Nitpciking Penny Arcade... and Spore

I hate to keep ripping on Penny Arcade because I honestly like the two of them. I've been a fan of their strip for a long time and enjoy all that they've done to forward the gaming community (they have seemingly made it more acceptable... though that could just be the natural progression of things). I also really dig their Child's Play Charity and wouldn't mind going to PAX.

In light of recent events, however, I have become a little aggrivated with them. I will admit I'm a huge MGS fanboy and it pains me to see someone rip so hard on my most beloved franchise... but I can also accept that it's not everyones' cup of tea. The fact that they didn't like the game is fine. What really struck a nerve was how they seemed to be going so far past what was necessary to rip it a new one... even criticizing genuinely good aspects of the game. It was as though they were just trying to piss everyone of and reveling in the fact that they have the ability to do so.

Over the years, they have become more and more famous, and because of this, feel entitled to mouth off about anything... and be considered an authority. LilBeej made a good point saying how they should stick to humor (which they started with) and keep the commentary to a minimum (at least keep it in comic form). As their sucess has grown, so to has their egos. I was able to brush it off when it wasn't directly impacting something I cared about, but after the MGS fiasco, it's kind of hard not to go back and notice they've been doing this shit for a long time. The most recent example has to do the with Daily Show.

The Daily Show was commenting on recent Obama shortcomings/controversies and showed a very funny photoshopped image of Obama punching a baby. Jon Stewart followed by saying something along the lines of "you don't know what that baby said" and "maybe he was being a dick." There was an old strip where Penny Arcade made a very similar joke, granted there was no funny photoshop with it (the original comic). The rabid hordes of Penny Arcade Fanboys emailed the clip to Gabe and he felt the need to post about it. He prefaced the post with this message:

"**Just to clarify, I'm not saying they stole it. In fact I'm saying I understand how easy it is for two people to make the same joke. I just think it's funny.**"

The last part of that leads me to believe that he DOES think it was taken from them. Maybe I'm wrong. It then goes on to compare the two and provide links to both. The post is concluded with this message:

"I had a lot of people telling me we got ripped off. As someone who writes jokes for a living I understand how easy it is to unintentionally copy someone else. Either way there isn't much to do about it except feel flattered I guess."

This to me proves their ego has grown a little bit more than it should. By using the term "flattered" he's completely eliminated all possibility of him thinking this to be a coincidence. And yes, there is a good chance that one of the Daily Show writers is a fan of penny arcade (hell, they all could be) and wanted to pay homage to the strip. There is also the chance that it seems like a fairly simple (yet effective) joke to come up with. One that I'm sure many people used well before Gabe and Tycho. Maybe Penny Arcade even borrowed it from someone else. All I'm trying to get across is I think Penny Arcade needs to be a little more humble in their dealings with things. Having opinions is fine and dandy but they don't have to think the world revolves around them... even though their following is very large. And fucking with fanboys for the hell of it can be fun... but there's just no need (like there was no need to try and reason with that crazy swedish lady who spit on me on the subway).

After reading over this, I just realized that Gabe could be using "flattered" referring to all the people who took the time to email the clip. If this is true, then cool. But it does seem ironic that Penny Arcade will blast fanboys while not apologizing for the hordes that follow them (who knows, maybe they have).

I also downloaded the Spore Creature Creator. I'm not registered with EA so my version might be extremely limited (can't download any updates). It's a lot of fun and I find myself spending far too long with it (I SHOULD BE WORKING DAMNIT). It really is cool just creating things and made me remember why I enjoyed the Sims so much. Very similar feeling to this game (atmosphere-wise). And with everyone contributing some kind of phallic or perverse creation, I thought I'd give it a try. The first couple of times I set out to do this, I got so damn distracted with all you are able to do, that I completely forgot to make a phallic creature and made something completely different. I finally got around to it and found it to be not as fun as I had hoped (it had two penises on either end with boobs on top... teehee). Today I even tried to make a yoshi clone but it didn't come out so well. What strikes me the most (didn't I use that for the MGS review) is the sheer amount of customization you are allowed. It's almost limitless and proves both hugely appealing and very frustrating. I never can be quite satisfied with my creature since there is always something left I could add or take away. But really, the whole thing is very enjoyable... I might even pick up the game when it comes out.

~JFu