Top Secret Files of a Mental Fugitive, Exposed
Transmission #9: Why /V/ Seems To Hate AVGN
by , March 29th, 2012 at 06:49 AM (3074 Views)
Okay. Imagine this. It was the 1990s and you're just another stupid kid in living in the Philippines. Your father is an OFW in the Middle East, working just to give you a decent life and decent luxuries. And because it was the Fifth Generation Era of Gaming that time, all sorts of gaming machines and consoles were coming out. You know the cool new graphics of Nintendo 64, but only know Sega Saturn by name and never seen one before. But of course, you know the coolest and most rad machine that every rich kid had during that time, the Sony PlayStation. Syphon Filter, Strikers 1945, Army Men, Chocobo Racing, Bloody Roar 2, Destrega and many more. All of these games can be played on the newly released console.
You, as a kid, want to try that out and play with the newest games of the decade. Well, your father, however, can't afford the machine and doesn't consider it a bare necessity. He did, however, gave you another console...coming from the older Fourth Generation. It was the "Family Computer", as everyone called it. But you hated it and wanted to play the newer games instead. Nevertheless, you just put up with it, plugged the damn machine on the TV and presto, you're playing with it, tolerating the stupid-looking graphics and the crummy controls, while playing or even just watching PlayStation games on every little chance you get.
That was my experience before I went to high school, and before I discovered the Internet. Back then, I hated the Family Computer because, aside from the earlier given reasons, the name implies as if this console was designed as a watered-down version of the newer consoles and be sold for a quick buck. It sounded cheap, in other words. Then years later, I discovered, in Wikipedia, that it was indeed officially called Family Computer in Japan, Famicom for short, but in America, it was called Nintendo Emulator System, NES for short, and it sold millions back in it's generation.
Little did I know that the console I called "cheap" back then was one of the most popular and influential consoles in history. I grew a bit smarter in the day I discovered that, I said to myself. And I was proud to experience the old way of gaming.
Well, I'm pretty sure that almost anyone who played NES when they were children can relate to the nostalgia. And of course, when I say nostalgia, you might find bickering about today's games. And when I say bickering about games, two things come into my mind: /v/ and AVGN. Both of them complain about games and both have some kind of rage about it. However, /v/, if my memory serves me correctly, does not exactly like the Nerd. Okay, I'll give you this: /v/ hates everything. That's because /v/ is not one person. It is a legion of people gaming before gaming became cool, people who were bullied one point because of their behavior and people who can't accept the fact that games today have become so watered down and made casual, without any real challenge to those who want it.
Still, here are my perceived reasons or theories about it:
First, AVGN seems to be a satire of /v/. The /v/idya gaem board is renowned for two things, shitstorm and hardcore dislike for modern casual games. If you lurked the board for at least a year, you will find days where everything is just trolls trolling trolls trolling trolls. Even if they weren't having a bad day, you will see fragments of rage all over the place. It's like no one is bound to agree with no one here, but that's a given with 4chan already. (Or with people, even.) The problem is, they are outright disrespecting each others' point of view because they think it is stupid, the other side is forcing it, out of spite or just because they can, without getting shit in real life. They also tend to complain about games being "casualized" on this current generation, whether you agree with that or not. That's where the similarities and exaggerations of James Rolfe's character come in. The Nerd "literally lives in the past", as Rolfe described him in a Q&A, an exaggeration to the nostalgiafags or even some people on /v/. He also tends to lash out on the games with a very vulgar and literally dirty vocabulary, an exaggerated metaphor to /v/'s mudslinging and often-politically incorrect language, which they use on the arguments that usually happen on the board. What's worst, the usual target of AVGN's filth-ridden and vitriolic criticism were older games and of course, /v/ likes to rage a lot, especially when their common interests are bashed.
Second, James Rolfe himself wasn't much of a skillful gamer himself, as he also admitted on the Q&A, saying that he only finished a few of the games in his massive collection. As a result, this level of skill translates to his character's actual skill, which means that he might be shitting on the older games that he didn't even finish. And for /v/, that is bound to rustle their jimmies because, for them, it is tantamount to heavily criticizing a story without even reading or finishing a book, which they consider masterpieces, especially if they finished and loved the game.
And third, the Angry Video Game Nerd is just a character. So what's so bad about that? That only means that the whole thing is scripted, which includes even the rants and swearing. And due to Rolfe's educational background in film making and aspirations, he also tends to put episodic storylines in each of his videos, which puts off some people on YouTube, preferring game reviews that are simply reviews. This, combined with the first two reasons, surely pisses off most people on /v/.
So to sum up this entry, /v/ thinks James Rolfe is a phony, a casual and an attention whore, if we use their vocabulary. But then again, this is just my opinion according to my observation, so take it as you want and will. As for me, I like his reviews, but I think his theatricality is a bit excessive. And he does make me thankful that I played NES first.
But damn, I saw a video of Karateka's and B-Wings' gameplay and it already angers me. I guess I still do appreciate my era, the Fifth and so forth Generation.
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