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Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 8:33 pm
by Alex79
None of those really bother me. I overheard a kid once tell his mate he'd pwned (which he pronounced poned) was a little cringey I suppose but it didn't spoil my day or anything.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 8:59 pm
by ratsoalbion
I am a stickler for trying to get game titles correct (although I'm certain there are plenty of examples of me mis-speaking in that regard on audio record - before y'all go searching)!

However, references to having 'beat' a game or having played it 'co-op' rather than two-player don't bother me at all.

Petty irritations of mine:

Alex the Kidd

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakenings

Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor

Oh and I suppose things like talking about a sequel to Rocket League without acknowledging that Rocket League itself is a sequel, to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars (2008).
:D

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 9:05 pm
by Alex79
Haha on a similar note I remember you correcting people a couple of times during the MG podcasts when they referred to the first Metal Gear game when they meant Metal Gear Solid.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 9:08 pm
by ratsoalbion
Yes!

"In the original Metal Gear when you fight Sniper Wolf..."

AHEM NO!
;)

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 9:56 pm
by Suits
:lol: Alex THE Kidd :lol:

I still say that !!

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:00 pm
by ratsoalbion
BANNED

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:06 pm
by Flabyo
Shadow of Mordor and Shadows of Mordor are two very different games entirely. Admittedly you have to be in your 40s to know that... :)

I work in mobile gaming now, and I can tell you there’s a whole new lexicon of things to get wound up about in there... Arpdau anyone?

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:15 pm
by KSubzero1000
Okay, I have one, and I might very well catch heat for it.

The buttons on the PlayStation controllers are based on geometrical shapes. Square, Triangle, Circle... and Cross.
Yes, Cross. Not like the christian symbol of faith, but as "to cross something out". In Japan, circles and crosses are used as short-hand symbols for Yes and No, respectively. Like when filling out forms and stuff. Which is why so many Japanese copies of early PlayStation games, and even some localized versions like Metal Gear Solid, use the opposite convention to the western standard. In short: there's an actual, tangible reason behind that design. It was never meant to be a letter, despite the visual similarity.

And yet, everywhere I look, listen, read, it's always "X this" and "X that". For some reason, people don't call the Circle button "O", but they're perfectly comfortable pretending like there are three shapes and one (!) letter in the middle of it. What kind of sense does that make? It's an absolutely asinine convention that nobody is questioning, and it drives me insane. Creatures of habit, I swear..

PSA: Use your eyes and brains instead of parroting silly stuff, people.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:47 pm
by ratsoalbion
I do try to be mindful and use 'cross' instead of 'X' these days - but I'm still self-aware enough to feel that concerning oneself about too many of these utterly trivial things is at least as foolish as getting them wrong!
:D

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:51 pm
by kintaris
KSubzero1000 wrote: July 26th, 2017, 10:15 pm Okay, I have one, and I might very well catch heat for it.

The buttons on the PlayStation controllers are based on geometrical shapes. Square, Triangle, Circle... and Cross.
Yes, Cross. Not like the christian symbol of faith, but as "to cross something out". In Japan, circles and crosses are used as short-hand symbols for Yes and No, respectively. Like when filling out forms and stuff. Which is why so many Japanese copies of early PlayStation games, and even some localized versions like Metal Gear Solid, use the opposite convention to the western standard. In short: there's an actual, tangible reason behind that design. It was never meant to be a letter, despite the visual similarity.

And yet, everywhere I look, listen, read, it's always "X this" and "X that". For some reason, people don't call the Circle button "O", but they're perfectly comfortable pretending like there are three shapes and one (!) letter in the middle of it. What kind of sense does that make? It's an absolutely asinine convention that nobody is questioning, and it drives me insane. Creatures of habit, I swear..

PSA: Use your eyes and brains instead of parroting silly stuff, people.
Totally with you on this one. Admittedly as a kid I wondered why there was a letter among all the shapes... so I looked it up, corrected myself!

But my worst enemies in the gaming/media lexicon? "Underrated" and "overrated". In general they are near useless as terms of critique. Worse, I see "underrated" being used repeatedly for Grand Theft Auto Online.

Ooh, another one, but I'm guilty of using this: indie games. It's fine to refer to a developer as "indie" but as a game descriptor it's almost functionless. Worse, it's become short hand for "don't pay more than a fiver for it". I might set myself up with a swear jar over this one, wean myself off of the phrase.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:51 pm
by KSubzero1000
ratsoalbion wrote: July 26th, 2017, 10:47 pm I'm still self-aware enough to feel that concerning oneself about too many of these utterly trivial things is at least as foolish as getting them wrong!
:D
Never! Fanaticism! Intolerance! Dogma!

(I still slip up myself from time to time, though. The convention is just that prevalent. :P)

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 10:56 pm
by ratsoalbion
I'm also not a fan of 'indie' - especially when used incorrectly.
Nor am I fan of 'retro' as a coverall descriptor for anything that came out a certain amount of time ago or is imbued with a certain aesthetic.

'Underrated' and 'overrated' are both meaningless, useless terms in my opinion, which is why they are officially banned from both blog and podcast (if we've ever let one of those through - other than quoting someone else or discussing the nebulous concept thereof - my very bad).

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 26th, 2017, 11:08 pm
by Craig
Using 8 bit to describe any pixel art style graphics. I see you.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 12:05 am
by Alex79
Flabyo wrote: July 26th, 2017, 10:06 pm Shadow of Mordor and Shadows of Mordor are two very different games entirely. Admittedly you have to be in your 40s to know that...
Man I used to love those games. Even if I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I usually just kept going east...

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 12:13 am
by Whippledip

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 12:32 am
by Craig
JAPJAC wrote: July 27th, 2017, 12:02 am "The Neo-Geo AES was the Rolls-Royce of consoles and no one had one." They were everywhere and more kids in my form had them than the PAL UK SNES.
Considering there were less than one million sold worldwide, and they offered a premium experience with a premium price tag, the comparison is apt. If you knew many kids with Neo Geos then you were in a very affluent area. The only time I ever saw one was on TV. I'm sure there are areas in the UK where everyone in the neighbourhood drives BMWs and no-one would fathom buying a Skoda.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 5:30 am
by Stanshall
Backlog, as a badge of honour.

You have no obligation to play anything you don't want to play.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 5:54 am
by KSubzero1000
ratsoalbion wrote: July 26th, 2017, 10:56 pm 'Underrated' and 'overrated' are both meaningless, useless terms in my opinion, which is why they are officially banned from both blog and podcast (if we've ever let one of those through - other than quoting someone else or discussing the nebulous concept thereof - my very bad).
Leon, honest question.

Don't you think that it's ever worth it to address the topic of critical reception / popular appeal and how they might differ from the perceived quality of a product and/or influenced by outside factors? If you do, how do you think would be the correct way to handle the topic? And could you provide some examples of that?

I'll admit that it's one aspect of CaR which has always seemed a little bit odd to me.


EDIT: Let me illustrate my point.

If I were to just throw "CoD is sooo overrated!" out there as a blanket statement, without adding anything more to it, I can totally see how that might be considered bad form and to be adding very little to the discussion.

But if I were to substantiate that claim by providing a detailed analysis of any given CoD campaign's encounter design, enemy variety and overall mechanics, and to show how all of that pales in direct comparison with other major FPS series despite the overall sales statistics not being representative of that notion, would it still be an invalid conversation in your eyes? Even if I introduced socio-political factors to interpret the discrepancy?

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 7:49 am
by ratsoalbion
We usually incorporate the overall critical reception into the discussion (via the GameRankings average). Beyond that the show is about sharing the panellists' - and members of the community's - independent, individual reactions to/experiences of the game.

From there listeners can decide if there is a meaningful consensus and whether or not their own experience tallies with that or not.

Beyond that my feeling is that the discussion around 'under' and 'over' ratedness would be attempting to apply objectivity to matters which are inherently subjective, and therefore a complete waste of time and energy.

There are plenty of other podcasts which will regularly go down that path if it's a debate that folks enjoy to listen to or partake in, and we are happy to leave them to it.

Re: Annoying Gaming Lexicon

Posted: July 27th, 2017, 8:08 am
by Suits
Perhaps not really a term used to describe gameplay but the term 'Mint', when used to describe somethings condition irks me.

It's a valid term but 99.9% of the time is used incorrectly.