Let's be Postive about Negativity

[Nissa]

Okay...okay...

So, my teacher in a video game course got on my case for not liking Last of Us. He claims that the characters are likable and that their zombie-clone enemies were not in fact zombie-clones. He thinks I'm wrong for not liking the ending. And basically calls me closed minded for not wanting to debate it in class.

One thing that will always bother me when talking about a medium is when people say, "you feel this way because you're ____." Um, they aren't me, they can't say why I feel a certain way. Also, that's making it about me, when it's really about the game.

In other words, I would like to express this: I think Last of Us is an unappealing turd representative of modern gamemaking's pitfalls. And I don't care who knows it.

[TheEconomist]

Did you play it? Let's Plays don't count in this situation since the experience IS the story telling.

The ending made me like the main character less, but did make me think more than if the ending went the way you think it would/should.

And, I'm curious when you think a better time for gaming. Was it when every game was an arcade rip-off, when everything was a platformer, when everything was a dumbed down RPG (JRPG, i.e. Ultima IV clone #XXXX), or when everything was a shooter/button mash. Because those are your options. How is that worse than now where everything is open world? AAA games aside, there's more inoovation and ingenuity in a recommended list of indie steam games than there was in the entire industry during most of its existence.

What games (other than Blizzard games) do you think were better?

Also, a video game class? Are you paying for this? Then again, I did have to take film studies *shivers*

[Visions of Khas]

Nissa is clearly a card carrying member of ISIS.

What did you not like about TLoU Nissa? What did you like?

[KaiserStratosTygo]

Nissa is clearly a card carrying member of ISIS.

What did you not like about TLoU Nissa? What did you like?

Well everybody is a "literal nazi" now so yeah.

I liked Last of Us, but i'm not going to get on people's asses just because they didn't.

I hate the argument of "you're close minded because you don't like X" I get shit on that way by disparate groups just because I don't agree with their opinions on X Y or Z.

[Turalyon]

It just seems to me that Nissa just doesn't have a preference for fictional worlds that are inherently nihilistic or pessimistic.

Though, the teacher is an arse for railing on you about whether you liked it or not when it should be about whether the ending was appropriate with the universe and the story it was telling up to that point.

For what it's worth, I think the ending is appropriate (whether one prefers it or not) because it's in keeping with Joel's mindset and the theme of "living with the choice and the consequences resulting from such choice" that the modern survival horror genre is all about these days.

[Visions of Khas]

It just seems very unprofessional -- and dickish besides -- for that teacher to be acting the way he did. I know plenty of people who didn't care for The Last of Us. I liked it, others don't, and that's fine. It's been so long since I've played it I can scarcely remember what happened, but I do remember liking the characters, the tension, and the cordyceps twist on the zombies. But quite a few tried and tired tropes kept popping up, too, which aggravated me.

[TheEconomist]

I'm sure you guys went to college so I'm kind of shocked that you haven't had experiences like this before. I've had many, many, many college professors demonstrate even worse condescension about real-life issues through-out an entire semester. It's par for the course where people go to college to have their biases supported and their emotions coddled by stopping anything that's a threat to students' safe spaces ...


But, that's a topic for another time ...

[Visions of Khas]

Oh I've had bad experiences. The least of which: one prof told me I had no business being an artist and wanted me out of his class; and another who was blatantly a drunkard and hit on the girl students all the time.

[TheEconomist]

I had a guidance counselor tell me I shouldn't go to college once. She had a Bachelor's degree in Education (equivalent in years to an associate's) I now have a Master's degree in Economics (equivalent in years to PhD in Education) and could have easily stayed for the Ph.D. but saw no reason to.

The world is full of shitty teachers, but, to be fair, we don't know the entire context of the situation or how the conversation really went.

[Turalyon]

I'm sure you guys went to college so I'm kind of shocked that you haven't had experiences like this before.

Didn't think I said that I "haven't had experiences like that before", just pointing out the guy was an arse for picking on someone because of their preference for something.