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[strange headache]

Over at The Guardian, a resident intersectional feminist writer is offended by the notion that she needs to improve on her skills in order to beat certain games. The whole article is peppered with hyperbolic conjectures, making it seem as if the author is merely venting her frustration over her own poor life choices by having a go at the gaming community.

I enjoy video games, but I’m not good at playing them and I don’t want to be.

If you don't want to become better at something that you enjoy, then maybe you're not really enjoying it in the first place. I get the impression that she might not be talking about games, but her own job. At least it would explain why that article is such an entertaining trainwreck of incoherent ramblings.

If I wanted to develop a new skill, or increase my tolerance for repeated failure, or become more resilient, I’d just put down the controller and engage with the rest of my hyper-competitive millennial life, in which complacency puts you on the breadline and contentment is something you can only experience vicariously through looking at pictures of cats lying in the sun.

'Scuse me princess, your hyper-competitive millennial life? Man, I never knew that writing smug inflammatory bullcrap while sipping on your caffè macchiato in front of your laptop would be such a burden. Them poor millenials are really having it tough compared to all the generations before.

So much online gaming culture seems to consist of treating gaming like work. Maybe this is because about two-fifths of people think their actual job adds nothing important to the world and could be eliminated tomorrow.

Yeah because quite evidently, all gamers are mere scrubs working low-grade jobs that have nothing meaningful to offer.

This relationship between increasingly meaningless work and increasingly work-like video games is well illustrated by releases like Farming Simulator and American Truck Simulator, which allow you to experience the insane thrills of having a middle-of-the-road job.

Take that Truck Simulator players, you ain't got nothing on my shitty blogger lifestyle! Your work is meaningless, but I, I produce meaning!

If I’m going to enjoy the absurd capitalist soma of video games, the last thing I want to do is feel like I’m being badgered by a superior at a dead-end job.

I guess that's what it feels like writing low-grade clickbait for the gaming section of The Guardian.

EDIT: Since I prefer to discuss the merits of this article alone instead of opening another can of worms about intersectional feminism, please disregard both terms used above. It was unwise of me to mix them up with the issue at hand.

 

[off duty ninja]

Is this a preview of her PhD thesis?

I don’t want to get good at gaming, I want to escape the relentless pressure to improve myself

I think she is confusing gaming with watching TV.

 

[Barakov]

It's the Guardian so whatevs.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Is this article about her getting her ass handed to her by Father Gascoigne?

 

[TGO]

but I’m not good at playing them and I don’t want to be.

this use to be the reason most girls don't play games
" I don’t want to be better because it's stupid"
now it's offensive

 

[TacosNSalsa]

Isn't that kinda the point of the term? It's meant to poke fun at you

 

[off duty ninja]

Is this article about her getting her ass handed to her by Father Gascoigne?

Seriously! I play games for the escape it provides and when I run into a game that is frustratingly difficult you know what I do? Find a new game...

If she can't find a game that isn't too difficult for her to enjoy I think it says way more about her than gaming.

Like a lot of idiots with nothing better to do, I enjoy playing video games.

I can't get past the title and first sentence. Who exactly is she pandering to with this tripe? She complains about self improvement and calls all the other people who participate in this hobby idiots but its ok since she includes herself. Thanks for getting me all bent out of shape before I get off work strange headache !!

 

[CatCouch]

The quotes here are just weird, it really does seem like someone angry at other things like their job and taking it out on gaming. How does "meaningless work" relate to gaming? Some people want stimulating experiences where they push themselves and are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment. Gaming is a great medium for that. It's not gaming's fault if the author doesn't want to learn or understand the appeal of these type of games.

 

[joe_zazen]

eh, it was a fun but pointless read. I don't judge her gaming tastes.

Instead I judge her for working at the the Guardian, a cynical establishment propaganda rag, that will shit Downing street propaganda into your head, then ask you for a charitable donation.

 

[Scopa]

Farming is a “middle of the road” and “dead end” job apparently.

I wonder how this chick thinks food gets to her table?

What an arrogant idiot.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

This is the densest concentration of entitlement I've ever seen in gaming journalism. It may be the neutron star we've been waiting for. Either that, or we've found the equivalent of Jonathan Swift's modest proposal. Whatever the case, I had to read it three times.

I love how the author's hyper-competitive life has enough time in the day to pine for true relationship by idly scrolling through cat pictures. She likely needs people to explain poetry to her, too. Wouldn't want to engage the art on its terms. No, that would be crass. Please chew it and put it in my mouth. I mean, I do art for my job. Videogames should be about escaping that drudgery, not doing more of it.

However, credit where credit is due, she manages to give a social commentary about how videogames are a cheap panacea for a meaningless job, but she -- the blogger -- is above all that. She doesn't need to do work in her life and in her games. No, she is liberated from that drudgery of 'gaining skill' and 'improving oneself'. Leave that nonsense for my hyper-competitive lifestyle where I am constantly improving myself lest I find myself on the breadlines.

This is where spacetime begins to bend, though:

This basically means “try harder you lazy piece of shit” or, if you’re reading it very generously, “You can do it mate, keep pouring hours of your finite existence on this earth into achieving the millisecond-perfect muscle twitch reaction that will enable you to beat this cartoon nemesis that looks like a cross between a bed bug and a rum ball.”

Yes, keep pouring hours into articles about why improving one's videogame skills... wait.

But this below...

strange headache promised to post more philosophy and this is the deepest insight into human existence you've yet graced us with. This author's drive toward enlightenment is inspiration to us all.

I find this response baffling. I don’t want to “git gud” at video games. I play games for purely escapist reasons, and part of what I’m trying to escape is the relentless pressure to improve myself.

 

[Pallas]

I don’t care about the “git gud” meme but to be offended by it really makes her out to be a glass house. I mean the only way to get better is to practice, right? Lol

Someone should tell her that a lot of games have an easy difficulty setting btw, that’ll probably offend her next.

 

[Vawn]

In pretty sure it's meant to be offensive. Git tuffer

People get mad over anything. I was playing Rocket League and someone literally got offended I said "gg" for "good game".

Spoiler

In retrospect, maybe it was because I said in 20 seconds into the game after going up 1-0

Spoiler

On further thought maybe it was because I added "ez" to the "gg". Who knows?

 

[Sub_Level]

Some of the best books start slow. You have to brute force those first few chapters.

Well guess what sometimes you need to sit your ass down and accept defeat in a game sometimes, getting better or luckier with each attempt.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

Obnoxious? Sure. Offensive? Well if you're that easily offended then you probably shouldn't leave your house and should avoid the intenet because the world will eat you alive.

 

[Doom85]

Is this article about her getting her ass handed to her by Father Gascoigne?

Which would be embarrassing since he's one of the easiest bosses in the game, at least to me on the three playthroughs I've done.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

This truck driver would like to cordially invite her to go fuck herself and produce something of value for once in her miserable life.

That being said, I don't know how any of you people like playing a truck driving sim. Does it include dealing with asshole shippers and receivers, unashamedly carrying gallon-sized bottles of urine to the dumpster, or getting woken up at 3 In the morning by filthy hookers looking to give you $15 blowjobs?

 

[strange headache]

This is the densest concentration of entitlement I've ever seen in gaming journalism. It may be the neutron star we've been waiting for.

I usually gloss over such articles, but this time I just couldn't resist the gravitational pull.

strange headache promised to post more philosophy and this is the deepest insight into human existence you've yet graced us with. This author's drive toward enlightenment is inspiration to us all.

I guess I should add it to the list then

 

[Scopa]

That being said, I don't know how any of you people like playing a truck driving sim. Does it include dealing with asshole shippers and receivers, unashamedly carrying gallon-sized bottles of urine to the dumpster, or getting woken up at 3 In the morning by filthy hookers looking to give you $15 blowjobs?

I’d play that!

 

[mariosbrother]

I apologize, I couldn't bring myself to click through and read, but from the commentary here alone it seems like another inflation of one's personal beliefs into truth-facts. This person could be friends with another individual posting about Kirby...

Crazy concept incoming: the video game space is enormous, and not only is there room for both ultra casual and git-gud muscle twitch warlord games, but both are completely acceptable.

 

[iconmaster]

That being said, I don't know how any of you people like playing a truck driving sim. Does it include dealing with asshole shippers and receivers, unashamedly carrying gallon-sized bottles of urine to the dumpster, or getting woken up at 3 In the morning by filthy hookers looking to give you $15 blowjobs?

No, but here’s hoping for some amazing DLC.

 

[kizito]

Thought the quotes in the original post were a little bit exaggerating, but no, it is even worse when you read the actual article :

this is entertainment we’re talking about! This is an object people purchase in order for it to provide them with a pleasurable experience. If someone wants to buy Mario Kart and set it up so that they get to sit there and watch the car drive itself, who cares?

Author of the article failing to realize that not everyone takes pleasure in the same things as her. My pleasure in gaming can be in the "git gud" aspect, when I finally beat an opponent that required skill, intelligence or whatever, providing me a sense of accomplishment in my hobby. Just like any sport. And the comment about Mario Kart's self driving cars is stupid and misused; if you take out all the interactivity aspect of gaming, then go watch a Netflix show or the TV, suits you probably better, all hobbies don't need to appeal to everyone.
(Also, sorry for my English, not native).

 

[off duty ninja]

dealing with asshole shippers and receivers, unashamedly carrying gallon-sized bottles of urine to the dumpster, or getting woken up at 3 In the morning by filthy hookers looking to give you $15 blowjobs

I want Quantic Dream to make this game so bad!!

 

[Moneal]

Think she would get better return for her time and money if she just watched youtube letsplays or twitch streamers based on this article:

So Nintendo thinks people are idiots and kids are too dumb to learn how to play. So they added an auto feature so you can watch the game play itself,” grumbles poster MilkyTrousers about a cruise control feature in Mario Kart.

Newsflash, MilkyTrousers – this is entertainment we’re talking about! This is an object people purchase in order for it to provide them with a pleasurable experience. If someone wants to buy Mario Kart and set it up so that they get to sit there and watch the car drive itself, who cares?

 

[ipukespiders]

Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Any prospective truckers out there, always politely decline the lot lizards no matter how much they piss you off. Angry lizards equals cut airlines.

 

[Domisto]

So she doesn't want to play games with a challenge. No problem. There are plenty. At least half of them are made for 5 year olds, but there's lots of other stuff. There's a whole genre called Walking Simulators. Judging by the rambling generalisations she makes in the name of 'humour' I think she just needs to look a little harder for them. Silly article.

 

[The_Mike]

What she’s describing is movie entertainment, not gaming.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

git gud is a form of encouragement. everyone has it in them to play Souls games. they aren't THAT hard. you might die to a boss for half an hour but eventually you will defeat them only taking 1 or 2 hits. you will have learned how to dodge attacks like a ninja and strike at the optimal moment just by dying over and over.

git gud is about learning, it is about strategy. these games are not impossible. nothing is impossible. it is about overcoming apparently overwhelming odds through repetition and learning. it is about memorizing patterns. this isn't even a thing you need to pursue necessarily, you git gud simply by playing one more time, by continuing to accrue knowledge, by becoming familiar with the game world.

you learn the systems, you play, you figure out when to block, when to dodge, the layout of enemies, etc. it is knowledge-based. git gud is about gitting knowledge. why would you want games to be dumbed down? this is why From is exceptional, they treat the audience with respect. they succeed because they refuse to dumb it down.

 

[Danjin44]

I myself not expert in gaming, I die a lot when play the game on hardest difficulty but but best part about gaming is you get good and beat it and get really rewarding feeling after over coming the that challenge.

If she doesn't want to get good at playing games then she really doesn't really like engage with games which make me think that she want a game that play itself.

 

[LukeSkywater]

I find hypersensitive chronically offended narcissistic game "Journos" offensive. Maybe she should "do better" /condescending Austin Walker jpeg

 

[manfestival]

the whole point of saying git gud is to piss off the other person so yeah... of course it is offensive. it is meant to piss you off and insult you. Just like someone calling you a noob or trash.

 

[Cunth]

they should give me a medal just for participating

 

[LordPezix]

This relationship between increasingly meaningless work and increasingly work-like video games is well illustrated by releases like Farming Simulator and American Truck Simulator, which allow you to experience the insane thrills of having a middle-of-the-road job.

Guess she doesn't like her food nor her conveniently accessible amazon packages.

She sounds like an ungrateful person.

 

[Strife In a Teacup]

I don’t want to get good at gaming, I want to escape the relentless pressure to improve myself

I'd pay (not really) to see her stream play Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I'd pay (not really) to see her stream play Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

The author would likely confuse reading the manual to learn the key inputs as the game itself and would then quit before even technically beginning.

 

[Zog]

All I can say to people who say 'git gud' is: Get good at spelling.

 

[autoduelist]

I teach my children that they should do their best to practice and excel at everything they like doing. They don't have to be great, they don't have to be perfect, but they do have to try to improve themselves. I use the example of throwing a ball. If I throw a ball randomly up in the air 100 times, it might fall near you some of those times. But I'll never improve because I'm not trying. However, if I throw a ball towards you a hundred times, I will improve. I will do better the next hundred times.

Anyone who advocates for not trying at something they profess to like might as well just slump down on the couch and give up. it sickens me to hear kids today using try hard as an insult. You're goddamn right I'm going to try hard. If I wasn't, I'd be sleepwalking through life.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I wouldn’t call it offensive.

It’s definitely rude and elitist though. One can tell someone they need to practice and get better, and ideally also give them tips on how to improve, without being a dick about it.

It’s also stupid as hell with the dumbass meme (or what the fuck ever it is) spelling. Nerd culture is the fucking worst.

There's nothing wrong with games that are hard and require practice, so most of that article is bad IMO. That doesn't change that it's wrong for elitists to toss "git gud" at people expressing frustration who are trying to get better and just venting. Those attitudes just drive people away from genres like fighting games and lead to them becoming more and more niche. Much better for fans of those genres to offer encouragement to people venting (those actually trying to get good, not people like this article's author), offer tips, offer to friend them and help them train etc. These genres need to grow their bases, not become more niche and full of elitists.

 

[thief183]

snowflakes... snowflakes everywhere.... I can't believe what I just read. It's like going to do a sport and don't want to learn it... expecially in multiplayer games this kind of attitud is going to destroy other ppl enjoyment of the game (imagine having someone like her in your team...).

Also, this ppl are the ones that managed to transform games from challanging to piece of cake, There are players in the Monster Hunter forums complaining that the game is too hard and they couldn't kill the fking first monster...

 

[kevm3]

You just want to show up to win? Welcome to 95% of modern gaming. Just leave the few reasonably difficult series alone like megaman and dark souls

 

[Joyful]

that is the point of the term yes

 

[Imtjnotu]

 

[Vawn]

I find it offensive when I'm driving and another driver flips me off. Do you think they know I might find that offensive?

 

[SonGoku]

OMFG this better be satire
When will these fake gaming sites go away already

 

[The Alien]

Love these 'game journalists' nowadays that dont play games.

 

[DonF]

Please, if you are awful at games, just watch complete playthroughs on YouTube and that's it. Don't write the most asinine column ever and humiliate yourself.
Regards
People who actually like a challenge and improve.

 

[Tapioca]

Farming is a “middle of the road” and “dead end” job apparently.

I wonder how this chick thinks food gets to her table?

What an arrogant idiot.

It is unless you own the farm. So are a lot of other labor jobs that enable society to function.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

Lot of people need to check their gud privilege in here

 

[zombrex]

Amazing people get paid to write low effort, trash like this. Probably took her 10 mins.
She should git gud at her job and do some real journalism.