I'll start things off.

This is old shit, but if you remember when Gamergate was at its height, a lot of them complained about "walking simulators," games like Gone Home, Dear Esther, etc. with very little in the way of typical gameplay mechanics like challenges that have to be overcome through skill or failure states. Gamergate dipshits seized on a white-hot, psychopathic hatred of these games, spinning the lack of skill required into bizarre conspiracy theories about game journalists promoting these as a plot by non-gamers to pave the way for the infiltration of gaming by "anti-gamers." Also because a lot of these games are about minorities, who of course GG assholes considered by default to not be "real gamers."

The thing is, I don't like walking simulators either. I've only played a few, but the only one I even kind of enjoyed was The Beginner's Guide (and even then, I don't think I would've missed out on much if I'd watched a longplay instead). The medium is the message, as the old saying goes, and the ability to engage through interaction with the mechanics is what sets games apart from other media. Walking simulators (and visual novels, but that's a different gripe) don't take advantage of this in a way that gets me invested. To me, a walking simulator feels like the equivalent of a movie that consists solely of a guy sitting in a chair and reading a story out loud.

The difference between me and a GG dipshit, of course, is that my dislike of the genre doesn't hinge on ridiculous conspiracy theories or hatred of minorities, and also that rather than wage some crusade to kick walking sims out of the gaming club, I just don't play them. In any case, though, the association is strong enough that it's something I tend to avoid bringing up.

    • Coca_Cola_but_Commie [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I have a deeply held belief that Attack of the Clones is one of the best ideas anyone has ever had for a movie, ever. It's just also extremely poorly executed. It manages to be a noir mystery, political thriller, epic romance, action film, and war movie all at the same time. If it had just had better dialogue/acting the film would be enshrined in every film nerd's personal Hall of Fame.

      I love the idea of AotC, but the actual film is so bad that I can't stomach rewatching it any more. These days if I sit down to watch the Star Wars movies all I watch are III through VI. And I'd say I only like half of VI.