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.
I'm not even sure I agree with "bad" mechanics in the way the term is traditionally used. For instance, there are times when people enjoy struggling with wonky jumping in a janky platformer, but they still call the game bad, because we collectively think it's "objectively" bad.
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I agree games aren't objectively good or bad but I also treasure the subjectivity of critics. I think Undertale is bad. That doesn't mean I think it's objectively bad or that others are wrong to like it or think it's good, but I do have my personal convictions about it.
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And I think there's so much pressure to treat games as objectively good or bad, to sacrifice (as critics & players) our own tastes to the gods of objectivity and consensus, when I keep wanting a framework for talking and thinking about games that allows us our own subjectivity.
End of conversation
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