EPISODE 77: "I'm Not A Gamer"

Now up on ScrewAttack, with a special message about The Future after the credits. FYI, I am aware of visual glitching during the scene with RetroThinker - not sure where that came from, also not 100% sure how/when it can be corrected as things are ever so slightly busy here as you'll soon understand:



Yup, this is happening. Hit the jump to learn more...

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD!

Okay, I just want to get one thing out of the way nice and clear RIGHT NOW: This has nothing to do with ratings, this has nothing to do with "bad blood" with employers, and this especially has nothing to do with fan complaints (or fan encouragement, really.) This was an in-house decision that has been, frankly, a long time in coming and made with the full enthusiasm and support of ScrewAttack.

Here's the long and short of it: The Game OverThinker, as it stands now, is the show I want it to be (conceptually, if not always in execution) and the show I think is a solid model for success long-term. However, being that it's a longform series (even without the sketches) it's just not BEST suited, in my opinion, for hosting on a site like the new/improved ScrewAttack which organizes it's new content in newfeed format - it strikes me that one could be watching THIS show on a busy day, and by the time their done some other stories or shows that might've also interested them might've already cycled by; and on the flip side I didn't necessarily love the idea that an episode I was putting weeks of work into might cycle by within less than a day on it's own. Finally, I had grown tired of not being able to do as many "topical" episodes because production took so long (again, because the episodes are set up to be so long, not because of the live-action material which is typically made in-advance) that news became old by the time I could go at it. So... I had to shake things up.

Incidentally, I came to this conclusion entirely on my own - no one from ScrewAttack has EVER tried to alter, censor or demand a change to the running of this series... which is precisely why I so desperately wanted to keep doing work for them even as it became clear that the "New" Game OverThinker just wasn't a good fit right now. I brought my concerns to ScrewAttack, along with a rough solution I'd worked out, and they agreed to it wholeheartedly.

So, here's where we are moving forward, in list form:

1.) The Game OverThinker's "slot" at ScrewAttack (and within the Advantage program) will be filled by a "spinoff" series that I'm hoping to call "TGO: OVERBYTES." This will be a shorter, more up-tempo show focuses exclusively on game culture commentary and, when possible, topical news. It will update more frequently than the "original" series but be very much of the same tone and tenor. I'm very excited about this, and so is the site.

2.) The original series will continue as it has save for one main change: The onscreen title will change from "The New Game OverThinker" to "The Adventures of The Game OverThinker." There will also be a more "consistent" theme to the subject-matter of the central commentary/"lecture" material - whereas "OverBytes" will be a show about topical/newsworthy subjects and "y'know what I think?"/"did you ever wonder?" thought pieces; the longer show will be about "evergreen" Big Issue topics: Industry politics, sexism, bigotry, existential questions, that sort of thing. Basically, "OverBytes" is where you'll get stuff like "why hasn't there been a new 'Bonk' game?," while "TGO" is where you'll get "We really need to talk about XBL harassment" plus the further adventures of our cast of similar-looking superpowered doofuses.

3.) Right now, it's looking pretty good that Blip will wind up being the new home of "TGO" at least in terms of hosting. The details of whether or not this or that show can or will be cross-posted aside the other will require some hammering out, but they will BOTH continue to be embeded, posted and promoted on this blog. So if you haven't made this your "regular" first-stop in checking for news about this show now is the time to start.

4.) Obviously, all of this is still very much in motion and fluid, so some or all details could change. Trying to work out a "branding" that covers multiple series hosted in multiple places means juggling not only my own concerns but the concerns of related parties, and sometimes this or that thing has to "give." As ever, I just want to 1.) make good content and 2.) make money doing it - I don't involve myself in intra-website, intra-company, "this site rules!," "this site sucks!" bullshit unless someone comes at ME or I see something truly, heinously unfair happening.

5.) That said, I have no issue with PRAISING websites and webmasters who do good, and I need to once more reinforce what absolute CHAMPS and good eggs ScrewAttack has been about this: They've backed the show from the start, encouraged and supported it's continuing evolution, and they're being INCREDIBLY gracious and helpful with this new transition. I honestly thought this would be a VERY tricky, difficult back-and-forth process... and instead it's been some of the smoothest "business" I've conducted on the web thus far. So, hat's off to those guys.

As ever, stay tuned to THIS blog for further updates.

Stay Tuned

So... not to be too much of a Teasy McTeaserton, but big announcements about the future of The Game OverThinker are coming in the near future. I'm excited about them, I hope you will be too. Stay tuned to this blog and my Twitter for more details as I get them.

My new favorite website (and why it's bad for my wallet)

Like most people, I have a host of websites I'll check periodically throughout the day. Most are geek related, but none have ever posed such a serious threat to my expendable income like a website a friend turned me to a few months ago.

That website is called Bartertown, and it's amazing for anyone who likes wargames and saving money.

The idea behind Bartertown is simple - it's a specialized forum that acts as a trading post for wargaming. The site makes it easy to browse through your favorite games like Warhammer 40k or Warmachine/Hordes, or you can visit the less-populated areas like board games and comic books.

What makes the site so genius is how easy it is to find things you want. Do you have a Sisters of Battle army that you don't play, but you're interested in getting started with Orks? Just make an account, post what you have and what you're looking for, and wait for the offers to start coming in! 

Ok, if I could say that seriously I'd have to be running a get rich quick scheme, but there are times when that does happen. Usually though, the process looks more like this:

• Post your good for what you think they're worth (most people seem to start at 70% MSRP)
• Watch as your post slowly gets pushed to page 2 while you're helpless to stop it
• After waiting the mandatory 7 days, you put the list back up and reduce your prices slightly, because surely someone will buy it at 65% - what a steal!
• Get an offer or two that sit at around 50% MSRP
• Send a counter offer that usually gets accepted

And that's really the basic process I've gone through. The greatest part about the website, however, is when you just want to trade one army for another. This has been great for me since I receive armies in trade for painting services, and I have no real desire to play them. Through that, I have received a substantial Ork army, and the only expense to me has been to occasionally pay my own shipping.

The great thing about wargaming is that there are so many armies to try. Whether you like the fluff, looks, or mechanics of any army, sometimes it's hard to play the same thing over and over... 

So when you buy that expensive Space Wolves army, that no longer means you've purchased a single army that you're stuck with. With Bartertown, what you really have is almost any army you want, for any game system you want. If you're satisfied with only having one army, the only expense you'll really have is the cost of shipping. When your local gaming group suddenly decides they all want to drop Malifaux and play Warmachine, you no longer have to hawk grandma's dentures to buy a starter army. Throw it up on Bartertown, tell them what you want, and there's a good chance you'll have a brand spanking new army in less than 2 weeks.

Of course, Bartertown has its downsides. Although there is a fantastic system in place to prevent being cheated, sometimes you just get "those guys" who are out to rip someone off. Without any real binding contract, the only way to get your goods back is to involve the police (who may look at you funny for accusing someone of stealing your army men).

Another personal frustration is how difficult it can be to browse for exact armies you want. Being a forum at its core, Bartertown isn't designed for accurate search results. You can use the search function, but I've actually missed posts because of wording or spelling differences. There's also CTRL+F, but that searches any text on the page (including user names), and it's not a simple process to view one item, then go back and pick up your search where you left off. 

Finally, it's hard to be a new guy in anything involving the exchange of money or goods. The rating system exists to let you know who's a good trader, and who to avoid. However, there's that annoying grey area for anyone with a rating below 20; it's hard to know whether someone is a good trader who's just beginning, or someone out to scam you. I was fortunate to have some very patient traders for my first few experiences, but there are those who will treat you with a passive hostility because they don't trust you. As with all transactions, strong communication goes a long way, and most of my transactions end with people thanking me for my communication.

Overall though, I can't recommend Bartertown enough. It's a great way to either trade models you don't want, or to get an army at about 50% off what you'd pay in a store. I've used it to sell off some redundant models, sell an army for a friend, and to trade for over 200 Ork models for my own collection. I'd like to end with a few tips I've learned to get you through your first few transactions.

• Read the rules! Pay special attention to what you can and can't do if you aren't an advertiser - advertisers keep the site running, so you don't want to step on their toes.
• Look at other posts to get an idea of how to structure your own. Think about who is paying shipping, whether the lower rating ships goods first (which is standard) or if you'll require a minimum rating before you'll ship first (I often require a 100 rating)
• Take pictures if you're selling painted models. At the very least, be as descriptive as possible if you have a model that isn't bare plastic/metal with a standard pose. 
• Be realistic about what you're offering. If you have out-of-production models with bent pieces, don't expect a 1:1 trade. People are always willing to barter, but you'll usually be the one to get the slightly shorter end of the stick.
• Once you've found someone to do business with, communicate! Nothing is more frustrating than trying to do business with someone and having them respond once every few days.
• Figure out the cheapest shipping possible. Sometimes a flat rate or regional box is a good option, but oftentimes the cheapest option is a standard box with the models packed carefully inside. Trust me, putting "fragile" on the box is no guarantee!
• When shipping internationally, make sure you find out how to prevent them from paying unexpected fees. When shipping to Canada, for example, your recipient will often have to pay taxes on any goods valued over a certain dollar amount. It's often up to the recipient to understand their laws, but make sure you've at least asked them before you ship to them - it's possible they haven't even considered that they may get hit with a surprise $30 fee because you didn't fill out the customs form properly!

"I'm Not A Gamer"

Okay, so... apparently this caused a big shitstorm two weeks ago when it first happened, so call me "late" if you like but... here we are.

So! Nintendo's new ad campaign for the 3DS is based around having celebrities tell you what they use the device for, capped off by the tagline "I'm not a gamer, I'm a ______." The first (so far) is Diana Agron using an art app ("I'm not a gamer, I'm an artist;") but the second has Gabrielle Douglas playing NSMB2: "I'm not a gamer, I'm a coin-collecting champ."

There's no implicit "but" there - the idea behind the campaign isn't "I'm not a gamer but even I like this game!;" but rather "I'm not a gamer" as an affirmative statement in and of itself: "I'm not a gamer" translating to "playing this doesn't MAKE me a gamer," which in turn is reassuring prospective consumers that "playing this won't make YOU a gamer, either."

Eyebrow-raising, to be sure. But thinking on it, I like this campaign and think that it's necessary.... I just HATE that it's necessary.



The thing is, gamers have pretty-much allowed "gamer" to become a set of images in the popular culture - the rage-fueled hateful XBox Live brat, the trolling shut-in sleaze - that pretty much no one not already in "the culture" would want to be associated with; so it makes sense that someone was going to mount a campaign aimed at broader audiences based around telling them that they are "allowed" to enjoy their products without fear of being tainted with that label. I hate that it's come to this, but I can't deny that it's probably a worthwhile move.



After all, when Nintendo's pitch for the original DS and then The Wii started off by inviting "non-traditional" gamers into the fold, "gamer culture" threw a giant reactionary crying fit trying to draw a clear distinction between "REAL gamers" and the pretenders who weren't interested in AAA multiplayer action titles, or didn't grow up with an NES controller glued to their hands, or whatever the "qualifications" for being "real" were that week. So it's both fitting and entirely appropriate that they be the ones to finally be explicit about this.

EPISODE 76: "Ask Ivan"

As a result of working out some bugs with the video, "Ask Ivan" is now live! Really, really proud of how this one came out (I think its the best mailbag to date, honestly) and I hope you'll check it out RIGHT HERE. (There's no embedding option for this blog just yet, working on that..)

And for those wondering, yes - that big action sequence at the end is the "nightmare" editing project that had been giving me so much trouble. So, just for my own edification... it'd be super-awesome if even people who don't "care" about the sketch-segments at least gave it a watch ;)

WATCH IT ON SCREWATTACK NOW!

EPISODE 76 ANNOUNCEMEN (UPDATE!)

UPDATE II: The issue with the earlier upload seems to have been resolved, and the episode is now viewable for ALL AUDIENCES at this new link: http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-76-ask-ivan-0 (full embed post soon.) Apologies for the issues.

UPDATE: I am aware that there is some kind of issue with the video which is causing it to display as "locked" even for Advantage users. While I have no direct control over that myself, the people who do have been made aware of it and I am informed that it's being worked on.

ORIGINAL POST: "Game OverThinker - Episode 76: Ask Ivan" will debut for all audiences on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:00pm CST. As ever, ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look right here right now.

Coolest Thing of The Week

Courtesy the Ohio State University Marching Band, the coolest video-game related thing you will see this week (also, ridiculously impressive technical achievement even if you, like me, don't know shit about how a Marching Band works...)

"Retro City Rampage" Looks Pretty Sweet

I admit, upfront, that I am a "mark" for so-called "retro-style" games. Yes, it's comfort in the familiar - this is gaming as I knew it when I loved it best and so forth - but it's also just a stylistic thing: I'm a fan of "handicapped art - i.e. art made under some kind of imposed technical restrictions - and as such I'm fascinated to see the way talented digital artists use the restricted medium of pixels to create visuals or the limited sound-range of "chiptunes" to create musical compositions.

But I'm also willing to admit that the "retro" aesthetic has also become an easy way for lackluster games to pitch themselves as a quick nostalgia fix or, more commonly, a medium awash in overly reference-heavy games that "work" as nostalgia-fixes but don't hold up as games in their own right. "Retro City Rampage," on the other hand, looks to be doing the genre right - mixing up the usual set of go-to visual cues with a solid gameplay hook (pre-III "Grand Theft Auto" with a gonzo aesthetic and an NES gloss) that looks like a lot of real fun even for folks who don't immediately get a laugh out of a Bionic Commando gag:

And This Week's Overblown Gamer Freakout Will Be...

After recieving complaints from "Call of Duty" players of Islamic backgrounds that they were offended by a bit of background decoration in the "Favelas" multiplayer map in "Modern Warfare 2" (the offending detail: A piece of wall art including the word "Allah" was hung above a toilet stall;) Activision and Infinity Ward temporarily removed the map from availability last night (presumably the offending image will be patched out of existance.)

Hoo-boy.

After the jump, sarcasm:

There's a lot of interesting levels to be discussed here: Artistic boundaries, levels of offense, cultural sensitivities, freedom of expression, etc. And it'll be nice to HAVE those discussions - mature, dignified and reasonable versions of which I can assume will begin almost immediately! I mean, what else could happen, right?

Man, sure is a good thing this didn't happen with a game whose audience and "community" are already demonstrably predisposed to furious, paranoid hatred for minorities and/or other cultures... OR a game that doesn't already have a strong to the point of virulent strain of xenophobia in general and Islamophobia in particular running through it. I mean, can you IMAGINE what the reaction to THAT would look like?

Boy howdy, I sure am glad that this will all be self-contained in the restrained, thoughtful forum of ideas that is online gaming culture; and that I WON'T have to sit through days upon days of self-righteous twits raging through incomprehensible talking points about "P.C. FASCISM!!!," "REVERSE RACISM!!!," "FREE-SPEECH!!!," "CENSORSHIP!!!," "SHARIA LAW!!!," "DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!" or any other such nonsense.

...I mean, wouldn't that just be awful?

Mantic's Recent Kickstarter

A huge congratulations to Mantic and their recent success on Kickstarter! For those who don't know Mantic, they're basically a group who broke off from Games Workshop and started creating models that could sort of pass for 40k and WHFB models if you squinted really hard (go ahead, ask me about my opinion of painting their Orx).

But it looks like they've finally struck out and given themselves a separate identity. They recently ran a Kickstarter project to fund their new game DreadBall - The Futuristic Sports Game. So how well did they do? Check it out.


                                 
                                                                   -jaw drop-
For those who can't quickly do such simple math in their head, that's nearly 3645% of their original goal!

What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is the most popular "crowd-source" funding website around. Creative geniuses of all sorts submit projects every day in the hopes of people from around the world giving money to help them fund a certain project. The projects I always keep an eye on are gaming related (surprise!), but I've seen things from funding a film, art project, and even a little boy's origami business.

However, this is 2012. We don't just give out money to people with an empty wallet and a head full of ideas, right? Therein lies the genius of Kickstarter. Take a look at any Kickstarter page; on the right side, you'll see several donation levels that usually start in the $5-10 range. Based on how much you donate, the Kickstarter owner will give you various goods at the successful conclusion of the project.

With Dreadball, for example, donation levels ranged from a digital copy of the rules, to getting a full copy of the game, and ending with having yourself cast as a MVP model in a future release (along with a TON of other goodies) for $5,000.

Mantic's success is a success for all gamers
Don't get me wrong, a 3,600% funding isn't a testament to how generous gamers are. Alot of Kickstarter projects appeal to our greedy sides - we gets good stuff for our money, often at a discount off of the likely MSRP of the goods.

But as I sat there toward the end, refreshing the Kickstarter page every few hours, I couldn't help but feel a little exhilarated. Here's a company with a game they want to make, but limited means to do it. So they reach out to us, showing us their dream and asking us to believe in it with them. And all they wanted was enough money to release the core game!

But then these gamers along and say "Oh you want $20,000? Too bad, this game looks so amazing that we want more than just the core game!"

That's what I love about Kickstarter. How I'd love to be in the Mantic office as they watch their initial goal get blown away, and then see it end with a success that they never imagined! Kickstarter is such a great way to watch people's dreams come true. And if you're a part of it, you get to share in their success. It always makes me smile when I see someone get funding for something they'd otherwise have difficulty funding, and celebrating their backers by letting them share in the project they made a reality.

So hats off to Mantic for stepping out of GW's shadow and creating what looks to be an amazing game!

LAST CALL FOR "ASK IVAN!"

ANNOUNCEMENT! As of Midnight this Wednesday (October 3rd) I'll no longer be taking questions for next episode's big "Ask Ivan!" event. If you still haven't asked yours, ask it here or ask it on ScrewAttack. Remember to leave a name or a handle, no anonymous queries will be answered.

The actual airdate(s) of the episode itself will follow, stay tuned for further details.