Extra Credits. ..watch it.

[x88x]

As I was wandering the internets a couple weeks ago, I stumbled across something wonderful. And so, I thought I would share it with anyone here who might want to check it out. I never do this...seriously, I never do this...so that should say a bit about it to begin with. ..anyways, point..

Extra Credits is an internet-web-video-series-thing on The Escapist. Yes, there are lots of web-video-series-things around, but this one is a bit special. First, instead of being a game critic talking about games that they have reviewed, it's done by three people in various roles in the industry talking about the various elements of video games, what makes them good, what makes them bad, and so on. What makes this series really special though, to me, is the way that they go about doing this.

The internet is awash with people who feel it is their duty in life to tear down the works of others, criticizing every little piece, and spitting out the remains...sometimes we call these people 'critics'. This is why it is so refreshing to see someone who is passionate about something...someone who truly believes in something and wants to share it with the world...who isn't a huge a** about it. Above all else, Extra Credits is about the video game as an art form: the good, the bad, and the ugly; the history, the present, and the future. Especially on the internet, it is so rare to find opinions and ideas presented without malice or spite, but simply with the desire to make the world a better place for all those involved. This is made even better by the fact that they actually have experience with the topics they discuss, so they can actually have intelligent, well-informed discussions on said topics. Overall it is a very well put together, very well thought out, intelligent, unassuming series that explores the deeper world of gaming, not as an idle pastime, but as a budding artform.

So. Extra Credits. Check them out. Maybe you agree with them, maybe not, but either way it's well worth the time to find out.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide.../extra-credits
Updates every Thursday.

[BuzzKillington]

They have some good videos but their videos on diversity annoyed me. Allow customizable characters and all is well. The game industry shouldn't have to pander to homosexuals and every religion/ethnicity just because that's the going trend these days. If I'm playing Black Ops 2 campaign a year down the road and it jumps to a clip of my character coming out of the closet that ****'s going in the trash, or at the very least, ebay.

[x88x]

The game industry shouldn't have to pander to homosexuals and every religion/ethnicity just because that's the going trend these days.

That's actually exactly what they were saying is one of the problems with the industry. The pandering, that is, not the lack of pandering. The point they were trying to make is that we shouldn't shy away from certain topics that might make a story better just because they don't fit with certain norms, just as we shouldn't add certain topics to a story just to break those norms.

In your example of Black Ops 2, personally, for me, it would depend on what the reason and context for it was. If it was actually well integrated into the story and actually developed the character and the story, then I say go for it. If it's just an otherwise normal story, and the character professing their sexuality has no bearing or affect on the game, then no, that's pointless pandering. Let's face it though; the FPS genre in general is not exactly known for its well developed stories and deep characters. I haven't played CoD: Black Ops, so I can't comment on that game in particular, but let's just say that given Treyarch's history I would be surprised if it were an exception.

[x88x]

Something else occurred to me just now. The pandering that you mention has become so prevalent in the gaming industry (as well as other industries) that whenever we see any game that has, say, a gay character, we automatically assume that they're a token character, there simply to meet a quota, appease some lobby group, or play off a popular issue/controversy. Sometimes we don't bother to look deeper to see if they are a character in their own right. I know I'm guilty of this. There was a test that they mentioned in, I think, the 'Diversity' intro video. It was developed by some film critic many years ago, and was intended to determine if a story contained any strong female characters (strong in the sense that they were well defined and developed). It asked three questions, something along the lines of:
1) Is there more than one female character?
2) Do they ever talk to each other?
3) About something other than men?

Along a similar line, for the lgbt game character, I think an analogous test could be contrived to give a basic starting point for a valid character, asking something along the lines of:
1) Does the character's sexuality affect more of the game than the scene where it is defined?
2) For good or bad, does it develop the character's personality?
3) Does it affect the character's interactions with other characters and/or the player?

Just thinking out loud (well, in a manner of speech ).

[Munty]

This is a good find 88, thanks! Been watching a few of these while working my way through tedious detailing and it's kept me partway sane. Can't comment on the Diversity one as I didn't listen to it but I agree with all the poibnts made here about it regardless.