Press Reset: The Story of Polygon - financed by Microsoft for $750,000
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EternalGamer
Banned
No way, it's what they actually SAY that makes it terrible. They constantly say things like "best team of editors" "biggest brains in industry" "best people in the world to deliver it" "biggest brains in the game journalism" etc. That's not even half of them. And these ARE the editors themselves saying this shit. It's really really embarrassing how narcissistic it is.
RedNumberFive
Banned
It's one thing if they could actually back up those statements, but that whole video features bloggers with an undeserved sense of accomplishment. These guys vary from mediocre to god awful.
Dude, they're changing the fucking world. Give them some respect.
EternalGamer
Banned
Anyone notice that Phil Kollar, Griffin Mcelroy and Matt Leon are editors that are nowhere to be found in either video.
Is it any coincidence that they are also the three editors whose work I previously liked the most? Perhaps they had enough sense to stay out of it. All three are much more low key than the majority of this bunch of braggadocios.
Is it any coincidence that they are also the three editors whose work I previously liked the most? Perhaps they had enough sense to stay out of it. All three are much more low key than the majority of this bunch of braggadocios.
ShockingAlberto
Member
Someone should rip the audio from that video but replace all the video with the Polygon's staff's public twitter shitfits and terrible articles.
That's just the problem. Their arrogance alone assures that when the website is eventually there, it's not going to deliver. The things they say they are going to do, they are simply not able to do.
whalleywhat
Member
Insert Credit podcast was slamming Polygon before it was cool.
No Samit either. He's the only person there whose work I like.
Wait, is Phil Kollar part of Polygon? Hehe, I like him. Well, at least there is someone in the crew I think is cool.
yes he is.
Ken Masters
Banned
Game Informer which operates on a 8-10 scale complaining? Lol
whalleywhat
Member
I don't follow too many journalists, but these popped up on my twitter:
The Lees ones nail it.
DJSharpeCheddar
Banned
Polygon: We're making a video game website because we want to feel important
Giant Bomb: We made a video game website because we like video games
Giant Bomb: We made a video game website because we like video games
It is terrible, but someone is also asking them leading questions and then deciding to edit that interview footage in a way that mirrors high brow documentaries and hammers home just how great/egotistical the staff and future website is. As a video guy myself, I just don't think they should be let off the hook while folks (rightly) poop on the guys on camera as well.
EternalGamer
Banned
That's a pretty succinct phrasing of the core problem, yeah.
Riposte
Member
Laughter is most often associated with happiness.
EternalGamer
Banned
That's fair. We haven't seen the unedited footage. It is possible that they went on to qualify some of those statements or that they were egged on to make others. I just think that is giving them an awful lot of benefit of the doubt.
You are also assuming that none of them actually watched it before it launched, which seems crazy. I'd be willing to bet that they all saw the footage and gave their approval of it or at least SOME of them had to.
Indeed he is. Here is his review on NSMB 2 http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/8/21/3259033/new-super-mario-bros-2-review-a-vein-of-gold !
All Polygon articles are accompanied with a streamable MP3 file of an elderly Nepalese monk singing a song in Sanskrit that is equally metaphorically about the struggles of lower-class citizens who may not work on a world-changing project such as Polygon as the song is about the article. If the streamed MP3 file is saved and changed to either .BMP or .JPG format, it turns into the Polygon logo and the New Testament in image format respectively. Every Thursday morning at noon, McElroy uploads a special story (written on top of his stationary bike just as the clock hit midnight the night before) about how Peter Molyneux's new project could change the outlook on life had by those who live at altitudes higher than 10*10^-14 parsecs above sea level.
I like the Verge and like most everyone else already mentioned it looks fantastic on either a PC or ipad3. Their gadget reviews are inconsistent and sometimes gloss over a lot of numbers that don't seem convenient to discuss but they all follow an easy-to-read, magazine style format. The site is getting some bloat now though, with expanding/collapsing ads and random press releases thrown in that are seemingly formatted as news stories but turn out to be copy-paste single paragraph deals once you click on them. They do have very great stories once in a while and I guess they space those out enough right now that their rep is generally positive on the journalistic side even though that really represents less than 1% of their total content.
The names attached to Polygon are interesting but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and read their stuff once it comes out first before really judging them. I think Arthur writes well, in the way an English major who just discovered that he's getting paid by the word writes well at least. Technical writing is a large part of what I do for a living and the way he writes represents the exact opposite of what I consider my ideal output to be but I understand his writing's appeal and even think it "fits" with most of what I've already read on the verge. Judging him solely on his writing alone would have been fine if they didn't insist on releasing this trailer where they seem to want to establish this aura of "celebrity" about him. It's like they want to convince us these guys are the real experts before they even release any content so that once their articles are out we can be convinced that this guy got a fcking polygon tattoo so he's real hardcore about videogames journalism.
That stuff is right up there with the Zune tattoo guy, amazing. BTW, anyone want to start a pool betting on how long before Crecente mentions he's a gamer-dad in his articles?
The names attached to Polygon are interesting but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and read their stuff once it comes out first before really judging them. I think Arthur writes well, in the way an English major who just discovered that he's getting paid by the word writes well at least. Technical writing is a large part of what I do for a living and the way he writes represents the exact opposite of what I consider my ideal output to be but I understand his writing's appeal and even think it "fits" with most of what I've already read on the verge. Judging him solely on his writing alone would have been fine if they didn't insist on releasing this trailer where they seem to want to establish this aura of "celebrity" about him. It's like they want to convince us these guys are the real experts before they even release any content so that once their articles are out we can be convinced that this guy got a fcking polygon tattoo so he's real hardcore about videogames journalism.
That stuff is right up there with the Zune tattoo guy, amazing. BTW, anyone want to start a pool betting on how long before Crecente mentions he's a gamer-dad in his articles?
Hell, if they're in DC, they can chill with the AWESOMENESS that is me!
I'll take 'em to Georgetown, Clarendon, U-Street, Old Town Alexandria, DuPont Circle, Adams Morgan, etc.
They'll have so much goddamned fun that the site will never get off the ground -- maybe I'll even let 'em use my kick-ass gaming PC!
I'll take 'em to Georgetown, Clarendon, U-Street, Old Town Alexandria, DuPont Circle, Adams Morgan, etc.
They'll have so much goddamned fun that the site will never get off the ground -- maybe I'll even let 'em use my kick-ass gaming PC!
Felix Lighter
Member
It's not just this thread. It seems like their the laughingstock of the gaming enthusiast corner of the internet. I started to feel some sympathy for them until they released the full trailer and double down on the self important bull shit.
That's an exaggeration as my link below shows, and also irrelevant unless you somehow think Polygon are claiming their greatness will be based on harsh review scores.
http://www.gameinformer.com/reviews.aspx
EternalGamer
Banned
You know, now that you actually write that, I think I would like to hear people make the argument for the value of those kinds of "social" experiments you talk about and what they maybe tell us about human behavior. That is, if it were really well researched and reflective. You have sort of convinced me there may be something there.
However, I'm still not convinced that this is a good profession to even be going into if you want to seek to spend your job doing something "important." I don't really consider entertainment let alone writing about entertainment "important." But then again I have a pretty high bar for what I consider "important" I teach English literature at college level, and much of what I teach would even be labeled great capital "L" Literature (my specialty area is Renaissance literature), but even I am not sure that what I offer is truly meaningful on some existential level. Don't get me wrong, I do my damnest to help my students gain some critical thinking skills, some historical and cultural perspectives and some insight from what we read, but "important" is a pretty weighty word. So I have my doubts in it's use when applied to literature. It's a word I'd reserve for people that literally make a tangable difference in others lives: doctors, politicians, police, social workers, non profit outreach, etc.
So for me writing about videogames is just about the furthest thing I can think of in realm of "importance." That doesn't mean I don't enjoy videogames or that I don't greatlly appreciate all the hardwork people in the industry put in to them. I just think it's wrong headed to approach a career in gaming writing with a concern for doing something "important."
DJSharpeCheddar
Banned
Dude...Game Informer invented the 8-10 scale. I recognized that shit when I was a know-nothing 12-year-old.
EternalGamer
Banned
He already did that in the father's day article. Complete with facebook photos:
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/6/15/3089055/fathers-day-popcap-ponycorn-gearbox-double-fine
Absolutely true.
Wow...those are some extreme closeup/awkward mug shots lol.
They have publicly stated that they grade like a US high school where 70% is average, and they are far from the only site that does it. And this claimed 8-10 scale is hard to reconcile with all those recent scores from them that start with a 5, a 6 or a 7.
I much prefer when the average score is 50%, but again, that's irrelevant to their complaint about how Polygon is dismissing every other games journalism outlet in their trailer.
DJSharpeCheddar
Banned
Hahaha. God, what a caricature he is.
Ugh and here I was ready to bet $100 paypal on it being the first article he contributes to.
TheBaronOfNA
Banned
There has been literary essays for less things ( Ex: sponges, talking in movie theaters)
Of course, the thing is that they set the tone right or are self aware to certain point. This trailer doesn't.
John Rabbit
Banned
key points gleaned from the longer polygon trailer:
-justin mcelroy is embarrassed of his job
-concerned his life is trivial and wasted on trivial things
-owns an exercise bike, neither he nor his girlfriend use it as intended
-other dude convinced into uprooting his young family for as-of-yet unproven and non-existent product
-polygon apparently consists of a bunch of dudes with laptops who cater food a lot
-arthur gies has at least one time in his life, pondered buying food; also ridden in a van
-brian crecente owns a cell phone, may or may not use trains
-a girl works for polygon but she's mildly attractive so who cares what she thinks or has to say
-everyone is so far up their own ass it's incredible
can't wait.
-justin mcelroy is embarrassed of his job
-concerned his life is trivial and wasted on trivial things
-owns an exercise bike, neither he nor his girlfriend use it as intended
-other dude convinced into uprooting his young family for as-of-yet unproven and non-existent product
-polygon apparently consists of a bunch of dudes with laptops who cater food a lot
-arthur gies has at least one time in his life, pondered buying food; also ridden in a van
-brian crecente owns a cell phone, may or may not use trains
-a girl works for polygon but she's mildly attractive so who cares what she thinks or has to say
-everyone is so far up their own ass it's incredible
can't wait.
This is exceptional.
Ken Masters
Banned
I don't care about GI giving below an 8 to games that aren't highly publicized, it's the fact that any hyped big game operates on an 8-10 scale which makes GI as big a joke as the rest of the gaming journalism industry, so it's laughable they feel insulted by polygon
EternalGamer
Banned
In faireness, it's a pretty good article and I'm not even a father.
RedNumberFive
Banned
Guys, guys... they're BOTH really awful.
I guess this thread needed a least one person who actually agreed with the sentiments expressed by Polygon in the trailer. I sincerely hope they fulfill all the dreams you have for how important games journalism can be.
But you should probably check their review/blowjob of Mass Effect 3 before you get your hopes up.
Vox received $17,000,000 in venture capital in March of this year. That is on top of millions from prior financing rounds. Do these assholes in their "documentary" disclose their equity agreement? They talk about the big "risks" but they are going to get big rewards if it pays off. They are so smug.
WhiskeyKnight
Member
That hits on a major problem the enthusiast press has -- brain drain. Developers recognize actual talent and quickly scoop up the most interesting voices (Luke Smith, Shawn Elliott, Jeff Green, Eric Wolpaw, etc.) This leaves the media side as a perpetual B-team. And as we know, former journos rarely, if ever, go back after becoming devs.
FollowSmoke
Member
It's so easy to pile on at the point.
It's also the right thing to do, so... carry on!
It's also the right thing to do, so... carry on!
Dark Knight
Neo Member
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Kinda.
From Luke's Twitter to Mark McDonald and John Ricciardi.
From Luke's Twitter to Mark McDonald and John Ricciardi.
You really hit the nail on the head with that one.
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