Left Oblique

Monday, March 8, 2010

Penny-Arcade has been removed from my bookmarks.

It's just not funny anymore. Seriously. People complain about XKCD not being good anymore (and today's certainly wasn't very good), but it still has flashes of brilliance. PA is just self-referential and dumb. The last two comics didn't even make sense.

I realize that the PA team is now way more important to the gaming community through things like PAX and Child's Play than through their webcomic, and they probably make more money on conventions and paid art gigs than by running their site. But they need to remember that the reason people like the PA brand is because of the comic. The comic stinking like week-old roadkill in summer means no new customers, which must eventually result in the failure of their business model.

Posted by Dave at 12:48 PM

Comments

Craig

I'm going to step in and defend here. Today's comic was kind of dumb and certainly self-referencial, but Friday's wasn't (or at least not entirely). That was more a comment on how some people cannot play hidden role games because they have zero poker face when it comes to getting an "evil" role. They could've substituted any game in that is similar (Mafia, Werewolf, Battlestar Galactica, etc), they just chose a board game from 5-6 years back.

Then again, I'm saying this as a huge fan of their, so...

Posted on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 1:34 PM

Dave

Okay, I was actually thinking about the one where they went on the radio show, which was actually a couple of comics ago.

All I can say is, still "meh". There's a big shift in perspective which I just don't like. I think the Chat Roulette comic really sealed the deal for me. In the past, when Gabe and Tycho did something crass or offensive in the comic, I always felt it was because they were characters created specifically to be crass and offensive, for humor, and not because they reflected the kind of people that Holkins and Krahulik were.

When I saw that comic and read the news post, though, it seemed like it was depicting something those guys actually did to someone on the internet, in real life. And that's not okay, even if you're a famous celebrity internet artist. Especially if you're a famous celebrity internet artist known for some really incredible and well-renowned work in your medium.

And no, "on the internet in real life" isn't self-contradictory. As our online experiences have become more immersive, the line between the virtual and real persona is disappearing. Who you are in WoW or Second Life may explicitly not be who you are in reality, but who you are on Facebook, Twitter, or especially something like Chat Roulette - where you're broadcasting your real image and voice - is definitely you.

Now, it's possible that they specifically picked somebody on the service who was a total jackass to prank, and that they "took it up a notch" by making the victim in the comic be a seemingly trusting, innocent person. But that's the problem with failing to maintain the separation between Gabe and Tycho and Krahulik and Holkins - I don't know where one begins and the other ends anymore, and Gabe and Tycho are kind of horrible people.

Posted on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 2:11 PM | URL

Craig

Have you TRIED Chat Roulette? Seriously, here's the breakdown from what I've seen playing with it for a combined total of about 2 hours:

About 50% bored guys, roughly 15-30, who mostly seem to be cam surfing and only want to talk to girls
About 30% perverts stroking themselves on camera or asking women to show their boobs right off the bat in their picture
About 10% guys who don't care who they talk to, they just want to chat
About 5% women, again roughly 15-30
About 5% people screwing with people by dressing up or somesuch.

Honestly, if not for the last 20% of people, it would be entirely useless as a "thing," imo.

It's the people who make it fun or want to actually chat that make it worthwhile (had short chats with folks in Denmark, Australia, and Wisconsin). Also saw a Pirate, a guy keeping track of people exposing themselves on a white board (which was amusing), and a guy dressed in football gear with helmet. Those folks, who make me laugh, made the experience fun.

I have no problem with people messing with people on a service that is designed to accomodate exactly that. If the person doesn't like what's going down, hitting a single key makes it go away.

The interview comic was a little much, though hearing how the guys conducted the interview, I can understand why they reacted the way they did and the way they tend to. If they really weren't paying any attention to responses, etc, I have no sympathy for them.

Honestly, watching them on PATV and reading the comic for years (as well as all the books), they really just come off as typical gamer guys who found something they do really well and have tried to make the most of it.

Posted on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 6:37 PM