FARK.com: (7476687) You're a small downloadable game with an African-American anti-hero that's made by a team of just under 40 people. Do you: c) Beat out franchises like Assassin's Creed III for Game of the Year at the industry's only televised award show?

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		You're a small downloadable game with an African-American anti-hero that's made by a team of just under 40 people. Do you: c) Beat out franchises like Assassin's Creed III for Game of the Year at the industry's only televised award show? (spike.com)		115
		More: Interesting, African-Americans, Mass Effect 3, Walking Dead

• • •

12440 clicks; posted to Geek » on 09 Dec 2012 at 11:39 AM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/7476687

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

115 Comments (+0 »)

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Archived thread

First | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | » | Last | Show all

sleeper2995		2012-12-09 07:05:40 AM

Good to see Borderlands 2 take home a lot of awards but I was a little sad to not see Tiny Tina nominated for a best female character. Shiat! I care more about these awards than any other awards show.

hubiestubert		2012-12-09 08:58:13 AM

In fairness, the Walking Dead game had better characters and plot than the TV series too...

itsdan		2012-12-09 09:11:18 AM

hubiestubert: In fairness, the Walking Dead game had better characters and plot than the TV series too...

Plus it's educational. Radios take batteries, and batteries go inside the radio. Who knew?

DanZero		2012-12-09 09:13:55 AM

That's too long of an answer for the c) meme subby

thamike		2012-12-09 09:21:38 AM

But is it a good game?

Mentat		2012-12-09 10:02:01 AM

Serious Clementine, stop staring at me while I try to murder a member of the group that you think deserves a second chance.

Theaetetus		2012-12-09 10:33:49 AM

You're a small downloadable game with an African-American anti-hero that's made by a team of just under 40 people.

I don't think you can really count this one as an indie game, Subs, since it's based on a tv show with a budget of several million.

itsdan		2012-12-09 10:42:45 AM

Theaetetus: I don't think you can really count this one as an indie game, Subs, since it's based on a tv show with a budget of several million.

It's based on the comic books. But yeah it's still riding the success of the show. It's still a tiny project compared to the others in the list though.

Incorrigible Astronaut		2012-12-09 11:49:25 AM

DanZero: That's too long of an answer for the c) meme subby

Yeah... I wrote it at 4:30 a.m. while halfway drunk. Not my finest moment, but hey, greenlight.

Theaetetus: You're a small downloadable game with an African-American anti-hero that's made by a team of just under 40 people.

I don't think you can really count this one as an indie game, Subs, since it's based on a tv show with a budget of several million.

I deliberately left out "indie" because Telltale is far from it. I don't think it diminishes the team's accomplishment, though. When was the last time we had a genuinely good point and click game on consoles*, let alone one that had you as emotionally invested as TWD did?

*Yes, I know that it's on PC too.

Apik0r0s		2012-12-09 11:52:13 AM

This is my son's favorite game. But he doesn't play it, neither do his friends. They watch Yogscast videos of other people playing the game and are just happy as clams with that. I even offered to get it for him - "Wouldn't you rather play it than watching somebody else play?" Nope.

They do this with a lot of games, watch the Let's Play videos and not play the games.

Quigs		2012-12-09 11:54:12 AM

Halo won best graphics? Yeah. I can go on ignoring the rest of these awards if that's the bullshiat fanboyism that makes their decisions.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 11:54:51 AM

TWD Confessions.

The game was way better than the series, and honestly, better than the comics, too. I got invested in it like I never got invested in the other stuff.

And it's amazing, because there really isn't much game there. There's just enough game that you can call it one, but barely. It's point-and-click with the odd QTE, but there's just enough to it that it feels very immersive. Probably the single best design decision was making most of the dialogue options require quick responses.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 11:56:03 AM

chumboobler		2012-12-09 11:56:17 AM

I am currently on Episode 4 of TWD Game. I have not been this emotionally invested in a game since, well, ever. The game play is simplistic but the story you get to navigate through is just fantastic. Moral choices that have an effect on the future events in the game remind me of the choose your own adventure books of my youth.

Incorrigible Astronaut		2012-12-09 11:57:56 AM

sleeper2995: Good to see Borderlands 2 take home a lot of awards but I was a little sad to not see Tiny Tina nominated for a best female character. Shiat! I care more about these awards than any other awards show.

I was a little late to the party with that one (grabbed it on Black Friday for $35), but I completely agree. For as little as she's in the story, she makes one hell of an impact, especially when you get the ECHO devices that flesh out her backstory.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 11:58:32 AM

Also, for the L4D fans out there, Lee is a mod for both L4D games.

LesserEvil		2012-12-09 11:59:48 AM

Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

wippit		2012-12-09 12:09:01 PM

LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

www.protovision-online.com

But the bird guy starts with bonus resources!

/the fact that I remember that...

chumboobler		2012-12-09 12:10:50 PM

wippit: LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

[www.protovision-online.com image 302x200]

But the bird guy starts with bonus resources!

/the fact that I remember that...

"Flappers" were the best.

Foxxinnia		2012-12-09 12:13:32 PM

Wait some people take the Spike video game awards seriously?

Are those people complete dullards?

Barricaded Gunman		2012-12-09 12:17:45 PM

thamike: But is it a good game?

Good question. Because after pre-ordering it, looking forward to it for months, and then playing 15 or so hours of Assassin's Creed 3, I can tell you that I won't be purchasing any more AC games either A) featuring Connor, or B) taking place during the colonial revolution. I can't imagine bothering to finish this mess. Deathly goddamn dull, all the way. Every other game in the series was superior to this overhyped grindfest. How in the world does anyone think that spending hours hunting bears and rabbits so you can take their pelts to a trading post to trade for items you need is a good time? It's like the whole "eating and working out" idea from GTA: San Andreas... a bad idea, poorly realized. Do game developers learn nothing from each others' mistakes?

whizbangthedirtfarmer		2012-12-09 12:18:04 PM

chumboobler: I am currently on Episode 4 of TWD Game. I have not been this emotionally invested in a game since, well, ever. The game play is simplistic but the story you get to navigate through is just fantastic. Moral choices that have an effect on the future events in the game remind me of the choose your own adventure books of my youth.

Having played the whole game, the moral choices ... don't really matter. TellTale Games has done a good job of marketing things that way, but you'll still have the same number of characters, and you'll still have the same issue at the end, regardless of what you do. The "choices," such as they are, were based on the statistical feedback of the first two games.

meathome		2012-12-09 12:19:02 PM

And yet, Dave Fennoy didn't get best male VO.

/great game, but I think he should have won the award... one of the best game VOs I've heard in a while.

Memes Ate My Balls		2012-12-09 12:20:41 PM

Really one of the few games I've played where I gave an actual damn about the characters.

thamike		2012-12-09 12:21:40 PM

Barricaded Gunman: thamike: But is it a good game?

Good question. Because after pre-ordering it, looking forward to it for months, and then playing 15 or so hours of Assassin's Creed 3, I can tell you that I won't be purchasing any more AC games either A) featuring Connor, or B) taking place during the colonial revolution. I can't imagine bothering to finish this mess. Deathly goddamn dull, all the way. Every other game in the series was superior to this overhyped grindfest. How in the world does anyone think that spending hours hunting bears and rabbits so you can take their pelts to a trading post to trade for items you need is a good time? It's like the whole "eating and working out" idea from GTA: San Andreas... a bad idea, poorly realized. Do game developers learn nothing from each others' mistakes?

I was asking about the Walking Dead game, but it's good to know about AC3 before buying it, too, so thanks.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 12:28:52 PM

thamike: I was asking about the Walking Dead game

I would say that it is a good experience, but it's not what you might normally expect from a "game". It requires no skill, aside from some quick decision-making, and it doesn't really pose much by way of "challenge"- there are very few cases where you really have any chance of dying or failing in any way.

But it's not one of those "you might as well be watching a movie" games, either, where you're really just solving brief challenges between cut-scenes. The game presents you with a series of choices and puzzles, and how you respond to them matters, or at least the game gives you the sense that it matters. It captures the bleak sense of living at the end of humanity, and the cold awareness that when you die, you will turn into a shambling monster that will kill your friends and loved ones.

kingfismit		2012-12-09 12:29:21 PM

I have to say that for me, game of the year has been Dragon's Dogma. I have never played a game that much. I got it a few months after release and have put over 500 hours of gameplay into it. I can't stop playing it. It's so much fun. I love editing your character at almost anytime (in new game +) and I love that fact that you can change classes at anytime. This was the first rpg that I have loved that the gameplay and combat is what won me over. The story is cool but not important at all. I know it's on no one's game of the year lists, but it really should be.

jack21221		2012-12-09 12:34:50 PM

whizbangthedirtfarmer: Having played the whole game, the moral choices ... don't really matter.

They matter as much or more than the choices made in the Mass Effect games.

Sure, you get the same ending, but the story on the way to that ending is different.

Carth		2012-12-09 12:38:14 PM

So did Assassin creed get shutout? i've been rooting against Ubi refused to release a proper sequel to XIII

Incorrigible Astronaut		2012-12-09 12:40:50 PM

whizbangthedirtfarmer: chumboobler: I am currently on Episode 4 of TWD Game. I have not been this emotionally invested in a game since, well, ever. The game play is simplistic but the story you get to navigate through is just fantastic. Moral choices that have an effect on the future events in the game remind me of the choose your own adventure books of my youth.

Having played the whole game, the moral choices ... don't really matter. TellTale Games has done a good job of marketing things that way, but you'll still have the same number of characters, and you'll still have the same issue at the end, regardless of what you do. The "choices," such as they are, were based on the statistical feedback of the first two games.

This is probably my one legitimate gripe about the game. After the initial shock of the ending/last episode wears off, you realize that any major choices that you made affect a few lines of dialogue for one or two episodes at most, that a cop-out or two happens to make people the most moral and immoral people arrive at roughly the same spot. That said, I can understand budget constraints and whatnot forcing them to give you the illusion of changing the game in order to make you question how you'd react to these situations in the moment.

Inigo		2012-12-09 12:42:11 PM

It's not so much a game as it is "EVERYTHING YOU DO IS WRONG: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book"

Sgt Otter		2012-12-09 12:43:49 PM

LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

Especially since Assassin's Creed III had a non-white protagonist, so I'm not sure what point subby was trying to make with that comparison.

whizbangthedirtfarmer		2012-12-09 12:46:57 PM

Incorrigible Astronaut		2012-12-09 12:47:40 PM

jack21221: whizbangthedirtfarmer: Having played the whole game, the moral choices ... don't really matter.

They matter as much or more than the choices made in the Mass Effect games.

Sure, you get the same ending, but the story on the way to that ending is different.

Yeah, that's a better way to put it. At first, I played each episode normally (trying to make the morally right choice as much as possible), then I'd go back and be as much of an asshole as I could to everybody just to see how different it was. Thing is, by the end of the third episode I stopped doing my douchebag playthrough, because I didn't want to see Lee badmouth a little girl or blow off a guy that saved his life. That's the first time that I can remember a game having that kind of effect on me.

NeoCortex42		2012-12-09 12:56:07 PM

itsdan: Plus it's educational. Radios take batteries, and batteries go inside the radio. Who knew?

But they have to go in the right way. That's important.

Quigs: Halo won best graphics? Yeah. I can go on ignoring the rest of these awards if that's the bullshiat fanboyism that makes their decisions.

It had good graphics, but best? Hell no. And I'm a pretty big fan of the games.
/Still annoyed the covenant no longer speak English like the first game.

LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

Well, it does make it more progressive than the TV series, which has a "one black guy" rule and barely even gives those guys any character at all.

yelmrog		2012-12-09 12:58:36 PM

sleeper2995: Good to see Borderlands 2 take home a lot of awards but I was a little sad to not see Tiny Tina nominated for a best female character. Shiat! I care more about these awards than any other awards show.

I have a love-hate relationship with the game.

On one hand, it's more challenging than the original and lots and lots of fun.

On the other hand, my character got bricked two months into playing. Damn thing reset my badass rankings but didn't reset my badass challenges, so all my bonuses disappeared with no way to get them back. Also, Gearbox hasn't even told anyone what the problem is or if they intend to fix it.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 01:00:03 PM

jack21221: Sure, you get the same ending, but the story on the way to that ending is different.

Incorrigible Astronaut: I didn't want to see Lee badmouth a little girl or blow off a guy that saved his life. That's the first time that I can remember a game having that kind of effect on me.

That's the thing: your choices did matter. The writers and actors created characters that you became invested in, and you cared about how your choices impacted them. It's the epitome of a character-driven story. The plot is on rails- nothing you do really impacts the broader world around you (much like how things really would be in the zombie apocalypse). Your fate is largely out of your hands, and factors completely out of your control are going to wrench things around.

Ben is going to die, but are you the person who dropped him, or are you the person who saved him?

Crudbucket		2012-12-09 01:03:36 PM

Barricaded Gunman: thamike: But is it a good game?

Good question. Because after pre-ordering it, looking forward to it for months, and then playing 15 or so hours of Assassin's Creed 3, I can tell you that I won't be purchasing any more AC games either A) featuring Connor, or B) taking place during the colonial revolution. I can't imagine bothering to finish this mess. Deathly goddamn dull, all the way. Every other game in the series was superior to this overhyped grindfest. How in the world does anyone think that spending hours hunting bears and rabbits so you can take their pelts to a trading post to trade for items you need is a good time? It's like the whole "eating and working out" idea from GTA: San Andreas... a bad idea, poorly realized. Do game developers learn nothing from each others' mistakes?

You should have stuck it out. I just beat the game last night, and nothing beats the thrill and excitement of walking from one cut-scene to the next for the last hour of "gameplay" leading up to a nonsensical and retardiculous ending.

jack21221		2012-12-09 01:05:38 PM

whizbangthedirtfarmer: I liked The Walking Dead, but let's not pretend that your choices affect anything other than a dialogue tree and who is in your party. Otherwise, Lee's fate (and Clementine's) remains the same.

I strongly disagree. Let me give you just one example. Imagine how different Lord of the Rings would have been if Sam and Frodo never had their falling out on the way to Mt. Doom. Instead, Frodo takes Sam's side, and throws Gollum off of the mountain before Shelob's lair. It would have been a different story, even if the ending ends up being the same.

SPOILER ALERT FOR WALKING DEAD

In my version of the game, I can tell you the story of Lee and Kenny. They became best friends soon after meeting, and had each others backs for months until his wife and kid died. Their friendship couldn't withstand something of that magnitude, and they had a falling out resulting in a fistfight. It took a while for this relationship to even begin to heal, and just as it appeared they had finally broken through and made peace, Kenny dies.

In somebody else's game, Lee and Kenny could be bitter rivals from beginning to end. Sure, the ending is the same, but they experienced a different story than I did.

Counter_Intelligent		2012-12-09 01:14:18 PM

itsdan: hubiestubert: In fairness, the Walking Dead game had better characters and plot than the TV series too...

Plus it's educational. Radios take batteries, and batteries go inside the radio. Who knew?

You can combine a wax doll, a horseshoe, and a lighter to make a handle.

jeanwearinfool		2012-12-09 01:14:30 PM

Crudbucket: Barricaded Gunman: thamike: But is it a good game?

Good question. Because after pre-ordering it, looking forward to it for months, and then playing 15 or so hours of Assassin's Creed 3, I can tell you that I won't be purchasing any more AC games either A) featuring Connor, or B) taking place during the colonial revolution. I can't imagine bothering to finish this mess. Deathly goddamn dull, all the way. Every other game in the series was superior to this overhyped grindfest. How in the world does anyone think that spending hours hunting bears and rabbits so you can take their pelts to a trading post to trade for items you need is a good time? It's like the whole "eating and working out" idea from GTA: San Andreas... a bad idea, poorly realized. Do game developers learn nothing from each others' mistakes?

You should have stuck it out. I just beat the game last night, and nothing beats the thrill and excitement of walking from one cut-scene to the next for the last hour of "gameplay" leading up to a nonsensical and retardiculous ending.

This and This. I was AC's biggest fan till this last one. Told my kids that this is the last AC game I play, which sucks, because AC is one of the two game series I even play anymore. If the Arkham series shiats the bed, I'll be done with gaming all together.

Goodfella		2012-12-09 01:16:38 PM

Ass Creed III is easily the worst of the series.

Its like they forgot what the whole series is supposed to be about. And forsaken so much of what made the first two games unique and interesting.

Never mind the stupid setting. Running around on tree tops? More lame minigames?

They've gotten caught in the greedy Bobby Kotick COD mindset of 'churn out a new game every year' syndrome, and it shows in the shiat tier quality of their product. Assassins Creed 2012: one serious shiatburger. And next year when they churn out Ass Creed 2013 they'll probably have him riding snowmobiles around Aspen, Colorado, hunting down pickpockets.

As usual, Zero Punc covered this travesty pretty well, himself.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 01:39:46 PM

Goodfella: Ass Creed III is easily the worst of the series.

Wow, because my brief experience with AC:Brotherhood (the only one I played) was terrible. It's hard to believe it gets worse.

The Gentleman Caller		2012-12-09 01:45:13 PM

LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

I'm not white, but I understand your thinking. I'm sure you are genuine friends with people from other races, but for non-whites, it's about representation here. I think it's less specifically about race, and more about the role of the character. How many black characters in games aren't a filler character or soldier, who says "black soldier" things like Cole Train from gears of war? Not many I can think of, and they're forgettable. In TWD game, Lee is a fully fleshed out character with a backstory and good emotional reasons for what he says and does. There's no WHOOOOO BABY YEAH YEAH!!! with him, only concern and love for others. That never happens in games.

whizbangthedirtfarmer		2012-12-09 01:47:45 PM

jack21221: whizbangthedirtfarmer: I liked The Walking Dead, but let's not pretend that your choices affect anything other than a dialogue tree and who is in your party. Otherwise, Lee's fate (and Clementine's) remains the same.

I strongly disagree. Let me give you just one example. Imagine how different Lord of the Rings would have been if Sam and Frodo never had their falling out on the way to Mt. Doom. Instead, Frodo takes Sam's side, and throws Gollum off of the mountain before Shelob's lair. It would have been a different story, even if the ending ends up being the same.

SPOILER ALERT FOR WALKING DEAD

In my version of the game, I can tell you the story of Lee and Kenny. They became best friends soon after meeting, and had each others backs for months until his wife and kid died. Their friendship couldn't withstand something of that magnitude, and they had a falling out resulting in a fistfight. It took a while for this relationship to even begin to heal, and just as it appeared they had finally broken through and made peace, Kenny dies.

In somebody else's game, Lee and Kenny could be bitter rivals from beginning to end. Sure, the ending is the same, but they experienced a different story than I did.

Pretty much everything I've bolded remains the same across however you play the game.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 01:52:18 PM

The Gentleman Caller: who says "black soldier" things like Cole Train from gears of war?

Wait... they named a black character "Cole Train"? Really?

The Gentleman Caller: That never happens in games.

Period. It's more remarkable that Lee and Clementine are obvious minorities, but games are not good at that sort of emotional depth.

fightingnewfoundlander		2012-12-09 02:10:20 PM

Apik0r0s: This is my son's favorite game. But he doesn't play it, neither do his friends. They watch Yogscast videos of other people playing the game and are just happy as clams with that. I even offered to get it for him - "Wouldn't you rather play it than watching somebody else play?" Nope.

They do this with a lot of games, watch the Let's Play videos and not play the games.

Not so much different from people who watch but don't play sports, I guess.

t3knomanser		2012-12-09 02:11:21 PM

Also: Clementine for the protagonist in the sequel, right? Because that would be farking badass. This little nine-year-old leading the way through the zombie apocalypse.

Incorrigible Astronaut		2012-12-09 02:49:35 PM

The Gentleman Caller: LesserEvil: Why does it matter what the race of the protagonist is? Haven't we gone beyond that point, where it matters at all, for most gamers?

I'm not white, but I understand your thinking. I'm sure you are genuine friends with people from other races, but for non-whites, it's about representation here. I think it's less specifically about race, and more about the role of the character. How many black characters in games aren't a filler character or soldier, who says "black soldier" things like Cole Train from gears of war? Not many I can think of, and they're forgettable. In TWD game, Lee is a fully fleshed out character with a backstory and good emotional reasons for what he says and does. There's no WHOOOOO BABY YEAH YEAH!!! with him, only concern and love for others. That never happens in games.

That's more or less what I was getting at in the headline. If you objectively sit back and look at the heroes in each game on the shelf, how many minorities are there? If the industry is really "past that," why is there still such a big disparity? In AC3, ok, the character is half Mohawk, half white. Outside of that, you've got, what, Left for Dead 1 and 2? San Andreas from way back when? Sports games? If it didn't matter, 98% of lead characters wouldn't be caucasian.

/Nerdy white guy

TheMysticS		2012-12-09 02:52:11 PM

Apik0r0s: This is my son's favorite game. But he doesn't play it, neither do his friends. They watch Yogscast videos of other people playing the game and are just happy as clams with that. I even offered to get it for him - "Wouldn't you rather play it than watching somebody else play?" Nope.

They do this with a lot of games, watch the Let's Play videos and not play the games.

Glad to see this phenomena is not limited to my household.
My kids play more than they watch, but The Yoggis are pretty awesome. In a dorky sort of way.

Displayed 50 of 115 comments