I humbly accept this award of Sunshine and Blogging. I would not be here today without the constant support, likes, and comments that the regular visitors to this blog provide me. Thank you to Red Metal of Extra Life for the nomination and to those that have nominated me for this award and other awards in the past. My lack of response on those award nominations is not a reflection on you or my lack of appreciation but more on my inconsistent mental state.
But enough sappy introductions. Let’s get on to the meat of the award and answer some questions.
- Have you ever watched a critically acclaimed show only to feel it didn’t live up to the hype?
Numerous times actually. Two very notable ones are The Sopranos and Arrested Development. Neither have ever clicked with me and I can’t really explain why.
- After truly getting into the medium and observing the many times film critics failed to see eye-to-eye with fans, I’ve come down to the conclusion that the former faction could stand to improve themselves. How do you think they should go about doing that?
I’m not sure that film critics necessarily need to improve themselves because ultimately they are giving their honest critiques of what they’ve watched. However, I will note that there is a sense of elitism in most professional critics and even within the amateur critic community. Putting down people that just watch movies for entertainment does nothing to help expand the medium or expand the community. But then again, maybe that is their objective so they can stay in “power”.
- What is the most obscure album in your collection?
I was struggling with this question for a bit but then remembered that I helped kickstart an album from a former local band, of which I knew one of the primary songwriters. So I suppose Robots and Racecars 2011 album Rage Quit is the most obscure album I own. It is now available on iTunes and Spotify though, so I suppose everyone can listen to it.
- What film do you consider “So bad it’s good”?
I understand the phrase, “So bad it’s good” but I always have a hard time answering this type of question, mostly because I don’t ironically like the films I’d list, I actually like them. Take for instance Bad Boys II, from a filmcraft viewpoint it is a mess of a film but I genuinely like it. Is it “So bad it’s good?” Does it’s badness make it good? I don’t know but I know that it is charming and fun and I love watching it. Same with films like Krull, Beastmaster, Batman Forever, Blade Trinity, and tons of other campy movies that many would call bad films.
- What do you think the ideal length of a game should be?
That is an excellent question. Twenty years ago, I’d have told you 40-80 hours. Today, I’d probably say 10 hours or under. Even though I still play a lot of games, the responsibilites of being an adult and having a family means that consuming media (of all forms) has less time. Ultimately it depends on the type of game and I understand that some games are just going to require a bigger time investment for me but I do tend to gravitate towards games that I can complete in a few sittings over a couple days/weeks as opposed to months of game investment.
- Have you ever cleared a game while traveling abroad?
I’ve only ever ventured out of the United States twice and both were 20+ years ago and I don’t think I had a portable system with me either time. I have cleared games while traveling on vacation domestically though.
- What is your favorite decade in films?
My heart tells me the 1980s. It is a decade that houses some of my all-time favorite movies like Return of the Jedi, Willow, and Aliens (amongst others). But if I look at it more closesly, it is probably the 1990s. The 90s were the decade that I really started to formulate my film tastes and started to watch more things outside my comfort zone. It also houses quite a few more of my favorite films of all time.
- What game do you feel doesn’t get enough credit?
As JRPGs began to move away from turn based combat, they started to take on a more MMO RPG like approach. And Final Fantasy XII is often credited with sparking this move. I contend that .hack should get the credit for this approach to RPG combat as it did it four years earlier and did it better too.
- What lesson do you think film fans could learn from gamers?
I think film fans as a whole could learn that mainstream does not equate to bad. Just because something has garnered mainstream acceptance does not mean that it is a lesser form of art.
- What good work do you feel had a negative impact on its respective medium?
Gears of War. I love the Gears series but its excellent first entry in to the game space plagued us with a generation of brown, overly serious, and poorly playing third person shooters as developers tried to make the next Gears.
- What bad work do you feel had a positive impact on its respective medium?
I’m sure to receive some crap here for this selection but I don’t think The Blair Witch Project is a very good movie. That said, I can appreciate what it did for the horror genre at the end of the 1990s, popularizing the found footage genre (which, I suppose, depending upon your take, you could make an argument that it had a negative impact). Still without The Blair Witch Project, we maybe don’t get solid films like The Last Exorcism, [REC], V/H/S, Creep, the first three Paranormal Activity films, or The Sacrament.
My nominees:
My questions (and since I like the number 13, I’ve added an additional two for you all):
- What is the first piece of media that really stuck with you and how old were you?
- What is the piece of media that has had the most impact on shaping and developing your tastes as you’ve grown older.
- Is there a piece of media that you loved when you were younger but eventually turned on as you became older?
- What is the core component that draws you in to a game or film?
- The word visceral has all but lost its meaning in reviews and criticism due to overuse and misuse. What is a word you would use instead?
- On that same note as visceral, what is a word or phrase that you feel has lost its meaning in reviews and criticism due to overuse and misuse.
- There have been a ton of different controlers for video games over the years, what is the one you consider to be the perfect controller and why?
- I’ve personally begun to feel drained by the constant stream of superhero movies but I continue to go see them anyway because I want to participate in the discussion surrounding them, is there something you are maybe over but still follow to stay current with the watercooler discussion?
- If you were to start collecting films, games, books, etc… (or already do collect them) what would be the thing you build your collection on?
- You can have any arcade cabinet ever made delivered to you in pristine condition, which one do you get?
- What is your favorite generation of games?
- A dinner has been set up for you and your favorite creator, what is the first question you ask them after you order your food?
- Streets of Rage 4 will release 24-25 years since Streets of Rage 3. What is another long forgotten game/series you’d love to see get a sequel.
Thanks again to Red Metal.
Musings of a Grouch 
I think we all knew you’d pick the 80s!
I have to admit that knowing the ending to The Sopranos is a total bust makes me not want to check it out.
Ah, good, I’m glad me thinking that there was a sense of elitism in the film critical circle wasn’t a case where I was reading too much into things. It seemed as though a lot of essays defending Hereditary ended up insinuating those who don’t like it are too stupid to appreciate it – and I am positive that wasn’t an isolated incident.
For me, that would be Lullaby Land by Vampire Rodents – an industrial band.
I guess I was going for guilty pleasures when I asked that, though there is something to be said for liking those kinds of things in a non-ironic fashion. Sometimes, I wonder how many good stories fell by the wayside because they didn’t meet that rigid standard of what a good work constitutes.
I don’t really have a preference as long as the game can earn every minute, but I sympathize with wanting a short game because long games are rarely justifiable in their length.
I asked that question because I’ve actually cleared a game in every foreign country I’ve visited so far.
From what I’ve been told, the eighties got off to a great start only to falter in the second half. Cinephiles will tell you it’s the decade in which Hollywood lost its dominance in the medium.
Final Fantasy XII really seems to have fared well in hindsight after the detractors decided to move on.
Yeah, that’s a major problem film fans have. Gamers, for all their faults, can at least be counted on to give both mainstream and indie efforts a fair shake when push comes to shove. Sure, there is a bit of that in the gaming sphere, but those people tend to get mocked for their troubles.
No! Not brown… brown… brown… Anyway, I think Gears of War is also a solid choice for the endless number of cookie-cutter, cover-based third-person-shooters it inspired.
The Blair Witch Project is probably a good answer to either question, honestly. It did inspire a swath of (subpar) imitators, though it did result in a few good films such as Chronicle.