Comments of the Week - 20th January 2012
Welcome back to another edition of Comments of the Week that, as the title suggests gathers up all the best comments from the Gaming Union network sites and forums from the last week... Oh wait, we really need to change the title of this thing don't we? Anyway, I present you this time around with a nice selection of funnies and smarts. So you can laugh and be a little bit more educated. Don't say that your Community Manager isn't always looking out for your well-being.
Now what is gaming without the staple boss fight. Some games don't have them at all, while some infuriate you to the point of rage quit. Community members had a discussion on the forums about whether they thought boss fights were actually necessary in games and Zero had this gem of wisdom to share:
"I find boss fights to be rather important to a structure of a game, be it a good fight or not. Boss fights are, in a way, a means of dividing the story so you could kinda transition into one chapter, or close out another. "
Don't let Bowser hear you say that, he might start to think he's a more important character than Mario.
Meanwhile, in another discussion, people were talking about how they deal with terrible games (maybe they got stuck on a boss?). While most said that they just struggle through them or simply never play them, Kioran had a much more "anger management" orientated solution:
"I think it would be really funny to run some of the games I've encountered over my life-time that I didn't like with a lawnmower. Usually I just trade games though. "
I remember in old copies of the Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, they used to do such things! They should really bring that back...
Of course, there are always odder things going on in the world of gaming than taking gardening tools to software. For example, a fully-functioning 12 foot long NES controller has been constructed by a fan. While many thought this a tad strange, 1sky1destiny saw opportunity:
"Dear GU, My birthday is coming up in approximately five months. Will you get this for me? And then carry it up to my fourth story apartment? And then stick around so we can play some good ol' Mario Bros. together? Sincerely, 1sky1destiny "
Okay, we'll just strap it to Darryl's back and by the time he's carried that weight so far, five months will have passed. Perfect timing!
To take a more serious tone, SOPA and PIPA have been topics that have been on the mind of everyone who has any level of involvement with an online community this past week. Of course this will affect video games as well, so it's only natural that groups such as League of Gamers would spring up to protect our rights. Of course there is an issue when a movement has been created to boycott this year's E3 due to the organisers apparent support of the bill. Kiwiified has a very logic based and reasoning response:
"Although i definitely support their cause, (what gamer wouldn't), I think that boycotting E3 could do more harm than good in regards to their professional image. I'm pretty sure that there are less dramatic yet still effective ways to have their anti sopa message heard, which won't harm any reputations. "
If you want to read more about SOPA or PIPA and what it could mean for you or the video game industry, take a look at the range of info which Reddit has collected on the subject.
Hope you all learnt something... Even if that's just how to laugh. If you fancy finding yourself in the next copy of Comments of the Week make sure to put all your thoughts and fancies in the comments to news and articles or join in with discussions from the forums, as we always choose a selection from both. See you next time!
