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[Servant Corps]

On the actual game itself...

Can anybody here comment on Dragon Age's morality system? Any new 'moral delimmas'?

[Smitehappy]

I expect "Strangle a kitten or Build an Orphanage" be about as deep as it goes like most Bioware games. They may make good games but they've never really gone past black and white in their many morality systems.

[Neruz]

So what, you're surprised that buisnesses are trying to make money?

Since when does something need to be unexpected to be reprehensible? 

In other words, no I'm not surprised, I am however disgusted.  I thought that would be pretty clear from the way I've talked about it.  If anyone finds it surprising it's the people who don't believe it.

So then may I ask what you expect a business to try to achieve?

So you don't see anything wrong with supposed journalists being a simple extension of the gamig industry's hype machine?

How do you expect them to make money if they don't get paid?

I don't.  I expect them to have a bit of journalistic integrity.  Or at least think they should have it.  Why does it always seem so difficult for people to understand the concept of moderation.  When you get a paycheck do you either spend the entire thing or spend none of it at all?  I mean, come on, Toady One, case in point.

Obviously I'm not suggesting everyone quit their day jobs to make video games for donations but seriously.  Do you honestly believe that the only things one can be in this world are a totally amoral greedy bastard or a starving bum?  I sure hope not, but if not... well, what the heck are you saying?

So you're a little journalist; you're having trouble making ends meet, you live in a small flat (or apartment if you're American) somewhere cheap, you like your job, but it's not exactly what you'd call lucrative.

And then an Executive in a Suit (EiaS) sends you a letter; he's willing to give you say 10 grand straight off the bat if you write a favorable review for his game. Furthermore he's willing to sign you up on a contract that will promise lucrative rewards, and all you have to do is review his games favorably. You don't have to lie, just gloss over the bad bits and emphasize the good bits. In return, you'll actually get paid a decent amount of money and will be able to move out of that flat (or worse, your parent's house.)

Are you really trying to tell me that you'd stick to your principles and not take this offer? I know i would; journalism pays peanuts, why do you think the big news outlets go to such outlandish efforts to create news out of nowhere? Game journalism especially is already aimed at a smaller audience (although it is growing), so making a living off Game journalism without sponsorship is extremely difficult, and with sponsorship come responsibilities.

[Servant Corps]

And then an Executive in a Suit (EiaS) sends you a letter; he's willing to give you say 10 grand straight off the bat if you write a favorable review for his game. Furthermore he's willing to sign you up on a contract that will promise lucrative rewards, and all you have to do is review his games favorably. You don't have to lie, just gloss over the bad bits and emphasize the good bits. In return, you'll actually get paid a decent amount of money and will be able to move out of that flat (or worse, your parent's house.)

"Fan favorite Bioware done it again by producing a fan favorite game that fans would enjoy immensely. Indeed, fans would enjoy seeing Bioware regurgitate its trademark blend of a classic generic story and repetitive turn-based combat. If you are a fan of previous Bioware games, then of course, buy this game made by Bioware...but if you are already a fan, you would have pre-ordered, so you wouldn't care what I say in the first place.

If you are not a fan, I am legally obligated to ask you to at least CONSIDER trying it out. You don't have to try it out, just consider it."

Would I get the 10 grand?

[Akigagak]

No.

[Ioric Kittencuddler]

Neruz, you're totally missing the point.  A news organization giving intentionally faulty news for special treatment from the organizations they're supposed to be reporting on is not acceptable.  The mainstream news media is especially bad about this not because they are less reliable but because the news they report is that much more important.  Still, if your reporting is motivated by money, you're not a journalist, you're a particularly deceptive PR representative.  The whole point of the news media (at least in the US) is to inform people of the truth so that they can make informed decisions.  It's part of what keeps our society running.

[KaelGotDwarves]

It's part of what keeps our society running.

Not that I agree with it but generally the populace not knowing everything that is going on keeps our society running

Otherwise there would be more riots.

Can you guys stay on topic or get another thread please? Less than one page of this thread is actually discussion of the game.

[Dr. Johbson]

Skipping the rest of the conversation I missed, I agree with Ioric. All news should be trustworthy.

Sadly, I know not all is, but I also believe that there are more 'trustworthy' articles than Ioric at least does, but these articles are considered less (For good reason) for such because the reviewers have retarded space turtle intelligence.

So right now, the problem is, some games are being reviewed by either soulless journalists or retarded space turtles. Or fans, of course.

Some articles can be trusted, however, which puts into play a whole new level of uselessness.

[Tilla]

Of course this whole thing implies you think enthusiast magazines and website are news, Ioric. Spoiler: They're not.

[Sensei]

I particularly remember the Tomb Raider shenanigans. That in particular made me stop trusting anyone but people I know aren't sock puppets or connected to paid journalism.
-Inaccurate journalism, reviews or otherwise, is bad.
-EA is very bad.
-That is not the thread topic. Ioric is right in principle, but you can't get rid of assholes. Just find a reviewer you like.
-Your friends are almost always a better source than reviewers, since they inherently are going to share your ideas about what makes a game good.

In other news, I've been playing Neverwinter Nights. It's pretty fun. Long live the campaign creator, that no amount of bad writing can force itself upon an otherwise good game!

[Ioric Kittencuddler]

Of course this whole thing implies you think enthusiast magazines and website are news, Ioric. Spoiler: They're not.

No, it implies that I think they should either act like news sites, or stop presenting themselves as such.  And they aren't enthusiast mags either if they're just there to deceive their fellow enthusiasts for the benefit of the corporations who've taken over their hobby.

In other news, I've been playing Neverwinter Nights. It's pretty fun. Long live the campaign creator, that no amount of bad writing can force itself upon an otherwise good game!

What part of the game is good?

[Tilla]

The PC version has already been pirated.  Dunno about the console versions yet though.  I'm sure they'll follow in short order.

I think the X-Box 360 version got leaked first, actually.

Also, someone on the RPG Codex got his hands on it and says (among other things) that normal difficulty is actually easy, unlike the journalists insisted in previews/reviews.

RPG Codex are full of shit, I'm playing on Normal and have just reloaded my save on a fairly early battle for about the 5th time and still not really getting any further.

[Kagus]

In other news, I've been playing Neverwinter Nights. It's pretty fun. Long live the campaign creator, that no amount of bad writing can force itself upon an otherwise good game!

What part of the game is good?

The editor.

[Sensei]

Yes, it expands the game from being Neverwinter Nights to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 in its near entirety. I might also add that the story surrounding Aribeth isn't too stereotypical, it does a good job of forcing the player to ask 'did I do the right thing?'- sure you're forced to kill her, but that makes things doubly awkward when you meet her in hell in the second expansion pack.

[Neruz]

I completely agree that news should be impartial and trustworthy, but unfortunately the only people who have the luxury of reporting without care of funding is the Government.

The simple reality is; people need to make money, to that end they will do what they need to to make enough money to live a decent life, and if you're a journalist, then what you need to do is create news or skew news to make it more interesting. If you're a games journalist, then you need to land that money from the big game companies, and to do that you need to give them favorable reviews.


Twisting or outright fabricating news may be unacceptable, but it's reality, and it might be unacceptable to you, but the mainstream industry (including mainstream gamers, reviewers and developers) all seem fine with it.