“It is very rare that I hate someone as much as I do Adam. However I am sure he is a very nice racist man. If you ever find yourself in Vegas Adam stop by BIGGY's BURGER SHACK and I will fix you up a real nice bowl of Dick soup.
Oh and E3 2003 I am the one that threw the T-shirt at your face and me and the crew were screaming SUCK IT SESSMASTER as loud as we could. Fun times I still wish Tina Wood had your job.”
-- From the comments section of the Dante’s Inferno review, posted by GreedyMcNasty
There’s something about (what I assume is) a grown man having so much contempt for me that an incident where I was apparently assaulted by a cotton t-shirt should stand out in this individual’s mind for the past seven years. And enough so that it appears to this day he wants to rape me, but not enough so that he’ll take the effort to find me…I need to make myself available to him.
I remember that E3: I met Robin Williams, we first learned that Paul Allen was soliciting offers from companies to take TechTV off his hands, and Dave Perry waved happily at me, despite the thorough drubbing we had just given his Matrix game. I bet I smiled more.
The modern era of media has mandated that repositories of information must concede their passive authority of objectivity, which has held true for the past few centuries, to a more fluid setting where additional content is blindly solicited. The initial work is now an organic entity continually shaped and contextualized with corroborations, refutations, misinterpretations, personal agendas and declarations of intellectual superiority based upon a singular experience. Somehow that original piece is insufficient. Schopenhauer, never a friend of the democratically-minded, may have finally elicited my sympathies.
Griping about decorum on the Internet is about as useful as asking Margaret Thatcher to stop smelling like sulfur. Less discussed is the complicity of media outlets in bringing about this wonderful state of affairs. Opening up opinion writing on the Internet into a two-way discourse has transformed the art of reasoned thought into sport. While engendering a sense of belonging to help facilitate future pageviews may have been the initial motivation behind, “Leave a comment for Adam :),” the pernicious result is in the skewing of a sense of “audience” or “readership” into only those impassioned enough to post, and then emboldening that minority into having a role in the shaping of future content (please see all recent requests to “fire Abbie Heppe” or “turn Feedback into a television show”). While I can only speak for myself, this phantom “audience” does begin to affect future writing. I have written reviews which indulge in argumentative contortionism in anticipation of the response (RE5), editorials which heighten the rhetoric to elicit strong reactions (Killzone 2 Soapbox), and reliably spend the day with review, Soapbox, or Feedback posts reading the comments section, compulsively refreshing, looking for the elusive satisfaction of having had enough of an impact on some anonymous individual to make the effort worthwhile as my existence was recognized. The writer-commentor relationship is nothing more than a digital glory-hole of discourse in a solipsistic coffee-house made of nightmares.
This call-and-response mentality is only further abated by the need to simplify the moments of controversy and expedite the inflammation. Numerical scores, over-simplified pros/cons and headlines all help focus the theatrics at the bottom of the page which can be counted on with Pavlovian certainty. Whatever therapy it affords, we seem to need it and there’s little to indicate it will be changing anytime soon. We all have something to prove and we’re all proving it at the same time. Reading the comments for not just the Dante’s review but just about every other one on the site can be like peering into the cacophonous abyss of linearity: Established truths must endure, contrary is heresy, individualism is sedition.
I have to say, it’s hard for me at times to know that I’m part of the problem.
If you need me, I’ll be slurping some dick over at Biggy’s.
Comments are Closed
Comments
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Lefunkay
"People think I'm a miserable sod but it's only because I get asked such bloody miserable questions"
-Nick Cave
Judging a guy like Adam, in this case because he sometimes get's handed a bad game, he reviews it, and he tells the truth, same goes for most other things, and the truth is, Adam ain't afraid to tell it as it is, that has a tendency to bring out the trolls and the haters and most likely a host of other weird internet characters - Adam, thanks for telling the truth while being witty, intelligent and cool about it :p
Let the dick slurping commence (Remember to steal the recipe Adam, that should really piss him off)
tylerholmes
Theres alot of comments on this article so if you dont read mine sess, no big deal. I just wanted to say thank you for making my world feel more informed and intelligent. I'm only 16 and as hard as it is to believe I value intelligence. Every time I try to start a conversation with somebody about how videogames are more than just mindless entertainment for little kids I'm told to be quiet because I'm only 16 and know nothing. But when I watch your soapbox or read your articles I feel like my opinions are being validated and somebody isn't cutting me down. Thanks sess, you've helped me in more ways than you'll ever know.
GameGuyPete
I recall seeing "Greedy"'s comments on the Dante piece and saying to myself that it was far, far too much. I disagreed with Patrick's approach on the review (calling it the "comparison trap"), but the criticism was more constructive in nature. It *is* possible to take issue with a review (or editorial column) and discuss it rationally, but thanks to the anonymity of the World Wide Web, more than a few people devolve comments into name-calling and offensive assaults. "Greedy" would get nothing out of seeing Adam in a local bar and saying things like he typed; he'd likely get a series of quizzical stares and probably get laughed at himself.
Adam is a longtime veteran of this business, and, while I don't always agree with him, I respect what he does and his experience is irrefutable.
At the same time, I think that criticism can equally be heaped on blind followers who cannot value any opinions except for what they see here. More than a few commenters within Patrick's review of Dante's Inferno seemed intent on defending a game that isn't even in the wild yet, based solely on what Patrick had to say. The vitriol is the same, just in reverse.
I can appreciate Adam calling out "Greedy" and generally noting the sad state of anonymous comments in general, but it's important to realize that supporters can be just as guilty of these transgressions as dissenters.
CrazyRapture89
I always have been a supporter or natural selection, you know, that thing where the stupid die off quick so we dont have as many in the world. It really is a shame that its not around anymore because if it was, Mr.greedymcnasty would definitely be at the top of the list to die off along with and uncountable amount of others i have seen over the years of reading reviews on this great site. I just want to say thanks to you Mr. Sessler and to the entire team at X-Play and G4 for what you do for the gaming community. Im sure most of us adults appreciate what you you do best and hope you continue to do whatyou do best. Thank you.
Billfan78
Good letter.
Keep in mind most of us who do not speak wish to refrain from the bashing that comes from public forums on the internet.
We do, however, appreciate the work of everyone at G4, and watch and read with nothing but good things in our hearts and minds regularly. Personally, I watch Soapbox and Feedback every week.
Keep doing good things, and I'll keep watching.
KingOfOldSkool
@Adam Sessler - If you makes you feel any better Kevin Pereira deserves a much larger and hairier bowl of dick soup than you have ever deserved.. you gave yourself just enough a boost by admitting that yes, you are a part of the problem. I will shed no tear for the editors that are bitten by the very game media monster they feed into everyday. @GreedyMcNasty - You sound every bit the tool you are commenting against.. but I feel I owe you a +1 for the laughs I enjoyed when reading that in the forum, lol.
Voitan
Cheer up, you, and the rest of the crew, is doing great work.
Just remember: Internet + Anonymity x Opinions = @$$HOLERY
KingOfOldSkool
@NetNapoleon - For the love of god wipe the "balding, middle aged video game playing pedophile look-alike" giz from the side of your mouth after typing that crap.. yikes.
SkinnyJr
I just want to clarify- in my earlier post (on page 6), I wasnt trying to justify mcnasty's actions in any way. I just dont think you should be using your power as editor to call this guy out and then proceed to tell us all something we already know. People like attention. The anonymity of the internet allows you to get that attention more easily when you're negative.
I use G4 as my main resource for reviews, and I probably always will, I just think you guys are more professional than this.
NetNapoleon
Adam it is apparent that from all these comments that you have more friends than enemies and I believe that all of these people share the same admiration for your co-workers. Personally, you and your mates down at G4 have affected my life. I can form more cohesive and compelling arguments and enjoy the games I play in whole different ways. G4 is like a big fun family that isn't embarrassing and is actually fun to hang with. I can imagine what reading a positive or negative comment does to you. I can only imagine it's like being on stage. When the audience is jovial and responsive it makes the actors want to give them a better performance. When the audience is unresponsive and dull it makes it harder to care.
You are awesome Adam. And G4, you're awesome too.
Judge_Holden
"The writer-commentor relationship is nothing more than a digital glory-hole of discourse in a solipsistic coffee-house made of nightmares."
Ha! I laughed out loud. It's true. That's funny.
My question is, how do you know that you're in a coffee house if you're a solipsist?
classic7
I truly respect you Adam, and i if anyone else doesn't then they surely are just compensating for hating themselves so much.
adamistheman
Is it just me or did a man who owns a burger shack selling dick soup just try to attack Sess who is the co-host to the most popular videogame show on TV.
Thats just sad.
Fallen.Elijah
I wonder how much hate mail MCNasty received this past week.
sdcrews
Don't let the trolls get you down, Sess. You win because you get paid to do what all of us on here wish we could.
P.S.: I like Abbie and do miss Tina. They're both hot girls that play games and that's a tough thing to find. Deuces.
that1guy37
Like dirt, there are a lot of useless comments out there, but once in a while there will be this gem hidden amongst all the mud that makes it all worth reading. There are plenty of gems out there. There's just a lot more dirt.
that1guy37
Your right, I won't ever comment unless I find myself passionate enough to do so. This holds true for most sensible people. As a result most of whats posted are variants of cries and screams. However, when I do comment, I actually try give people a meaningful, if not humorous, new perspective on the matter.
that1guy37
Very well written Adam. I'm glad there are people out there that actually see the pattern of things. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in the same pit as the people that start flame wars and make vulgar homophobic remarks to each other. I'm stuck down here at the bottom of these articles.
Str84twenty
Adam don't let these punks get to you. You are easily one of the best reviewers that i listen to. And you are the Best member on the X play staff by far.
Artimas2.0
I think one of the problems with gamers or people for that matter is the fact that they get so strongly attached to a game or a console or an idea that when that thing they love so much is criticized they take it personally resulting in a verbal spewing of ignorant stupidity.
Just a warning I tried the Dick soup at Biggy's and it wasn't as good as GreedyMcnasty made it sound.
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