Down with the sarcasm

So I was over on American McGee’s blog, where the game developer is quite open about the mixed reviews Bad Day LA has been receiving. Of course, every review seems to spend more time slapping down McGee’s views on the US’s international relations and his decision to use cheap Chinese labour to make his games. So I’m still inclined to reserve my own opinion, and give the game, apparently a South Park style satire of America’s Fear Culture, a chance.



Anyway, on McGee’s blog, someone made the following comment about sarcasm-saturated website Something Awful, who have laid into the game. The comment really amused me because it sums up exactly how I feel about people who instantly resort to sarcasm when they feel the need to be critical. Sarcasm is endurable in small doses, but continually getting off on shredding someone’s work or opinions is just not cool. It doesn’t even classify as wit. It’s weakness.

Don’t worry, SomethingAwful is a place full of pretentious wanks whose sole purpose is to put down other’s work, knowing full well that the only thing they can achieve is mediocrity. It’s no place of dynamic entertainment, merely a cesspool of incessant elitism and third-rate humour.

Hear, hear!

Comments

RC said…
interesting...

i'm not into gaming myself, but i do believe we underestimate the messages presented in this medium.

just think how my life will never be the same after Super Mario taught me that going down some pipes is good, and going down others takes away certain opportunities, like getting a 1Up.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
Pfangirl said…
Gaming is hardly a medium known for its insightful messages. That's why it's noteworthy when one attempts to extend satirical commentary over its full 9+ hour length. I'm interested to see if they've pulled it off.

Thanks for the comment, RC. I've never looked at Mario Brotehrs like that. I remember running along the top of the screen to get to the seceret warp zone so that I could jump ahead to the final stages ;)
Anonymous said…
This comment is coming long after the fact, but Something Awful is a lot more than what that quote makes them out to be. I think of them as Mystery Science Theater 3000 of the internet: they don't hate everything or even hate what they're making fun of most of the time, but they try to make something good (humor) out of awful things. A large chunk of what they do isn't even directly making fun of anything in particular, which would be like the invention exchange segments of MST3K to carry on that analogy. I don't think of the guys on that show as elitists.

Also, the demo for that game was abysmal. It did so many things so poorly that it was rife with possibilities for jokes. That's sort of the point of the site, not to spread hatred or make the writer feel better, but to make visitors laugh at very stupid things.

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