Not an editorial post obviously (I'm holding on my next editorial until my 10,000th post / Too Human thread in a few days) but I think it's worth your time to listen to this:

1up Yours with Denis Dyack

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I made the decision today that I absolutely must contact the man, so much of my worldview is similar to his, and so much of what I'm doing here he frankly deserves an opportunity to have a say on. I haven't played Too Human, if I'm building a thread to discuss it, a blog post to talk about gaming journalism, and a 10,000th post party on what System Wars does to the culture of gaming, there is no man more important for me to contact. I feel personally and ethically that it's something I must do.

I confess, this is the first time I've ever made an appeal of this nature. It's the first time I've felt such a pressing need to do so - and I will do everything in my power to bring what I feel is right to the task. If he personally can have a chance to look in on that, wonderful, if he can't (he is a busy person with limited time and after all, has no idea who I am) I understand that as well - strangers on the internet have not been kind to him in the past.

However I swear this - either way, what you are going to receive from me in a few days will be the finest work I have ever produced on GameSpot. I will do my best not to make it my last work either - I have blessings from a few moderators for it, it's not breaking any rules, but I feel your are entitled having been my friends here for years to get something worth your time in reading.

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Subrosian

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P.S. For you loyal readers out there, I'm opening the Avant IRC to any questions, suggestions, or requests you have. You can access a web-based IRC client at www.mibbit.com, the server is accessirc.net, the channel is #avant-game, and please use your GS name as your nick so I know who you are.

My 10,000th post is approaching, and I plan to have a blog to go along with it - so what are you interested in? What did you want answered, want my take on, or such? Post comments below, and they may just be the inspiration for (or addressed) in the upcoming media onslaught .

Hurrican Season began today...

What is coolness? Okay before everyone does their best impression of "the Fonz" (think about how that image comes to mind - it'll prove my point later) let's take a break and look at it scientifically. I know - yawn - but this is social science, so there are no beakers involved.

"Coolness" is really the combined nonverbal and verbal appearance of a person, created by combining personality with social awareness. It's a two part equation - the first part is personality - you can be as aware of all the popular trends as you want, but if you're completely anti-social, you're not going to be very cool.

The other part of the equation is social awareness - that is, how in tune you are to the memes (units of cultural exchange) aka the events, memories, trends, beliefs, values, icons, and language of a culture. You can have the greatest personality in the world, but when you step off the boat into a new country, chances are you look like a dweeby tourist. There are a few exceptions - a British accent being considered tre' chic in the states - but those are societally constructed (mostly by James Bond movies) so they prove the rule.

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So we've established what "cool" is - an outgoing personality mixed with a high social awareness. How does that translate into being cool? These two traits allow a person to give off an aura of confidence, appear "in their element", chat with new people, say just the right things at the right time, and share discussion of common events.

So how on earth could playing videogames make someone cool? Well - because we're all playing them.

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omg wtf gaming meme

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Let's face it, gaming is its own culture - it has come a long way from the days of reading Nintendo power in your parent's basement. Games are everywhere, nearly everyone is playing them, and the latest games, consoles, and handhelds are hot topics that take front page even in mainstream media. The tweens, the teens, the twenties, the thirties, and now even the baby-boomers are targeted audiences for the gaming craze.

Games themselves are going two steps further by becoming self-referencing culture, as well as cross-culturally connected. Games like GTA IV contain dozens upon dozens of well-known songs - not only does GTA IV ingrain itself in the existing musical culture it pens from, and the New York culture it copies, but it also spreads those memes to an audience that isn't aware of them

GTA IV teaches the urban audience about gaming, and the gaming audience about urban culture, stirring the cultural melting pot, and creating a mutual understanding.

Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero make the music of an older generation cool to a younger generation, while making gaming accessible to an older generation. The inter-cultural mix makes that "old dude who plays guitar" into "that cool guitar guy at the coffee shop" and turns what would have been "some dweeb" into "that awesome Guitar Hero player on YouTube".

It's not just that gaming has become cooler, it's that gaming itself has reshaped culture, integrated into existing cultures, redefined what our culture, both as gamers and the new generation, thinks - all while overtaking movies as the new hip industry.

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But playing a videogame doesn't make you cool... or does it? Videogames are part of our culture, being ignorant of them - like Jack Thompson, most of the US congress, and MADD (with their latest GTA "drunk driving" comments) - conveys to our generation that they are uncool, unhip, and behind the times.

Playing games is part of life now - and playing the games of our times - Mario Galaxy, Halo, The Sims, GTA IV, Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, et cetera has become an important part of being involved in the ever growing gamer-culture.

Games alone won't make you cool - if you've got a bad personality, or simply aren't interested in social interaction, a few rounds of Mario Kart aren't going to change that, but the reality has become that it's the kid who *doesn't* own some kind of Gameboy these days who is the odd duck out. Of course culture is a complex thing, clothing, language, appearance, voice, personality, awareness, social ability - these things are all going to shape just how much of a "with it" kind of person you're capable of being. At the end of the day though, videogames are becoming a shared experience that gives us something to talk about, argue over, debate, share, and party - they're an invaluable medium for building friendships, culture, and communication - and a channel through which memes are flowing full force.



And what about all those people fighting in System Wars over which console or game is "the coolest"? Just the jocks arguing with the band kids - at the end of the day they both play on the football field. So game on trendy hipsters and - as "the Fonz" would say - "Live fast, love hard, and don't let anybody else use your comb!"

Grand Theft Auto IV is the forerunner for GOTY. I didn't believe the reviews until I had a chance to play it for myself, and "wow!" - there's simply no rating this thing. Review sites have been handing out tens to this title, but honestly I'm stumped as to how you actually review a game like GTA IV. What's unique about it is - it's a game where, no matter what you want to do, gameplay, characters, and stories unfold before you.

There are open "sandbox" games, where you can "do anything" yet there's nothing to really do. There are linear games that tell a great story, or have a great experience - yet those collapse when you try and stray from the beaten path, only to find those little sidepaths and background characters to be ornamental. In GTA IV, I have yet to feel gatted - yet in every moment there are dozens of things to do. Without really thinking about it, I'm making choices that shape the story - yet also the experience I want to have and enjoy.

It's hard to describe how this is different than the vast majority of games that offer that kind of freedom - but it feels like "next gen" has become "current gen" as the kind of gameplay foreshadowed by STALKER becomes a hard reality. All that talk aside - there's a main point here: it's fun. It's fun in ways that make the games you previously called "fun" now objects of shame. Why was I killing the same dudes over and over again in some FPS? I don't know anymore - those were actions from a time when we just didn't know better.

GTA IV changes everything - it's not just prime, I'm willing to go back to the old name "perfect" - sure, in some future world, yet another game will come, a decade from now, that reinvents everything, yet makes us feel like we've been playing it all our lives. That game is GTA IV, and I absolutely love it.

I just saw the news off an AP feed, it probably won't be in the papers or out in the main news until tomorrow, but... legendary game designer Will Wright has been shot. He's alive, in stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital, though doctors say the bruising is "epic". Details are sketchy at the moment, but it appears Wright was having dinner in his hotel room with Chris Avellone (famed designer of Planescape Torment), when the two became engaged in a debate about gaming platforms. Wright argued strongly for the PC and Wii being progressive, open platforms, while Avellone, a supporter of "hardcore" design on the 360 and PC apparently became enraged at Wright's comments.

Jim Sturgson, a hotel patron in the room next to Wright's, said he heard loud conversation, a crash, and then three muffled gunshots. He dialed the police from his cell phone. When authorities arrived on the scene fifteen minutes later, they found an unconscious, paint-covered Will Wright, with a red-faced Avellone still yelling at the prone body.

"It was unbelievable," said one officer at the scene, "you see this in Hollywood sometimes, a small-time guy gets mad at the big shot, they have a fight, we show up at the party to break it up - but there maybe one guy gets a black eye - this is something entirely new".

Police were forced to mace Avellone, who has been arrested and is undergoing questioning by the LAPD. Will Wright was unavailable at the time of publication for comment. The LAPD have released that Avellone was armed with a Spyder Marker and fifty rounds.

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This is nuts, and the worst part is, this is going to be a huge blow in the media to gaming. You just know that Fox News is going to blow this whole thing out of proportion, and we're never going to hear the end of how "violent videogames" cause crime.