tegan

I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

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 Danielle recognized this on twitter and apologized for kink-shaming...

 

That's a totally fair comparison, and gave me pause. But...

 

 

There's also a huge difference between marginalising a group of people due to genetics and chuckling about people using characters from a 90's game in porn today. 

 

I think there's a way to find this stuff funny, and share it in a funny way, without being shitty or shaming about it.  The biggest key is to just not be judgmental about it.  That tumblr seems to be both celebratory and mocking, with some of the mocking coming from people making fun of themselves for things they made as a kid.  And some of it is making fun of things that were either intended to be laughed at, or deserve to be laughed at.  All links are fine for work, didn't grab any of the porn stuff.

 

I'd also probably ask is it kink, or is it a hobby?  I still make fun of people (mostly my friends) for playing Magic.  Not because they are nerds, but because they are Magic nerds and half of our game nights just end up dissolving into a Magic night.  And that deserves to be made fun of.  I make fun of people who throw themselves off buildings and hope that a wingsuit or parachute will work properly.  I think there are choices people make which are fine to find funny, and even pick fun at.  I'm not going to say that fanart is automatically one, but it's not automatically excluded either. 

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Everything is worth mocking.

 

LITERALLY ALL OF THE THINGS.

 

Especially me, though.

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I think in a way it mirrors a recent discussion in the Feminism thread, which is that trying to come up with a universal definition is tricky at best and a lot of the time it boils down to specific people.  If someone is fine with other people laughing at their work, then great.  If someone is insulted, then you should respect that opinion and hopefully apologize.  I am neither a creator nor appreciator of Sonic fan art so I'm not at all qualified to speak about that community in a meaningful way.  All I can say is how it made me personally feel and it seems like a slippery slope to me, on both sides of the issue.  I don't want to say that nothing can be made fun of because that's too restricting on speech and thought.  On the other hand I don't feel comfortable when people laugh at a thing solely on the basis that it's unusual because that's how discrimination starts.  It's way too easy for things to transition from harmless fun to hateful speech.  The Sonic stuff is clearly a case of the former and not the latter but the possibility it could be still bothers me.  It's a really muddy concept, one I haven't fully thought out.

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Sometimes the act of laughing at a thing is enough to be considered "being a dick about it", especially if you're laughing AT them and not WITH them.

 

Quite the contrary, I like weird stuff.  But saying "Holy shit, what is wrong with people?", even in a joking manner, without any positive follow up leaves me with the impression that you're just making fun of people for being different which is never cool.

 

I completely understand where you're coming from, I guess maybe it's a sensitivity matter. I firmly believe that anything can be made fun of - kinda like Twig said. Just as long as you're not marginalising people or prohibiting them from doing something. Mocking each other is basically usual banter for my college and high school buddies. 

 

I don't thinking joking about something detracts from the seriousness of the thing, or means the thing being made fun of is wrong or right. The whole laughing at/with is a very hard distinction to make in this (and any) context. Some of those people may be taking what they do incredibly seriously in which case it'd be impossible to "laugh with" (although I'd argue to me that'd make it more funny especially the idea of serious Sonic porn). However, the person interviewed in the article seemed to be part of the "scene" so I don't know if that sort of avoids the laughing at. It's almost impossible to define laughing at/with. Is it OK to laugh if someone trips on the street? I mean technically it's laughing at, but I've sure tripped up loads and laughed at myself on some occasions. Sometimes it's good to be laughed at, it puts things into perspective and humbles you a little. I dunno, I'm rambling now. I just find a lot of dumb stuff funny!

 

You're second point is fair. The article didn't really say anything positive, but I didn't find it particularly judgemental. It's hard to say something positive about something you find hilarious other than the rather boring and transparent "hey! at least they're enjoying themselves." 

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I do think it would have been a better article if some of the people who love to make erotic fan-art of Sonic characters were interviewed rather than someone who collects it.

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I do think it would have been a better article if some of the people who love to make erotic fan-art of Sonic characters were interviewed rather than someone who collects it.

 

That would be fascinating.

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I do think it would have been a better article if some of the people who love to make erotic fan-art of Sonic characters were interviewed rather than someone who collects it.

 

That's what I was hoping for when I first read the article.

 

 

I don't thinking joking about something detracts from the seriousness of the thing, or means the thing being made fun of is wrong or right. The whole laughing at/with is a very hard distinction to make in this (and any) context. Some of those people may be taking what they do incredibly seriously in which case it'd be impossible to "laugh with" (although I'd argue to me that'd make it more funny especially the idea of serious Sonic porn). However, the person interviewed in the article seemed to be part of the "scene" so I don't know if that sort of avoids the laughing at. It's almost impossible to define laughing at/with. Is it OK to laugh if someone trips on the street? I mean technically it's laughing at, but I've sure tripped up loads and laughed at myself on some occasions. Sometimes it's good to be laughed at, it puts things into perspective and humbles you a little. I dunno, I'm rambling now. I just find a lot of dumb stuff funny!

 

I get what you're saying and I agree to a point.  It is hard to separate at/with, especially without an actual discussion taking place between both parties.  One thing I would say is in the case where there is no "with", is laughing an appropriate response at all?  Maybe examine why the thing makes you want to laugh and decide if it's a reasonable response.  If you're laughing at something because you find it quirky or interesting, I'd say go ahead.  If you're laughing because you're thinking "that's really messed up and so is the person who made it", then I'd say you're making some judgments that perhaps you shouldn't be.  What's dumb to one person might be really personal to another in which case laughing at their creation is maybe not the right thing to do.  Not accusing you of doing any of that, just food for thought.

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I get what you're saying and I agree to a point.  It is hard to separate at/with, especially without an actual discussion taking place between both parties.  One thing I would say is in the case where there is no "with", is laughing an appropriate response at all?  Maybe examine why the thing makes you want to laugh and decide if it's a reasonable response.  If you're laughing at something because you find it quirky or interesting, I'd say go ahead.  If you're laughing because you're thinking "that's really messed up and so is the person who made it", then I'd say you're making some judgments that perhaps you shouldn't be.  What's dumb to one person might be really personal to another in which case laughing at their creation is maybe not the right thing to do.  Not accusing you of doing any of that, just food for thought.

 

That's a good point, and I think it's hard to know what a person thinks a lot of times.  The truth is I find stuff like erotic fan art to be fascinating, along with a WTF?! component.  It doesn't do anything erotically for me, but I'm certainly interested in it and the creators.  But I often just default by responding in a WTF?! manner, because that's easier. 

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You certainly have a point, but I think whenever I'm laughing, it's rarely at a person and more likely the thing they did. Obviously I've laughed maliciously at people before, I'm by no means perfect, but in this example it's more that it just seems the most natural response. I'm not really thinking about why things are funny, sometimes they just are, analysis kinda kills comedy. 

 

Other than being turned on, is there really another appropriate response other than laughing to erotic Sonic fan fiction? (Bad joke if that wasn't clear.)

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You certainly have a point, but I think whenever I'm laughing, it's rarely at a person and more likely the thing they did. Obviously I've laughed maliciously at people before, I'm by no means perfect, but in this example it's more that it just seems the most natural response. I'm not really thinking about why things are funny, sometimes they just are, analysis kinda kills comedy. 

 

Other than being turned on, is there really another appropriate response other than laughing to erotic Sonic fan fiction? (Bad joke if that wasn't clear.)

 

There's definitely a danger in overthinking things (something I'm often guilty of), but in general I prefer some thought to no thought.  And I certainly don't think you have any malicious intent.  I have been taking this example to the extreme for the sake of argument but I think we're getting a good discussion out of it.

 

One thing that is completely appropriate to laugh at: I got this worked up over Sonic fan art that I don't even care for

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Thinking is good! I also enjoy discussion, it's made me question why I laugh. I still think if more people laughed about themselves the world would be a better place.

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See, this would be way better with Wiley!

But he looks so scared and timid!

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With the new avatar, I have to fight the urge to respond to every one of your posts like this:

 

 

But he looks so scared and timid!

 

Ok.

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I feel the same way about this when people bash bronies. I have no interest in it, but I think it's the same thing.

 

As for joke analysis, Jimmy Carr has written a really interesting book going into why jokes are funny. I guess it's worth reading if you're into that?

 

Also Twig's new avatar is great. One Punch Man is the best.

 

To derail this train of conversation completely, at work I've been playing Pokemon Link Battle in my lunch breaks. Multiple different work colleagues have peered over my shoulder whilst playing and all said 'oh so it's like Candy Crush with pokemon?'

 

What the hell?! Has Popcap's efforts just been completely forgotten? Has Candy Crush entered the general zeitgeist in such a way that nobody can see a match three game and not think of Candy Crush? I mean it's not even a good game, as far as match three games go. Also PLB is nothing like candy crush. It's more like Bejeweled meets Puzzle & Dragon (Which is another point of ire, as Puzzle & Dragon infuriatingly isn't out on android, and the stupid company who owns the rights for the game in Europe (supercell) is just refusing to release it for god knows why. Instead I'm playing the closest thing I think is to it, which is Pacman Monsters. At least I think, because I've never played Puzzle and Dragon! Ugh.)

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I feel the same way about this when people bash bronies. I have no interest in it, but I think it's the same thing.

 

"Brony" has long since bypassed its original meaning and become an entirely seperate, horrible thing.

 

 

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I can't tell if that expression is intentionally similar to the style of OFF or it's just the pixelly style tricking me.

 

I'm also not even sure if I should expect OFF to be a well known game.

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I just went to do a search for local co-op games on Steam, and they've removed the Categories for co-op and local co-op from advanced search.  

 

WTH Valve?  Why would you remove search options from an advanced search tool?

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I can't tell if that expression is intentionally similar to the style of OFF or it's just the pixelly style tricking me.

 

I'm also not even sure if I should expect OFF to be a well known game.

 

It's a nod to that KC Green drawing of Luke and Layton that Shammack had as his avatar forever.

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It's a nod to that KC Green drawing of Luke and Layton that Shammack had as his avatar forever.

 

Ah, I hadn't seen that, it was either before my time or I was just terribly unobservant about it.

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