360 Magazine article contents

[Per]

As previously mentioned, 360 Magazine has a Fallout 3 special in their latest issue. Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog has procured a copy and shares the general information. The title of the article is apparently and oh so originally paraphrased from Dr Strangelove - "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fallout 3" - and I'm not sure the irony in that works out how they intended. The article is characterized thus:<blockquote>“Change is just about as inevitable as things come” is what we can read in the beginning of the piece. That sets the tone for a long introduction where the events that took place since Bethsoft got the license are shown, with a few historical inaccuracies in the middle.

This prepares a narrative that we can find throughout the entire article, of the “most rabid and dedicated fans” there is attacking Bethsoft for “the crime of purchasing the rights” of the Fallout franchise, while Bethsoft, that has key players that are “huge fans themselves”, try to reinvent and inovate.

Bethsoft is lead by someone that “those that worked for him openly refer to him as a genius”, named Todd Howard, and they do take Fallout 1 as their standard for cannon. While they take into account Fallout 2, and even a little of Fallout Tactics and Fallout: BOS, they always go back to the original for inspiration.</blockquote>The blog gives a rundown of sidebars and screenshots, noting that all the good stuff is old, and concludes:<blockquote>If you want to have a mini Fallout encyclopedia, need an introduction to the Fallout setting and timeline, or still haven’t found all the scans with the new pictures than do get the mag, if not there’s nothing really special there.</blockquote>Spotted on Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog, obviously

 

[star]

A genius, huh? Is it just me getting the feeling they're taking it a bit far now with their hype? Or maybe it's just you rabid fans that wrap the article up in evil ways? Who knows.. I certainly won't buy a 360 magazine to find out.. I don't even own any console..

 

[Lexx]

I hate all this "you have to stop with the hate"-articles. This is so much cliché...

 

[Brother None]

I hate all this "you have to stop with the hate"-articles. This is so much cliché...

Eh.

I'm always amused people care so much about us. From the amount of coverage and responses we get, we're basically the most important single commentator on Fallout 3.

I don't mind that. I don't mind it at all.

 

[gc051360]

^That is odd, isn't it.

For a fan base that is constantly criticized as "not mattering" and whatnot, they sure do talk about it a lot.

And if change is inevitable, why hasn't the basic concept of Elder Scrolls changed?

eta: Seriously though? Genius?

 

[Hellion]

eta: Seriously though? Genius?

Petty members of the developing team and coffee bitches have to start from somewhere if they want to lead-develop the "next best thing" sometime in the future.

 

[Brother None]

eta: Seriously though? Genius?

It's the first time I've heard that one. Everyone seems to accept that Todd Howard is no Warren Spector and I've never really heard him described as anything but a capable manager. He's certainly no visionary. Doesn't talk like one, nobody particularly cares about his vision on developing.

He's typical of post-Chris Weaver Bethesda. Unremarkable.

Perhaps they want to change his rep. I wish them luck, but I don't think they'll succeed.

PS: though I'm worried if the standard of the medium employee on Bethesda is so low that he is considered a genius by comparison.

 

[Bagge]

I hate all this "you have to stop with the hate"-articles. This is so much cliché...

Eh.

I'm always amused people care so much about us. From the amount of coverage and responses we get, we're basically the most important single commentator on Fallout 3.

I don't mind that. I don't mind it at all.

Indeed. It seems every other interview has at least one question regarding the backlash from the Fallout community. Even if most of them are supportive of Betheda's new direction for Fallout, it still places focus on the fact that not everyone loves what Bethesda is doing to RPGs.

 

[Jidai Geki]

Silly video games journalists. They think the fact that they are paid for their opinions and sycophantic "interviews" somehow makes their opinions more valid than everybody else's.

 

[shihonage]

... and a large picture of a BOS knight hitting a Feral Ghoul with shots from a minigun. The ghoul is hurt and drips blood Gears of War style.

The game's environment actually does have a visual similarity to Gears of War, in the same way as a scribbled stick figure resembles a vault dweller.

I'm sorry but visuals wise it is completely outclassed.

Oh and

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fallout 3

Terrible.

 

[JR Jansen]

I hate all this "you have to stop with the hate"-articles. This is so much cliché...

Eh.

I'm always amused people care so much about us. From the amount of coverage and responses we get, we're basically the most important single commentator on Fallout 3.

I don't mind that. I don't mind it at all.

Are those that are feared not always ridiculed by the other side ?

I mean, we may be the only ones that don't fall for all the hype and as such need to be ridiculed. Mudslinging has been a tried method in politics.

Sometimes i do wonder, however, if these 'journalists' are getting paid by Beth to make us look like a 'raving band of marauders with foaming mouths'.

 

[whirlingdervish]

They are getting paid, just probably not with money.

They are the ones getting the "exclusives" and the new screenshots of the title that WE are supposed to just shut up and buy after we waste a few hundred dollars on gaming rags that all told us how wonderful it was and how we should love it, even tho we have nothing to base that love on.

dollars aren't the only form of bribery.


Just once I'd like to see a gaming magazine compare the well thought out and well researched review that NMA had on Fallout 3's Demo, to any of the fairly baseless and unproffesional crap that their colleagues have been spewing for many months now.

I would buy that magazine.

 

[Von Drunky]

They are getting paid, just probably not with money.

They are the ones getting the "exclusives" and the new screenshots of the title that WE are supposed to just shut up and buy after we waste a few hundred dollars on gaming rags that all told us how wonderful it was and how we should love it, even tho we have nothing to base that love on.

dollars aren't the only form of bribery.


Just once I'd like to see a gaming magazine compare the well thought out and well researched review that NMA had on Fallout 3's Demo, to any of the fairly baseless and unproffesional crap that their colleagues have been spewing for many months now.

I would buy that magazine.

You would BUY that mag and it would never be heard of again because no company would grant them exclusive previews of their products causing them to run short on content, which gives other mags “the edge”. However if the mag was FREE, it would kind of just sponsored itself with ads like the Village Voice then it could get away with writing critical reviews for the masses since its none profit and their main priority would be journalism not their salary.

 

[JR Jansen]

You would BUY that mag and it would never be heard of again because no company would grant them exclusive previews of their products causing them to run short on content, which gives other mags “the edge”.

On the other hand, if all those so called 'journalists' would do their job and report more objectively then they have been doing, the game companies wouldn't have the possibility of blackmailing them. It's the gaming press' own fault that these things happen. If a good portion of them keeps falling prey to this type of blackmail, they will be used as hype whores over and over.

And, if you think about it, they game companies need the gaming press as well, because it is actually free advertising for them.

 

[Von Drunky]

Welcome to capitalism it’s like this: by compromising the news both game retailers, developers and press win at the expense of gamers sadly. The game companies get to promote their game, the press are fed content making everyone’s job simpler and the retailers are happy because people are buying games, assuring that everyone get a check at the end of the day. This practice is not limited to game press you know. The only way to get honesty is to take away greed that is caused by money. A free mag that is widely distributed would be able to keep game developers from taking short cuts and working harder to bring us games we could all enjoy more.

And, if you think about it, they game companies need the gaming press as well, because it is actually free advertising for them.

It works both ways think how many more copies mags sell when they get to put a title like FO, GTA, or Quake on the front page.

 

[gc051360]

Welcome to capitalism it’s like this

Capitalism allows for this to happen, but it's not the cause.

The only way to get honesty is to take away greed that is caused by money. A free mag that is widely distributed would be able to keep game developers from taking short cuts and working harder to bring us games we could all enjoy more.

Greed is not caused by money.

How do you distribute a "free mag" widely? That costs money to do. Writers won't write for free. You can't print for free. You can't ship the magazine for free. WTF?

Basically, you want to have public gaming magazines? What a waste of tax payer money that would be.

 

[Von Drunky]

gc051360 your a dal-ba-yob if your quoting the lest relevant part of my point, you know the part before I actually get to explain it.

Also get your reading game up and read the my first post in this thread, the one with the Village Voice example which is a free newspaper you can get on any corner in any major NY city I’m not sure about the rest of America maybe they have something similar. Anyway the reason it free is because of the ads and sponsors which cover the printing and distributing costs. Hell, they even have money left over to throw festivals. But any, I haven't picked up a gaming mag in about 7 years now but i remember them being heavily ad based. So my guess is that if you lower the quality (use cheaper paper/ink make it look more like a newspaper, maybe) it would be totally possible to make it happen. As for journalists, well gamers that want to start out in the media industry. I mean who else would be able to criticize game developers better then some dorky English major who spends his/her free time gaming or lurking on game forums? In some cases experience pays better then money. I am sure that if someone offered an opinionated gamer an unpaid internship someone would bite. Anyway this is getting way off topic if you want I’ll start a thread maybe that might influences some people to get a blog going..

 

[star]

Capitalism allows for this to happen, but it's not the cause.

Greed is not caused by money.

Haha, very funny. If you havn't realized yet, this world is a neo-capitalistic battlefield of global companies without any rules. Money >> everything else. And greed is really just a evolutionary adaption that everyone of our species has to some extent.

 

[Jidai Geki]

The problem with the magazine-developer relationship is that it's dictated by the devs, not the magazines. Developers should have to prove to a sceptical group of journalists that their product is worth buying. Journalists should not be jumping through hoops for exclusives, they should be offering a certain amount of coverage to a new product.

 

[star]

The problem with the magazine-developer relationship is that it's dictated by the devs

Wrong again. The real problem is that it's dictated by the dollar. Devs and magazine-makers both want the dollar and working together is the best way to get it.


You people really need to get away from that view of yours that magazines should be full of independent journalists searching for the truth and presenting it to you in nicely written articles. Thats pretty naive, guys.