An email I sent to Giantbomb

[James]

I was pleased when Brad managed to get Skyrim to beat Saints Row whatever year that was, but I've had gradually less patience for him recently. Also, I generally think people moaning about them being bad at games in Quick Looks is generally bullshit, but Brad often gets angry at games for not seeing something that seems pretty obvious to me, which annoys me a bit, and seems unfair on the game. Then again, perhaps it really is the game's fault for not making whatever it is obvious enough.

I'll miss Patrick. I didn't always bother with the stuff he put up, and he isn't the most consistently funny, but his just being there seemed like a valuable balancing influence on the site in some nebulous holistic sense, and he seems like a really nice guy with very good intentions. I immediately found myself hoping they'll hire some rough equivalent in 2015. People talked a lot about Cara Ellison around the time of the previous hires; I think she'd fill the absence pretty well (and probably face similar resistance). But that's just a hope. Maybe there won't even be a replacement.

I am, as ever, optimistic about the site. Whether or not that's well-founded, I don't really care.

[BadHat]

I really don't mean this as a dig against GB, but Cara seems like too "good" of a writer for them. If not in terms of quality, then the kinds of subjects she tends to tackle don't seem like they'd gel very well with their existing output. Or maybe sitting in a room quick looking horrible games would be a welcome change from crowd (edit: COUCH! haha) surfing with sexy strangers.

 

If she wasn't a game dev, Samatha Kalman would be a perfect fit. She's always so much fun when she shows up on the bombcast or streams.

 

Also, I'm really, really gonna miss Patrick. He was the secret best duder and I just know a bunch of assholes on the internet are gonna consider this a "victory" for some bullshit cause.

 

I can't be too sad about it until I know for sure where he's going. Patrick is one of my favourite contributors, but he was already detached enough from the rest of the crew that he can probably keep doing the same sort of content on his own and be successful. He definitely has enough fans and supporters to go the Patreon route if he wants. Only thing I'll miss is Bombin in the AM, which I started out not giving a crap about but became one of the features I most looked forward to each week. Actually, both Patrick and Alex were originally my least favourite GB staff, but I probably ended up respecting them the most.

 

As for the main staff, I'll probably keep checking their stuff as long as Jeff sticks around. I know a lot of people think he's too cynical but I honestly love his "fuck video games" attitude and think he's funny as shit. For all his faults, Dan is kind of the perfect foil for him because he's so goddamn positive about everything. The rest of the staff usually just laugh off Jeff's snarky comments, but Dan actually engages with him in a light hearted way that seems to catch him off-guard sometimes.

[Bjorn]

To be honest, the only reason I've read or watched anything on GB for the last few years is Patrick, so unless they hire someone equally rad, I won't have much reason to visit there.

[Apple Cider]

I honestly am glad Cara does pieces for Giant Bomb, especially with Patrick Klepek leaving. Not only is it income for Cara but it also might shine some weird light into GB's typical audience. I still feel like GB caters to the most common denominator of gaming, which is like 21-30 year old white dudes? 

 

I think Dan Rykert is a nice dude but it makes me wonder how much of his popularity is because men can be charming and mediocre as a schtick. I just feel like only he, of all people, could get away with being lauded for being goofy and ignorant. I am trying not to sound really ascerbic but there's so many people doing such great work and maybe Giant Bomb is not good enough to deserve them, but Dan Rykert can be a teenager in his 30s and people fall over themselves to talk about how cute and special it is. 

[Cyborg771]

Fingers crossed for Patrick becoming a full time Thumb.

Yeah I know that's not going to happen.

[Reyturner]

GB West is basically the Drive Time Zoo of video games, which is fine and their thing. Nobody really does it better. I don't really interact with GB these days outside of the podcast so it feels like Vinny has just disappeared. I hope they go out of their way to hire someone outside of their comfort zone and start doing podcast-y stuff. Maddy Myers would actually be a really good fit, but I don't blame her for never wanting anything to do with GB ever again since the community took a massive dump on her in the summer. Same for Jen Frank. 

 

Justice Points is really good, they should just hire Apple Cider. They don't have anyone who knows anything about MMOs anyways. 

[Apple Cider]

Oh wow, hahah, thank you. I have no idea how that would even work. I'm way too acerbic and feminist.

[SecretAsianMan]

Fingers crossed for Patrick becoming a full time Thumb.

Yeah I know that's not going to happen.

 

My secret hope against hope is that Patrick is the new Idle Thumbs intern.

[Dewar]

I was pleased when Brad managed to get Skyrim to beat Saints Row whatever year that was, but I've had gradually less patience for him recently. Also, I generally think people moaning about them being bad at games in Quick Looks is generally bullshit, but Brad often gets angry at games for not seeing something that seems pretty obvious to me, which annoys me a bit, and seems unfair on the game. Then again, perhaps it really is the game's fault for not making whatever it is obvious enough.

I'll miss Patrick. I didn't always bother with the stuff he put up, and he isn't the most consistently funny, but his just being there seemed like a valuable balancing influence on the site in some nebulous holistic sense, and he seems like a really nice guy with very good intentions. I immediately found myself hoping they'll hire some rough equivalent in 2015. People talked a lot about Cara Ellison around the time of the previous hires; I think she'd fill the absence pretty well (and probably face similar resistance). But that's just a hope. Maybe there won't even be a replacement.

I am, as ever, optimistic about the site. Whether or not that's well-founded, I don't really care.

There has been a position open for a news person working out of the NY office for a few months now. Jeff's Tumblr stated that they were hoping to get some interviews scheduled before the end of the year, but that didn't happen, so hopefully we'll hear something near the end of January?

[shammack]

At this point my opinion on Dan has pretty much completely turned around. He seems like a nice guy. Jeff's cynicism is becoming pretty unbearable, even for me, and I never give a shit about anything Brad likes to talk about, so I've come to rely on Drew and Dan. The Metal Gear Scanlon, Demo Derby, and Mario Party Party videos are by far the most enjoyable part of Giant Bomb for me right now.

 

The thing that's refreshing about Dan is that he actually seems like he enjoys playing video games. I don't really share his tastes, but it's just nice to see someone actually getting excited about something. Some of his ignorance is still kind of irritating, but it just seems like weird gaps in his knowledge rather than thing he's stubbornly refusing to learn (for the most part), and I think he's kind of playing it up a little bit because he thinks it's funny.

[eot]

Cara is one of my favourite games writers, but I wouldn't want her to end up at Giant Bomb.

[Undeadpool]

I love Dan

I'm massively envious of his energy/positivity. He's unnatural. He inspired me to think about doing yoga

As someone who also does DDP Yoga: it's AWESOME. He's toned down a lot of the macho BS that was apparently a part of it when it first burst onto the scene, and he's got this SUPER positive energy that makes you not feel shitty if you aren't an expert your first year. I know this sounds like an ad, but I really do recommend it.

 

I'm also gobsmacked by Dan's ability to be utterly convinced of his own rightness but not be a total jerk about it (ON THE INTERNET, NO LESS!) He seems very "live and let live."

[Reyturner]

I'm not really anti-Dan, but it's shit like this.

[Gormongous]

I'm not really anti-Dan, but it's shit like this.

Yeah, that's very "I'm all right, Jack." Unintentionally, of course, but still...

[Twig]

I dunno, I can't really hold that against him. I understand that it's very much a textbook example of privilege, but fuck if I don't wish I could be like that basically every day.

[shammack]

No one should ever enjoy anything as long as there is anyone else anywhere not enjoying something.

[Twig]

Basically, yeah!

[Reyturner]

Well, there was very direct fallout of Dan getting hired that flowed right into GG and that's never really been acknowledged by GB. Something I think attributed to GB staying silent on it for so long. And I wonder if it will result in them doubling down on just hiring within their comfort zone.

I mostly like Dan and think he's is a good addition to GB, it's just the context.

[Twig]

Yes, like I said, I get it. But I'm not going to be angry at someone for being happy.

[thefncrow]

Well, the explosion when Dan got hired was addressed in a letter from the editor written by Jeff, but it was a pretty weak response.  It was very much of the "hey, if you're harassing people in our name, fuck you.  we're against this harassment" sort and didn't remotely touch the actual criticism.  And looking at that letter again, I'm reminded that part of it was a promise of new moderation policies coming that would crack down on the harassment, which I have zero idea if they followed up on.  It is possible, though, given that Zoe Quinn posted a top 10 list as part of their GOTY stuff and I never really saw any awful comments on it (although you can kinda see a few places where what were likely such comments that were deleted by moderators).

 

On some level, I can forgive the Dan hire because they were in a real bad spot when it came to on-camera folk for their content, which was only going to get worse when Vinny left.  Dan basically fits immediately and can hit the ground running when it comes to the sort of content they produce.  It doesn't mean I wasn't a little disappointed, but I understood it.  That's an excuse they're not going to have this time.  Yes, they just lost another member of the staff, but Patrick's loss makes the need for this new hire to be a diversifying hire greater, not less.  Patrick was the member of the staff that actually took the time to dive into games and genres that the rest of the crew wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole and a leading voice on that staff for actively seeking out perspectives from people that weren't straight white males.  I'm holding out hope that they're going to get this right this time.

[Undeadpool]

I mean I'm somewhat torn on the issue here, and I'm not sure this is even the place to be airing it as OP said, but let's call it what it is: Dan is the closest they've come to filling the content void that Ryan left.

 

He's aggressive in his love of video games, he's got a lot of great ideas for new content and he has a really infectiously positive energy (seriously, listen to the podcasts before he showed up, the Bombcast was becoming increasingly by-the-books and dour). Yeah, I'd LOVE for them to have a more diverse hire this next time, but A) we don't know who all applied, so just assuming they turned down equally qualified more diverse hires is extremely conclusion-jumpy and I'm not going to be pissed at a guy for having a good year when other people (even within his industry) had a less good year.

 

Oh and C) The fact that they've featured people like Zoe Quinn and Samantha Kalman, both on their podcasts and in the GOTY lists while telling the likes of Zodiac MF to hit the bricks says plenty too. Frankly, I don't mind them using GG to tend their own garden, and them saying "Yeah, don't harass in our name for any reason and if you're trying to spout that GG crap, do it elsewhere" is plenty and actions, even on the internet, speak louder than words. They've been openly contemptuous of them on their podcasts (ESPECIALLY on their morning show)...and this WHOLE thing seems like it's spiraling, so I'll cut myself off there before this thread (and post) gets any more jacked.

 

I don't know if this sounds needlessly harsh, and I'm not meaning for it too. I'd love for someone like Cara Ellison or Kalman to start showing up as a GB regular, but until that happens there's not much one can do besides not consuming their content if one feels THAT strongly about it. Feel free to even send Rorie a message or email like "Hey, I'd be a bit more into voting with my wallet if we could get some different perspectives as regulars on content."

[SuperBiasedMan]

A) we don't know who all applied, so just assuming they turned down equally qualified more diverse hires is extremely conclusion-jumpy

 

Largely you make fair points but I have to say that this isn't a valid reason. The onus is not on unprivileged groups to create diversity. The onus is on those who have the power to hire to make the choices that undo the systemic oppression. If you really care about diversity you can seek out the applicants even if they didn't get in contact with you. I know this could be hard (tracking down potential hires that didn't reach out to you) but it's what has to be done if you do care about diversity.

 

The hire also does depend on what you think the job entailed. Like you and others have said, Dan bringing fun to the cast is a fair choice and in some ways being just a casual happy gamer style dude is a personality that performs that job more than a person offering a new voice would. I don't think it's impossible to have hired a woman for that kind of role but it puts the hire in a different context.

[Gormongous]

No one should ever enjoy anything as long as there is anyone else anywhere not enjoying something.

 

That's not what I said or what I meant. It's someone working in the video games industry, the very industry undergoing a long-term and universally awful civil war, saying that this year was the best ever and that the next is going to be even better. If you changed the name from @DanRyckert to @PlayDangerously or @Nero, it would be painfully obvious that it's about #GamerGate, because how can you ignore #GamerGate, but it's Dan, so I guess he just doesn't know or doesn't care about what's going on?

 

So yeah, I know it's not malicious or offensive, it's just a bit disconcerting and frustrating to see. I just can't imagine what mental space I'd have to be in to post online about how great this year is for me personally when the industry in which I work is falling down around me. And I get that chance every single year, because things aren't exactly great in academia right now, but I don't. Then again, I'm not Dan, so...

[Badfinger]

Well, there was very direct fallout of Dan getting hired that flowed right into GG and that's never really been acknowledged by GB. Something I think attributed to GB staying silent on it for so long. And I wonder if it will result in them doubling down on just hiring within their comfort zone.

I mostly like Dan and think he's is a good addition to GB, it's just the context.

 

No, there wasn't. Suggesting that is both disingenuous and dangerous.

 

That's not what I said or what I meant. It's someone working in the video games industry, the very industry undergoing a long-term and universally awful civil war, saying that this year was the best ever and that the next is going to be even better. If you changed the name from @DanRyckert to @PlayDangerously or @Nero, it would be painfully obvious that it's about #GamerGate, because how can you ignore #GamerGate, but it's Dan, so I guess he just doesn't know or doesn't care about what's going on?

 

So yeah, I know it's not malicious or offensive, it's just a bit disconcerting and frustrating to see. I just can't imagine what mental space I'd have to be in to post online about how great this year is for me personally when the industry in which I work is falling down around me. And I get that chance every single year, because things aren't exactly great in academia right now, but I don't. Then again, I'm not Dan, so...

 

He got hired by one of the most popular and personality driven video game websites in the world, and he moved to San Francisco for christ's sake. I realize that people expect someone to not publicly exult in their personal joys when other people are not having a great time, but he had a pretty fucking awesome year. I wish I had Dan's year. And take note, he did NOT say 2014 was the best year ever. He said he'd never personally enjoyed a 6 month period more than the preceding. I realize he comes off as a dope, but he seems pretty careful with the words he writes.

[Gormongous]

I realize that people expect someone to not publicly exult in their personal joys when other people are not having a great time, but he had a pretty fucking awesome year. I wish I had Dan's year.

 

I guess that's where it falls down for me, it's something I could never do and I find it in fairly bad taste. Also, "not having a great time" is the understatement of the year. I think almost anyone else in the industry would give a lot to have Dan's year.

 

And take note, he did NOT say 2014 was the best year ever. He said he'd never personally enjoyed a 6 month period more than the preceding. I realize he comes off as a dope, but he seems pretty careful with the words he writes.

 

Thinking just about his tweet about people not seeming to have a good reason for hating on the TSA and the multiple times he's called Hayao Miyazaki "Japanese Colonel Sanders," I'm skeptical, but okay.