But there is a flipside to all the fun. I can also contact people I don’t know at Guessing what the community wants all in an instant. I can find a forum, incorrectly sucks. That speculation by website or chat room dedicated to pretty Ahhh, The Community. It is the community can sometimes do more much any topic I’d want. I can and do simultaneously the reason for and the damage than good, i.e. overhype, talk to several people from many In Response to “Hurry Up and Blog bane of the existence of entertainment incorrect speculation being accepted as different countries everyday. People from Me” from The Escapist Forum: producers (no, not just games), media fact. And undoing erroneous speculation several dozen countries read this site Bloggers aren’t journalists. publishers and politicians the world over. or negative rumors is tough business. every month. All of a sudden the world is It is an odd grouping of people, a much smaller place. Bloggers are to journalism what your publishers, producers and politicians, but Knowing this, people have always had to grandmother is to medicine. That is, like the truth is, we do not exist without a pay attention to the community. But that And dealing with communities has your gramma, bloggers can provide community. We also get no rest with a alone is no longer enough. In the past, become an entirely different ball of wax. remedies to some typical problems you community; a community keeps us on our communities have been severely We now have people of all different might have. Gramma knows what to do our toes, calling us on our every slip-up, limited by geography. The farther away walks of life – religions, ages, native when you have a cold or a sore throat. purposeful or not, and wanting ever someone was from you, the harder it languages, socioeconomic status – Bloggers are good at telling us how more from us in the form of product, was to maintain a relationship – the mingling together on the forums of the many people are in line for a PS3 or why information and promises. travel time was longer, the post took internet. Creating a solid community that they think the latest Gears of War review longer, the phone calls were more feels comfortable for different cultures, is unfair. But bloggers, like I’m not complaining – it is what it is. In expensive. but similar interests is a difficult task. grandmothers, are not professionals at fact, the careful dance between This, layered on the careful dance what they do and lack the required community and the “owner” of said Enter: The internet. mentioned earlier, makes Community amount of training to do the job a community can be quite entertaining and one of the most challenging aspects of professional would do. Gramma can’t exciting. Trying to guess what the It hasn’t made travel take any less time, business today. And for this reason, treat you after you fall down the stairs or community wants, and guessing but it’s made ticket booking easier. Email we’ve chosen to focus on community in come down with pneumonia. Just like we correctly, is exhilarating. Watching the is a button away in many homes and at this week’s issue of The Escapist, “Block shouldn’t do away with doctors, we speculation of a community about some the workplace. With IM and message Party.” Enjoy! shouldn’t do away with trained journalists new Thing being released or revealed is boards, phone usage has declined, as just because a bunch of people have highly amusing, especially if you have have phone bills. I can contact nearly Cheers, started keeping online diaries. the inside info. anyone I know in an instant. - arrr_matey In response to “Game Journalists on criticizing is not that Gears of War, or journalism should challenge and educate Game Journalism” from The Escapist indeed any specific game, has these developers/publishers to make more Forum: I would really like to see some continuity errors, but that the game intelligent offerings... and grow the true criticism. Example: Gears of War, industry by and large considers it industry. best game ever and maybe it is. But, it’s acceptable for a game to have a plot got ridiculous things like guns with even more threadbare than the female I think The Escapist is doing a great job glowing parts that would give a soldier’s lead’s costume in a summer blockbuster. of this. location away, 4 inch thick body armor Why, in short, the no middle ground but nothing projecting the most between the fluffy and the cerebral is so I’d like to see a game review site solely important part of the soldier - his head, bare. Why the only times when the story written by critical minds, taking the robots that appear and disappear for no isn’t just used as a half-assed excuse for reason, missing scenes “we found the the gunfights (in such times when a resonator” (O RLY? when did that story would add any value to the game, happen), women that show up in a that is) is when it’s deliberately created combat zone without shielding, Cities for the purpose of telling that story. that look like Roman ruins and yet all the buildings are full of automated doors. - Bongo Bill I’m only picking on GoW because it’s the In response to “Game Journalists on most recent game but many games are Game Journalism” from The Escapist filled with story/setting BS like this and Forum: How can we expect meaningful yet “game journalists” rarely bring it up. criticism (appreciated by adults, that is) We don’t except these kinds of things in when the latest, greatest games are other media. They exist in other media tamed down and catering to kids? Will an and they are called out on it. Not in independent videogame company risk its games though. Why? livelihood on a game made strictly for a mature audience? - greggman When we talk about videogame In response to “Game Journalists on journalism being in its adolescent phase, Game Journalism” from The Escapist it’s also a reflection on the products the Forum: I think the thing we should be industry offers. However, I think game gaming industry to task. So, Escapist ... someone can just “qualify” for by X In response to “team Humidor on when are we going to see a game review amount of hours or money spent. It’s not Used Games” from The Escapist section to your portal? a definition but it’s a start. I like to Lounge: If book publishers can cope consider myself a gamer and my with used books market, why not game - Echolocating significant other would definitely agree publishers? I’m sure. Whether anyone else cares is In response to “Miss Video Game” irrelevant to me, but I know I love lots of - iod from The Escapist Lounge: It’s games for many reasons and I’m not perhaps a little terrifying that everyone going to join a contest to make myself chose to ignore the gender implications feel more like a gamer. of said contest, and what it says about gaming culture. - luminousshadow11 - Dr. Wiley In response to “team Humidor on Used Games” from The Escapist In response to “Miss Video Game” Lounge: The only people that really from The Escapist Lounge</a>: I benefit from used game sales are was never a big fan of pageant type retailers. Some would say that the things anyway, so this doesn’t endear consumer benefits too and to an extent me anymore. I’m a girl and I play video they do. They get to buy their games for games. Does that make me a gamer? I a few dollars less in the short term, but like to think so but I’m not going to in the long term the developers are debate with anyone about it. In addition shorted and we end up with less to considering myself a gamer, I am also innovative games and publishers a feminist and a contest like this one unwilling give new ideas a chance. makes me cringe. My mom always says “you get what you A pretty picture does not a gamer make, pay for.” obviously. I tend to think of gaming as more of a passion than something -Lex Darko I think all responsible should have their l yes it is, pirates take income from the heads cut off and sent to their mothers. creators; They are scum and should be accountable for the full worth of l no they don’t, the pirates wouldn’t anyone’s PC who is affected by their have bought the game; DRM BS. Anyone who thinks otherwise deserves death also. l without copy protection, the companies – “ME BIGGD01” commenting on Geek. would go broke and stop making com post “DRM causes big trouble games; again,” March 22, 2006 l copy protection punishes honest users Piracy, or filesharing, is computer and doesn’t stop pirates; gaming’s West Bank, a bitter cycle of struggle across generations. Even l blah blah, yammer yammer, mama choosing a term, “piracy” or “filesharing,” mama please make it stop! can revive the debate, which began on Usenet in the 1970s, then moved to Yet in this spastic litany, one topic has 1200-baud BBS FidoNet feeds – to finally united both sides: the widely used roundtables on Compuserve and GEnie – Windows copy protection software to Slashdot and Digg and a hundred StarForce.