General Gaming What are you guys feeling about the new Giant Bomb crew now that they’ve kind of settled in?

[Paperclyp]

3 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Even that story about how she got a tank top could be real!

Made me feel like she read this thread and then I felt bad. 

[Keyser_Soze]

@Paperclyp

 

1. She doesn't know who Lindsey Graham is
2. She claimed to have an abusive, skinny (corrected her self after saying big), goth boyfriend at 16
3. Says Elon Musk is the only one who makes electric vehicles.

 

[HardAct]

On 3/28/2022 at 1:25 PM, XxEvil AshxX said:

Now I feel like I need to listen to one of these just so I can share in the Jess cringe. 

same!

   I have never heard of these people, but I have heard of Giant Bomb. Never knowing what it is or anything else about it.....

[Paperclyp]

13 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

@Paperclyp

 

1. She doesn't know who Lindsey Graham is
2. She claimed to have an abusive, skinny (corrected her self after saying big), goth boyfriend at 16
3. Says Elon Musk is the only one who makes electric vehicles.

 

Can’t wait 

[Keyser_Soze]

8 minutes ago, Paperclyp said:

Can’t wait 

 

The first two are on Run 2 The Hills.

[Xbob42]

Man, I hope she's able to sort of ease out of this awkward phase and get settled in properly. I've enjoyed her on Run for the Hills, but I haven't listened to many podcasts since the GB split (probably slightly more Nextlander... but it just feels different to me now.) so I haven't been keeping up with all these things I've been reading in this thread. I try not to dogpile individuals unless they're actual scum like politicians because having been on the other side of that I just think it doesn't ever do any good and makes people feel like shit.

 

People are going to criticize though, if they feel like the show is worse because of how people behave. I personally get really irritated when people interrupt others on any sort of show because quite often it's in the middle of the first person saying something interesting that often gets totally forgotten about, which then just irks me a bit for the rest of the episode. That goes for anything, not just podcasts. Was glad to read it seemed like she reeled it in though. I really don't want her to just feel "bullied" (I know, criticism isn't bullying, but when you get it non-stop everywhere you look it's hard to tell the difference) and leave the show, for various reasons, including that GB takes fucking forever to get new hires sorted, but also because based on her Silent Hill stuff, I think she certainly has the potential to make the podcasts better.

I'm rambling at this point, which is a bad idea when, like I said, I haven't even been listening for a while, but when I do get the urge to listen again I want to come back to a cohesive team with great chemistry. Like I feel the Nextlander guys, obviously, get along well, but despite that, even they're missing something. Have they had Dan as a special guest yet? I bet Dan Ryckert being injected every now and again could really spice things up. I miss that guy, he added a ton of life to the site. His solo Youtube/Twitch stuff is surprisingly decent, but I feel like his energy works best when interacting with others, not just himself.

I guess in the end I just miss all these people working together, because the diversity of personalities really made each feature feel different, and someone grumpy like Jeff is a lot more fun when he's having Dan annoy the shit out of him. I think Alex and Patrick made a very entertaining pair and really miss Bombin' the A.M. with Scoops and the Wolf. I fucking loved Abby's Nancy Drew series because it brought my attention to some pretty interesting games from someone who really loved them, which paired nicely with Alex, Vinny and I think occasionally Bakalar joining in. I miss Ben's big dumb laugh even if I often disagreed with him or found him a little annoying. I fucking miss Jar Time with Jeff! I miss them being in a fucking office, even though I was excited for them to do some streaming from home stuff. It's so much harder to build chemistry and camaraderie when just remotely working with each other. Those halcyon days of mailbags in the middle of the week as you saw little snippets of what they were playing or doing as you looked forward to a fun UPF, Mario Party Party or even a Quick Look that might have your favorite pair/trio working on it. I never thought I'd feel such nostalgia and melancholy for a site that's not even that old and that's still putting out pretty decent work.

 

Ha, and I said I should stop rambling a paragraph prior to that one...

[Paperclyp]

31 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Man, I hope she's able to sort of ease out of this awkward phase and get settled in properly. I've enjoyed her on Run for the Hills, but I haven't listened to many podcasts since the GB split (probably slightly more Nextlander... but it just feels different to me now.) so I haven't been keeping up with all these things I've been reading in this thread. I try not to dogpile individuals unless they're actual scum like politicians because having been on the other side of that I just think it doesn't ever do any good and makes people feel like shit.

 

People are going to criticize though, if they feel like the show is worse because of how people behave. I personally get really irritated when people interrupt others on any sort of show because quite often it's in the middle of the first person saying something interesting that often gets totally forgotten about, which then just irks me a bit for the rest of the episode. That goes for anything, not just podcasts. Was glad to read it seemed like she reeled it in though. I really don't want her to just feel "bullied" (I know, criticism isn't bullying, but when you get it non-stop everywhere you look it's hard to tell the difference) and leave the show, for various reasons, including that GB takes fucking forever to get new hires sorted, but also because based on her Silent Hill stuff, I think she certainly has the potential to make the podcasts better.

I'm rambling at this point, which is a bad idea when, like I said, I haven't even been listening for a while, but when I do get the urge to listen again I want to come back to a cohesive team with great chemistry. Like I feel the Nextlander guys, obviously, get along well, but despite that, even they're missing something. Have they had Dan as a special guest yet? I bet Dan Ryckert being injected every now and again could really spice things up. I miss that guy, he added a ton of life to the site. His solo Youtube/Twitch stuff is surprisingly decent, but I feel like his energy works best when interacting with others, not just himself.

I guess in the end I just miss all these people working together, because the diversity of personalities really made each feature feel different, and someone grumpy like Jeff is a lot more fun when he's having Dan annoy the shit out of him. I think Alex and Patrick made a very entertaining pair and really miss Bombin' the A.M. with Scoops and the Wolf. I fucking loved Abby's Nancy Drew series because it brought my attention to some pretty interesting games from someone who really loved them, which paired nicely with Alex, Vinny and I think occasionally Bakalar joining in. I miss Ben's big dumb laugh even if I often disagreed with him or found him a little annoying. I fucking miss Jar Time with Jeff! I miss them being in a fucking office, even though I was excited for them to do some streaming from home stuff. It's so much harder to build chemistry and camaraderie when just remotely working with each other. Those halcyon days of mailbags in the middle of the week as you saw little snippets of what they were playing or doing as you looked forward to a fun UPF, Mario Party Party or even a Quick Look that might have your favorite pair/trio working on it. I never thought I'd feel such nostalgia and melancholy for a site that's not even that old and that's still putting out pretty decent work.

 

Ha, and I said I should stop rambling a paragraph prior to that one...

Agree with every word

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, Paperclyp said:

Agree with every word

 

I'm actually kind of upset I read most of it.

[DarkStar189]

@Xbob42 I listen to the Fire Escape Cast to get my Dan Ryckert fix. He's not the exact bumbling baffoon from Giantbomb, but it's close. I find myself laughing a lot more during that podcast then I do with Giantbomb or Nextlander (my job allows me to listen to an endless amount of podcasts). 

[Keyser_Soze]

@Paperclyp How about this story of her "breaking" her foot and then never went to the hospital?

[Xbob42]

5 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

@Paperclyp How about this story of her "breaking" her foot and then never went to the hospital?

I mean, I'd believe that. People do stupid shit like that so often it's actually kind of scary.

 

Even a millionaire streamer like Asmongold fucks up his finger so bad it's not straight anymore and he just won't go get it looked at.

 

 

(I have not heard the story in question, I'm just saying breaking a bone (or thinking you did) and not getting it looked at is super common.)

[gamer.tv]

My finger looked a lot like that after an accident playing rugby. Turned out the top had fully dislocated and been forced underneath and I fractured my finger as well. 

[Paperclyp]

On 4/30/2022 at 6:48 AM, Keyser_Soze said:

@Paperclyp How about this story of her "breaking" her foot and then never went to the hospital?

im like two weeks behind 

[Paperclyp]

@Keyser_Soze Finally listened to that one. Frankly one of the more believable stories she has told. 

[Keyser_Soze]

@Paperclyp

 

How do you feel about this ongoing saga of Jess whining that she's getting beat at Smash Bros by people who play the game and she wants to play the game and win without having to play the game?

[gamer.tv]

I always feel so disappointed when they have the English guy on, he has such an irritating voice, to the point I’m not listening this week.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, gamer.tv said:

I always feel so disappointed when they have the English guy on, he has such an irritating voice, to the point I’m not listening this week.

 

Tam is awesome.

[Paperclyp]

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

@Paperclyp

 

How do you feel about this ongoing saga of Jess whining that she's getting beat at Smash Bros by people who play the game and she wants to play the game and win without having to play the game?

She said a fix would be to include handicap options like making in player more powerful / have more health, which the game absolutely has and has had probably since the original, at least since melee. Jeff started to point that out but got interrupted and then I think just thought meh this isn’t worth it. 

[Keyser_Soze]

2 minutes ago, Paperclyp said:

She said a fix would be to include handicap options like making in player more powerful / have more health, which the game absolutely has and has had probably since the original, at least since melee. Jeff started to point that out but got interrupted and then I think just thought meh this isn’t worth it. 

 

I just think it's an odd thing to complain about. I mean if you want to do anything (not just video games) you have to put some time into it to be better than someone who's not a beginner.

 

If you want to run a marathon or go on a bike race, you need to train before the race. You can't just show up the day of the race and then cry everyone is better than you when you end up in last place. She literally has a problem that is impossible to solve beyond doing the thing.

[Paperclyp]

20 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I just think it's an odd thing to complain about. I mean if you want to do anything (not just video games) you have to put some time into it to be better than someone who's not a beginner.

 

If you want to run a marathon or go on a bike race, you need to train before the race. You can't just show up the day of the race and then cry everyone is better than you when you end up in last place. She literally has a problem that is impossible to solve beyond doing the thing.

Yeah it was very weird. She’s told that story several times now too and it seems to have painted her entire stance on the game lol. And again the options she said would fix the experience for her are in the game! Jeff was so close to saying it, I about lost my mind haha. 

[LazyPiranha]

I think that’s not an entirely fair explanation of her stance.  It’s not that the game doesn’t have handicapping, she would prefer a mode where the handicapping is automatic to make it more enjoyable for people who aren’t savage at the game, like the game would in and of itself realize that player four is just getting savagely dunked on and help them out.  Think the Mario Kart item system but for Smash as opposed to having to tinker with handicap settings without really knowing what the proper balance is.  
 

[Mercury33]

Yeah she annoys me a lot but I don’t think her Smash take was something to get on her about. It was in response to Jeff saying Overwatch is basically unplayable for new players and how esports can ruin a game. Her point made sense to me. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

 

 

[ThreePi]

End of an era.

 

I like some of the new content that GB has done in the past year. I like Bakalar, sounds like Jeff Grubb is being brought on full-time. But when there's zero of the original crew left over, real tough to see how GB carries on in the future.

[Chris-]

Was it known he was leaving? I passively follow GB and it doesn’t seem like it serves much of a purpose if Jeff isn’t sticking around, his editorial control always seemed pretty crucial to making it was it was. 

[DarkStar189]

32 minutes ago, Chris- said:

Was it known he was leaving? I passively follow GB and it doesn’t seem like it serves much of a purpose if Jeff isn’t sticking around, his editorial control always seemed pretty crucial to making it was it was. 

Definitely not. I've been watching the Giantbomb forums the last couple months and the biggest issue people have is how in the dark GB has left their fans.  They haven't put out much content. The staff just up and leaves. Feels like it's over now. 

[ThreePi]

4 minutes ago, DarkStar189 said:

Definitely not. I've been watching the Giantbomb forums the last couple months and the biggest issue people have is how in the dark GB has left their fans.  They haven't put out much content. The staff just up and leaves. Feels like it's over now. 

 

The Giant Bomb name obviously has a lot cachet, and it'll continue on in some form or another, they announced a focus on the "9 core" members, of which there are no 9 currently, so they've clearly added people. But obviously what Giant Bomb meant for a lot of people is clearly over. Just hope Jeff does something in the future that still allows people to hear his thoughts on games and the industry.

[DarkStar189]

I'm more shocked today is Jeff's last day and not tomorrow on the Bombcast. No special goodbye and he didn't write a goodbye article for the site. Feels like he didn't leave on the best terms. 

[The def star]

Once Dan Rykert left it got me wondering how much longer could these guys keep doing this. The way they covered video games was revolutionary for it's time but in world that is now made up of Twitch and YouTube streamers Giant Bomb seemed to have trouble growing their audience, particularly with the younger crowd. I love Giant Bomb and enjoy the Nextlander podcast but they are for a niche audience. I hope Jeff does more Twitch and maybe his own podcast even if it's a one man show with the occasional guest. I would listen to it.

[Paperclyp]

Wowow that’s nuts. But maybe gives me one less podcast to listen to…

[Paperclyp]

7 hours ago, LazyPiranha said:

I think that’s not an entirely fair explanation of her stance.  It’s not that the game doesn’t have handicapping, she would prefer a mode where the handicapping is automatic to make it more enjoyable for people who aren’t savage at the game, like the game would in and of itself realize that player four is just getting savagely dunked on and help them out.  Think the Mario Kart item system but for Smash as opposed to having to tinker with handicap settings without really knowing what the proper balance is.  
 

 

4 hours ago, Mercury33 said:

Yeah she annoys me a lot but I don’t think her Smash take was something to get on her about. It was in response to Jeff saying Overwatch is basically unplayable for new players and how esports can ruin a game. Her point made sense to me. 

I could be wrong, I might go look it up later, but I think she literally says she wishes there were options that allowed you to customize health and stuff. I don’t think we’re misrepresenting it but reserve the right to have misunderstood her. 

[Paperclyp]

1 hour ago, DarkStar189 said:

I'm more shocked today is Jeff's last day and not tomorrow on the Bombcast. No special goodbye and he didn't write a goodbye article for the site. Feels like he didn't leave on the best terms. 

I find it odd that the nextlander guys have barely if ever mentioned Jeff in particular since they started. Jeff also never really publicly acknowledged nextlander (to my knowledge). I wondered if there were sour grapes there or if I’m reading into something that isn’t there. 
 

At the same time, the nextlander guys are mentioning something new coming but they couldn’t give details so maybe it’s all ruse and he’s joining them lol. 
 

I bet the truth is more unexciting and Jeff maybe crunched the numbers and decided he could go on his own and be ok, and spend more time with his family. 

[LazyPiranha]

2 hours ago, Chris- said:

Was it known he was leaving? I passively follow GB and it doesn’t seem like it serves much of a purpose if Jeff isn’t sticking around, his editorial control always seemed pretty crucial to making it was it was. 

 

I feel like editorial control has been MIA in Giant Bomb for years now.  The last written article on GB that isn’t a community spotlight is an announcement article for the Jojo’s rewatch podcast in February.  There hasn’t been a review posted since Halo infinite in December.  The editorial voice of GB has been nothing but whatever personality they have going for them for a long time now.  The original few years where they still regularly wrote articles and reviews felt like there was a GB “style” for lack of a better term, but once it became all video all the time it that went away too.  The “voice” of GB became whoever was hosting the video or created the concept for that show.  Each new member brought in their own flavor and idea and you knew what you were getting based on that instead of the banner over the sight.  That isn’t to say it’s bad, Giant Bomb in a lot of ways pioneered the path of the modern internet, the problem is other people came along and refined that and they stayed where they were.  Even before staff started leaving in droves GB as in institution was growing stale with lots of newer ideas behind paywalls and some of the more fun ideas limited to short episode runs.  The Vinny/Abby scary games videos are some of my favorite stuff they ever made, but it was niche content limited to a few weeks a year.  
 

In a lot of ways, GB is kind of the roadmap for the current internet culture.  Early internet felt like the site mattered more and now it feels like the personality matters more.  If writers came and went from IGN people stayed loyal to the site.  Now if GB loses all of the people that viewers wanted to see, there’s almost no reason to stick around.  The same thing happens to lots of sites, the AV Club is a shadow of its former self, the Cracked crew people fell in love with all split up and went their separate ways, the Deadspin writers becoming Defector, etc.  

 

Blatant speculation but I feel like Jeff has taken a less active role in everything as the years have rolled on.  He appears in fewer things, hosts fewer podcasts, and all of the new GB stuff seems to feature him less and less.  Whether that’s him being pushed out or him having less interest in the new direction who can say?  He’s spoken openly in the past that the site was built on a foundation that made more sense ten years ago but would be made totally different if they started today.  

[Chris-]

9 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

 

I feel like editorial control has been MIA in Giant Bomb for years now.  The last written article on GB that isn’t a community spotlight is an announcement article for the Jojo’s rewatch podcast in February.  There hasn’t been a review posted since Halo infinite in December.  The editorial voice of GB has been nothing but whatever personality they have going for them for a long time now.  The original few years where they still regularly wrote articles and reviews felt like there was a GB “style” for lack of a better term, but once it became all video all the time it that went away too.  The “voice” of GB became whoever was hosting the video or created the concept for that show.  Each new member brought in their own flavor and idea and you knew what you were getting based on that instead of the banner over the sight.  That isn’t to say it’s bad, Giant Bomb in a lot of ways pioneered the path of the modern internet, the problem is other people came along and refined that and they stayed where they were.  Even before staff started leaving in droves GB as in institution was growing stale with lots of newer ideas behind paywalls and some of the more fun ideas limited to short episode runs.  The Vinny/Abby scary games videos are some of my favorite stuff they ever made, but it was niche content limited to a few weeks a year.  
 

In a lot of ways, GB is kind of the roadmap for the current internet culture.  Early internet felt like the site mattered more and now it feels like the personality matters more.  If writers came and went from IGN people stayed loyal to the site.  Now if GB loses all of the people that viewers wanted to see, there’s almost no reason to stick around.  The same thing happens to lots of sites, the AV Club is a shadow of its former self, the Cracked crew people fell in love with all split up and went their separate ways, the Deadspin writers becoming Defector, etc.  

 

Blatant speculation but I feel like Jeff has taken a less active role in everything as the years have rolled on.  He appears in fewer things, hosts fewer podcasts, and all of the new GB stuff seems to feature him less and less.  Whether that’s him being pushed out or him having less interest in the new direction who can say?  He’s spoken openly in the past that the site was built on a foundation that made more sense ten years ago but would be made totally different if they started today.  

 

Splitting hairs but I would argue that ceding tone to the creators is in and of itself a editorial choice.

[Bacon]

I watched a few of those like review/preview videos from GB but not much else. Still, Jeff Gerstmann, in my eyes, is GB. Without him it's not even GB to me. But I'm not some GB fan. It was just a site I rarely visited to watch videos.