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[RocketRacoon]

Sometimes it gets a little much, but it's okay. I love that a place exists where we love something so much that the hate gets so strong.


The highs are so worth it, being in the PSX thread of the Feb / 13 PS4 announce thread make anything worthwhile.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Don't think that is his point, his point seems to be "the honeymoon phase" - ie playing the game for a limited time, showing elation without proper perspective, not sure I agree with shadow of mordor especially given its nominees and general reviews (but that is opinions for you) but his meaning has merit.

Alrighty, I guess I get it. Bad choice of an example phrase. If he/she had said when someone says"OMFG greatest game of all time" without giving any context could come off as annoying. Someone saying "Im having a blast" without context and being annoyed by it just sounded like he/she was annoyed that someone was enjoying a game they didn't like.

 

[ChronotriggerJM]

I only hate hyperbolic hate. I'm all for people being overwhelmingly positive about things.

My personal view towards games is that I tend to look for aspects I'd enjoy in them, and base my experience off of that. Games that many others consider mediocre can nail one mechanic well, and I'll probably be fawning over it.

I guess I just don't actively look for the bad in games, and am fairly forgiving of flaws.

 

[GeordieMark]

I think the cynicism is a direct result of the hype. They are equally bad.

A lot of the hyperbole is just down to people wanting to be noticed but I also think it seems worse sometimes because those are the kind of posts that are endlessly quoted and responded to. The well thought out and measured responses get less attention. Its basically easier to respond to the dumb posts, and pick at them than it is to write a decent response to a good post.

I really enjoy posting here and reading the thoughts of others on the hobby I love, but I equally find it very frustrating and annoying how partisan people seem to be. It drives me crazy that I notice the same posters who always pop up to back their obvious favourite manufacturer, rather than being more sensible. The cheerleading just causes rows and means threads constantly go to shit.

The thing that is most annoying for me on here right now is all the accusations of bias in the gaming press. For me, that shit should be a bannable offence unless it is backed up with proper evidence.

 

[HK-47]

We need the cynicism to counter all the hype. And hype usually still drowns it out until a game is released and concrete.

 

[Kade]

There's a higher number of good posts, write-ups and content here than you won't find elsewhere but lately it's been greatly overshadowed by garbage that's barely indistinguishable from GameFAQs or the comments sections on YouTube and IGN. GAF has a reputation in the industry and the internet as one of the best places to discuss video games but from talking to people it seems like that's a GAF that has long passed. I think a lot of the quality is maintained in the Community subsections because you only go there when you're looking for something you actually want to talk about, read about and/or enjoy so there's less drive-by posts and people looking for attention, notoriety and to increase their postcounts. The hyperbolic cynicism is (almost) non-existent there and people are more open to having actual discussions about things. Again, there are a lot of good posts there but Gaming (especially Gaming) and Off-Topic seem like the Wild West. I'm guilty of making dumb garbage posts too and it's something I'm working to stop since it helps no one. I think of something and want to show the world immediately because I feel it's some real hot shit but I usually just need 2 seconds to think it over before realizing it's just regular shit.

The hype is just as bad though. The DriveClub weather update thread, for example, is the complete inverse of the negativity. The difference is people just think you're crazy while with the hate, everyone just thinks you're a dick.

 

[lumzi23]

People also talk a lot about why game X is the greatest ever. One balances out the other.

 

[soul creator]

there can certainly a bit of a mob mentality with internet forums in general, which tends to turn people expressing valid feelings into something completely over the top. You basically have to learn to separate the crazy reactions from the actual core thoughts that may very well be perfectly valid in some respects (or just try to avoid it all)

But yeah, there's a lot of "boy that escalated quickly" that tends to happen with anything remotely popular or controversial. It's kind of like an arms race of internet commenting or something. In and of itself it doesn't bother me, though it is a little annoying when it sometimes leads to people mistaking subjective feelings for some kind of objective moral truth or something.

 

[Rafterman]

*Watches program/plays game* Hey that was pretty cool, let me go see what the internet thinks.

*Reads thread full of hate/disdain* Whoa what the heck?

This has happened to me so many times over the past few years that I just don't read as much feedback as I used to. I'm content consuming stuff at my own pace, forming my own opinion and either keeping it to myself or sharing it among a few individuals that I know aren't crazy.

Once you step out of the "only reads GAF and never plays games" vortex, it's hard to go back. Not to single out GAF mind you, this stuff obviously happens everywhere.

So much this. It's one of the reasons I don't read review sites, I don't inundate myself with pre-release hype and I certainly don't come to GAF to find out what I should and shouldn't like. The sheer amount of games I've enjoyed, only to come to sites like this one and see people who are overly emotional and invested ripping them to shreads is amazing. I mean I get that people are invested in gaming, but there but there is such thing as being too invested and losing perspective and forgetting what this hobby is about having fun, and that people enjoying games is a good thing.

 

[Always-honest]

Yes.

 

[inm8num2]

Everything tends to be polarizing these days. Moderate opinions seem "boring" relative to extreme ones and don't yield as much response. Hence the hyperbole.

 

[Screaming Meat]

We need the cynicism to counter all the hype. And hype usually still drowns it out until a game is released and concrete.

What's wrong with level-headedness?

People also talk a lot about why game X is the greatest ever. One balances out the other.

Not really, it just adds to the air of hyperbole.

 

[Kieli]

I'd like to say that all the hyperbole and cynicism doesn't get to me (and normally, I could not care less), but...

That's not true as long as people exist who like Demon's Souls and Persona 3 over Dark Souls and Persona 4.

My quest continues... My rage builds...

 

[BPoole]

Only with games that I like. All the hate Ubisoft and EA is pretty much justified.

But, for instance, the Crysis series post Warhead gets shit on constantly here for no reason. In the recent thread people were saying Crysis 3 isn't worth $4 which is just nonsense. Hardly anyone gave a reason, just did a drive by shit post and went along their merry way instead of giving actual criticisms for the people who were considering buying it.

 

[God Dayumm]

Sometimes it feels like a breath of fresh air from all the fanboyism. But yeah, it is bad, we all need to chill

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

This is a horrible answer. Two wrongs do not make a right

Well I would argue that "hyperbolic hate" isn't always a wrong. Especially when a game falls short of the ridiculous claims made of it, and the hate is directed at those shortcomings (albeit exaggerated)

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Before joining Gaf, I tried to deal with this on GameFAQs by blocking all who were super offensive, imbecilic, hyperbole-filled or overly negative/combative. I kid you not, on some threads that eliminated upwards of 80% of the posts, and the rest were people responding to and quoting the people I had ignored.

 

[CaptainGyro]

People also talk a lot about why game X is the greatest ever. One balances out the other.

You guys act like this shit is measured out on a balance scale and the balance is continually equal. It's really really stupid

 

[lumzi23]

Not really, it just adds to the air of hyperbole.

Hey, nothing wrong with having a game be your favorite ever. I didn't through what I posted.

It's not so bad here. The metacritic user reviews is where you go if you want to hear hyperbole.

 

[Retro]

It doesn't "get to me" so much as it kind of just annoyingly derails discussion.

The worst is when someone will jump into a thread and spout cynical shit to "counterbalance the hype" like it's their job to make sure there's some kind of natural balance between pessimism and optimism.

 

[DogMeat77]

Nah. The reality is I don't really care what any of you think about a game. The internet is a silly place. I love a lot of games people hate and hate a lot of games people love. Life's too short to care about what people think on NeoGAF.

 

[Pseudo judo]

Hyperbolic hate to match the hyperbolic claims and hype made by the respective developers/publishers or those games (AC:U, Destiny, Watchdogs, etc)

They have no one to blame but themselves

Lol, first post says it all and I saw it coming a mile away.

Gamers today justify their hate and negativity as a necessity, a way to balance some imagined scale. A lame excuse to be sure but there it is.

 

[lumzi23]

You guys act like this shit is measured out on a balance scale and the balance is continually equal. It's really really stupid

I don't believe in the whole balance of good and evil thing so no.

I guess I should have just said that it is not a big deal. People have strong opinions and they state them as thus on the internet. Gaf isn't as bad as other places really.

 

[FutureZombie]

I complain about GAF more than anyone, but I don't think the people here are too negative. There are like a dozen other things about GAF that suck, but too much negativity is not one of them.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Hey, nothing wrong with having a game be your favorite ever. I didn't through what I posted.

I was just about to say

 

[InfiniteCombo]

A lot of the hyperbole is just down to people wanting to be noticed but I also think it seems worse sometimes because those are the kind of posts that are endlessly quoted and responded to. The well thought out and measured responses get less attention. Its basically easier to respond to the dumb posts, and pick at them than it is to write a decent response to a good post.

Everything tends to be polarizing these days. Moderate opinions seem "boring" relative to extreme ones and don't yield as much response. Hence the hyperbole.

These responses have it right. I also have noticed, even in GAF (I'd say especially GAF since it's mostly what I read these days), that moderate posts get largely ignored, while the incendiary ones are the ones that get the most attention. What I usually do is I make a note of who posts incendiary, hyperbolic, or otherwise useless stuff, and I put them on my mental "block" list. Future posts from that individual tend to fly by unnoticed by me.

I have a few folks that I follow on GAF; posters that are usually very reasonable, informed, eloquent, and very often add positively to the discussion. Everyone else, I ignore.

 

[CaptainGyro]

Well I would argue that "hyperbolic hate" isn't always a wrong. Especially when a game falls short of the ridiculous claims made of it, and the hate is directed at those shortcomings (albeit exaggerated)

I already get the feeling that your answer is just going to make me repeat that two wrongs don't make a right, but I'll ask anyway.
When is hyperbolic hate of a game right? ( something more specific than what you said in the second sentence of that post)

 

[Mr. Poolman]

I don't mind critical approaches (in fact, I think there are very few on the industry).

But I admit to always have a blast when people try to defend corporation's feelings and "the families of their employees".

 

[Confidence Man]

The most cynical and negative opinions are the ones I value most.

 

[dead souls]

Really? You should try thinking harder.

Sports. Music. Movies.

Television. *looks in the mirror*

 

[saunderez]

I don't mind the hate and the cynicism so much, they're fine if the poster can actually elaborate on their feelings. The piling on is what really gives me the shits. It's gotten so predictable I can now pick which thread will have piling on and the level of ignorance in these threads is often astounding (especially when the OP is factually wrong). There's no discussion to be had when 9 out of 10 posts are drive by LOLs and I told ya so's.

It's awful and makes me seriously consider starting to use the Gaf ignore list, but I just don't like that.

You might as well make use of it if it makes your time more pleasant. I occasionally read posts from members I've ignored and if they've reigned it back I take them off the list.

 

[Pathfinder]

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Make Up My Own Mind About Video Games.