Video Game Crunch Everything tastes better with a little crunch!

First blood has been drawn, and now I’m following up…with more blood…drawing…or
something. Something of great interest to my esteemed acquaintance, and myself is the current condition of forums on game sites. Fan sites, game news, and most other game affiliated websites have forums of one kind or another ranging in topics from game news and FAQs to commentary and unofficial reviews. My, or perhaps I should say, our issue with the bulk of these social melting pots is their inherent nature to become destructive, condescending, elitist, and at times just plain stupid. I will refrain from naming sites specifically; because I feel that they are not responsible for their sites members so much as the members are responsible for themselves. I will also not divulge screen names and tags because I am not looking to target specific people so much as their actions and/or words in the forums.

Take a moment, and minimize this page, and bring up a new Internet window. Search for your favorite (or if you don’t have a favorite, just find one on your favorite gaming site) forum or message board. Some of you may already be saying to yourselves “oh, I know where he’s going with this…” Search any topic you want, pick a post, the most controversial and the most insignificant will bear the ripest fruit. These are the social situations that turn people on one another. If you’re having trouble finding something search for the latest “hit” game that has been released or some MMORPG.
As you read post-to-post, topic-to-topic, you see what I have been talking about. People become overnight professionals in video game analysis (some psychiatry and business), puffing their pixilated chests out in type and emotes. When I first went to game boards (about 8-10 years ago), people were for the most part, helpful and understanding. This perverted virtual hierarchy of wannabes is distorting the community to both outsiders and those within it.

If you would like to delve further into this social analysis, check out Denis Dyack’s “social experiment”. For those of you who do not know, Denis Dyack is president of Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness, Legacy of Kain, Too Human), and an outspoken proponent of the gaming community at large. His “social experiment” was done at one of the most infamous sites for gaming (which I will refrain from naming, but you can find it easily), and sparked an interesting discussion across the gaming demographic.

I could go on this topic for a while, and I will. Every so often I’ll update the “state of the boards” with a blog or post, discussing anything and everything board-related. Because they are the perpetual voices of the community, there will always be near limitless discussion so feel free to discuss this topic on our boards. List your own situations and perspectives about the social state of gaming, but PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING SCREENNAMES AND SITE NAMES. I know we’d all like to call-out people and entities, but for the sake of chivalry we’ll refrain from doing so.
Thanks for giving me some of your time and attention. Check out Jake’s podcast(s) and keep gaming.