Penny Arcade ends PATV and Penny Arcade Report.

[Samwise]

It occurs to me that PA is like the WoW of webcomics.  Very popular, kinda bland, and continually being doomcast by jilted fanboys.

[Simond]

Now you've done it. 

[Ironwood]

It occurs to me that PA is like the WoW of webcomics.  Very popular, kinda bland, and continually being doomcast by jilted fanboys.

Much like WoW, I'm not interested in doomcasting, merely interested in pointing out where I'm no longer interested.  Pins being much like WoW Tanking in this regard.

 

[Rishathra]

I like the idea of Sand, or the Eyrewood, but their execution has pretty much led me to believe they cannot depict or tell the stories they have in their heads.

I agree/disagree with you in that I always like the ideas they come up with, its just that they do a few panels worth and then instead of expanding on an interesting premise, they either drop it utterly or make a card game about it.  I think they could depict the stories they come up with, they just rarely seem to have the desire to do so.

[UnSub]

Though I imagine the Extra Credits guy's not terribly happy now, since I recall some bridges being burned over at Escapist when the show left there to go to PA.

That was at the time The Escapist was outed by several content providers as not paying them anymore, despite promises of money soon. As much as I find Extra Credits to be so Pollyanna as to be useless (and the ultimate case of turning minor games dev experience into becoming an INTERNET EXPERT), I think they probably had a case.

PA hired Kuchera to be a frequently producing antagonism magnet. He often succeeded. Of course, I think he's just had a baby (after all, he compared touching the PS4 controller to both touching a boob for the first time AND feeling his unborn child kick) and that changes things, since I've seen a lot of people complain recently that his writing isn't as good as it once was.

[Yegolev]

(after all, he compared touching the PS4 controller to both touching a boob for the first time AND feeling his unborn child kick)

Heh.  Paints a picture.

[rk47]

Looks like PA is diversifying.

Penny Arcade Leak Describes Diversity Hub For PAX

I love the internet offended reactions to this. 

[schild]

Already posted that in Useless Conversation.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I'm surprised anyone would be offended but I just don't get the correlation to a gaming con.  I'm really curious to know exactly what this thing is gonna be.

[Merusk]

I'm surprised anyone would be offended but I just don't get the correlation to a gaming con.  I'm really curious to know exactly what this thing is gonna be.

Not familiar with the continued gaffes of the PA wondertwins then? Anything they do will be seen as tonedeaf and wrong because they're, well, twits.

This is being interpreted as, "Hey weirdoes who are offended by our rape jokes and comments about transsexual people being weird. Here's a place to go be different and separate from the real people.  Go be diverse there because we're inclusive by setting you aside!"

[Lakov_Sanite]

I'm surprised anyone would be offended but I just don't get the correlation to a gaming con.  I'm really curious to know exactly what this thing is gonna be.

Not familiar with the continued gaffes of the PA wondertwins then? Anything they do will be seen as tonedeaf and wrong because they're, well, twits.

This is being interpreted as, "Hey weirdoes who are offended by our rape jokes and comments about transsexual people being weird. Here's a place to go be different and separate from the real people.  Go be diverse there because we're inclusive by setting you aside!"

I'm familiar and I agree this whole thing is likely PA overcompensation or "throwing a bone"  I just don't get how you shoehorn something like a tolerance center into a gaming convention.  Just, logistically how is it even going to work?

[Lantyssa]

The same way they do at universities or high schools:  A room is set aside with literature and some friendly faces.

The problem is, it'll be more of a meeting place for like-minded individuals who already know this stuff pretty well and not something which educates the people who need to know it.  Mainly because it's over a weekend.  Our LGBT and Women's centers work year-round to educate people in a variety of ways.

[Fabricated]

The proper solution is to shut the fuck up and just run the convention as normal without saying or doing anything really dumb.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I'm all for the idea in theory but in practice(at a pax show) it will just be like the museum to walt disney inside disneyworld.  Two lonely ushers waiting at the door, watching people walk past all day long on their way to the toy story ride.

So then what's the point? Just to give the PA people street cred and give lip service that they can point to when they make dick jokes.

[Ingmar]

The proper solution is to shut the fuck up and just run the convention as normal without saying or doing anything really dumb.

Saying/doing something dumb *is* as normal for them.

My feeling is that creating a cordoned-off safe space is really just not enough when much of the reason you need a safe space in the first place is the garbage that originates from one of your two public faces. It also seems to send a message that the rest of the place isn't for you, minority gamers, and you should keep to your own kind. I'd say it is unbelievably tone deaf, but they blew past that standard a few scandals ago.

[Modern Angel]

It also seems to send a message that the rest of the place isn't for you, minority gamers, and you should keep to your own kind. I'd say it is unbelievably tone deaf, but they blew past that standard a few scandals ago.

That's exactly correct. It's more or less a tacit admission that the rest of the con is a hostile realm of manbabies. Which it is, of course, but the idea should be to lessen the rest of the con's bullshit.

[Paelos]

They should make everyone go to diversity training before they can get wristbands to try demos and gets swag. 

[Fabricated]

Or again, just run a convention and kick people out when they're assholes instead of saying stupid shit, or trying to make it into a hugbox.

[sickrubik]

Or again, just run a convention and kick people out when they're assholes instead of saying stupid shit, or trying to make it into a hugbox.

Yup.

Also, if you're running a convention that you want to feel safe and inclusive, stop acting like assholes your self. Lead by example, etc.

[HaemishM]

The problem is, it'll be more of a meeting place for like-minded individuals who already know this stuff pretty well and not something which educates the people who need to know it.  Mainly because it's over a weekend. 

Yeah, let's face it... if there aren't demos of games running, how many gamers are going to stop to get educated about... well, anything? Almost none.

[Fabricated]

Yeah, that's about right.

[schild]

"Senior Editor, Opinion"

wait wut

[jakonovski]

That place is like douche central.

[Margalis]

Yep. It's like a honeypot for gaming media super douches.

[Venkman]

I think I've heard the name Polygon before, but never been there. Just visited, not missing anything.

[Sir T]

Polygon is the bunch that people were sniggering at because they got 750000 from Micro$oft to make a documentary on Polygon, and when when the XBone came out Polygon suspiciously conveniently gave raving scores to It and its games despite the fact that they were having major issues with the controls all through their livestream, and their staff utterly slated the games while they were playing them live.

[sickrubik]

They gave it an 8, barely above what they gave the PS4. I really don't see that as "raving".

[Sir T]

From the console bullshit thread

Fifteen minutes of highlights from the twelve hour stream of polygon which you might remember got $750,000 from Microsoft.  Lot of cognitive dissonance between their ratings (including giving the actual consoles ratings which is borderline retarded) and what they actually experience.

have a look at that and then ask yourself if they were being a touch generous with the scoring based on their experience and comments.

[Ingmar]

15 minutes cherry picked out of 12 hours doesn't really go a long way to convincing me of anything.

[Lakov_Sanite]

The very fact they rated the xbone over the ps4 is a bit damning.

[jakonovski]

750k is such peanuts to MS that I don't think they even remember it anymore. The score is just Polygon trying to prove how well they play ball, in the hopes that they'll get more money.

[dusematic]

So the conventional wisdom now is that the Penny Arcade guys are intolerant a-holes?  As far as I can tell they made a comic about the immorality of MMORPG quests one time that mentioned rape only in the context of poking fun at the idea that in those games players won't save someone unless it fulfills completion of a quest objective. 

Then another time Gabe espoused his shocking opinion that his definition of a woman includes a person with a vagina.

So yeah, these people are clearly Neanderthals.

[sickrubik]

The very fact they rated the xbone over the ps4 is a bit damning.

That's opinion, not fact. And having read the reviews, I would be hard pressed to disagree on the statements, and I was one amped more for the PS4 than XBone.

I've just never gotten any of the bias arguments thrown at any outlet.

[Ingmar]

I'd kind of like to know how many of the people objecting to the ratings actually have experience with both systems.

[jakonovski]

I'd kind of like to know how many of the people objecting to the ratings actually have experience with both systems.

Considering how unreasonable it is to expect anyone to have both at this point, that sort of a demand is only good for ending the discussion altogether.