LogFAQs > #912624643

iiicon posted...

I think you might need to reframe your argument and centre it on you and the communities you interact with. pjb brought up a good point, one that I don't think is controversial on this board, that a large number of people on this site, and specifically this board, have fallen out of the hobby of playing new games. It's going to take a lot for them to notice something new. And if that something new is apart of a franchise they enjoy, they will naturally compare it, possibly unfavourably, to the games they already enjoy if it's a departure from why they enjoy it. You mentioned Morrowind vs. Skyrim, which is the sort of perfect encapsulation of this. Morrowind is an adventure game, a weird, alien world with existing political struggles that invites you to poke at its corners and break it in ways you always wanted your DM to let you do. Skyrim is very much not that. It does not have the hooks someone who deeply loves cRPGs requires. It's a straightforward game, something that set the standards for open world games. Someone can like both (I do), or even love both (I don't!), but their strengths are diametrically opposite.

But then is it wrong to point out just how lacking Morrowind is in it's mechanics as well? It's numerous flaws and issues? 'Of course it's fine'. But that's sort of not the point. It seems that people, especially nostalgia-ridden old-timers, jump down the throat of Skyrim for basically every little even minor 'issue' while defending every aspect of Morrowind. As if the only way for ES:VI to be any good would be for it to be Morrowind 2.0. It's the same with a lot of other games like MM (it's ALWAYS MM) or RBY but the outcome is always the same. Hyper-criticism of newer titles for every little fault (even upsides like streamlined mechanics) while lauding the older titles and worshiping every aspect.

'Too critical of modern games' is a weird argument to make on the whole however when we're still feeling the effects of a widespread gaming harassment movement. Writers who discuss modern games with even a moderate critical lens on a games own terms - like, say, God of War and masculinity, or Shadow of the Tomb Raider and colonialism, both of which are central themes of those games the creators discussed beforehand - are exposed to the gamer outrage machine. A reviewer gives a positive review of Red Dead Redemption 2, but only scores it a 3/5, is sent death threats. Neither of these things are particularly new - death threats for low scores dates back to the Sega/Nintendo wars - but they are amplified and worse now.

Well no duh. In the two examples you gave I'd say it depends on what they were saying and why. However, assuming the pretty likely scenario of it being critical of those games because of those aspects... No duh people are mad. It's irritating as heck to constantly deal with moral guardians and politically motivated outrage; especially from people who seem to be only casual gamers at MOST. I mean, imagine someone saying that Psycho is a horrible movie determined to teach people to be killer monsters and they should know because they are a full-time cinemaphile because they enjoy watching Mamma Mia on a frequent basis. You'd be pretty upset too.
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I am the gentle hand who heals, the happy smile who shields, and the foot that will kick your ***! - White Mage