His facts are mostly wrong, and his interpretation of past events are biased.
His understanding of the current game industry is limited.
His conclusions are contradictory if not nonsensical.
Alas.
Stefan Di Iorio's blog, AKA smudboy.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Smudboy Smash #4: RE: Is the Gaming Industry Crashing?
His facts are mostly wrong, and his interpretation of past events are biased.
His understanding of the current game industry is limited.
His conclusions are contradictory if not nonsensical.
Alas.
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Okay, I'm at 28:05 of your video. It seems to me that CleverNoob:
ReplyDelete1) Is using his own emotions or perception of his friends' emotions for video games made today to declaim on the state of video games in the 80s.
2) Is doing much of this via his displeasure over the ME3 ending (to be honest, none of us liked it, but this is taking things too far). Seriously, why bring up Casey Hudson when there are SO many other games out there? Bioware made a big mistake, but that doesn't speak for all the other video game makers out there.
3) Really needs to take classes on Capitalism, or at least needs to read the Cliff Notes to Adam Smith, because the truth, for the most part, is in the numbers, not only in how some people were feeling at the time (and the late 30 something in me tells me that CleverNoob barely remembers the 80s, if at all) .
Again, good so far, because in the end, regardless about how you feel about an ending of a game made in 2012, this doesn't necessarily relate to events back in 1982, when Carternomics and the consequent Reaganomics reigned and there were a lot more things going on in people's lives than whether or not Pac Man was as successful on Atari as it was in the arcade. And there are other factors to consider other than "the customer was pissed off."
At the time, the customer had little choice compared to today. To be honest, when I was six years old and got my Atari as a Christmas present back in 1982 with a copy of Pac Man, I knew it wasn't as good as the arcade, yet my family and I still played it. I guess in some way (and granted, I was 6 going on 7 so my memory probably isn't the clearest, so I acknowledge the subjectivity of my opinion) we all knew that, in the long run, we'd be sparing ourselves a bunch of quarters in the arcade if we just found the wherewithal to cope with a 4k version rather than the 8k arcade version as we'd still get some entertainment out of it. I was just grateful that I had something cool like this.
In the end, more things come down to numbers rather than CleverNoob's theory of surrounding circumstances that have more with emotions than economics. Was I a little disappointed that Pac Man on Atari 2600 wasn't as good as it was in the arcade? Yes. Did I consequently throw my Atari out the window or make a Hannibalic Oath against Atari for giving me games like E.T. (which I did get for Christmas). No, because I was 6, and it was still a novelty and at the time beat the crap out of tiddly winks.
Sorry, rambling right now and it's late so I'm not sure if I'm coherent, but CleverNoob's theory here goes down (so far) about as well as his "Indoctrination theory."
"not only in how some people were feeling at the time"
ReplyDeleteSorry, that should read "not just in how some people were feeling at the time."
The comment about a decline in the last five years doesn't necessarily stand up when you consider that Dragon Age: Origins came out during this time, as well as games like LA Noir (which isn't perfect but it holds your attention).
ReplyDeleteAnd when he puts up Blizzard as a reliable game company, I'm sorry, but in my subjective opinion WoW is boring as hell despite the scenery. Hudson and Co. had a craptacular story, but in their defense it was still better than just a bunch of leveling up crap with a peripheral shadow of a story that made you THINK that you were part of an epic tale without really telling you about your place in it, as WoW does. But hey, you got a bunch of items you could pay for!
This is my opinion, I could be wrong, and forgive my third post. But thanks for bringing this to my attention, as this guy seems to be hung up on the ending of one game and uses it as a lynchpin to explain the economic problems of the last 30 years, as well as predicting what will happen to the video game industry in the next decade.
And now Smud's vid is taken offline... due to a copyright claim by Clever Noob.
ReplyDeleteBecause the hurt feelings of a thin-skinned individual these days is considered more important than things like constructive criticism...
ReplyDeleteEven though it's obvious that Smud's use of CN's material falls under Fair Use.
ReplyDeleteGotta hand it to him, the guy's pretty sneaky. Also, ridiculously self-absorbed. Too bad a certain someone went to such a length as to store the vid on his HD. Hope that's not a problem, by the way.
ReplyDeleteCould you, maybe, upload it to YouTube as a mirror to rage against CleverNoobs?
DeleteDone: http://youtu.be /3hCKqHo-QwE
DeleteI didn't do it for rage. Rather, I liked havind that vid on youtube.
Pray excuse me if I did anything wrong.
Thank you kindly.
DeleteBlocked... Now that was FAST! Wish my Internet connection were this fast. Sorry my efforts have proved unavailing.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCurious...
Delete"[...]we never asked YouTube to delete the video. We only requested that the ads be removed from it, or that we make a claim on the video; much like how when you're not partnered you can get a copyright strike and have the video still up, but with someone else's ads on it.
We did our part in apologizing, but we also have to defend ourselves from videos that spread rumors. And again, YouTube deleted the video instead of removing the ads. Not us."
What an insolent liar this CN is.
So they disliked what he had to say yet they wanted the option to leech of on one of his vids, where at least half the stuff is done by Smud?
DeleteThis is so sad it's almost funny... And the response video that "doesn't make names out of respect" is hilarious... How do someone thinks that up?
DeleteThese guys are geniuses! And they manage to fail at basic language skills again, confusing "revenue" with "profit"... And I am not even a native english speaker! Why should I be the one to correct them?!?!
Well I guess Smudboy could just reedit the video wherein he simply quotes the relevant parts of CN's videos in a derisive, whiny voice and just links to CN's video he's responding to.
DeleteI almost finished watching CN's response... And this guy is a f***ing liar. It's insane. If I could, I would punch him in the face.
ReplyDeleteCalm down, friend. He's not worth your nerves.
DeleteYeah, I know. But it's frustrating. It also baffles me how he tries to sound like he is acting like a grown-up and offers to make peace with Smudboy, if he apologizes (CN does apologize in the video, too, but after all he says, how can he possibly expect to be taken seriously by anyone? After accusing someone of malice, why should you even want to make peace???).
ReplyDeleteQuite. The situation was tense already, all he did was adding fuel to the fire. In fact, if he wants to end this, then he's either stupid/arrogant/both or doesn't really want it at all. I don't know what he wrote to Smudboy (CN said he sent a PM), but judging solely from what we have... well, I have no idea what he's been drinking.
DeleteIf I were Smudboy, I would just go to the nice restaurant and enjoy it. Oh, wait...
Oh, by the way: enjoy your evening, Smudboy! You deserve it.
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ReplyDeleteCocytus, I tried the url you provided, and it said it had been taken down because of Clever Noob.
ReplyDeleteYou might have to try a different video upload website, like blip or Vimeo.
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSmudboy! In case you don't already know 'Clevernoobs' has done a response video this. What are your thoughts and comments on it?
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of your video game analysis videos, especially your Mass Effect ones. I created a playlist with many of my favorite videos (a large portion of them being your own) analyzing the flaws of Mass Effect 2 and 3. Starting in Mass Effect 2, and continuing through Mass Effect 3, I found more and more aspects that made the games decreasingly enjoyable. The ending was the "last straw" for me, completely ruining the entire franchise, which led to me creating that playlist to show others when someone raises the topic.
ReplyDeleteSeveral days ago, I came across a link to CleverNoob's video-game-industry-crash video. It was a somewhat interesting topic, but I decided I did not wish to watch it at the time. Then I checked your channel for updates the other day, and I was excited to see a new video, at which point I noticed it was a response to CleverNoob's video. Now the video had become a lot more than just "somewhat" interesting. I proceeded to watch it and noticed some of the same problems you did (though no where near as many as your thorough analysis / response revealed).
At the time though, I was wondering why you went out of your way to make a one hour video critiquing his own, which although flawed, seemed good-intentioned. After all, some of the ideas he raised (speaking out, acting more responsible with one's wallet, etc...) certainly would not hurt anything, even if too few people would follow (or even see) that advice to actually make a difference. After watching the video, I noticed a couple more that interested me and took a look. I ended up only watching one, and that one focused on evidence of (hopefully former) fans' continued dislike of Mass Effect 3's ending even after all the DLCs. I decided to Like it and add it to both my Favorites and my Playlist.
Last night I decided to finish watching a movie before going to sleep, but I could not get myself to start on the movie without first watching part of your video, just to see what it was going to be about. Let's just say that I ended up watching the end of the movie an hour later than I intended. You definitely successfully smashed CleverNoob's video into pieces. No surprise there. I remember the last time someone futilely attempted to argue with your ME3 videos through video responses, and was completely blown out of the water. And now I also see why you made this video (the ridiculous attacks on your initial comments on his video). I remember that last pro-bioware fan tried to use the "he is twisting my words" nonsense then too.
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Continued In Second Comment
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After finishing watching my movie, I noticed CleverNoob had already posted his response video to your response. I noticed his "friendship" offer and hoped that from that point the discussion would actually be more friendly and the incident would pass. I did not have time to watch it and went to sleep. Now I check to see what is happening today and find CleverNoob's mass deletion of comments that do not fully support him and a CleverNoobs youtube copyright-claim takedown on your video response. Of course, if you did not use any of his video in your response, he would claim that you were making up things that was not in his video and that you should include parts of his video to back up your points. Although claiming he just wants the incident behind him, he is still keeping his own original video online while at the same time attempting to silence video responses. Apparently he wants the incident behind him, but only if everyone publicly agrees with him 100% and announces they were all wrong and he is completely right.
DeleteJust like my individual purchase decisions have little effect on the gaming industry, my individual YouTube actions will have little effect as well (unless there are a great many acting the same). Nonetheless, I have removed that other ME3 CleverNoobs video entirely from my channel and unliked it, and I will not be viewing any other CleverNoobs videos in the future.
Keep up the great work smudboy. I will continue to look forward to your videos for the very reasons CleverNoob considers them amateur compared to his own: your prioritization of clear, thoughtful, and thorough analysis in place of lots of visual flair.
Sincerely,
A smudboy fan
P.S.
Although as a fan, a slightly higher quality image would be favorable :)
To be honest, I'm completely appalled at CN's behaviour - I've never seen anything like this on YouTube, though I'm sure it happens regularly. I could go on and on about it, but I don't want to fill your page with a vitriolic rant full of things that have already been said. I think what makes me so angry is that I don't like seeing a person of integrity get crapped on by punks.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for taking this with such calm and equanimity, Stefan. You're a bigger person than I could be if I were in your shoes. You have a lot more integrity than I do.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your videos. I'm a writer who is in the midst of honing my craft and writing my first novel, and your videos have helped me to understand the finer points of world building, plot construction, character creation and what NOT to do, particularly in your analysis of the ME3 FC ending. I haven't played ME2 yet (my closest friend told me to skip it because, as he says, "You spend the whole game accomplishing nothing of consequence, I don't know why it was even made.") I think I'll just save my money and watch your video analysis of it instead.
Thanks again, and thank you for showing your viewers your integrity as a journalist and as a person. I look forward to your next video with bated breath. LOL! :)
Here we go again: http://vimeo.com/62905793
ReplyDeleteThis took more time than I'd anticipated.
Thanks Cocytus! This video was very entertaining and I do truly enjoy smudboy's analysis of the gaming crash of '83. I want to look more into it after this.
DeleteI am or better said I was follower of both CV and Smudboy as few others critics, but this was pretty much dick move from CV side. I remember that in one discusion 2-3 months ago he was slaming a quality of your videos, since then I knew that he didn´t like you but this is realy way beyound the ridiculous.
DeleteJust last 2-3 vids created about gamming industry and ME3 were pretty much biased rants with purpose of slaming BW or EA, while I don´t have much against this - it has to be done well.
Otherwise, as far as I remember lot of CV followers are also your supporters, so going against you is CV going against himself.
And the Vimeo version of the video is — wait for it! — DOWN. Is there any place in the infinite universum that is the Internet that the slimy tentacles of those Pentagon hawks cannot reach? Will Archie choose Betty or Veronica? How can a dreadnaught fly in the atmo? Will Finn be able to get to Tier 15 with the Flame Princess? You'll be the first to find out... in Night Springs.
DeleteHey Cocytus.
DeleteCan I please contact you directly? You can PM me on youtube if you don't have my contact info.
Cocytus....you are EPIC. :-D
ReplyDeleteI interpreted CN in the way that he means that we (the gamer base (like the majority of all gamers)) will soon (next few years) start to notice that the quality of the games developed by the big companies have dropped and that we will start to stop buying the games in the future if nothing will change. For me personally that state already came in 2010.
ReplyDeleteThat said he has taken too few factors into account (e.g. overall economic situation), like Smudboy pointed out, although Smudboy is very very thorough and it is certainly hard to make such a video without him being able to find things wrong with it.
But it is certainly good that he did point out these mistakes because for one, alot were pretty obvious and maybe CN now prepares better for his videos than before.
I partially agree with CleverNoob's video in spirit. I would LOVE to see gaming companies that produce bad games go down, and for great developers to rise from the ashes and take the industry to a new level - but that's not how business works.
ReplyDeleteI used to work for a small airline that was the best work environment I've ever worked in. You could approach the CEO and executives with ideas and it was very employee-centred. Staff complaints about their work environment and suggestions were dealt with immediately - and happy employees usually resulted in happy customers. Then the company grew and turned into a multi-billion dollar company. Now, it's not even close to what it was - it's just a big airline that still claims to hold the values they once had, but it's a completely different beast. Employees are told to shut up, work longer hours and do more for less. Employees became less empowered to come up with novel solutions for customer problems and became bogged down in corporate red tape, and this translated into unhappy customers (this is a simplification of what happened, but I don't want to go on a rant for 20 pages. LOL!).
Is it sad that this seems to be the natural progression of a lot of successful businesses? Yes - but it's a reality.
What I got from his original video was a call to boycott the companies he listed as the offenders and to support the ones that weren't (I was surprised to see Activision/Blizzard in the "good" list - they're not angels by any stretch - but I digress. :)). His view is idealistic and I like the principles behind it, but it simply won't work.
I think a more balanced approach would be for consumers to resist the hype and NOT buy a game on release day - and wait and see what the reviews (particularly the fan reviews) and forums have to say. That's the approach I take, and it's saved me a lot of money and buyer's remorse since I started this practice.
It's honourable to say, "I'm going to boycott everything from this company because they're horrible to their customers and employees!!" but sometimes good products are released, so what can you do other than be more discerning and cautious when you make a purchase? I've found that it pays to wait 2 or 3 weeks after release to see what the general consensus tends to be. If I buy it, I want to go into that purchase with my eyes open so my expectations aren't inflated all to hell, so if it sucks, I knew it going in and have no one to blame but myself. :)
We strike back in a surge of Sturm und Drang!
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to a once again uploaded video in bearable quality (wiki entries are legible) and with a brand new 'download for free' option: http://smotri.com/video/view/?id=v2429773bb91#
To download the video just click the symbol to the right that looks like five arrows forming a semi-circle and then choose the desired format (which is mp4, I guess).
ACHTUNG! WARNING! Do NOT click any links not pertaining to the video player. Just in case.
In response to the DLC comments of Alex and Smudboy in the YouTube comments:
ReplyDeleteBut then the consumer also has the right to refuse to buy the product if it does not meet their standards for purchase. And you're right, there are probably reasons day-one DLC can become available without "stealing" resources from development of the main game. But has that actually been the case when it comes to these companies we are primarily talking about?
They have, on a regular basis, been publicly proven as liars, greedy (beyond what is a natural part of business), and incompetent. As for my claim of incompetence, yes, they keep making money, but how much MORE money have they failed to make due to their own decisions? SimCity always-online systems theoretically may have been a good move for more long-term profit, but is the massive instability not a sign of incompetence? Were the ME3 endings really the best EA/Bioware could do with the resources assigned to ME3?
No, we never know for sure that day-one DLC cut into the development (or cut out content) of the core game. However, considering the past actions of these companies, that we have seen and heard ourselves, we can make an educated guess, and I believe a highly accurate one.
In the end though, what matters is what they are offering and at what price. Even if he may not have expressed it clearly, I get what CleverNoob was trying to say in regards to DLC. Essentially, when one subjectively adds up the "quality" (yes, it is hard to measure such a thing exactly, just as one cannot exactly measure the quality of ME storylines) of expansions (and their price) during better days of the industry, then adds up the "quality" of DLCs (and their price) today, then compares the two, the dollar per quality is higher today. That is my subjective experience / opinion.
If DLCs had prices more in line with the quality and quantity of content they are offering, and if they were not being used in conjunction with other tactics (such as discontinuing modding support or altogether attempting to block it, to stop no-cost competition with DLC), I would have less of a problem with them. I do not have a problem with the concept of DLC, I have a problem with the current execution.
I also have an additional major problem with DLCs that has nothing to do with price:
I do not like playing single player games in "bits and pieces" over many months or a couple of years. Before the rise of DLC, we got true expansions a lot more often. These expansions had a brand new storyline with a sizeable amount of new content. It took me a little while to get re-immersed into the game world, but then I could enjoy an entirely new storyline or in-depth continuation of the first.
Now we get lots of these "bits and pieces" that barely connect with each other, so by time I am re-immersed into the game world, the story is already over and the next story will barely connect to the current one, even if I did wait until they were all released. I am the type of person that prefers to have regular, but less frequent great experiences, as opposed to desperately taking anything I can get. That is why I generally do not like to play "pre-release," "early access," alpha, beta, etc...
If I cannot afford to buy a pizza with the toppings I want, I am willing to eat something cheap and wait til I can afford a good pizza. DLCs, even the good ones (though better than the bad ones), are the opposite of that. So in a sense, I get less for my dollar for that reason too lol.
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DeleteIs it possible to make this video available for download somewhere? I want to see this now. I am quite curious.
ReplyDelete