Jump to content

Recommended Posts

they also did a 70 minute video of themselves playing the game where that comes up. I get what you're saying, but this is essentially supplemental content to their main piece of content.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think the fact that they didn't feel inclined to talk about the game probably says a lot about their opinion of it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think the fact that they didn't feel inclined to talk about the game probably says a lot about their opinion of it.

What I find confusing is all the talk of "If this game was less expensive, I might feel differently about it". I'm sure a lot of people are listening in to answer the question "Should I buy this game?" , but I was listening in order to find out what they actually thought about it (not about its price). When they start making up hypothetical prices and business models that would allow them to enjoy the actual game, it doesn't make much sense to me since they are trying to compare it to other similar looking bundles of content without even going into the decisions the game has made that sets it apart from those comparisons (besides a lack of single-player and a unlock model that borrows its appearance from free-to-play). I'm looking for conversation where price is not a factor at all and when they start talking about those thought experiments there is no actual opinion on the game, but instead a brain-storming session on all the different payment-models that might have changed the opinion they've failed to express. I don't why I expected that much from them though, people just want to know whether ot not it's a rip-off or a must-buy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure they commented multiple times about how it doesn't feel good to play. Or was that the bombcast? 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure they commented multiple times about how it doesn't feel good to play. Or was that the bombcast?

Gerstman made complaints like that on the Bombcast (none of which I agree with for the record). On the Beastcast, I believe Bakalar and Walker say something along the lines of "There is a good game there" but quickly go back into talking about the price and how the business model looks like something inspired from free-to-play.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Especially when they have a cross-over podcast (which was the situation during Gerstman's thoughts on R6:Siege).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

they also did a 70 minute video of themselves playing the game where that comes up. I get what you're saying, but this is essentially supplemental content to their main piece of content.

 

Thanks for pointing out the Quicklook, it was much more in line with what I was looking for than the podcast segment.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What I find confusing is all the talk of "If this game was less expensive, I might feel differently about it". I'm sure a lot of people are listening in to answer the question "Should I buy this game?" , but I was listening in order to find out what they actually thought about it (not about its price). When they start making up hypothetical prices and business models that would allow them to enjoy the actual game, it doesn't make much sense to me since they are trying to compare it to other similar looking bundles of content without even going into the decisions the game has made that sets it apart from those comparisons (besides a lack of single-player and a unlock model that borrows its appearance from free-to-play). I'm looking for conversation where price is not a factor at all and when they start talking about those thought experiments there is no actual opinion on the game, but instead a brain-storming session on all the different payment-models that might have changed the opinion they've failed to express. I don't why I expected that much from them though, people just want to know whether ot not it's a rip-off or a must-buy.

 

For me that conversation was fascinating. Exploring a game's price point and how they employ extra content, and how that affects your opinion on a game is super important. Subjectively they are saying that the game gets lost in the fog of 'I just paid 60 dollars for this content' and I think that is valuable.

 

I had a similar conversation with people about the Killer Instinct release schedule and how that impacts my involvement and enjoyment of the game and so hearing people parse this stuff out in an eloquent, thoughtful manner felt like good exploration of the politics of the business.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

While it might not be great as pure art criticism (for which Giant Bomb is probably never going to be your best source), the question of pricing models is very relevant at the moment, it being a thing in flux and seemingly poised to enter a phase of even more drastic change. Discussion of money may seem crass, but the reality is that game-making is a largely commercial art form, and very few of us are wealthy enough to exclude cost concerns from our consideration when assessing games. As production gets ever more expensive and games hit up against consumers' comfort boundaries with traditional pricing models, one can foresee more and more developers experimenting with non-traditional pricing models in an attempt to circumvent these psychological barriers, particularly given their success in mobile gaming. These techniques will potentially intrude far more into the actual stuff of the game than a simple price tag on a single boxed product ever did, at the risk of harming the integrity and quality of the thing as a whole.

A criticism you could perhaps level at Giant Bomb – particularly its podcasts – is the expectation that the audience has been listening along for some time. I think that's part and parcel of the community atmosphere they maintain on the site, but what it does mean is that when they spend time discussing the price of Rainbow Six Siege and not much else about it, there's the assumption that you've watched the Quick Look, and listened to the first impressions when the game was first revealed at whichever E3 it was. The impression I get is that the "something" that the game has is the same thing that appealed back when it was first announced, and the problem was that there just wasn't much else to it. That's the implicit message I get from price quibbles. There's a nice core idea, but it wasn't expanded enough or wasn't given enough supporting content for it to breathe and thrive as a satisfying experience.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think there's a tendency for long-running series such as Rainbow Six to say "it plays like another one of those" and not really go down the criticism route about the game play. I, for one, liked the shooting in the R6 beta well enough, but wasn't a fan of the amount of content and the strength of the co-op versus AI (which they didn't touch on at all.) So I guess a discussion on pricing met half my demand, and I wish they'd talked about the co-op more. But then Ubi isn't really talking up the co-op either, so who can blame them for ignoring it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There's also the issue* (*not actually an issue with the site, but a comment on the reality of life) that their exposure to R6:S (btw them calling it Siege and AC: Syndicate just Syndicate is KILLING ME) is their exposure to the game is Jeff playing some, Austin playing in the closed and open betas and some after release, and Vinny and Alex watching a little over an hour of it during the quick look. So they spun their relative ignorance about the game itself and turned it into a focal point for a frankly welcome discussion about more broad industry issues of pricing models and game structures. I'd prefer they abstain from coming to judgement about something that they can't, and I feel like for the most part (especially GBEast) they are good about doing that while keeping discussion somewhat relevant.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think there's a tendency for long-running series such as Rainbow Six to say "it plays like another one of those" and not really go down the criticism route about the game play.

That approach is probably less fair for something like RB6 Siege, because it seems like quite a departure for the series. In fact, that's a series that has reinvented itself at least a couple of times, to varying degrees.

It made a tantalizing promise, but the problem with that kind of promise is that it requires a lot of the players as a group. It takes work to arrange a group of people to play a team multiplayer game competently, and it seems like most players just won't do that (myself included).

EDIT: I was about to make fun of Dan Ryckert for pronouncing "lousy" like "louse-y", but I looked it up and that is the actual origin of the word, so I guess he actually taught me something. Weird.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm so glad Jeff eventually said something about them referring to AC:Syndicate as just Syndicate. Every time someone would say "I want to play some more Syndicate", my brain would immediately go to "MAN, so would I, that game was so good and multiplayer is just so dead" before I realized they were talking about an Assassin's Creed game and not the Starbreeze Syndicate game from a few years ago.

Fuck, that game was so fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That Fiasco game was just the best. I was nearly in tears at the security gate part.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There are lots of things I like about Austin joining the GB East crew, but my favorite might be all the potential for awesome tabletop stuff that he brings. Fiasco was great. Now I just want him to run a Pathfinder game so Vinny can revive V-Bomb.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Did they do an Unplugged of Fiasco?!? WITH VINNY?!? I need to catch up on my GB...

It's Giant Beastcast 31.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

GOTY videos are great as always. I would genuinely subscribe to ASMR with AXNR. 

 

(also, Jeff is certainly doing a grocery haul video and it's going to be the best moment of the year)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Between that last Kerbal episode, which was exceptional, and the Fiasco cast, GBeast really brought it last week.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would genuinely subscribe to ASMR with AXNR. 

 

This was absolutely amazing.

 

I also love the Kerbal: Project B.E.A.S.T. series.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know how they end up voting but it is KILLING me that Brad just fucking refuses to play music from anything other than level 1 from Crypt of the Necrodancer trying to make his case. He didn't bring up the hot/cold swap on level 3, or that the bosses all have music gimmicks that give it so much more variety than just "Danny B Club". He should be fighting for it to win the category (because they didn't even nominate Nuclear Throne somehow) and it's on the verge of being dropped for motherfucking Metal Gear. He's telling instead of showing in the BEST MUSIC CATEGORY.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×