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posts about #tokimekimemorial more → can videogames be our friends?
Konami Opens Online Gaming Cafe
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Tim Rogers
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11/04/09
Great article tim. I hope you find some love to go with your money. #timrogers
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11/03/09
Video games are our friends: They keep us company when we're bored, they make us laugh, cry and smile, and they'll always be there for us. #timrogers
11/03/09
I enjoy the stream of consciousness style, because though it is that, there's usually a reason for your tangents and the like.
It's refreshing to read something like this, that provokes quite a bit of introspection from the reader. Something that's quite often missing in modern societal critiques. #timrogers
11/03/09
Perhaps I wasn't meant to see this, perhaps its a banner to be hoist up by some sub-culture I don't have a clear picture of. But then I'd suggest it not be posted on Kotaku, because it assumes too much. I'd rather read the same reflections in a more formal composition which makes accommodations for the audience of this blog, which I believe to very broad. #timrogers
11/04/09
Sorry to barge in on your rhetoric. #timrogers
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Many people might mistake you writing so much about your personal life as being a bit ego-centric(who isn't a little bit at least) but don't understand it as setting a frame of reference. A place to identify with your feelings and the occurrences that brought you to why you were feeling it. People who are normally into reading a blog-only format of writing, might not recognize it as the literary tool it is.
You and Mike Fahey end up bringing me to this site more than any other conglomeration of news. That's mostly because you put a human element into what most people want to digest quickly. You, for analyzing your feelings about a particular subject and Mike for making it seem like he's honestly excited about his writing job.
Anyway, thanks for this and your articles in GAMEStm. #timrogers
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11/03/09
@CowPieSoup: I never claimed that, just that some could confuse the two. I hadn't thought of JLC and Klinefelter's in 20 years before reading the above article, and I had managed never to hear the hermaphrodite claim. And I misinterpreted 'XXY indicates male' to be a statement about 'normal' human genetics, when apparently you were commenting on Klinefelter's being a condition exclusive to males. And I was really not trying to pick a quarrel, just misapprehended the first part of your reply.
Next thing, you'll tell me Geddy Lee doesn't have YYZ chromosomal disorder, causing his high voice and Ayn Rand obsession. Man, high school was useless. #timrogers
11/02/09
It was a bit depressing thinking how like real relationships dating sims are, how 'falling in love' can be a bit like that co-worker's cigarette break, how saying "I love you" to a real human can be as nauseous as saying the same to a video game. And yet I've also had love that was like a pure Tetris love, a Super Mario love, at least for a while, before we too started adding stuff to it, maybe things that had worked or not failed for others.
OK, no more Canabalt. Seriously.
Edit: I was at work when I started the article, got through about two thirds before heading home, but spent a lot of time on the phone. It definitely got me through some dead time at work in a thoughtful manner. And I played Canabalt for nearly an hour. I was not claiming the article actually would take anything close to four hours to read.
11/02/09
It took me 38 spacebars just to get to this textbox! 38 Spacebars!
I mean, I'll read it and all (like I always do), but man, THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT IIIIIIIIISSS LOOOOOOOONG. :O #timrogers
11/02/09
@(Starman) Alpha: I totally didn't know the space bar did that. #timrogers
11/03/09
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11/02/09
Also, it saddens me to see how many people complain about the length of these articles without actually reading it (particularly the phrase, "tl;dr".) It seems that in today's world of text messaging and "social networking services," most people have had their attention spans cut to the point that if something doesn't completely fit within their screen, it might as well not exist at all.
Anyway, I loved the article. Games can be great friends at times, (although i'll admit that typing that last sentence makes me a bit depressed,) especially since most of my real (and i'm using this next word very lightly) friends are so devoid of any actual intelligence or thought to be able to satisfy my desire for an actual conversation that doesn't devolve into finding the next great way to kill yourself in Grand Theft Auto.
As for games that pretend to be your friend, I, a video game store worker, cringe and die a little inside whenever i sell a game entitled Imagine: Blank or My Blankety Blank (Ubisoft being a MAJOR offender here.) I don't know how much longer I can do that job while keeping my relative sanity, especially with the holiday rush coming soon. *shudder*
11/03/09
..yeah. It's called "books". Novels, even. They have graphical novels with actual stories in them, too, nowadays.
And it's entirely allowed to enjoy these, instead of having to find a replacement for that escapism in tetris or GTA4, I mean.. #timrogers
11/03/09
11/02/09
"I said "I love you" to my Nintendo DS. (In Japanese: "a-i-shi-te-ru".) My god; I shuddered. That was the first god damn time I ever said those words to anyone, real or not. The sickening implications of this — the causes, the effects, the explanations — made me suddenly dizzy."
[/QUOTE]
you're a dork and I stopped reading after this paragraph.
I feel bad for you if you've never loved someone. Sorry Tim, but its sad dude. #timrogers
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11/03/09
..there are also people who despise anything that has been viciously violated by "larger than life" narratives. And can't make themselves end up in real situations that resemble those pre-eaten scenarios.
Here's how my latest attempt went:
"Do you love me?". She asked, just like that. Apparently the moment was right, or something. And I said: "I don't know. Being around you makes me feel both happy and sad. Happy for [insert boring details about personal life] and sad about [insert her horrible pains about personal life]. But you make me feel, and I care for you a lot.
So basically - I understood then that 1. I had not thought about what I really meant by "love". And 2. that neither had she, but nevertheless though using the word was great and meaningful. And I hated her for that. #timrogers
11/04/09
i could think of a couple hundred films containing similar scenarios to summarize for you, if you'd like. #timrogers
11/04/09
no, never saying "I love you" doesn't mean you've never loved someone. Just that you're either too scared or too immature to put yourself out there and risk being hurt.
also, if you want to use films as a basis on how to live your own life, well, more power to you. Just remember, almost all romantic comedy's end in a similar way.....with the guy overcoming his (usually self imposed) obstacles and winning over the girl.
Love can suck, but it can also be amazing. Sometimes in the same evening. That's life as a grown adult I'm afraid.
You're probably a nice guy, and I'm sure that we'd get along for a beer at the pub. It just came off as immature and seemed to re-enforce so many stereo types of the gamer guy, scared to open up to a girl.
You got hurt sometime in the past? Join the club. Youre not unique or special in that regard. Learn from past experiences and apply the lessons to your future.
and for myself at least, after going through a very near-death experience, I've tried to make it a point to tell someone I care about jsut how I feel every day of my life.
I'm not a perfect example, but there has to be a happy medium, and those words should never be forced. #timrogers
11/02/09
Time in games could be an interesting topic for a future column. Shenmue (Let's meet tomorrow at 4 pm), Oblivion (we are in a hurry but... yeah.. not really), MGS3 (The End is pretty old isn't he?) and more (time manipulation games such a Braid, Blinx and now the new Rachet & Clank) could be worked in...
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11/02/09
I particularly appreciated the comment on how media of sufficient influence can "lie to us" by failing o acknowledge its own influence. Perhaps it's less visible in Japanese culture because things there tend to be more trend-oriented and don't last long enough to see their own success. In a 13-episode series of anime, the focus is going to be on the source material itself rather than the reaction to that material (though even this is beginning to break down in the most-modern (or, if you prefer, post-Excel-Saga) industry.
Perhaps such reactions come in sequels, then when we deal with ames. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance gives us the classic example of children in a world much closer to our own escaping into the (admittedly) fictional world of "Final Fantasy." Wouldn't this be an example of exactly what you're describing? A television series, especially a multi-season drama such as The Sopranos, has the time to make such reactions, while a game must be complete once it ships out the door. (Except for MMORPGs, but that'd likely require another 12,000 words.) Disgaea 3 begins with our hero raging over the destruction of a video game system, and by extension, a several-thousand-hour save file... the kind of which Disgaea titles are known for.
I don't believe, then, that it's entirely invisible; it's just that given the final, "Everything on the Disc" nature of video gaming as an industry, developers can't predict reactions to games in themselves, as time machines don't exist. We'll see what episodic content does to this notion.
11/02/09
Is that the point? Just to see how many retarded people will read what you type and not have ANY inkling as to what you're saying but say how good of a job you did because, "well look at him, he posts articles on a popular website, he must be right."
I read the WHOLE thing, why? Maybe to prove that I can ingest a week's worth of total BS and still think clearly, I 'dunno.
I do know, however, that you sir are a genius. To be able to formulate such idiotic thoughts and put them to text AND have people applaud you for it is proof enough that humanity as a whole is just a mindless group of lemmings, and whatever the natural force is that guides them is people like you who will manipulate their minds and twist them to fit your needs to further your social agenda.
I applaud your douchebaggery good sir, for that is the only notable facet of your horribly hollow, wretched, and meaningless existence.
11/02/09
11/03/09
Proving that "To be able to formulate such idiotic thoughts and put them to text AND have people applaud you for it is proof enough that humanity as a whole is just a mindless group of lemmings" - is entirely true, also for this comment! Damn you, world! :p #timrogers
11/03/09
If a person submitted a comment on this site about how gamers are nothing more than man-children, but the commenter actually bothered to use spelling, grammar and punctuation, state a relatively clear and relevant point and did not accidentally reveal that they failed to read the opening post, then I'll approve them. #timrogers
11/03/09
The original article is a well-thought out piece of journalism(albeit rather long), that presents an opinion, a series of observations and research to back up that opinion, and a conclusion. It may not be accurate, but that's not the point - it's not a scientific journal, it's an opinion piece, for reading and considering. Responding 'you're an idiot' is not the right thing to do, rather present a carefully considered alternative, hopefully proving that the original poster is an idiot, if that does turn out to be the case. #timrogers
11/03/09
I guess I was simply worried that a comment that does not agree with the opinion of most Kotaku readers would simply be ignored.
I remember getting a star for a post that heavily criticized Australian game censorship. I wonder what would happen if I decided, on a dare, to write a post that approved of the censorship. #timrogers