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[64bitmodels]

Honestly one thing that kind of irks me here is sort of the lack of indepth discussion on games or why people like them. Hold back your laughing emojis and hear me out here for a sec

Whenever you usually go into a thread here, people usually say that a game is a masterpiece, if it's great, good, or bad, terrible, etc. But people never really seem to explain WHY. Usually the game is just good or bad, and if they go a bit more indepth they say that the gameplay is good or the story is amazing or whatnot without getting into the details of what makes said gameplay good or what makes said story well written. It's honestly quite a big issue here since this is an enthusiast gaming forum for enthusiast gamers. I'd figure us of all people would be able to better articulate why we think game is good or why a game is bad.

01011001 's thread on Halo Infinite is exactly what i like from this forum, a big breakdown on why they feel a certain way about a game. It's a very extreme example since that thread is one of the biggest on this forum, but that kind of indepth, long retrospective on a game is exactly the type of discussion that i love. Imagine if we got more threads like that, that explained why this game is a masterpiece or why this game sucks. NeoGAF discussion would be so much more insightful and entertaining (and it already is very entertaining considering the crazy shit some of y'all say here)

One issue that contributes to this, i think, is how there's just a lack of discussion on specific games. People make 'favorite game' threads or 'games you loved from year XXXX' but never 'my thoughts on X' or 'why X game is great'. granted i make those types of threads but they never gain much traction and it leaves me feeling very salty. But it makes sense when you consider how much engagement and discussion news threads and console war threads make. And yes. i know this is the premiere site for consolewarring. So much so that it can be annoying at times.

The most we've gotten are all the threads on ragnarok, and it's mostly people hyping up the game, which is fair enough since it's not even out yet. But still, a lot of these discussions feel more like stuff i'd read on Discord than a forum. And even there i end up seeing more opinionated discussion and indepth views on why people like or dislike games, in a few enthusiast servers.

This is all a bit pedantic i know, but i've seen other people sort of admit and joke about the lack of actual game discussion on this site and its a bit funny but also a bit sad because i'd love to just go off about why i love a game franchise and how i feel a certain game works and how another doesnt, and to hear other peoples thoughts on all my opinions. Conversation about games is the second most fun thing to actually playing them.

 

[bender]

Take Gandhi's advice and be the change you want to see. We have a few people here who like to have in depth discussions like VGEsoterica .

 

[TintoConCasera]

I'd like if the forum's CSS had a bit more of margin between the posts and the border of the window. It's kinda hard to read posts on a monitor with the browser maximized, as the lines of text become longer than a day on GAF without console warring.
Changing the max-width of .p-body-inner should be enough.


And I agree with you OP, sometimes this place feels more like a circle jerking group rather than a space for discussion.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Don't disagree, but the site kind of incentives mic drop comments and in an age of spoiler paranoia it's become a bit of a minefield to discuss anything with anyone online or offline. I was trying to discuss House of the Dragon at a friend's house the other day and her husband came through with his fingers in his ears, saying 'haven't seen it yet guys' in an entirely serious tone of voice.

 

[MikeM]

Sir, this is the internet.

Edit: I will say that more intelligent conversation is always welcome. The problem is that a lot of people here can’t see past their favourite console box.

“Looololll Ps5 is only RDNA 1.84648 it sux”
“OMGZ pc is da best console is trash”
“Phil Spencer is Christ”
“*insert console box* pushes 2 more frames per second. Other box is a POS”
Etc…

Hard to foster intelligent conversation when these are 80% of the responses.

 

[azertydu91]

Reading the title I was affraid of another account suicide thread...I'm glad it is not.
There are a few people with whom you can still have a great discussion or even to argue with.But some others are so eager to defend their favorite console or their PC.So it often ends with quick one liners,gotcha's and mic drop trying posts.
Some people do genuinely want to talk about games but what brings the best of gaf is when you have a problem or a technical question, rarely those thread attracts the warriors, or they post constructive comments and it really show how much gaf can be good.

 

[Games of Today]

I think partially what it may come down to is that writing large, in depth discussion pieces takes time and most people aren't necessarily willing to do that just for fun. Which is why the kind of subject matter you're looking for is usually done by actual independent journalists that can make some sort of profit from doing so.

But I for one agree with you. I'd like to see more large threads for other games.

If you're saying that you're seeing more treads like this for Ragnarok then maybe we are slowly trending in that direction.

 

[feynoob]

Honestly one thing that kind of irks me here is sort of the lack of indepth discussion on games or why people like them. Hold back your laughing emojis and hear me out here for a sec

Sadly, there are people who like to troll around. And having a indepth discussion is hard, if people don't know what they are talking.
You will get people who aren't familiar with subject, trying to post their opinions.

 

[cormack12]

I agree, but I think it might work better if we had a weekly focused topic. Not many people write long posts and even fewer read them

 

[bender]

I think partially what it may come down to is that writing large, in depth discussion pieces takes time and most people aren't necessarily willing to do that just for fun. Which is why the kind of subject matter you're looking for is usually done by actual independent journalists that can make some sort of profit from doing so.

The question I would have is: Why post on an outdated social media format like a message board if they are only interested in Twitter type discussions?

 

[TintoConCasera]

I agree, but I think it might work better if we had a weekly focused topic. Not many people write long posts and even fewer read them

I think having more threads listed on the first page would help with this. Interesting threads get made but they get buried under the daily news or hype threads.

 

[Rykan]

Whenever you usually go into a thread here, people usually say that a game is a masterpiece, if it's great, good, or bad, terrible, etc. But people never really seem to explain WHY.

Because people who are capable of careful and thorough analysis of video games and people who unironically use the term "Masterpiece" to describe a video game are not the same crowd.

 

[AJUMP23]

I could type a wall of text, but I don't read other people stuff, I don't expect them to read mine.

I have some friends here and I like to read what they think...... But the for the most part, most people thoughts in gaming are just noise.

I need to start a podcast.

 

[64bitmodels]

I'd like if the forum's CSS had a bit more of margin between the posts and the border of the window. It's kinda hard to read posts on a monitor with the browser maximized, as the lines of text become longer than a day on GAF without console warring.
Changing the max-width of .p-body-inner should be enough.

thats a specific one LMAO. I don't have much of an issue with how the forum is designed, though i do wish we could have profile posts and signatures.

 

[64bitmodels]

Reading the title I was affraid of another account suicide thread...I'm glad it is not.

i had to come up with a clickbaity title. Maybe i should have said "i'm done with gaf" or "thats it mods ban me"

 

[BbMajor7th]

Another issue with in-depth discussion of media these days is how much people self-identify with the content they like. It becomes a part of who they are to such a degree that they'll take offence to critique as though it were aimed directly at them.

 

[64bitmodels]

Another issue with in-depth discussion of media these days is how much people self-identify with the content they like. It becomes a part of who they are to such a degree that they'll take offence to critique as though it were aimed directly at them.

good example of this are the amount of stans for media out there... it's almost a meme that if you even say one bad thing about BTS the rabid kpop twitter stans will eat you alive. that being said, we're way better than twitter..... right??

 

[Bragr]

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[gaming_again]

Honestly one thing that kind of irks me here is sort of the lack of indepth discussion on games or why people like them. Hold back your laughing emojis and hear me out here for a sec

Whenever you usually go into a thread here, people usually say that a game is a masterpiece, if it's great, good, or bad, terrible, etc. But people never really seem to explain WHY. Usually the game is just good or bad, and if they go a bit more indepth they say that the gameplay is good or the story is amazing or whatnot without getting into the details of what makes said gameplay good or what makes said story well written. It's honestly quite a big issue here since this is an enthusiast gaming forum for enthusiast gamers. I'd figure us of all people would be able to better articulate why we think game is good or why a game is bad.

01011001 's thread on Halo Infinite is exactly what i like from this forum, a big breakdown on why they feel a certain way about a game. It's a very extreme example since that thread is one of the biggest on this forum, but that kind of indepth, long retrospective on a game is exactly the type of discussion that i love. Imagine if we got more threads like that, that explained why this game is a masterpiece or why this game sucks. NeoGAF discussion would be so much more insightful and entertaining (and it already is very entertaining considering the crazy shit some of y'all say here)

One issue that contributes to this, i think, is how there's just a lack of discussion on specific games. People make 'favorite game' threads or 'games you loved from year XXXX' but never 'my thoughts on X' or 'why X game is great'. granted i make those types of threads but they never gain much traction and it leaves me feeling very salty. But it makes sense when you consider how much engagement and discussion news threads and console war threads make. And yes. i know this is the premiere site for consolewarring. So much so that it can be annoying at times.

The most we've gotten are all the threads on ragnarok, and it's mostly people hyping up the game, which is fair enough since it's not even out yet. But still, a lot of these discussions feel more like stuff i'd read on Discord than a forum. And even there i end up seeing more opinionated discussion and indepth views on why people like or dislike games, in a few enthusiast servers.

This is all a bit pedantic i know, but i've seen other people sort of admit and joke about the lack of actual game discussion on this site and its a bit funny but also a bit sad because i'd love to just go off about why i love a game franchise and how i feel a certain game works and how another doesnt, and to hear other peoples thoughts on all my opinions. Conversation about games is the second most fun thing to actually playing them.

Isn't the average age here like 35? People don't have time, mang.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Honestly one thing that kind of irks me here is sort of the lack of indepth discussion on games or why people like them. Hold back your laughing emojis and hear me out here for a sec

Whenever you usually go into a thread here, people usually say that a game is a masterpiece, if it's great, good, or bad, terrible, etc. But people never really seem to explain WHY. Usually the game is just good or bad, and if they go a bit more indepth they say that the gameplay is good or the story is amazing or whatnot without getting into the details of what makes said gameplay good or what makes said story well written. It's honestly quite a big issue here since this is an enthusiast gaming forum for enthusiast gamers. I'd figure us of all people would be able to better articulate why we think game is good or why a game is bad.

01011001 's thread on Halo Infinite is exactly what i like from this forum, a big breakdown on why they feel a certain way about a game. It's a very extreme example since that thread is one of the biggest on this forum, but that kind of indepth, long retrospective on a game is exactly the type of discussion that i love. Imagine if we got more threads like that, that explained why this game is a masterpiece or why this game sucks. NeoGAF discussion would be so much more insightful and entertaining (and it already is very entertaining considering the crazy shit some of y'all say here)

One issue that contributes to this, i think, is how there's just a lack of discussion on specific games. People make 'favorite game' threads or 'games you loved from year XXXX' but never 'my thoughts on X' or 'why X game is great'. granted i make those types of threads but they never gain much traction and it leaves me feeling very salty. But it makes sense when you consider how much engagement and discussion news threads and console war threads make. And yes. i know this is the premiere site for consolewarring. So much so that it can be annoying at times.

The most we've gotten are all the threads on ragnarok, and it's mostly people hyping up the game, which is fair enough since it's not even out yet. But still, a lot of these discussions feel more like stuff i'd read on Discord than a forum. And even there i end up seeing more opinionated discussion and indepth views on why people like or dislike games, in a few enthusiast servers.

This is all a bit pedantic i know, but i've seen other people sort of admit and joke about the lack of actual game discussion on this site and its a bit funny but also a bit sad because i'd love to just go off about why i love a game franchise and how i feel a certain game works and how another doesnt, and to hear other peoples thoughts on all my opinions. Conversation about games is the second most fun thing to playing them.

The same happend to me when explaining why The Last of us Part 2 storytelling is bad. A bunch of snowflakes just acted all defensive and shit. I even got ignored because some couldn't handle the truth.

But is fine, you realize that is too mentally demanding and you end up just losing time and getting frustrated.

Just embrace the memes and have fun.

 

[BbMajor7th]

good example of this are the amount of stans for media out there... it's almost a meme that if you even say one bad thing about BTS the rabid kpop twitter stans will eat you alive. that being said, we're way better than twitter..... right??

I mean, I would like to think so, but I think it's a pretty pervasive issue these days - there's a certain evangelical bent to how some people interact with popular culture. I'm old enough to remember when 'Stan' was a cautionary tale, rather than a community rallying cry.

 

[bender]

good example of this are the amount of stans for media out there... it's almost a meme that if you even say one bad thing about BTS the rabid kpop twitter stans will eat you alive. that being said, we're way better than twitter..... right??

arnoldwrong.gif

With the exception of Nintendo, our platform warriors are as bad as any K-pop fanatic and they don't even have the excuse of Korea being cool.

 

[gaming_again]

At least K-pop weirdos are obsessing over sexy people and not plastic boxes. Well maybe plastic people.

 

[TrueLegend]

I usually give reason why I feel the way I feel along with solutions to things in gaming that I feel are problems

 

[ReBurn]

Sadly, there are people who like to troll around. And having a indepth discussion is hard, if people don't know what they are talking.
You will get people who aren't familiar with subject, trying to post their opinions.

People posting their opinions is fine. You shouldn't have to be an expert to participate. Not every conversation is a debate that requires evidence and not every opinion requires justification. People who want to turn everything into an argument are annoying. That's what the ignore list is for.

 

[Elder Legend]

I'd like if the forum's CSS had a bit more of margin between the posts and the border of the window. It's kinda hard to read posts on a monitor with the browser maximized, as the lines of text become longer than a day on GAF without console warring.
Changing the max-width of .p-body-inner should be enough.


And I agree with you OP, sometimes this place feels more like a circle jerking group rather than a space for discussion.

Agreed. I try to have sensible discussions, but too many people start derailing here or get upset whenever they are challenged. Validation is important for them, because they can't get any in real life. Really sad, because there are some people here I enjoy talking to, but others have to come in and ruin everything.

 

[Patrick S.]

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[Elder Legend]

The same happend to me when explaining why The Last of us Part 2 storytelling is bad. A bunch of snowflakes just acted all defensive and shit. I even got ignored because some couldn't handle the truth.

But is fine, you realize that is too mentally demanding and you end up just losing time and getting frustrated.

Just embrace the memes and have fun.

Sounds exactly like what is happening to me in that other thread, you should read some of the replies. One guy who wasn't even part of the conversation just went complete ape mode unhinged.

 

[Thabass]

its a bit funny but also a bit sad

Well you know what they say about gaming forums: It's a Mad World.

I get what you're saying though. I love reading a lot of discussions on games, but sometimes -- and this is not a NeoGAF problem, but a problem on all internet sites, you're not going to get that level of discussion unless you find someone passionate enough to write about it. It wasn't like it was back in the day on the internet, because a lot of the discussions on internet sites today tend to rehash the same narrative, opinion, or discussion points that have already been discussed ad nauseum. I enjoy discussions where I've never had the same discussion before and hence I keep my comments in these forums to a minimum.

In the end, gamers cannot hold decent discussions without it turning into a warzone. So, it's taken the fun out of forum discussions on games.

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Some people are going to have to accept that by the nature of this form you're going to have probably some walking triggered people coming in here thinking it's just like other forums and others who come in here knowing that this is a pretty loose and free-flowing place.

Don't get me wrong I get annoyed by passive troll posts and things like that but you simply have to try to ignore things like that as long as they're not overly offensive then I'm sure the mods will handle stuff like that. Not everything has to be something you have to get worked up about even if it's disagreeing with your point of view or maybe stating a position that is not in line with yours.

In the end what are we talking about here, how to get along with people that don't share your opinion or what kind of validation or whatever you want to call it do we need to do to placate every side?

So when I see more of these threads often than we should it just makes me feel like we have members that are too soft and can't handle a damn thing and let me tell you something, this forum is not hard. Reality of being a parent and dealing with death and struggling with bills is hard. This place isn't that. Make it fun.

 

[BbMajor7th]

The same happend to me when explaining why The Last of us Part 2 storytelling is bad. A bunch of snowflakes just acted all defensive and shit. I even got ignored because some couldn't handle the truth.

But is fine, you realize that is too mentally demanding and you end up just losing time and getting frustrated.

Just embrace the memes and have fun.

I think TLOU2 is a super fascinating one to discuss. I'm not a big fan of the writing or characterisation, but I find it interesting to dissect why it's so divisive and why it didn't land for me. I do tend to find that a lot of arguments in its favour amount to 'you clearly didn't get it', which seems like it's intended just to provoke emotional debate, while on the other side there's a lot of people who hate it simply because of what happened to Joel.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Definitely something I’d like to see more of. I’m not one to create threads, but I’d gladly take part in a game discussion.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

A lot of people here can't form their own opinions, and will ridicule anyone who disagrees with their favourite reviewer or metacritic, and then there's of course the zealots and warriors who can't argue in good faith; it can stifle discussion.
For example, to me personally nier automata is one of the greatest -experiences- of all time, and someone will respond to that saying it's overrated trash, well ok, fine, let's discuss it instead of the drive-by laughing emoji reaction.

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[64bitmodels]

For example, to me personally nier automata is one of the greatest -experiences- of all time, and someone will respond to that saying it's overrated trash, well ok, fine, let's discuss it instead of the drive-by laughing emoji reaction.

exactly this. i get that some people like to be that way but if youre gonna throw a laughing emoji at a heartfelt post you gotta explain why
its like bender said, what's the point of talking on a forum if you're gonna act like a twitter user. people who post laughing emojis under post like this aren't much different from the idiots who just reply with 'mid' on twitter expecting some kind of ratio. forums are made to have longer style discussions like this and id wish people would take advantage of it

 

[CuNi]

I feel it's because people usually go to threads about games with their own opinion to voice them but don't really seek or care about what others think of the same game and I somewhat understand it.
If you dislike a game, you don't care why somebody else thinks it's good. And if someone else dislikes it, you also don't care why but are glad that you are not alone.

I could hold podcasts for hours about what I hate about Halo Infinite or disliked with Metroid Samus returns or Metroid Dread, but most won't care, because why should they?
Games are subjective and there is really not much to compare them with. I could praise Game X because of all the things I enjoyed but that doesn't mean someone else will see it the same way.

 

[solidus12]

Totally off-topic, but I'll ask anyway...
Guys, do you think girls like it when their boyfriends ask to pay for them to have breasts implants?

 

[64bitmodels]

Totally off-topic, but I'll ask anyway...
Guys, do you think girls like it when their boyfriends ask to pay for them to have breasts implants?

.... yeah that's TOTALLY off topic. why not post that in off topic?

 

[feynoob]

Guys, do you think girls like it when their boyfriends ask to pay for them to have breasts implants?

If you want to have scar problems, and other health problems.
Plus its not guarenteed that the boyfriend would marry the girl. So the risk is bigger.

In conclusion, its not worth it. And he needs to mind his business.

 

[solidus12]

.... yeah that's TOTALLY off topic. why not post that in off topic?

I'm new to his forum, still finding my bearings...

 

[Punished Miku]

The Bayonetta 3 OT has some good in depth discussion and combo videos posted. I made a thread about Triangle Strategy and discussed it in detail without spoilers. The Gamepass community thread is usually interesting since people have many of the same games, so it's sort of like a book club. A lot of the people in there have a real open mind about games since they try a lot and they like talking about it. When I played through Elden Ring, I went into extreme detail repeatedly explaining the many problems I have with the balancing in that game, but that proved too contentious for many to handle. I posted a bit in the Kirby OT also explaining why that game is pretty much a masterpiece for casual platforming / exploration.

Most of what's left of actual game discussion is going to be in the OT threads.

One thing I run into is that I'm just on my phone a lot more than my PC these days, and it's a lot harder to type more thoughtful posts. Really slows me down typing with my thumbs at times.

 

[Gudji]

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[Banjo64]

I want to do a big write up on some of my favourite games OP, just time limited due to kids. I agree with you though.

 

[rodrigolfp]

I always talk about shooters on dual sticks controllers with aim assists and why they suck, OP. And games with high input lag.

 

[bender]

One thing to be kept in mind is the size of the userbase and how active the community is. I'd we are a small community with fairly low activity. That's tricky for a moderation team if the desire is to steer the community to a more serious, thoughtful tone as the more strict you become, the more active users you purge and you end up starving for posts. And given why the GAF split happened in the first place, I'm sure leadership is weary of going down that path again. I actually appreciate the light hearted nature of this board and a lot of that is thanks to moderation, even if I do wish we could have better, more in depth discussions. At least I can still dunk on all the crazies here. I do wish GAF could return to the glory days as far as activity is concerned, but I don't think that is realistic considering most people consider this format a dinosaur.

 

[adamsapple]

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[Chastten]

Most people on this board aren't really gamers. They just like to wank over pretty graphics and dicuss which games have the best looking grass.

 

[Interfectum]

Whats really annoying is the overabundance of reaction gifs.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I love Sonic Adventure 2 Battle...it's an exhilarating game experience with a great, concise single player mode and a legendary local multiplayer mode that's made many rivalries with the irl people around me The music, level designs, story scenarios will always live on in my heart even if I actually don't replay the game as often as I used to :]

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I'm just here to talk shit and get people who talk shit about Ragnarok banned

 

[Fuz]

I'm lazy, I hate to repeat myself and I had those conversations on forums many times already. Guilty as charged.