@BenKuchera

Ben Kuchera

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Best gaming holiday gift you ever got ? Best you ever gave?

When I was young my mother told me over and over that she knew I really wanted a SNES, but she just didn't have the money for it, and she was sorry. It made me feel bad for asking, but I put together a list of smaller presents. We didn't have a ton of money growing up, and I understood the situation, but even so... I was bummed about the whole thing.
Of course there was a Super Nintendo under the tree, and thus began a family tradition of trolling my family about presents. One day I'll tell you the Disney World story. :-)

Not even Serial?

It makes me uncomfortable, but it's a great show. It makes me feel like I'm listening to a drama, but knowing it's about people's real lives and an actual murder, it's all just too weird. People talk about it like they're watching a season of the Wire. True Crime packaged as entertainment is always weird to me, although I get the appeal, so this is just an extra layer of ick.
That being said, I get why people love it, and I'm not against it. Just for me personally it makes me uncomfortable.
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Xander C

TotalBiscuit is doing loads to validate Gamergate and being super harmful in the process. Does the Matrix hold up in 2014?

Gamergate is a car crash at this point, it's not surprising more people are being caught up in it and looking bad in the process. The Matrix doesn't do much to hold up.
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Liked by: Xander C

Favorite podcast? (Ex: History of Rome is pretty epic just as an aside)

This is going to sound like a suckup, but the only podcasts I listen to regularly are This American Life and My Brother, My Brother and Me. My wife doesn't really play games, and knowing I'm working with two of three hosts of MBMBaM was the first time she's ever really been impressed with my work situation. :-)

Favorite webcomic?

Oh Joy Sex Toy. Erika Moen does a great job of explaining complicated sexual issues, has a ton of great guest artists, and is nice and sex positive. If you've ever wanted to explore a sexuality a bit, that's a great place to start.
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Liked by: Xander C

Do you think Borderlands the Pre-Sequel was a bit of a cash grab? Given the decreased story quality, increased glitchy-ness, bad audio-mixing, etc

Not sure, I never played it. I can't wait for a current-generation Borderlands though, I have a lot of love for that series.

What's the worst video game you've ever played? (Duke Nukem Forever doesn't count)

In terms of content, 25 to Life was pretty cruddy. Unless you mean games that just don't work, and honestly I can't remember many of those. I don't often have to review stuff these days, so if it's crappy I just walk away.

What was a movie you watched repeatedly as a kid, I mean so much the VHS tape should have probably broke after a point?

Star Wars, and Aliens. Those two movies I probably watched more than every other movie from that time period put together. Rocketeer was another one, as was this crazy TV special about dinosaurs my mother taped off the television.

What's the one game sequel that you would like to see happen?

Psi-Ops 2. Dear gosh that game was fantastic. I'd also kill for a sequel to Space Marine, but the producer of the game told me how that series was going to end, so I'm pretty happy. :-)

Are you watching the matrix on VHS, the way god intended?

Even back in the day I watched on DVD! It was one of my first discs. I'm sure my kid will enjoy it but... it didn't age that well.

What is your opinion on TotalBiscuit?

I've met him a few times, seemed like an OK guy, but I disagree with a bunch of his rants. That's pretty much the extent of it.
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Re: "Small number of huge companies have an iron grip on what we play". I agree. It is a major concern for me. My point was to discuss the assumption that if video games affect people it will be in a bad way. That might be why big companies and the public do not respect it.

Yeah, but every art form goes through this. Jazz, pinball, movies, even novels were once seen as corrupting influences. We'll get over it. Now everyone takes film seriously as an art form, but there is still healthy debate and criticism about films and the content within them. That's where we're headed with games. It's just going to take a few more years to get there, but it's inevitable.

Re: "If crime rises with censorship". Slight misunderstanding. What you said was what I meant. If the crime rate lowered because people are playing violent or sexual expressions as it seems to but people are offended by it, which is of higher value? Less crime and more expressions or less offense?

I think it's nearly impossible to say crime rate is being lowered due to violent games.
I think the better question is how comfortable we are with our content being decided by private companies. Imagine if Sony sold a DVD player that wouldn't play NC-17 movies, or even pornographic content. We wouldn't tolerate it, would we?
But that's what we get with gaming consoles. PC gaming is "open," but the vast majority of players buy their content from Steam, which rightly has the power to limit what's sold on its virtual shelves. Apple sells a ton of games through its app store, but has next to no respect for the art form.
The discussion and criticism of different kinds of content is interesting, but in terms of importance it pales next to the reality that a very small number of huge companies have an iron grip on what we play. If you want to talk about content, start there.

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Hey Ben. I'm a big fan of indie games, but the market might become saturated at some point. Do you fear that it might crash (especially since there is a lack curation, as the big platforms - Steam, AppStore, etc... - don't really care for quality)?

I think we're already there, there are simply too many games for anyone to be up on what's out there. Great games are slipping through the cracks. The better you are at marketing the better, and getting the word out early about your game has never been more important. Still, interesting, exciting games still rise to the top from time to time. It has to be frustrating to be a developer these days, but it's kind of a great time to be a gamer.

What would you think of a Chrono Trigger complete remake made kind of like Kingdom Hearts?

I would think that's amazing.

Follow on from someone else's RPG question: loved the Mass Effect games on my PC but have a console now. Haven't played Dragon Age at all. Should I (can I?) buy Inquisition and play it now, or should I wait for the inevitable PS4/Xb1 trilogy release?

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Inquisition, although I've barely had a chance to scratch its surface. I say go for it!

What has been your favorite first-time reaction to VR? (As in your favorite reaction that someone else had when trying it for the first time.)

I love the gap-jawed look of wonder that people get when they try a great demo for the first time. That sort of awe-inspiring sense of being somewhere amazing. Also, watching people jump when they play a scary game is great. I love introducing people to VR, and I wish I could invite like, 50 people into my house to tour my little VR lab. It's my favorite new technology.

Nice non-answer, it's great to see you continuing to not actually have your facts straight.

You're anonymous, so I'm not sure which question you're referring to. Have a great day, though!
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Liked by: Xander C

To go completely off the topic of games and GamerGate and all that nonsense: Korra?

I haven't watched it, although I keep hearing amazing things.

No question, but: HFR video looks cheap because HFR film stock was considered prohibitively expensive in early Hollywood, so they set the 24fps standard. HFR has been most readily available on home video, so people associate HFR video with looking "cheap," which isn't a problem for gaming.

Interesting! I wonder if that perception will go away once we get used to it?
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Liked by: Xander C

Do you think that with the growth of the gaming industry and the increased costs of game production we'll see more of the kind of PR shennangans that happen around Shadow of Mordor?

Yes. The world of video coverage is the wild west, and it's hard to make a buck. There's also no expectation that people in the video world are impartial, so no one seems to blame them for taking this kind of deal. If the audience doesn't mind, why WOULDN'T they take the money? It seems to be how the business is being set up, although a few big names have enough pull to avoid it. It's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

What do you define as "the business"? Is it the sites that you're involved in only? There's tonnes of gaming journalism sites that are completely separate from Polygon, Ars and the like.

OK.

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