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[EternalGamer]

pre·ten·tious   [pri-ten-shuhs]
adjective
1.
full of pretense or pretension.
2.
characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
3.
making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious.

How is this not the epitome of the second and third definitions of pretentious?

I'm generally someone who dislikes the term "pretentious" because people misuse it a lot. It seems a lot of the time people use it when they really mean "obscure" or "something I don't understand."

I agree, though, this is the very pure definition of pretentiousness. The most "artsy" film in the entire world is not as pretentious as people who haven't even launched a videogame website making a documentary about their videogame website and filling it with quotes like "we've assembled the biggest brains in gaming journalism" or "everbody wants to do this but nobody can." And "we've hired the best team of editors that have ever been assembled."

If the guys who made it don't recognize that it is pretentious, they don't know what the word means either. It has nothing to do with making something ambiguous or overly smart. It has to do with an undeserved sense of importance.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Everyone at this outfit has collectively gone off the deep-end. Wow, the full trailer is mind boggling.

Hyping up their game review and news website like its going to change the entire web? Constantly saying things like "the best team of editors EVER ASSEMBLED"?

 

[7threst]

Full trailer

http://mobile.theverge.com/gaming/2...s-reset-the-story-of-polygon-official-trailer

Lol, I kinda thought that the teaser was the trailer...

...the part that this guy talks about "trying to prove" that games aren't as trivial as they are afraid they are...

But this drama.. my god... They kinda sound like Pokemon trainers: "We make an experince that is unique", "these people we work with are the best", "we are going to try to be the best" blablhablha

 

[Ken Masters]

There's a zillion ways to help bring credibility to games journalism, but judging from the Polygon party at E3, they're not taking the first steps.

do tell

 

[Holy Wars]

That bald bro with a moustache must have had a shitty career if these people are the best he's worked with. I pray for him.

 

[shiroryu]

This been posted? John Walker says he's not responding to the Polygon thing. Great coincidence anyway.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...about-inside-assassins-creed-iii/#more-121243

 

[Bobby Roberts]

There's a zillion ways to help bring credibility to games journalism, but judging from the Polygon party at E3, they're not taking the first steps.

Tom Bissell never released a documentary about writing "Extra Lives" before it was published.

Okay, EternalGamer's bringing me around - I'd already forgotten about the bald guy in the kitchen with the mustache talking about how nobody else could do this and the finest minds available are all on the team.

 

[KalBalboa]

If McElroy hadn't said "video games" in the trailer, I would not have known that this is a trailer for a web site about games.

 

[gofreak]

I think the whole comment about triviality and feeling trivial might get to the heart of the motivation of this.

They want to feel important. So they'll attach all the trappings of importance to convince others that they and what they're doing is some super duper important and unprecedented thing.

That's nice and all, but, you know, your work will prove whether its worthy or not. This fluff won't.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Tom Bissell never released a documentary about writing "Extra Lives" before it was published.

And that was fantastic. I don't agree with Bissell on a lot (much like Tom Chick) but those are two of my favorite writers who have a lot to bring to the table. Good people.

 

[Curufinwe]

Don't they have any vaguely rational friends in the industry they could have showed it to for feedback before making it public?

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

"Best people in the world"

 

[7threst]

Tattoos, food, drinks, games... this guy is living the dream. Charlie Sheen would be proud.

 

[eznark]

I think the whole comment about triviality and feeling trivial might get to the heart of the motivation of this.

They want to feel important. So they'll attach all the trappings of importance to convince others that they and what they're doing is some super duper important and unprecedented thing.

That's nice and all, but, you know, your work will prove whether its worthy or not. This fluff won't.

Thing is, if you write about video games for a living your job pretty much is trivial. Sorry. Probably best to accept that you have a fun gig, probably get paid ok and make the most of it instead of trying to convince people that anything you do is in any way "important."

 

[KalBalboa]

Thing is, if you write about video games for a living your job pretty much is trivial. Sorry. Probably best to accept that you have a fun gig, probably get paid ok and make the most of it instead of trying to convince people that anything you do is in any way "important."

Critics already have a hard enough time justifying their lives when critiquing other mediums, as is. This really is an uphill fight for these guys.

 

[Gannd]

I left one job for another job backed by millions in VC, and I am so brave!

 

[Jake Tower]

 

[EternalGamer]

do tell

Did you watch it? It was fucking embarassing. They were arguing with each other on camera saying things like "Jesus would you let me make my point" and they were laughing about how bad their video shows were. I only watched it each night because I was waiting for the Giant Bomb streams and was bored. It was pretty atrocious.

 

[Holy Wars]

Thing is, if you write about video games for a living your job pretty much is trivial. Sorry. Probably best to accept that you have a fun gig, probably get paid ok and make the most of it instead of trying to convince people that anything you do is in any way "important."

Seriously. Do people who write for car enthusiast websites sit around wishing they were more respected by people from the New York Times?

 

[eznark]

Critics already have a hard enough time justifying their lives when critiquing other mediums, as is. This really is an uphill fight for these guys.

If you feel the need to "justify" your profession then it's probably beyond justification. Who gives a shit?

 

[7threst]

Thing is, if you write about video games for a living your job pretty much is trivial. Sorry. Probably best to accept that you have a fun gig, probably get paid ok and make the most of it instead of trying to convince people that anything you do is in any way "important."

I don't really agree, they are not talking about their job but about the medium of the videogame right? As they can prove that the medium isn't as trivial as it is perceived by society. Which is pretty pretentious nonetheless.

 

[KalBalboa]

If you feel the need to "justify" your profession then it's probably beyond justification. Who gives a shit?

Well, if they succeed at what they're trying here (or at least what I'm interpreting as what they're trying), then they'd be making their profession seem more substantial. Careers can be elevated, genuine futures can be made, etc.

I'm playing devil's advocate here, but that's how I'm seeing it when I try to look from their perspective on this.

I don't really agree, they are not talking about their job but about the medium of the videogame right? As they can prove that the medium isn't as trivial as it is perceived by society. Which is pretty pretentious nonetheless.

True, they're using themselves as this sort of barometer of success and legitimacy for the entire gaming journalism sect.

 

[Jake Tower]

 

[Takao]

If I had the After Effects talent I'd so edit these things to the Charlie's Angels theme song. Gaming's Angels are here!

 

[Deleted member 47027]

If you feel the need to "justify" your profession then it's probably beyond justification. Who gives a shit?

I think the thing is that there's a little self-hate going on, a little hobby shaming. Where instead of being enthusiastic about what drives the industry, you want to be the industry. Attacking GAF, for instance, in the past and pulling the whole "hah -I- would never post THERE" is absolutely ridiculous, and I'm not just saying this as a gaffer - be proud of your hobby and the people that make it exist. Don't look at yourself - celebrate everything the industry actually is.

The E3 party was painful, everyone had a horrible neckbeard and dressed like they were wearing Derelicte clothes.

 

[diffusionx]

Well, if they succeed at what they're trying here (or at least what I'm interpreting as what they're trying), then they'd be making their profession seem more substantial. Careers can be elevated, genuine futures can be made, etc.

I'm playing devil's advocate here, but that's how I'm seeing it when I try to look from their perspective on this.

Yea and the guy from Kotaku is the perfect person to do that.

These guys are full-on sniffing their own farts. This site will be hilarious when it launches.

 

[gofreak]

Thing is, if you write about video games for a living your job pretty much is trivial. Sorry. Probably best to accept that you have a fun gig, probably get paid ok and make the most of it instead of trying to convince people that anything you do is in any way "important."

Yeah, and I sort of don't want to piss on them too much here, because I think you're opening yourself up to being accused of 'holding down' games as a medium by holding down its press, but you know, I think we already have had 'respectable' stabs at videogame magazines. And it didn't carry any of this 'force feeding' of its importance to the audience, let alone in advance of it actually materialising and making an impact! You can't contrive impact.

If you want to convince people that your job is a profession, something worth building a life-long career out of...I dunno if this is the right way of going about it. And I'm not sure most people will care about your site if they think it is a vehicle for elevating your ego. It's not about you and whether videogame journalism is viewed as being important...or at least it should not be.

 

[JonathanEx]

 

[Cartman86]

Seriously. Do people who write for car enthusiast websites sit around wishing they were more respected by people from the New York Times?

Well I don't think many people see cars as possible works of art like film.

 

[SolidSnakex]

To be fair, regurgitating press releases is a pretty trivial existence.

The scene of McElroy playing guitar to his wife/girlfriend was easily the most cringe inducing scene.

I'm just amazed that they've already put themselves on a pedestal. They're better than everyone else and they're doing something that no one has done before (apparently because no one else could do it).

So it's just the writing? Because I guarantee they won't even be better than Edge, so I'm just kind of confused how they plan on "waking up the net"

Is the stuff from these guys on Verge (like the game reviews and previews) representative of Polygon? Because it really doesn't seem to be any different than the the reviews and previews that you can find now.

Seriously. Do people who write for car enthusiast websites sit around wishing they were more respected by people from the New York Times?

The car sites that I follow (like Autoblog, Jalopnik, Car and Driver, Motor Trend) just seem to be having a lot of fun covering something that they love. And that's good enough for them.

 

[LiK]

oh snap, gauntlet has been thrown

 

[antitrop]

Tattoos, food, drinks, games... this guy is living the dream. Charlie Sheen would be proud.

Who the hell is that guy anyway?

I feel like all the people in that documentary video expected me to know who they are, but the only one I recognized was Justin McElroy from Joystiq.

oh snap, gauntlet has been thrown

I miss Luke Smith more than anything in the "games journalism" industry since the 2006 1UP podcasts.

 

[Curufinwe]

They better do some dunking, cause Polygon has lowered the rim to 7 feet with this trailer.

 

[Jake Tower]

If I had the After Effects talent I'd so edit these things to the Charlie's Angels theme song. Gaming's Angels are here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8He3GIj9HU

 

[Wario64]

 

[Oxx]

This will be the episode when Hiroko finally lets loose.

 

[Holy Wars]

Well I don't think many people see cars as possible works of art like film.

They are in a way. But the whole art argument is ridiculous because the vast majority of video games have no aspirations to be anything but enjoyable time wasters. You don't get to write long articles about Mario and pretend its something it isn't.

 

[tusken77]

So we've had a teaser for a trailer for a mini-series documenting the creation of a website that, despite the claim of assembling "the absolute best people in the world", involves the likes of Arthur Gies and Justin McElroy who generally have, let's say, not exactly the highest of reputations.

The whole sorry thing is repulsive.

 

[gofreak]

And yeah, that is a good point too. Like I say, I think there have been 'respectable' outlets, with career journalists. But were they too modest for Polygon?

 

[Dina]

Oof. Ice cold.

 

[RedNumberFive]

Who the hell is that guy anyway?

I feel like all the people in that documentary video expected me to know who they are, but the only one I recognized was Justin McElroy from Joystiq.



I miss Luke Smith more than anything in the "games journalism" industry.

They want to have the star power and Internet fame, of say Giant Bomb, without having to do any actual work, or hell, even be likable.

 

[JonathanEx]

Other people tend to be able to feel worth and have pride through doing a job well themselves and having an audience consume and enjoy it, rather than saying everyone else is shit and the industry is shit and this is the saviour.

 

[Holy Wars]

Do enough people work for Polygon to recreate The Last Supper? If so please do it for me GAF.

 

[LiK]

this doc is gonna destroy relationships, lol

 

[RedNumberFive]

I just want to thank Polygon and the fine posters at GAF for making my work day that much more entertaining. I'm getting dagger eyes from neighboring cubes from laughing too hard.

 

[Khar]

Full trailer

http://mobile.theverge.com/gaming/2...s-reset-the-story-of-polygon-official-trailer

A weekly series until the unspecified launch date.

Excellent. The mocking and material for future parody videos will be delicious.

Many thanks to the Polygonians for the laughs.

 

[EternalGamer]

I think the whole comment about triviality and feeling trivial might get to the heart of the motivation of this.

They want to feel important. So they'll attach all the trappings of importance to convince others that they and what they're doing is some super duper important and unprecedented thing.

That's nice and all, but, you know, your work will prove whether its worthy or not. This fluff won't.

I just want to shake Justin and tell him the following:

You decided you wanted to write about videogames. Videogames are ENTERTAINMENT. Why in the fuck did you go into this career if you wanted to do something "important." Nobody should go into writing about videogames because they want to do something "important." They are videogames, man. Have you played a videogame? This quixotic ambition to turn the converseations about them towards something important is absurdly misplaced. Maybe if you are lucky every now and then you will come across something in one of them that is poignant or relevant in some way but to build a career out of looking for that is to set yourself up for disapointment and to set the games up to be judged unfairly because that's not even what 98% of them are even shooting for. Yes, there are exceptions. Johanathan Blow is inspiring in his arguments about the direction he would like to see gaming go. But he is one dude. And even if you asked him I would bet that he would say that he doesn't look to videogames for something "meaningful" very often. He knows better.

If you want your job to define your life and you wanted it to be "meaingful" then you should have becoming a doctor or a teacher or a politician or an activist, not a writing about fucking videogames on the internet. The hard truth is if you are looking for your work to define your sense of meaning or purpose, you DID enter the wrong profession. Find your sense of meaning or purpose elsewhere. Not in a medium that is not only focued on entertainment but is the most immature of all mediums focused on entertainment.

I love videogames but I realize them for what they are. They are things that I play to relax and to relive childhood nostalgia and to socialize with friends. Would I like them to be more weighty? Well, some of them, perhaps, yes. But I don't NEED them desperately to be because I have fantastic novels and films and conversations and other mediums that can provide real food for thought for me. And because, frankly, I chose a career that does make my life feel more meaningful so I don't need my entertainment to provide that for me.

Again, the hard truth is that if he's writing about videogames and he is concerned about his career being "meaningful" then he fucked up. He should either find his sense of meaning and purpose somewhere else (his family, his community, etc.) or he should change careers. It makes about as much sense to try to turn this career into a "meaningful" one as it does opening a nightclub and then getting depressed that people aren't coming there to have deep existential conversations.

 

[John Rabbit]

Okay, the third definition probably encapsulates making a miniseries documentary about your fledgling video game website But I think this whole thing coming more from a place of misguided earnestness, more than anything. They really, really want this to work, and have chosen maybe the most wrongheaded way to engender sympathy/anticipation for their endeavor.

Again, I find most people levy the charge of "pretentious!" as a means of using a smart-sounding word to get across the real idea they want to convey, which is "Oh, you think you all smart and shit, huh? you smarter than ME, is THAT it?"

Words I'd more freely use to describe these two glimpses at their documentary: Twee. Earnest. Cloying. Eager. Needy. Repetitive. Hollow.

i think condescending works.

 

[Jake McLargeHuge]

Christ, if you want a job that matters then be a cop or a fireman. Everyone goes through life getting by financially through whatever cog-in-the-machine job they can get until they die. These guys get paid to do something that they feel genuine passion about. Boo hoo hoo.

 

[eznark]

this doc is gonna destroy relationships, lol

A few destroyed relationships is a price well paid to finally wake up the internet from its eternal slothful slumber.