The State of Games

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The State of Games

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Told you goons needed a subforum to go and be dumb videogame-style.

I haven't seen one of those drawn out slapfights that ends in everyone getting probated or a thread getting locked since we started messing with stuff. So that's a plus.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 01:56

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 17:25

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Shadowlz posted:

Games needs to become like GBS if it wants to be good, we are heading in the right direction.

Remove megathreads. Idiot "community" poo poo can go in PGS.

Nah, chillax community is where it's at. You got the Imp Zone for your white noise.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 17:59

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Zoq-Fot-Pik posted:

What the heck ?

The heck is what?

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 18:04

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

nilumtil posted:

I concur that the bar for posting is lower than it should be, unfortunately.

I would say there's a lot going on that isn't really shitposting, trolling, arguments, or other bullshit that's intentional. Instead, I feel that the quality and content of the average post has gone down. It's not "low content" like a one-word post, but it's a lot closer. Personally I wish the bar was higher on content/humor, and even long for the days of banhammer months. A lot of these threads read more like a chatroom than a forum based around thoughtful dialectic.

It feeds into the megathread problem; there's a reason certain threads for popular games are 7000 pages long. A lot of people have very little to add but do so anyways. I know you acknowledged the megathread problem and its intractability in the OP, but it has really brought the quality of information I gather here down in the past few to several years. Anything that's not Battlefield, Dark Souls, etc gets choked out.

I only bring this up because I really have loved this forum since ~2000, and for like a decade I was always able to find new, interesting games I had not been exposed to; The reasons I feel that this happens less and less, are reasons I link to the Megathread thing. Not to belabor that point, but I get most of my information about neat new games I want to play on Giant Bomb now, which has filled this gap very well. Sadly.

As a good example, I really feel like the Planetside 2 thread exemplifies this. Very little usable information past basic stuff in the OP is found in its hundreds of pages. Instead, there is roughly 75% posts that add very little but are not against the rules, which only make it harder to find good info. The rest is a FYAD-quality shitheap of posts between people who are way too attached to their in-game faction. For over a year, several posters have been purposely instigating arguments, which they know from the past is *never* going to lead anywhere. It's painful to read. Technically, it's discourse... technically.

I love this forum, but sometimes it's tough.

A "You must post a reasonable amount of content per post" is a nearly impossible rule to enforce. How much content is just enough? I know people will get poo poo on if they try to post too much content. Like if someone used just as many words as you in another thread they'd probably get ran out for sperging. I don't think we should be afraid to post because "Oh man, did I post enough :words:

, or too many?" or "Am I using :v:

too much?"

The more chat like style does not mean you can't have any sort of good discussions. Look at the PS4 general thread. There's some one off "This is really neat, check it out" and "Hey let's talk about Gold headsets for the 100th time." It should be anything goes outside of one word replies and harassment. Because enforcing some sort of minimum content rule will just lead to way less activity.

Edit: And for the record I think bans are just dumb thing to use except for really edge cases. A ban is "We don't think you belong on Something Awful." not "You're posting bad, here's a $10 fine".

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 20:04

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

nilumtil posted:

It's not as though you both don't make good points. However I really do think there's merit to trying to nudge the community towards effortposting and away from IRC room content. I wouldn't suggest any type of real inquisition or objective rule. I am starting to really agree with Kewpah about the quality of the average poster having been higher. What I was suggesting was less of "institate said rule about content, enforce objectively.

Maybe we can't do it the way we used to. I mean, where Kewpeh says that he thought maybe it was the heavy moderation when it was the quality of poster... I would add that there's a distinction between heavy moderation and keeping people out. We did keep people out for years, during the "good times" I'm talking about. People that were not seen as smart enough or funny enough were literally run off. Bans and probation just mean re-registering.

There just has to be a change in attitude. Don't shame someone for effort posting and don't shame anyone for not effort posting hard enough. Any runoff one-time funny stuff can go into Imp Zone but shouldn't mean you can't be funny in Games.

I mean, I'd love to see a thread dedicated into Behind the Scenes stuff and documentaries, but wouldn't want to see that anime-titty thread disappear.

elf help book posted:

That sounds like a new forum feature, which could destroy the site.

We've learned our lesson trying to delete FYAD, right? Never mess with the forums.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 20:15

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Why not have a mega thread for news feed and discussion then? Huge topics gain their own thread. So both the interesting and mundane can be posted and the thread can just talk about whatever.

Hey, Kewpuh, if you're still going "Just post the dang thread" I was going to do just that. I don't have PMs to bug you with, but I figured this would be the best place to ask.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 23:41

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Blister posted:

I'd totally be down for a news thread and would love one, but I thought someone tried making one and it ended up getting derailed endlessly by circular social justice/feminism/ mra arguments which seems to be the new hot click bait stories after the 10 hottest cosplay photos. I could very well be wrong and be misremebering it and there really isn't any harm in trying

Yeah, we'd probably have to try and *gasp* contain ourselves to keep it from being a social justice circlejerk. I think the hardest thing about a news thread would definitely be that, you'll get a group of regulars that just post that kind of content and it'll become real insular real fast.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2014 23:52

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Kewpuh posted:

Seriously I can just randomly pick a thread to look at and I never see this so-called threadshitting bogeyman that has infiltrated Games and spams memes and "lol effort"

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3649492 - Puzzle & Dragons 6.5: Hello Kitty and Satan, together at last.

Just skimming through the past 10 pages of that 80 page thread and everything is fine. This is a traditional Games thread that is completely unaffected by any reduction in overbearing moderation.

Perhaps you can narrow your search down to just posts by virtualboyCOLOR?

The Xbox sharktank long ran its course. It was great to revel in the constant headlines of a really incompetent company as they started handing out golden parachutes for the execs abandoning ship. Now it just seems like any other console, just slightly worse off than usual. It was funny again with all the gimmick posters until they went full internet detective.

Hell, I would be okay if we kept our current moderation but probate internet detectives. They're usually the creepiest bunch when you are trying to have a discussion and then they go and look up your Battlefield stats or if you're fat or something.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2014 02:25

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Kewpuh posted:

What's wrong with virtualboyCOLOR? He gets dopey sometimes but he makes some funny posts every now and then. As far as the internet detectiving goes, the only instance really was Wuglus google searching Fulchrum and not even getting the right result but running with it anyways because it was seriously funny and it paid off in the most incredible way. That type of poo poo doesn't really happen anywhere outside of the sharktank though. And the rule about being a creepy fucker still exists and we still absolutely punish for actual legit weirdo helldumpy kind of stuff.

Okay, sounds reasonable. Thanks for the reply. And the Sharktank was definitely the only place where it didn't seem weird. But once personal photos started entering it I just couldn't stand to read it anymore.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2014 02:33

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Well we still have "Recommend me a game" thread, right? Or would you rather just kind of stumble upon interesting games instead of actively searching for something like the stuff you already play? Because I could dig a "Games you might want to try" thread.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2014 18:37

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Mr E posted:

I wouldn't mind a games you might want to try thread, but isn't that kind of the point of the recommend me one?

The recommend me one is more like "Hey I have this game that I've finished but I haven't had my fill, anything else like it?" and less "Hey I think this game is great and everyone should give it a look."

# ¿ Aug 10, 2014 18:57

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

I mean less stuffy recommendations and more "Hey you need to play Vanquish, idiot".

# ¿ Aug 10, 2014 19:35

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Hog Inspector posted:

It would be nice if every thread didn't have a dadjoke in the title. Just My Two Cents

There is nothing better than a good dad joke. Keep them in.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 17:57

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

As long as we keep the dad jokes, I'm okay with anything. Kewpuh, could you convince Lowtax to spend some avatar money or something on full time dad-joke writers? TIA.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 18:39

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Kewpuh posted:

This might might earn me a ban or probation but gently caress it.

gently caress all of you, there's petty, and then there's this poo poo, you are all children, my own fault for associating with you pieces of poo poo.

Since you seem to be sweet on me central, gently caress you, I have no idea what your deal is with me.

As for the avatar buyer, congrats, you won, this is what you wanted right? Make me rage in the forums? Well here you go, enjoy your prize you worthless piece of poo poo, even then I don't wish horrible things on you, just pity that's you would take this far, and for what? Because I find creepy images, creepy? Because I can point flaws in the game you all love so much? Because I think your stupid jokes are old and tired? For that? Really?

And you know what its not even about the avatar, I'm always trying to find a spot to fit in, I thought I found that here, silly me, its for reminding me of what I don't have anymore, about how the one person who truly made me feel like I belonged is loving dead, that's what's this all bullshit reminds me off, I wish it was as simple as a stupid avatar, you wouldn't be the first, but probably the last.

I'll be 30 in a month and its like I never left highschool whenever I use the net, but mostly when I get involved with goons, exceptions of course, Kazoo, Ashley, Goshawk, all wonderful people, a few I didn't mention.

So gently caress it, congrats, really congrats, you pushed me over the edge. Enjoy friends, quote and laugh, enjoy my ban.

And no worries, I have 0 intention of escalating this in any capacity, this and what I said guild chat are the long and short of it.

Hope you all have a swell day, I truly do.

That's not a dad joke, Kewpuh.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 18:42

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Hey Kewpuh, is there a way to contact you outside of PMs? I don't have plat.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2014 10:16

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

Sakurazuka posted:

There's minorities threads in E/N that handle that poo poo way better than we did and DnD probably could, though you'd probably get laughed out for trying to talk about problematic videogames in there.

That's astounding. I'd expect though that any problematic videogame talk would be replied with the time-honored tradition of "Have you tried weed?"

# ¿ Aug 13, 2014 12:51

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

echronorian posted:

Is it hard keeping your pants up? They sound heavy

Pants on the ground? Pants on the ground.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 01:49

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 17:25

Ularg: Mar 2, 2010; Just tell me I'm exotic.

OG Necromancer posted:

what exactly is that gamer doing?

Oculus Ribbed.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 05:04

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The State of Games