Might number of dislikes

Again, we're diving into ridiculous controversies to figure out whats going on. I mean a part of the reason I like having this blog is so that I can vent my opinions, but at the same time I can't help but wonder if we've reached that point in time and internet use where there's always going to be stupid outcries worth complaining over, dulling that "worth" and making it just easier to turn yourself off to it all. I wont say desensitized since I'll never actually fall into the trap of thinking normal people act this way, but still this is just getting ridiculous. When we can't all agree that a critic has to know what he's damn well reviewing without raising an argument, I have to wonder how we got here. Oh and then this happens literally as I was starting this article. Wonderful. There's some awesome people still on the net, but its a shame you have to hear about the nuts first.

Anyway this topic is over the latest commercial for Mighty no.9. This commercial has gotten infamy not for just being cheesy, but mostly for one single line in the trailer: "Make the bad guys cry like an anime fan on prom night." See for yourself.

Okay so the trailer itself is... not the best. I'll actually stand up for the narration. I like that they pitch it with a certain campy "awesome" voice, who is trying hard to sell you on a game because its just darn fun. Some people hate that, but I don't get what ill it does unless you want your super serious dramatic voices covering a freakin' mega-man successor. However I think the real problem comes in from just the game side. I mean just look at that thumbnail, that alone is telling of the problems. People have actually thought those explosions were some sort of badly mangled pizza. Heck, even the pizza and sonic company guys got together with a pic poking fun at that fact. The painted on character expressions that hold in close-up shots, the awful fake effects, and the weird character blurbs all interrupt the energetic action of the rest of the trailer. Its the game and editing itself that make things look bad instead of anything a single line of bad dialogue can do. Oh and lets discuss that, and how it "alienates" people... or not.

Alienate. This is not what a shoddy trailer does

Again the line deemed to be offensive was, "Make an enemy cry like an anime fan on prom night". I wont lie, I chuckled a bit, but I didn't entirely know why. That summarizes the whole joke really. Its a cheap laugh, delivered with the energy and buzz to make someone giggle, but then you actually think about it and it just makes no sense. Why does an anime fan cry on prom night? They aren't exactly known for going or not going to proms, and they don't exactly do anything special unless they choose to treat it like a convention. Do they cry because they're not going? Because that... just doesn't resonate well with my knowledge of them. Heck most anime fans I know are more sociable than your typical niche group types. It just doesn't make sense. It also doesn't make much sense to include this in a game with an anime-tilted art style, and obvious japanese origins. That's like saying guns are for cowards on an FPS game. I mean I wont say this is "alienating" anybody, but its almost like its talking about a different topic than itself, when its instead in the same exact field. I haven't seen something that dumb and unaware since Duke Nukem Forever where Duke mocks power armor while having a broken regenerating health mechanic set in place. That tells me the game is confused, conflicted, and uninteresting, which its development history and disappointed fans seem to reassure me might be true. However its hardly offensive.

To offend means to deeply hurt somebody. I know the internet doesn't use it like that often anymore, and anybody with access to a keyboard and an agenda can say they're "offended", but that's wrong and I'm going to tear that idea apart the same way as if this were some SJW idiocy. I'm not the kind to go wearing double standards just because this is more from the gamer side rather than SJW. This is still stupid to sit there and say "this offends me". Its a commercial, its a cheap joke that doesn't even try to make sense of itself, and its not for some massive profile game that is unearthing some old bigotry. If you're a capable, and healthy human being who isn't so insecure that this commercial wrecks your day, you shouldn't have anyway to be hurt by this internet advertisement. The only people out there that should be in that kind of position, are those that dedicated over a year of their life into designing it, staffing, set up the business deals, only to see it amount to this. They really are hurt by the idea that this trailer exists, which is understandable, since this is supposed to represent his passion project as well as a source of income. Some unrelated guy on the internet though? Its a trailer. If you're hurt by something as simple as "cry like an anime fan on prom night", you need to use that pain as a clue that something is very wrong, and re-prioritize your life (then again maybe I do as well, with such stupid stuff as this taking up my time). Its a desperate attempt at humor, or maybe even a cynical ploy to gain notoriety, and you just told them that works. You gave them big press over this. You made a mountain out of a jab that wasn't even 6 seconds of that minute and a half commercial, and you smothered the news that this game was releasing all over the place, giving it more attention because it apparently hurt your feelings. Then you turn around and wonder how someone could get so emotional that they send death threats over a delay. Well I'm willing to bet it comes from the same idea of being so attached that a mere poorly worded phrase can shift you to feelings of hate.

Are any of you just happy that the game is releasing?

Look, don't get me wrong here, the trailer is fairly mediocre. I wont even say bad, but its really not the best, and I'm sure the developers are all good and well to be calling it "awful". I'm also not saying you aren't allowed to find marketing campaigns offensive, or that you can't be passionate and angry abut some choice in art or media. However I am asking you to choose your battles carefully, and I think you fucked up big time here, and are using such a mentality with it that has caused me to cringe more than the trailer did. This is not worth putting it to the megaphone, and screaming over how awful it is. You've got people running up and watching this just to hear that cringy line that "offends" you. Its not worth that kind of attention. And I know the game doesn't have the hype it once did, but is anybody out there even the least bit excited for the game itself releasing? Are we so angry with this commercial, that we hate the game alongside it now? Is it so bad, that it erases all feelings of happiness that it is actually releasing, and you can go and get ready to pick it up on the store shelves or digital stores? Has it actually overrode your sense of fun? This is the same issue I took with people who were on the Doom hate bandwagon, and making such a fuss over a non-issue like the cover art. Now that its out, thankfully the marketing and reception of its genuine quality has vastly outshined its pre-launch skepticism, but still the fact that people were that "surprised" because they were busy crying over a cover makes me wonder if people truly have lost the sense of fun in looking towards games. This... just reassures me that might be the case. So overtaken by outrage culture, and raising a fuss, things seem to be shifting to where we can cry about things the most, rather than what the game is actually like.

...but maybe I'm also not helping. By relaying a venting of what's wrong, I'm avoiding discussions on what's right. I think that's in large part because I'd rather be playing a great game that making a "top 10 list on everything awesome", but then again maybe this blog spot needs some more positive stuff posted on it. I thankfully have some stuff in the works, but again... its been going unposted or unfinished because I've been just doing more productive fun stuff elsewhere. No promises, but I'll try and post at least 3 or more positive articles before the next vent-worthy piece has to be written... unless something really big comes up. Lets try to bring things back to happy note though. This is gaming, and this is my blog, and I plan to let it be a reminder about how fun and great games can be whenever people aren't "offended" by them. Lets go have some fun now.

Laugh a little more