparently that really does affect it.  But if presented in advance, yeah it doesn’t matter for the majority of people.2

I hate spoilers.  I saw The Lord of the Rings movies last year in January.  But, man, if it wasn’t shrouded by the memes of today, I think it would’ve been even more epic.  Instead, there were some parts that were funny.  I don’t think it detracted from the experience of enjoyment.  I do like a good laugh, but something about it always stings looking back.  Maybe it’s…a feeling of missing out?  Missing out on a feeling I will never have the opportunity for again.

The thing about the feeling of missing out is the time we have to spend on catching up.  We’ve all played that game before whether it’s because of Netflix, a February in gaming, or an influx of new content from a convention’s announcements.  We have to catch up with the neighbor who has that new, cool blender.  If they have that blender it’s not going to change your experience.  In fact, when you watch them use that blender, you know for a fact your experience will be just as awesome and just as smoothie.  …I’m so sorry.

But catching up in media and entertainment is different than catching up to your neighbor’s appliances.  If you watch someone else watch a movie, assuming we’re not looking at the screen, that’s not the same thing as watching the movie itself.  Watching someone play through a game is more accurate to the blender theory, because you and the player are experiencing the game firsthand.  It’s like watching a movie with them.  But having someone tell you the experience is telling the game, film, or book in a way unintended by the creators.  I’m not here to watch the rugby game outside the stadium.  I’m here to watch the rugby game.

And that can be argued against as well.  But the point is from my perspective, it ruins it.  I want the original of what the creators intended or published.  And in the end that doesn’t even matter.  Why?  Because that’s not the problem with my perspective.  That isn’t it.  Although it is a bit because I feel like a nuisance when people can’t talk about what they want around me if they don’t want to spoil it.  Ultimately I don’t think that is what makes it so hard for me to get along with the video gaming community.  Obviously I appreciate when people spoiler tag things, because it means they’re being considerate, but there’s something one step further that I feel like I finally identified as the biggest chasm that separates me from the rest of the others.  It feels like I’m saying, “I’m not like other girls”.  I’m so sorry about that, but don’t worry just because I’m separated doesn’t mean I’m better or anything. 

I can’t be upset at characters.  At least not in the way I see other gamers do.  The characters are real people. I’m not asking people to think that way.  That’s ridiculous.  Some people find me treating them like real people ridiculous, and in some ways I feel like their perspective is justified.  But I don’t know what these characters are going through behind the scenes.  Literally, behind the cinema scenes.  I can’t be upset because Ayaka wore socks in Genshin Impact while she was standing in the stream in that one scene.  That means developers, real humans, would have to take more time changing the models.  Time that, if spent on something like that even if they wanted to, could be an inefficiency mark for them.  It might make them look like they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.  It really depends on how loose the art director is.  It also depends on what Ayaka was thinking at the time.  Was it spontaneous?  Was she too nervous to think about it?  

If you look on YouTube you’ll find that a lot of people seem appreciative of the dance.  Even if this is a comment that is going to be plastered on the internet for however long, there are a lot of them.  But I’ve never run into someone who feels like this for most games.  In fact, I’ve never run into one in my Genshin community.  I get told that these people exist, and yeah, I see them right here on YouTube, but in every video game group that I join I feel none of that for different games.

Whenever I bring up that scene to the other Genshin players in my group, their first thing to bring up is making fun of her socks because she was wearing them while standing in the water.  But in the context of the story, I think it’s so graceful, genuine, and peaceful.  The dance, I mean.  The dance that she does for you.  The dance that she is apprehensive to show anyone else, but she shows it to you.  I don’t think I can look back on the experience and think, “Ha, she’s wearing socks in the water.”  I always think, “I am so grateful that she was willing to share that with me.”  Too cheesy?  But that’s just the thing.  Why does it sound like they have to make an excuse to recognize that part of the story?  “Oh yeah, I guess so.”  “But I mean…”  “Why didn’t they just…”  It goes on.

I don’t know.  I’m also not Ayaka.  Maybe one day the developers will update it so she takes off her socks one day.  I don’t know.  I’m not the developers.  I do know that in the culmination of all things technical from the developers, and all things ethereal, spiritual, and fantastical even, from Ayaka, I am grateful for that heartfelt moment she gave.

And that’s where the difference lies.  

When people approach and consume media, it’s a service.  I pay you, you entertain me.  But for me, I’m here to learn to respect this new world.  I’m not here as a VIP to be served, I’m here as a sociologist to learn what I can to understand.  This approach is the same I have for everyone in real life.  In cultures, societies, families, I am the visitor.  I am the guest.  I don’t touch things I shouldn’t touch.  I don’t do things I shouldn’t do.  Sometimes my beliefs may conflict, but in the context of things, I need to be willing to take a step back and realize, this is a different world.  And mayhap you think it silly, but it’s the same for video games.

So yeah, I do feel bad if you think someone in a game is stupid, because to me, they’re someone that’s real.  If a concept of lore is dumb, well, guess what?  Those characters have to live in that world.  And if you’re paying for the game as service, that game has failed you.  And it makes sense.  If you’re playing specific characters  just for the numbers to be bigger than anyone else’s, great.  If the reward isn’t good enough you’re not going to aid the village?  Elise, they’re not real.

Sorry, and in most people’s eyes, yes.  You’re totally, totally right.  The people in the pixels on my screen are not going to come to my aid when I am being mugged or I am in financial need.  My therapist says my approach is just that I’m being extremely considerate.  But does that make everyone else’s approach inconsiderate?

I don’t think so.

Sometimes respect isn’t a single road.  Sometimes it is.  And in this case I’m willing to bet that there is more than one road, I’m just not driving on it.  But when one version is wielded as a way to look down on another, that’s when it is a problem, not the perspective itself.  That’s another big mistake in thought I made. It’s not that other people with this technical or service based mindset are bad.  They’re not.  It’s when it is wielded against me that is the problem.  I am constantly feeling shut down in the communities because I feel they talk harshly about other people, and by people I mean the characters in a game.  But they don’t notice that.  It’s silly for me to think that.

It’s not that these people are rude.  At least I’m going to assume they’re not, unless the reason they don’t like a character is for something severe like racism.  It’s that the boundaries of this bubble of respect that I’ve created have become so inflated that in order to accept this perspective, that boundary is going to be rubbed the wrong way.  And the spoiler thing just feels like an echo of this that exacerbates that.

The problem with taking perspectives like these is that there are sacrifices to be made.  And even those sacrifices can be seen as problematic to those around you.  They think it facetious, stupid, or pretentious for taking it this far.  And in most cases I don’t blame them.  

People in the gaming community that I’m in are not rude.  They’re not wrong.  They’re not inconsiderate or disrespectful.  It’s just that they have a different view of things, and with the sacrifices I’ve made to have the perspective that I feel best provides the fun and appreciation for games, I have to accept that this is the result of that.  They’re going to be breaking those boundaries, and usually it’s not their fault, it’s mine, because I actually want this.  

I sincerely am grateful if you’ve actually read all of this.  It’s very likely that our perspectives on this differ.  Don’t make yourself feel bad if it’s not the same as mine.  Or don’t make me feel bad because of mine, trust me, I’ve gotten that my whole life.  I just want people to be introspective and realize that, excluding dangerous or inappropriate extremes that can harm other people, your perspective of video gaming is likely not wrong.  It just is, there are aspects of it that are very likely joyous to you, and sometimes it exists because of things within the realms of what is more complicated than we can imagine.  

And that’s okay. We’ll figure it out.

Thanks for reading.  I’ll see you next time.

Elise

  1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797611417007
  2. https://www.livescience.com/53126-spoilers-can-ruin-movie-enjoyment.html#:~:text=Johnson%20was%20quick%20to%20add%20that%20the%20study,your%20experience%20with%20the%20story%2C%20the%20researchers%20learned

My Natural Attraction

Dryad3 Comments

No, I’m not talking about people.

I was thinking that with the ULTRA, I should be able to compile a list of what genres I tend to be attracted to.  After making an Excel sheet and messing around with stuff in there I created this table. 

Explanation from left to right: First Person Shooter (FPS), Third Person Shooter (TPS), Turn-based RPG (TBRPG), Turn-based Strategy (TBS), Real Time Strategy (RTS), Racing (RC), Action Adventure (AA), Classic Adventure (CA), Puzzle (PZ), Action RPG (ARPG), Platformer/Platforming (PLAT), MMORPG, Fighting (FG), Simulation (SIM), Survival (SURV), MOBA, Music (MUS), Metroidvania (VANIA).

Two notes:

  • I separated RPGs and Shooters in general to create large, chunked versions to compare those two genres because I knew they would be the highest numbers.  
  • And through this second, improved version (I had another excel sheet that was not as good), I was able to have games count as multiple genres.

The lowest count genres are Turn-Based Strategy, Real Time Strategy, MMORPGS, and music.  Even combining strategy genres, it still isn’t that much of a count.  I grew up in the era when strategy games were huge, and now, other than a couple of grand strategy games, it really has dwindled.  It’s being kept alive by things like Civilization, Total War, and maybe Age of Empires II and IV.  It’s really sad.  Starcraft and Starcraft II still live on for me though.  Very typically Asian of me.

MMORPGs are low count because it takes so long to invest in one to really recognize whether or not it’s a good MMO, so that would explain that.  I have played a ton of MMOs though, and let’s be honest the era of 2000s for MMOs were not that great.  It was ruled by like…World of Warcraft and Maplestory.  Most everything else was mediocre or way too filled with pay to win elements, which is what Maplestory has become now.

Unfortunately, Classic Adventure games are also low in count, but those have been some really great experiences, and I feel like they’re kind of niche even now.  Yet today there are some really good classic adventure releases that have dominated charts: games like Norco, Disco Elysium, and Kentucky Route Zero.  And I’ve only played one of those!

I was originally surprised by the amount of Fighting Games on there but then I realized half of them are probably Super Smash Bros.  Haha!  Puzzle games are also pretty low on the list, probably because I’m…not very good at them.  Oh wait, I realize I’m not good at fighting games or puzzle games, so that explains both!

I think Shooter games are so high on the list because I grew up with my brothers playing first person shooters a lot, so I’ve inherited a lot of that, and there are a lot of platforming games as well because I grew up with the SNES and the N64.  It also helps that those are the two genres I’m most proficient at, so of course I can enjoy them well.

RPGs are in such a large amount likely because of how emotional they tend to be.  They usually have good writing, or at least fun writing.  I also like games that tend to have political commentary on the sad state of things like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided or Path of Exile.  These games point out how grey the spectrum of human morality can be.  Sometimes there are no good choices and sometimes good people get caught up in bad things.  Some people really just want to be bad, but there are some people who just want to do good.  And some people in between, like in Baldur’s Gate or Mass Effect.  Oh darn it, I just chose two Bioware titles.  Okay, um, Guild Wars 2.   I love storylines that get caught up in the small nuances in life as well as the real and cheesy lessons.  I’ve stated before and I’ll say it again, the important lessons in life tend to be cheesy.  Games like Genshin Impact, Kentucky Route Zero, or Final Fantasy VI have these elements and help me reflect on myself.  

The final two reasons are very polar.  I like games that I have an emotional connection to.  I love Control, Perfect Dark, and Celeste.  I also love games that are extremely well designed.  Games like Dishonored 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Konquest, and Hollow Knight.  This isn’t to say I have no emotional connection to them, but a huge chunk of the enjoyment I received in addition to my personal experience was because of how well they were made.  The disparity between emotion and technical don’t negatively affect each other, but the objective difference is huge.  

Enough about me.  What genres do you lean towards?  And what are some examples from those genres that you really like?  Are there any games that helped you become a better person or helped you get through a difficult time in life?

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you find more games to put into your lists of favorites!

Elise

Note: My work will continue to be pretty intense so my posts will be scarce until about September 12th.  I will still try to post at least once a week, but we’ll see. 

Loud Voices, Small Voices

DryadLeave a comment

Voices in the Crowd

I’ve been thinking a lot about yesterday’s post.  I don’t apologize for a lot of it.  Most of it had to be said.  Perhaps it was not as celebratory as it should’ve been.  This is Game Praisers, but I also need to state some crap going on.  And while it is all true, we should continue in a different iteration.

Let’s be honest, I’m a pretty…pessimistic person.  I don’t know if it’s my anxiety and me thinking about bad things over and over and over again.  Supposedly I have a dark sense of humour as well, but I can’t really tell.  So I admit I do tend to focus on the negative, which is partially why I started Game Praisers to help me be more positive.  While this has indeed helped me see the positives of video gaming, especially with the good community I’ve run into here, people are a whole different matter.

I’m trying to see and understand that there are so many good people in the game community.  I have had good experience in Genshin Impact, and I’m sorry if I made it seem like I didn’t appreciate it.  It is a really fun game and I absolutely love the world and its characters.  I let the loud voices of the ugly people get the best of me.  I have met people who wanted to learn more about Chinese culture, and that’s all I’m going to say.

Look in any place where the players are allowed to say anything, and there will be loud, supported, angry players whinging about the most unimportant or specific of things.  Once you’re allowed to be anonymous, people will say the worst of things, but I have to also remember that most of the crowd consists of the silent majority.  There are a lot of people that are good that support others and they just don’t say anything. 

All the kind Guild Wars 2 players that go out of the way to help me when I’m down are a good example.  Guild Wars 2 seems to have an abnormal amount of kind people in it.  On the Steam launch, which I believe happened yesterday, there were tons of people that were prepared to help new players.  It was so wonderful.  There are loud, irritating people in Guild Wars 2 still, but there are just so many nice people that they get drowned out.  I really wouldn’t mind that in the other game communities.

But that’s just it.  I bet they are there.  They’re just quiet.  They’re reading.  They’re ignoring the comments.   They just love their game and play it.  I’ve been thinking about this a ton since yesterday and I am so happy and joyful that there are cool people out there in the gaming community that I genuinely would like to meet.  Although, I will probably disappear afterward and never be heard from again because I will be overthinking everything, but there is hope in it all.

It is good to have hope in the gaming community, because, let’s be honest, it usually doesn’t look great for us.  I think I have to change my perspective a bit and have more hope.  I don’t want to become insensitive to the rude people I always see, but I also need to keep myself focused on the hope that there is still humanity left in the community of gaming.
Thanks for sticking around!  I’ll see you again soon.

Elise

Genshin Impact: 2 Years

Dryad1 Comment

Cultural Impact…for better or worse?

Warning: This is a bit rantish and raw.  

Wow.  It has already been two years since Genshin Impact was released.  Time flies, but life hasn’t been really fun.  Luckily, Genshin has been.

I’m just going to take this time to talk about a couple of things in my experiences of Genshin Impact.  

Point 1: The Mobile Game

Genshin Impact changed my view of the mobile game.  I think I became looser about how I feel about games that eat time and demand.  I’m still, like, super upset that things like dailies and stuff vie for my time, but underneath all that junk is a really good game.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize that a lot of mobile games are like that.  The okay junk, like dailies, show up in other games too.  I guess that doesn’t make it that much better.  And the advanced junk like gacha mechanics are still just that: junk.

But good mobile games are out there, and the artists and programmers really just want it to be good.  I can definitely say that with Genshin Impact.  The music is phenomenal.  The gameplay is great fun.  I love the lore!  This is just something that I feel like really…impacted my view.  

Point 2: Representation

I’m not talking about the representation of the people in the game and how each region in the world of Teyvat kind of represents a place on Earth.  I mean just the representation of Chinese video game development.  It has been up and down.  It’s been up because people can see that Chinese developers can make something original.  Down, because there is still a lot of ignorance in some of the ways they represent some peoples.  I don’t just mean stereotypes.  I mean like how in the new region coming out today, Sumeru, the people…really should have darker skin.  

Nontraditional story arcs or character developments are also something that you see.  A lot of Chinese stories end unfairly and things don’t have a happy ending.  A bit of a spoiler, but some arcs don’t end in a resolution.  They always say “to be continued”, so eventually I’m sure they’ll do something, but to have an entire series of quests just end, that’s normal.  Tragic endings that feel like they’re unnecessary are rooted in real life problems.  Sometimes people make bad choices when there are obviously good ones.  Sometimes time takes its toll on people and there won’t be a good ending.  Even the way certain jokes present themselves feels more familiar to me.  Several times these came up as negative points for my United States acquaintances.  (I’m not going to say friends.)  This kind of brings me to my last point.

Point 3: Racism

Uh oh.  Yeah, I bring this up a lot, for obvious reasons.  Perhaps I’m putting myself at risk for this, but…I have to say something. I really thought that having Chinese names in the game would help people be a little more understanding.  And while this has brought a lot of people more willing to be more respectful to things like names and stuff, it also has revealed how some of the people who are my…”acquaintances” just don’t really care about their approach to my, or maybe any, culture.  Ah, scratch that.   In this anime context, it’s mine specifically.

There is a subcategory of racism as a Chinese person that you realize growing up in a place that isn’t Chinese.  If you’re not one of the “popular” or even unfortunately, “fetishized” categories of Asian, then you’re not “as good”.   If you’re not Korean or Japanese.  I can’t tell you how awkward it is to have people be disappointed because they found out I wasn’t either of the two.  And yet, somehow we’re praised on very specific things about our culture: things like martial arts, being studious, and our cuisine.  It just makes us feel very exoticized.  The moment it encroaches on things like anime, suddenly we have to be separated.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spoken to anime fans about Chinese anime, and they absolutely must point out that it’s not anime, it’s donghua.  Or how they just need to play Genshin or watch anime in Japanese because they can’t bear the Chinese.  According to them, they’re not racist or anything.  Sure.  Keep in mind these are not people that understand Japanese.  They just need Japanese over Chinese.  

I’ve experienced a lot of mispronunciation of names in my lifetime, and seeing it happen in Genshin is kind of a bummer.  I was with a group of Genshin players chatting around and they would use some nickname or joke name for the Liyue characters, but when someone pronounced one of the Inazuma character’s name wrong, they were corrected and taught how to say it correctly.  Why the double standard?  It always reminds me of that kids book, That’s Not My Name!, I see on Instagram by Anoosha Syed.  Now, maybe people think, well we don’t even say Chinese names often, that’s why!  Well, if you never try in the first place, how are you ever going to get to the point of often?  

Do you want to know what the saddest part is?  Even the Hoyoverse, the developers, know all this Chinese-Japanese stuff.  They always state the Japanese voice actors/actresses for the English audience.  They know that feeling like a Japanese game is part of its selling point.  You could say it’s “just marketing”, but that’s also saying “that’s the current reality and I don’t want to deal with it.”  That’s just the hard truth.  And unfortunately I don’t have the choice of not dealing with it.  


Sorry.  Well, I really shouldn’t have to say sorry at all actually.  After all these years of playing video games I was just hoping that for once something would go right for Chinese-based things without exoticisms, colonialism, or that kind of stuff.  Maybe I expected too much of the community, which is a really sad thing to say.  

But.  The few individuals that I meet that have changed because of this…  maybe it makes it all worth it?  I’ve left all the Genshin groups that I was a part of, and I have once again become a hermit after trying to join a community.  Burn all the bridges.  This happens all the time.  So I’m pretty certain to some extent, it’s just me.  A lot of the negative is probably just me, right?  But when I walk out of the virtual door and into the community I think, it can’t just be me.

Genshin Impact.  You’re a really great game.  But for this person who lives under a rock, I guess it is too much to wish for a community I didn’t feel like I have to walk away from for the most unfortunate of reasons.  Once again, I’ll be playing solo.

Sorry.  I had to say something.  These next two or three weeks will have work getting intense, so forgive me if I don’t pop in as I usually do.  And thanks for enduring all that.  Keep in mind that I do have severe anxiety and depression, so perhaps this is just a side effect of my mind against the community, but writing it off because of that doesn’t really seem like the healthy or right thing to do either.  

If I haven’t run you off, thanks for staying.  I’ll see you again soon.

Elise