I routinely hear ppl say things like "this game is bad but I like it" & "this game is bad but fun" & though I know this way of thinking is so deeply ingrained as to be nigh unchangeable I philosophically object to it & the underlying notion of game quality as something objective.
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It seems to me that these folks often have to bend over backwards trying to explain that although they feel deep affection for a game, they still recognize that it is, of course, bad, as we can all recognize just by looking at it. It is objectively bad.
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IMO: If a game is fun, or if you like it for whatever reason, if you find it strangely beautiful or captivating or whatever, it's good, no matter how janky it is. If it's "polished" but dull, it's bad, no matter how refined it is.
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A broken game can feel alive and revelatory and beautiful. A "well-programmed" (ugh) game can feel suffocating and sterile. I really wish we could abandon altogether these "objective" notions of video game quality and trust our own individual, deeply subjective tastes.
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Replying to @carolynmichelle
That makes sense. I think, for me at least, the form of criticism that you take issue with remains at situationally* useful. When I recommend a game - or any piece of media for that matter - I try to be honest about what I think its strengths and flaws are.
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Replying to @ActuallyRGB @carolynmichelle
To use a somewhat recent example, I love Final Fantasy XV with all my heart. But I also see that there are a lot of things that might stop somebody from liking it in the same way that I do. I think it has a good story on-paper that is poorly told story in-game. (cont.)
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Replying to @ActuallyRGB @carolynmichelle
The gameplay is flashy in a way that I personally find really satisfying, but it’s also not very challenging. The large open world is beautiful, but often devoid of things to actually find. The core band of characters are delightful to me, but the side characters are often bland.
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Replying to @ActuallyRGB @carolynmichelle
The game also doesn’t treat its female cast very well, with the person we are told to be the main heroine of the story hardly getting any time on-screen, and the others being largely stereotypes and eye-candy without much depth to them.
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Replying to @ActuallyRGB @carolynmichelle
I suppose my point is; if I love something, I try my best to understand what it is about the thing I love. *The situation being: “This person doesn’t have the time, money, or some other reason to try games too much, and I’m trying to give them my best recommendation.”
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Replying to @ActuallyRGB @carolynmichelle
I do agree that the general need that folks often feel to qualify their love for something is unfortunate, though, and often problematic to good criticism because it’s ostensibly rooted in cynicism, not good-faith.
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Forgive me but I don’t see what this has to do with what I’m saying. I’m a big advocate for complexity and contradiction in reviews and conversations about games, acknowledging the good and the bad.
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Replying to @carolynmichelle @ActuallyRGB
I’m talking specifically about the idea that “this game is objectively bad, I know it’s bad, there’s no denying it’s bad, but I like it anyway.” If talking to a friend or whatever you can acknowledge that their reaction to it might be different than yours, that’s different.
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Replying to @carolynmichelle @ActuallyRGB
But I think too often people sell their own tastes short, and yes, in mainstream game reviews I still think these notions of objectivity hold too much sway and I wish more people wrote from a place of their own personal intrinsic tastes. I admit I do want that.
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