So what do you think of Extra Credits, the gaming show?

[Erik_Twice]

This one:
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mass-effect-3-dlc

I check it out from time to time even if I'm not particularly interested in the topic, but I will save my comments from now. What do you think of 'em?

[Retrozoa]

I find a lot of their stuff to be theoretical, head in the clouds type stuff. Interesting thoughts on gaming definetely, and I like to roll some of their ideas around.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I don't agree with everything they say, but I love their show. Lots of food for thoughts.

[Erik_Twice]

At the end of the day, what I really appreciate of Extra Credits is the writting. The pacing is good, the explanations simple and direct and it's reasonably entertaining. Given my unorthodox and often dry and aggresive, it's something I appreciate a lot. The fact that they don't talk like your average internet writer is also a bonus.


But when it comes to content I feel it's kind of a mixed bag. The premises and ideas are all very good and they are one of the few people who give thoughts to many of those topics. The executiona nd depth of the discussion tends to be lacking, tough. Often they ignore the obvious issues, or the first question one would ask on the topic and some episodes only tell you what everyone can gather by only a quick check on Wikipedia.

The used games episode came to mind. It's a controversial topic and it feels insincere to just say "hey, this is cool because it helps the industry". It makes you feel cheated. Simailarly "Pro gaming" talks about what would be needed for players to be paid, but there was no suggestion on how to achieve that nor any thoughts on what effect many of those things would have (For example, the idea of promoting the players before the game leads to popularity, but also leads to a shitty ambient and lack of sport sense, like happens in, say, Football.). There's also no comment on why having pro gaming is a good thing, which could be handwaved in two lines.

They also suffer from too much optimism on trends, talking about ideals that probably won't have barely any impact or are more of a theorical thin that doesn't really get into game design. Their Transgaming episode reminds me of this. They rave about how interesting it could be to have players in one game interact with players in another game but they never wonder why would you want to do that. Why would you want to have people micromanaging your units in a RTS or why having people playing Bejeweled to give you more power isn't fixing a problem you put in the game in the first place. It's weird for them to skip that, that's the real meat here.

What do you think of those issues?

[lisalover1]

I am extremely grateful that shows like Extra Credits exist. This show in particular balances being intellectually and visually engaging, while addressing real issues in gaming in a sensible manner. I also love the show's sense of optimism, as opposed to the dominant doom and gloom of similar shows like The Game Overthinker and The Jimquisition.

[Erik_Twice]

The optimism is a rare thing, other sites are simply obssesed with dommy doomys of doom because it gives them more hits.

But it's just that they tend to handwave some real concerns that are the first thing you think. I would like them to handle those issues and be optimist about them instead of just not thinking of them.

[Zing]

I watched part of one episode and felt very… sparse. I'm not sure how to describe it. It reminds me of how I feel about "Horizon" documentaries. Too much fluff and not enough substance.

[insanecow0]

I agree they can be a bit too optimistic at times, but they bring up many intriguing issues in an intelligent manner, and it's also entertaining to watch in my opinion.