Gamer Identity 104a

#Gamergate.  Fighting amongst Gamers and Game Critics.  I guess this is a thing that is happening now.  It's leading people to question the idea of what a 'gamer' is, and leading to multiple declarations that the 'gamer' is dead.  I'm cool with that.  Gamer was a term coined when I wasn't paying attention.  I looked up, and that's what people were calling you if you played video games, valued video games and wanted to talk about them.  Fine.   I'm happy to let it go.  I never really had it.

Props to Wil Wheaton and Joss Whedon, whose last names are similar in a way I never noticed until just now.  They're making statements against Misogyny in gamer culture, and I'm all for it.  When I was a kid, there weren't a lot of girls playing video games.  Not just in my neighborhood, but all around, say the statistics.  Now almost half of gamers are girls.  It sounds like a freakin' rennaisance!  I'm envious of the 'kids these days' !   Except... wait -  why are you treating these girls like shit?  Don't turn them away!  What are you DOING?!  WHY?!!

Gamers aren't real.  We're just people.  If the loudest voice in the room is yelling at a little girl, browbeating and threatening her, then we should kick his ass and leave the room.  Done.

"These obtuse shitslingers, these wailing hyper-consumers, these childish internet-arguers -- they are not my audience.  They don't have to be yours.  There is no 'side' to be on, there is no 'debate' to be had. "

Great quote.  I don't even care who said it.  Put more simply: you guys are ruining the fun!


-D

P.S. If you are interested in this subject at all, you really should follow John Bruneau's Tumblr, as he updates frequently will all sorts of tasty stuff.  

Monthaly Oopdate: Sptember

Nice classic fantasy styled art for A Feast for Crows by  Stephen Youll

I have had two projects in nerdland this past month.  One was reading the fourth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series - A Feast for Crows.  I started this book because I had a coworker who was reading through them, and in our discussions of events within, I realized how much I had forgotten from this book.  And I also realized that I had skimmed through major parts of both book 4 and 5 in the series.  My reason for doing this is that I had been gripped by the plot of the series, and I wanted to know *what was going to happen*  So, admittedly, I tore through the books at a faster pace than I could read them.
  
Having done that, I took it word by word this time, and tried to enjoy the prose.   Martin has a distinctive writing style, marked most especially by the high level of detail in his fictional world.  These details fill a greater part of A Feast For Crows than the previous books in the series.  There is a growing picture of the last twenty years or so,  slightly fuzzier picture of the last one hundred years, an abstract vision of the last five hundred years, and after that everything seems to be unconfirmed myth;  Stories old Nan tells.

I would love to have a look at whatever timeline Martin works from.  Sometimes he's called the "American Tolkein.' and while at first listen, that description bothers me.  Perhaps just because I'm protective of Tolkein,  maybe because the comparison is too convenient, but I'd like to think it's because their aesthetics are so different that I reject this comparison.  Martin is grittier, with a harsher realism and less fantasy, certainly less whimsy than Tolkein.  However, after re-reading A Feast for Crows, I may have to change my tune.  Martin's painstakingly detailed world is something worthy of that comparison.  Lovers of Tolkien have long praised the richness of Middle Earth lore, even before reading the Silmarillion or Book of Lost Tales, the Middle Earth Mythos creates a sense of history in an entirely fictional world.  George R. R. Martin has also created a similar sense of history in perhaps a more specific way.  I feel that Tolkien paints his world in water colors, whereas Martin paints his world with Legos.  Millions of Legos.  I enjoy it, and I'm well on my way to finishing the next book:  A Dance of Dragons.  

Starseed Pilgrim fan art by Hipster Skeleton on Steam

The other project I've been working on this month is that I've been desperately trying to beat Starseed Pilgrim.  Yes, it's beatable, and I think I know how.  I've gotten close.  So very close.  Love the abstraction in this game.  It's interesting to me that this would be a game set apart from all the other choices I have.  Still, it's a game that is best left to the imagination, so I'd rather not spoil it for you.  Instead, I'll link you to some pages that reference it.  It really is worth playing, just for the first two hours getting to know it, if not the next 98 hours spent trying to beat the thing.

I read a great article on the game called 'The Five Stages of Starseed Pilgrim.'  I think this article does a good job of summing it up.  The writer calls it a 'fightclub game' - a game you're not supposed to talk about.  I hadn't heard that one before, but it more or less sums it up.  One final thing about the game is that there is a new game criticism website inspired by Starseed Pilgrim:  Starseed Observatory.   I just found it, but it certainly looks interesting.  

but then I read this article:  

http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/28/6078391/video-games-awful-week

I think it's important to remember every so often just how completely some people overreact to Feminist Frequency.  It's shocking, and I usually just avoid looking.  It's okay to disagree, but so many people throw their credibility out the window with these tantrums.  I guess they must really be threatened.  Joss Whedon (name drop) weighs in on this one, it's worth checking out if you can stomach the content.  Whatever the case may be, I'm still very hopeful for the future of Video Games as a medium.  The industry on the other hand... is anybody's guess.  

-D

Hyrule Warriors

Update:  Nintendo really is paying attention, check it out:

From the "Hyrule Warriors" trailer at E3.   Looks a bit like this fan art, donut?  

Legend of Zelda Clockwork Empire

I understand that there has been a buzz for a Wii U Zelda game, especially since E3.  But what interests me just as much is this proposal for a new Zelda game, put together a year ago by the webcomic artist Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak.  As a proof of concept, this game design looks pretty good, in my opinion.  Diaz' art style lends itself to the Legend of Zelda, and his idea of swapping Link and Zelda's roles is a good one.  

As a matter of fact, it looks like the Zelda-is-the-hero idea may come into effect in the upcoming Wii-U Zelda game.  At least, that's part of the buzz, and I welcome it.  There have been a bunch of Zelda games, and the series is long overdue to be reworked.  The gameplay trailer looks fantastic, so I am pretty excited to see more.  

-D

Further Links:  (Or Zeldas)

• Also, the guy (Aaron Diaz) who put together the game proposal also is planning to do an illustrated Silmarillion.
• Zelda starring Zelda is a continual theme among Legend of Zelda fans.  Examples of sweet Zelda Hero art abound.
• The Brainy Gamer is a thoughtful video game professor, blogger and podcaster who loves Zelda, and has spent a great effort thinking about the future of Zelda (back in 2008).

Feminist Comic Primer

This is what a feminist comic looks like. Pretty cool, huh? 

Howdy folks,  I've decided to post here today entirely to refer you do a different post that I've been enjoying thoroughly.  Over at Comic Book Resources, writer Casey Gilly has compiled fifteen examples of feminist comics and there's a lot of intriguing stuff on this list.  Feminism is increasingly moving into the conversation about video games and other media, and it's not going away any time soon.  I've always loved a good, strong female character, so I welcome it.  

For those of you who get a headache whenever you hear the word 'feminism,'  I think you will be fine with this article.  She doesn't spend time on complex critical breakdown or apply the Bechdel Test to each item on the list.  Instead the writer includes a paragraph or two about the content of each comic book series,  many of which were written by men.   The titles span a range of styles, including coming of age stories, goofy summer camp stories to high fantasy action series and other mixtures and blends.  Gilly pays attention to strong female characters, and rich story content but doesn't hit you over the head with it.  

You can skip right to the list, or you can read Gilly's first page of writing where she summarizes her own relationship to feminism.  She isn't preachy or judgmental, but instead very personal.  She clearly loves comics, but can't ignore that most comics are aimed toward males, adolescent and adult, and a lot of the girl-oriented fare has been lackluster at best.  

I'm happy to say I'm familiar with a few titles from this list, including the Maxx, Death, Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories and Hark! A Vagrant.  Of the new (to me) titles, I'm very interested in checking out I Kill Giants, Anyas Ghost, Princeless, Rat Queens and Red Sonja.  And special points to Saga for having an image of a woman breast feeding with one hand and holding a gun in the other.  I've never seen that one before!  

I'll leave you with a few of the more intriguing covers- from which it is easier to judge a book, in the comic world.  

Lumberjanes

-D

Many thanks to Casey Gilly at Comic Resources for this great article.  And for JP Bruneau for referring me to it.