Gathering TWiGs – September

Wait, the month is over? October is upon us but that doesn’t mean we can’t remember the fun we had in September, right? I mean we had fun. Remember that thing? Or that time when that guy did that thing? Man, that was classic. Before we fully embrace all that October has to offer, how’s aboot a look back on the gaming posts from September.

On Law and Order (977)

According to a study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association in 2009, the age of the average gamer is 35. Granted, this study came from a group defending Video Games, but I think that point has some merit to it. Children are not buying Grand Theft Auto, their parents are. Parents that refuse to take responsibility for the content their children are exposed to are the issue. What good is a study determining the tools used to regulate media and their effectiveness if they are never properly implemented? I do believe that we should be concerned about what children are being exposed to, but attention is being diverted in the wrong direction. Instead of passing blame to the Video Game industry, how about accepting a little responsibility for the future generations of the world?

On Fantasy and Fallacy (967)

So I’m asking you, my eager readers, how is it that the Dreamcast is still held in such high regard? I feel like the kid left out of the kickball game. There is an entire generation of gamers that get teary-eyed at the mere mention of the Dreamcast, and I do not get it. I am sincerely asking for your help here. I want to understand the greatness, I want to comprehend the legacy, I want to become a more informed gamer. Because as I am typing this, I can’t help but think that there is a generation of gamers that drank the kool-aid 10 years ago and are still suffering from the side effects.

On Relevance and Justification (969)

I don’t care how long you have been playing RPGs. I don’t care how many platinum trophies you have. I don’t care about your gamerscore. I don’t care how many hours you have put into previous games by the same developer. None of those facts are in any way relevant to the game that I, the curious gamer am interested in. Why must we find the most arbitrary and useless means to justify our opinions? If I’m reading your article, you already have me hooked, there is no need to spend a paragraph reminding me why I’m reading your words. Your opinions do not increase in value based on intimate familiarity with the subject matter. All I ask for is competence and relevance, I don’t need juicy details about the fan fiction you co-wrote to prove that you know what you are talking about.

On Tubes and Tallies (990)

Creativity and innovation can only take an industry so far before they resort back to copying what has already been previously successful. Now that developers will have a more universal idea of what works and what doesn’t on the digital distribution platform, be ready to experience even more rehashes and duplicates. Think I’m wrong? Just look at the number of Bejeweled clones that have been released. I’m sure that there will be a few gems in the lot, but we’ll have to sift through a lot more of the same before the quality downloads present themselves.

These posts have been featured on Talking About Games.