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Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

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Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#61

Post by arrrg »

netbioserror wrote: post #17
greg_gorrell wrote: post #16

Not that I am much into gaming, but I just checked out the site and the one article I clicked on was literally the writer bitching about how the coffee machines were depicted in Starfield. I miss the gaming sites of the 90s and early 00s, you could expect to read passionate articles from gamers. Just reading the headlines on the main page makes me feel like they have some agenda to push, in a political kind of way, a…

Frontpage littered with activism and first-world whining. Looks like it was the worst parts of Kotaku that left.

Where’s the whining? I didn’t find it. Please substantiate your claims.

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#62

Post by chongli »

notjoemama wrote: post #38
delecti wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a fledgling coffee nerd, that article is very clearly a coffee nerd being a bit tongue in cheek. The thesis is not "Starfield is bad because the devs made bad coffee machines", instead he's connecting the lifeless NPC's to the strangely designed coffee machines in a way that should make it pretty clear that it's not entirely serious. Totally fair if the humor didn't land, but I thought it was amusing. Those coffee…

Individually packaged units of coffee grounds in a micro-chipped plastic container for the pot to recognize it as an officially licensed “pod” is our daily life. I think real coffee has become absurd. lol

That’s lazy average Joe’s daily caffeine supplement. Coffee nerds have their own brand of absurdity: coffee distribution tools, pressure profiling, temperature profiling, water treatment mineral packs… never mind all the money people spend on high end burr grinders and plumbed-in rotary pump machines!

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#64

Post by add-sub-mul-div »

greg_gorrell wrote: post #16

Not that I am much into gaming, but I just checked out the site and the one article I clicked on was literally the writer bitching about how the coffee machines were depicted in Starfield. I miss the gaming sites of the 90s and early 00s, you could expect to read passionate articles from gamers. Just reading the headlines on the main page makes me feel like they have some agenda to push, in a political kind of way, a…

1. Why would you cite a trivial non-political example to support your position that they have a political agenda?

2. What separates someone simply having beliefs that inform their lives from them having a political agenda? And where did you ever get the idea that politics is this thing that lives in a bubble, so innocuous as for its effects to be separable from our lives, such that we all have agreed to conduct our lives and careers without mentioning anything related to that bubble? Is it possible you see political ideas you agree with throughout each day and don't find them to be an agenda because they don't make you uncomfortable?

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#65

Post by izzydata »

Jeslijar wrote: post #36
greg_gorrell wrote: post #16

Not that I am much into gaming, but I just checked out the site and the one article I clicked on was literally the writer bitching about how the coffee machines were depicted in Starfield. I miss the gaming sites of the 90s and early 00s, you could expect to read passionate articles from gamers. Just reading the headlines on the main page makes me feel like they have some agenda to push, in a political kind of way, a…

Based on the link it sounds like they want to carry on with what they've always done but get more money. I get the desire but I doubt the content is going to go back to what it was 25 years ago. The way I see it today, ideological reviews are what is mainstream. It's not about how the game is, it's how inclusive they are to minorities that is what reaches the front page. It's fucking bizarre but it makes sense when t…

I'd rather watch some gameplay footage with no commentary. I don't find that a person reviewing a video game contributes anything meaningful to the decision of whether or not I want a game or not unless I know them personally and we have similar taste.

I have a suspicion that the only way such content has any value today in a world with quick and easy access to online video is that they are given copies prior to the release of the game. They get clicks because of peoples impatience to learn more despite being able to see effectively infinite amount of content as soon as a game is officially released.

But the problem here is that game reviewers livelihood is entirely dependent on getting early access and if they don't speak highly of the game then their livelihood can be cut off. They are basically all bribed into giving positive feedback. I think it is actually worse than nothing at all. It is actively harmful to finding out what a game is actually like.

I guess my point is that we should just wait until a game is released. There are infinite copies and there exists more games than anyone could ever play. Reading some heavily biased opinions about a video game a week before it comes out is not meaningful.

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#66

Post by ameister14 »

xxs wrote: post #15
overthemoon wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some lazy, parasitic, and axe-grinding writing in games journalism, as in all kinds of journalism. I am personally annoyed by how often I see Reddit posts and YouTube summarized like they're a story. But the good stuff is good, and this is IMO a good trend. Aftermath itself might suck, but I'd like to see more passionate video game writers get an opportunity to run their own outlet rather than churn out stupi…

>Aftermath itself might suck, The initial articles are well written.

I do not agree. It's readable, but not well written.

ex. "Fortnite saw 3.9 concurrent players on OG’s launch day, besting recent records, and huge subsequent numbers. It was the number one category on Twitch, bolstered by a 24-hour stream by Ninja, who made his name on the game."

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#67

Post by miamibre »

Jeslijar wrote: post #36
greg_gorrell wrote: post #16

Not that I am much into gaming, but I just checked out the site and the one article I clicked on was literally the writer bitching about how the coffee machines were depicted in Starfield. I miss the gaming sites of the 90s and early 00s, you could expect to read passionate articles from gamers. Just reading the headlines on the main page makes me feel like they have some agenda to push, in a political kind of way, a…

Based on the link it sounds like they want to carry on with what they've always done but get more money. I get the desire but I doubt the content is going to go back to what it was 25 years ago. The way I see it today, ideological reviews are what is mainstream. It's not about how the game is, it's how inclusive they are to minorities that is what reaches the front page. It's fucking bizarre but it makes sense when t…

I don't think that is very accurate, in my experience the most popular reviews are Personality Driven and it is largely done in the youtube space, the next most popular writen sites are also more neutral when it comes to their reviews (Gamespot, IGN, Gameinformer, Eurogamer). Honestly people just want two things, to hear their favorite content creator talk about the game or have someone say how great it is. But in my opinion the best way to sort out all the noise is to just find a content creator you share tastes with since IGN et al have such a massive cast of reviewers constantly shifting around so it doesn't make sense to rely on that.

You could also use a review aggregator if you just want to see what the overall consensus is: https://opencritic.com/

My other advice which has worked very well as a PC Gamer is to look up Steam reviews, there are a LOT of underappreciated games that were poorly received by critics but players actually enjoyed. It is also review bomb resistant since you actually need to buy the game,will allow you to filter out by time periods, and notify you if there have been a noticeable change in review patterns.

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#68

Post by loganfrederick »

falcor84 wrote: post #52
throw3823423 wrote: post #43

It's a turbulent time in games media: See how Yatzhee just quit The Escapist, taking with him most of the video team. Either way we slice it, we'll all soon see what is what brings people to certain publications? The brand? Long form, high research articles that just take too much research? The wokeness/andti-wokeness posturing? Is it a matter of just a few extremely talented people, carrying a publication? We all ca…

Oh wow, I didn't know about Yatzhee. I really need my Zero Punctuation dose, and turns out he doesn't own it https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-escapist-staff-resign-foll...

I worked as a contract writer for The Escapist from 2005-2009 and consider Yahtzee's resignation the end of the publication. Zero Punctuation was most likely the primary revenue driver as I know how he had an outsized impact even back in the heyday when all of the content was getting accolades.

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#69

Post by yoyohello13 »

netbioserror wrote: post #56
mplewis wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is making you read this specific gaming news site.

So don't be surprised when sites like this pull no revenue and end up shutting down because people really, really do not care about some nobody's political hot takes when they want to read about video games.

You seem to care quite a lot...

Re: Ex-Kotaku staff go independent and launch Aftermath

#70

Post by djur »

seanw444 wrote: post #40
greg_gorrell wrote: post #16

Not that I am much into gaming, but I just checked out the site and the one article I clicked on was literally the writer bitching about how the coffee machines were depicted in Starfield. I miss the gaming sites of the 90s and early 00s, you could expect to read passionate articles from gamers. Just reading the headlines on the main page makes me feel like they have some agenda to push, in a political kind of way, a…

Well, considering Kotaku is well-known for gaming articles filled with political activism and social justice, this is not surprising at all to me.

My recollection was that Kotaku had an entire subsection of the site dedicated to posting pictures of attractive women doing cosplay. I don't remember much political activism -- do you have an example?
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