Blood Is Compulsory: How We Talk About Advanced Warfare

[@TapKim]

2015: "Oh my god! It's Kevin Spacey!" 2020: "It's Kevin Spacey? Oh my god..."

[@leonmayne797]

2053: 'Oh, my Kevin Spacey, it's god.

[@gabrielmichelson9830]

@@leonmayne797 Hedonismbot: "Oh, my." (See also George Takei, who has at least one troubling allegation similarity with Spacey.)

[@Guadeloop]

brilliant comment

[@unsrescyldas9745]

@@leonmayne797 I imagined that as a cult later worshipping that man being on the day of Judgement seeing God.

[@hobg5786]

"people expect a pro-militarism and pro-american game to be treated as apolitical" aged like a fine wine with COD: Cold War. It's technically not being treated as apolitical - people are raving about it's expected politics - but it's not being criticized like a "political" game would.

[@goroakechi6126]

COD’s turned politics into advertisement. Better yet, they took the sting out of it in the process.

[@strife57x]

The ending clip was a superb addition.

[@titanuranus3095]

Particularly coming right on top of talking about Bioshock: Infinite.

[@keil764]

What is that clip from?

[@titanuranus3095]

@@keil764 rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead

[@Essah15]

superbly superb

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

"Modern, on-rails, content-munching, jingoistic, military spectacle shooter." This phrase will live forever.

[@aztektheultimatewoman]

It should, anyway.

[@anone.mousse674]

I still prefer "spunkgargleweewee"

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

@@anone.mousse674 That's just the abbreviated form.

[@TheEvilCheesecake]

@@anone.mousse674 and that is why nobody will ever really listen to your opinions.

[@evalcat1]

hopefully the genre it descibes doesn't.

[@Nick0Kyuubi0Narion]

See, after your first video essay, I had assumed you're a professionally trained, well funded and very well equipped analyst who took interest in video games and internet politics via proxy (friends involved in the field). I looked about and no, it's not like that. Now I realise you don't even have to play a game to present it, talk about it, talk about the talk about it, then use all of that to deconstruct a conversation that is not linked to the game but is built from the same assumptions as the talk about the game is. You're so good I fucking hate you. And by that, of course, I mean I admire you greatly and am immensely jealous of your skills.

[@fivvyfavvy]

I'm one of his partners, and by golly, don't we all wish he were well-funded XD

[@azureknight777]

IKR? I struggle to be as insightful and as able to put understanding into words as you Ian. I'm refraining from going into a meritocratic tangent about what you deserve in terms of recognition and opportunity, but the truth is all I wish is that I could know you 'IRL' and bounce ideas around with you. In another life. Keep up the amazing work, friend.

[@mitjellk2186]

If you want to get good at that sorta thing, study philosophy/other humanities subjects :)

[@davidmartinez-toribio6825]

"You're so good I fucking hate you" Ough. That was the kinda flick to the balls that the soul cringes at. The kind I know I've felt before.

[@sintua]

@@davidmartinez-toribio6825 When I grew up I was a pretty average visual artist who went to an arts camp mainly for musicians called Interlochen. It was like immersion therapy for being around people who are obscenely more talented than you can ever be. Something about being stuck in a little cold cabin in the forests of Michigan with world-class violinists who have sold out tours around the world at 14... I used to feel that bitter jealousy at first but after a few summers, I think it just "normalized" these talented people, and normalized those extreme differences to just "a thing that happens". Of course, it can still flare up on occasion; usually when it's a specific peer very close to my age, background, and in a specific field I desperately want to be good in!

[@charlottesetsu]

Having that much Kevin Spacey hasn't aged well, huh

[@Cosmoandtherobins]

It really aged hilariously, seeing as you spend most of the game hunting him down for being a bad bad man. Playing the game now, early lines like "Mr. Iron has really taken a shine to you." align realities of Spacey with the game's antagonist in a twisted poetic way. The whole game becomes this cathartic justice thing, as if it predicted the future and let you act upon it.

[@jblue1622]

Emma Goldman but “Kevin Derpface” stands even more than before

[@ashi8848]

the inclusion of that rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead clip at the end was perfect omg

[@johnreese5739]

"every COD game has to compare itself to modern warfare" this statement is even more obvious after the newest release

[@Mark-ec8ix]

I'd argue the game every 1st person shooter has to be compared to is Half-life and Counter-Strike. Maybe even Quake, everything past those 3 are it's children. Half life is the story line, counter strike is team battles, quake was mindless 1 against everyone combat. Quake made the engine that spawned Half-Life, that in turn spawned Counter Strike.

[@johnreese5739]

@@Mark-ec8ix I think that isn't entirely true since you have subgenres like hero shooters and movement shooters (quake I guess but still) but that is fair to say

[@Mark-ec8ix]

@@johnreese5739 My post is based on basic game mechanics of shooters, where I present the grandparents. Your post is true in the sense of a games player base. They know what they liked, They know what they want. They depend on a given company to deliver. Where what I presented was more objective and abstract. I wasn't stuck on a specific vendor but instead paid homage to where it started.

[@FirstnameLastname-nd9wx]

@@Mark-ec8ix quake is just the child of doom though, which is the child of wolfenstein 3d. which is the child of other video games. nothing wrong with comparing to more recent games, if that game is good/groundbreaking enough that it sets a standard.

[@TrailerDrake]

Ian. You have two real videos worth of content and you have somehow become one of my favorite KZbinrs of all time. I say this when I am subscribed to and actively keep up with over one hundred and fifty different channels. This has been another eye opening video that asks the serious questions that nobody has even THOUGH to ask. Please. Set up a Patreon so that I can give you more money to help you produce more content like this. :)

[@vmp916]

Implying ass dance off isn't content

[@pheo4156]

What are you talking about? Hes made loads of videos

[@shiinakochiya6068]

@Pheo OP's comment was written over 3 years ago. At the time, judging by the current state of the channel's video archive (so not accounting for removed/privated/etc. videos), this was the 4th video posted to the channel.

[@pheo4156]

@@shiinakochiya6068 haha yeah i noticed that after i left my comment. Whoops

[@brawlinharry6461]

@@pheo4156 damn you were so stupid 3 years ago! :P

[@BobbySchroeder]

this is the kind of video essay that i'll watch once and then immediately want to rewatch ten minutes later. i'm so glad you got funded

[@zippomage]

I am also learning that I enjoy these more intellectual, more objective examinations of a single topic, as you call them, Video Essays. I recommend Errant Signal, if you can find him. It can veer into a bit of navel gazing, and can seem pedantic sometimes, but always thoughtful.

[@FALCONLICK]

***** thanks man! I love his videos!

[@tekkies9620]

ok i gotta be honest I thought that I would hear about Bush killing children in the middle east and not a game, but this is pleasently surprising

[@JukeboxTheGhoul]

I came here expecting a sci-fi discussion about the ethicality of humans in a warzone, whether "Blood is necessary" woops. Still good video though.

[@groupsounds4896]

oh my god i died at that ethics in games journalism pic of the guy twirling his mustache

[@goroakechi6126]

I recommend looking into Spec Ops: The Line. It effectively deconstructs this exact topic by making the shooting sections mental poison, and the story bits fueling that poison by forcing you to do more and more terrible things.

[@derpydood]

"Inspired by Heart Of Darkness and Apocalypse Now." That single statement was all it took for me to go from ignoring it to buying a copy.

[@elephant3109]

the problem wasnt if the stories are really doing shit (COD is already a deconstructor fleet) the problem was its audience and reviewers being blaise about what the fuck it says, since, all shooters are... shooters. blood is compulsory

[@foRonable]

My friend asked me to switch games (we shoot zombies together more as a backdrop for taking, because we can't meet. Basically, we treat L4D2 as skype thats slightly more interesting) And to my horror and light amusement, I found out that I can't even imagine myself taking pleasure in game where you have to kill and/or harm civilians. And I knew that the reason for that was recent police brutality in Belarus. I can't call it "policy brutality problem", because it occured in span of few months and, most likely, at an orders from the president. Also, it wasn't a police problem, it was from OMON carrying on orders. They are kinda like SWAT-team, but the whole department of them. They basically are military, but for going at war with their own citizens I'm just kinda. Feeling strange about that. I never had problems with playing as military, or watching film with military lead, until I saw people in tactical suits shooting civilians just for existing in their own streets. I also was in a chat where one of the girls was crying from fright, because she thought that grenade could be thrown at her window, and some other girl was like "dude, I'm from Ukraine, I've been through this. If you so afraid, than just gather up your pet and go sleep at the bathtub, there would be no windows" And my heart now is just always aches for those, whose lives were disrupted, no matted how "good" and "noble" the reasons. I cant play any military shooters for now. ... That's to say, thank you for letting me vent off. I started this comment trying to make a point, but went right off in completly unexpected direction. If you know any multiplayer zombie-shooters - I'll be much obliged (:

[@Tinblitz]

Get Deep Rock Galactic. You'll like it. Best of luck to you and your friends, and stay safe.

[@trevbook255]

It's super impressive that you can talk about a game so knowledgeably, honestly, and in such depth without even playing it (or any of its similar predecessors). That fact alone also somewhat corroborates with the point you're trying to make in the video, which is equally impressive! I'm looking forward to future videos!

[@stuckonaslide]

i love how this channel went from something as simple as cod to how the alt-right does what it does.

[@SpankyJackson]

INNUENDO STUDIOS IS A THING NOW AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA QUALITY CONTENT PRAISE THE LORD

[@Boy99655]

Man I come back to this vid every few years. It's such a good one

[@picklechip9294]

Its interesting watching this video during a time where the reign of the first person shooter is largely coming to an end, and more variety is being explored within triple A spaces. What's most interesting just how much the gaming culture has changed and how much it has stayed the same. Because while the fps being the default is being overtaken by the narrative-driven adventure game, the journalism that was common place around cod has spread to pretty much every other genre being reviewed. Games are still not being reviewed within the merits of larger scopes, only within their insular bubbles of safe commentary.

[@ingmar6666]

“an appendix with Kevin Spacey in it” was a gut punch of a phrase that I did not see coming

[@spinningninja2]

God I hate how this has all evolved now. When games first came out simply turning a ball to avoid blobs and eat other balls was widely accepted and considered a fun time. I'm not wishing to go back, but it would be nice if a game like Bioshock Infinite _could_ have existed without the tacked on shooting. Just look at what happened with "The Black Glove", the game the devs tried to make alone. They wanted to create an adventure game with an interesting story and other fun details without shootings anything in sight. But even when it was up to the public, no guns simply equated to no glory

[@MatthewCampbell765]

I'd argue there's a few problems with saying BI shouldn't have had shooting. One is that the point of the game is actually to show that Columbia's beauty is a facade. It's meant to be a Bioshock game, and what Bioshock means to its creator is "Having super powers in one hand, a gun in the other, while exploring a fantastic dystopia". It's also not like games can't have story and shooting in them-the first Bioshock proves that. So does the System Shock and Deus Ex games.

[@cassiscrowmatic]

To be fair, I think The Black Glove failed because they tried to be too cagey about details of the game would actually entail. Which is unfortunate. (I say this as someone who was a would-be backer at a pretty high tier.) That aside, I definitely agree. I don't think Infinite was horrible with shooting, but I definitely think there's a lot of interesting places they could have taken it without it, and a lot of aspects of the shootery and vigor felt shoved in because "that's what makes it bioshock" and often didn't gel as well with the feel of the world or story. In Bioshock 1 and 2, you're shown that most the people you can kill have been mutated to the point of insanity. And even then, in Bioshock 1, they specifically kept the designs on the humanoid side as much as possible so there was a feeling that these were people, however crazy, you were killing, to create a sense of amorality. But in Infinite? Yeah, they're xenophobic racists, but they're also, from their perspective, trying to stop this psychopath who has killed literally thousands and is basically the antichrist. The lack of hesitation for the brutal murders you commit is weird. So's the fact that the streets magically clear during all of this.... and the fact that Vigors are as successful as they are in general. Why the heck is it legal in this highly puritan society to sell this magical elixir that allows you to steal from machines and rape people, with the side effect of 100% of time causing them to kill themselves after using it, assuring that every use is also a murder? Things like this made sense in Rapture, but they don't make any sense in Columbia. Sorry, got off on a bit of a rant. I really, really love the game, it just... bothers me. :/

[@fredericksmith7942]

spinningninja2 The shooting and violence of bioshock infinite were explicitly part of the narrative. Booker DeWitt is a violent person from a violent place with a violent background. He doesn’t know diplomacy, and the world around him is equally as violent. Columbia is a terrible place run by neo-confederate klansmen with a cult of personality around their leader. So they also can’t really be reasoned with. ESPECIALLY by a man like Booker DeWitt.

[@looshkin66]

you say the words that float in my brain-meats but i lack the verbality to formicate those wordstuffs into something coherent. so good on ya!

[@dragonkingofthestars]

*Cough* there are mages on the space ship *Cough*

[@Reubel]

But we don't call them mages, 'cause that would just be plain old silly nonsense humbug in our highly-plausible intelligent sci-fi. Now quiver before the awesome might of my god-tier biotics!

[@Overquoted]

No, those are Jedi. Different thing.

[@TheLithp]

Superheroes are just wizards with gaudier costumes who know what phones are.

[@draxiss1577]

@@TheLithp I am taking that quote. I hate that a significant number of my best quotes are just internet comments.

[@timothymclean]

​@@TheLithp I mean...some wizards know what phones are (in urban fantasy), and some superheroes actually _are_ wizards (or at least sorcerers), but I think there's a meaningful distinction between superheroes and wizards. In general, superheroes are limited to a specific set of powers (once their origin story is complete). In general, wizards can learn new spells by putting in the effort. Superpowers are innate; spells are learned. This distinction is meaningful...well, when powers and magic follow those rules, at least.

[@AndyAnonymous]

Off topic a bit, but I just want to say you rock for putting a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead reference into your video title.

[@MCKretin]

So glad I subscribed a while back! This was a great thing to find in my feed. It's exciting to see longer-form discussions of games as a medium in dialogue with the larger culture becoming more common on KZbin, and, just from my own point of view, seeing you use Tom Stoppard and Marcel Proust as reference points makes me even more interested in seeing what you have to say next. A lot of this new brand of journalism and essay-writing seems to come from where video games are in their lifespan. Those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s have largely gotten through college and maybe spent some time in this or that professional world, and those among us who grew up with this or that old console, and who have maintained an interest in games, are tending more and more to look at games as we might any other part of culture. Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert grew up with a love of movies; we're growing up with a distinct interest in games; it's great to see people growing in to game criticism in the same way so many before us have grown into film/music/book criticism...

[@MrFlac00]

Hey man, just stumbled across this video again and have been thinking about Call of Duty recently. Specifically this: I think everyone has forgotten what Call of Duty used to be. Current CoD is mostly just a multiplayer game w/ a jingoistic single-player tacked on. I would argue that up until and including CoD 4, the opposite was the case. CoD 1 and 2 were about the war, but they were more "patriotic" than jingoistic in their depiction of war. The Germans were not ever depicted as evil, they were the enemy, but insofar that they had to kill you just as you had to kill them. Compare that to new CoD's where the bad guys are either completely bad people or so badly fleshed out that you ask "wait, who am I killing again". In fact, I would make the argument that CoD was critical of war originally. Take the beginning scene of CoD1 where you are not given a gun and basically treated like fodder. Or the nuke scene in 4 which was a (thinly veiled) metaphor for the Iraq war. But it's ignored.

[@MrFlac00]

I'm thinking about writing something up on this (though how well it will turn out who knows), but the whole issue with CoD bothers me. How did a series that used to stand as closer to Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers turn into something worse than Clancy ever did. Either way, great vid!

[@jeremysaklad6703]

I love the “Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are Dead” quote.

[@Laecy]

Just watched a 15 minute video about a game I don’t play in a genre I *can’t* play (fps’s make me seasick. Can’t even play portal). Between the R&G reference and my now vindicated faith that it would be interesting anyway, I clicked 😄

[@empathicqubit]

8:39 "How can you not like Kevin Spacey?" Review aged like a fine wine.

[@douglasmarshall6661]

So I know it's years later, but I do find this interesting still. Really says a lot about where the discourse has been and gone. I 99% I totally agree with pretty much the whole beans, I think the only thing I'd add is that the bioshock series specifically does stand out as a slight defier of the needless addition of shooter elements. Infinite less so but 1 and 2 specifically make an extensive and serious case about free will that's underpinned by the fact that you're carrying out some brutal bloody action and cutting a swathe through the streets of Rapture. That's gameplay, specifically shooting being used for storytelling.

[@ACraven]

I love the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead end clip you have there. I was struck by that scene when I first watched the film as well.

[@tsunamininja]

Haven't heard anything about the new CoD games (despite being a gamer). Only clicked because your channel, and the title: Blood is compulsory intrigued me.

[@kingdomofthesaintful]

"Modern on-rails content-munching jingoistic spectacle shooter" You mean to say Call of Duty is a spunkgargleweewee.

[@SundaysEnd]

No because that would say nothing about that game other than "it sucks." Saying things that actually describe something is different from just flat out insulting it in a very childish manner.

[@kingdomofthesaintful]

SundaysEnd "Modern on-rails content-munching jingoistic spectacle shooter" describes the game about as well as spunkgargleweewee. Also you aren't acquainted to the concept of fun. Nor do you hang out where the cool internet kids do.

[@SundaysEnd]

No, I enjoy fun, I just don't enjoy most FPS. There are a few I enjoy but most of the time I prefer other genres like RPGs, platformers, action/adventure games and experimental indie games. It's not specifically that have something against FPS' as a whole nor do I have anything against the people who play them, I just don't find the gameplay very interesting. And I used to hang out with the "cool internet kids" but then I found out they were a bunch of clueless idiots so I don't typically associate with them anymore.

[@kingdomofthesaintful]

SundaysEnd That went right over your head.

[@jackieambrose673]

It's a Zero Punctuation reference guys, no need to get defensive lol

[@Manak26]

I want to compliment you ability as an editor in your video essays they really well edited and the visuals really help to reinforce your point. My only complaint was that there was one or two places where what you were talking about was bogged down by random gameplay footage. But still overall it was really engaging and I completely forgot 15 minutes passed by.

[@Demonwulf]

Very very good points. Amazingly put. I also dug the Rosencrantz & Gildenstern Are Dead reference, that really tickled me.

[@temperingtantrum]

I saw the title and just had to watch this. Glad to see that in addition to your many other wonderful qualities, a fondness for Rosentcranz & Guildenstern is (I hope) among them. But I really am enjoying your work; I've been binging on your videos this week.

[@Powderhorn916]

I love the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern clip at the end

[@TheLithp]

I think Bioshock Infinite made sense as a shooter. It fit Booker's role as an ex-soldier & Pinkerton agent, which in turn played into the whole "should we really be rooting for this guy" thing, it didn't inhibit exploring, & I don't see why Columbia would be filled with puzzles instead of assholes trying to kill you. There are 2 things I can see that give merit to that argument: The first is that there isn't really a lot of interaction in a game that's trying really hard to make you feel like you're really walking through a city with all of these social conflicts. The 2nd is that there's so much shooting. Sooooooo muuuuuuch. It's really rather monotonous. But I'd say that's more of a reason to take some resources away from the shooting & put it into the NPCs. The blending of genres is a good thing, it creates more unique games.

[@rstueckle]

+TheLithp Came here to say this, glad I'm not alone.

[@TheLithp]

Jake Stueckle I'm a helper. I also couldn't help but mentally compare it to Portal, which is literally a puzzle game turned into a shooter. Only the gun makes holes. Not bullet holes, but-- Oh, you know what I mean.

[@Wylade]

+TheLithp Portal isn't a shooter, it just uses shooter mechanics. It would be more apt to say it's a shooter turned into a puzzle game, what with the only hurdles to your progression through the game being quiet rooms that force you to answer questions before opening the door to the next room. Shooting isn't WHAT moves you forward in Portal, it's just HOW you do it.

[@GTxExotiX]

this is amazingly well written and produced for a smaller channel and actually has meaning unlike some big channels. well done.

[@ZephJDJ]

You have the ability to change the worlds view on gaming in the most excellent way, I would love to give you more video specific feedback, but this requires more thought than to just give you some just pure instant reaction. Phenomenal Ian, I hope to see you when we both make it big.

[@drmikegallant]

Ian, your videos are amazing. I can't believe it took so long to find them. You're a national treasure.

[@devon674]

every time I try to "comment" on one of your videos I wind up finding myself in the midst of writing a full length essay

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Sounds like you have a lot to say.

[@BubblegumCrash332]

Great video!!! KZbin needs more content creators like yourself. I'm looking forward to future uploads.

[@BubblegumCrash332]

Super BunnyHop, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, Errant Signal, MrBtongue, Ahoy and now Innendo Studios. You are in good company:)

[@minch333]

M Pesce I'm personally about to start my own video essay channel; I've got the first two written. I would love it if I could get some feedback from someone of your taste in channels once the first one's out. I don't mean this as a self-promotional thing, more that it would be good to see what gaming video essay fans like you think of it because, well, judging from the two that I've written, I think my channel's going to be fundamentally way more out there than the norm. I don't mean this as a brag, just that as a style they'll probably end up being way more speculative and full of theory crafting than even mrbtongue. It would be good to know if (a) youtube has a home for such videos and (b) whether or not I'm full of shit! I understand if not.

[@newmadhatter6906]

That final moment's clip was perfect.

[@coaxill4059]

Woah! It really struck me when you showed the screenshot saying "18.6% of players never finished the Black Ops campaign." I didn't pick up on it the first time I watched the video, taking in that 18% as being about the Call of Duty series in general. The fact that it's about Black Ops specifically is significant, at least to me; because it's easily one of the best campaigns in the series. Alongside CoD4 and World at War, (and COD2, I'll never forget you!) it stands as a campaign that people even at the time thought was really good. I remember actually talking to my friends about the campaign, something that didn't happen with any of the more recent installments. But to see that even Black Ops, easily in the top 3 of the many CoD campaigns to choose from, is still something only a fifth of the players saw through? That really drives it home.

[@im19ice3]

scrumptious argumentation, i lve it

[@dukeofspoot]

Hey man. Loving the videos, they're getting real close to that super bunnyhop or errant signals sweet spot of just short enough to not lose engagement but still packed with information and rhetoric. This one was great, especially the comparisons to gone home and the discussion of "ethical journalism". My only minor quibble was with the sudden loud shooting at the end. Benefit of doubt: you probably wanted to be intentionally jarring as proof of the point. But, because I had my headphones on, the point was lost in the mental "oh god where's the volume my ears are gonna bleed I hope nobody on this train hears this".

[@Boy99655]

i cant even describe how well done this is.

[@Nick0Kyuubi0Narion]

I've come back to this video now that the new one is out and I'd like to add a thanks for the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead reference. That movie became one of my favourites and gave me a lot to read and think about, within and without.

[@Mojken_yakionigiri]

I was just watching that movie, came up to that scene, and had to go back and rewatch this video.

[@Mojken_yakionigiri]

Rewatched it again. I had a conversation about CoD with someone, was reminded of a snippet of this video, then spent the next three hours trying to figure out what video it was. I thought it was Innuendo Studios, but I also thought it was about Modern Warfare, and as such couldn't find the video despite looking multiple times. It took suddenly remembering the title to get here. Totally worth it, a truly great video.

[@Erics_Youtube_Handle]

This was really, really excellent. Definitely looking forward to more!

[@sumanoskae]

If I find out a game plays like a first or third person shooter, I become instantly less interested in it. Not because I dislike shooting games; two of my favorite games ever, Mass Effect and Red Dead Redemption, feature tons of shooting which I thoroughly enjoyed... But that's the thing; I've yet to find a game that does shooting BETTER than those games did, so whenever a game tries to sell itself to me by being yet ANOTHER fucking shooter, I can't help but file it under "I've seen better". To this day I cannot get through any of the Uncharted games because the shooting, half of the game, is so fucking DULL. To this day part of me still refuses to believe that everybody who is apparently buying these games, none of whom are among my social circle, is any more keen on this trend than I am. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason consumers don't want to try new things is because the market never tries to sell them new things.

[@2Fiddle4U]

I think you'll like a certain video from the youtuber called MrBTongue, you might have heard of him, or not. His videos "Slow Down the Violence" go on about the industry's collective bad habit and the squandered potential that arises from that

[@Cosmoandtherobins]

You might like Titanfall 2, it's a short story-game that does shooting really well for its 6 hour run time. I also thoroughly recommend Halo Reach for the story, as a bonus the shooting is unique from the 3 games you mentioned because it's largely focused on maneuvering around in combat, less so taking cover. Super Hot is a sort of gimmick shooter that's super good in VR or regular, short too.

[@timothymclean]

Whereas I am both uninterested in _and_ utter crap at anything action-ey*, meaning that tying your story to a shooter template makes it less appealing _and_ less accessible to me. Which is part of why I like visual novels so much-they're pure story, without any reflex-based gatekeeping. *My disinterest is unrelated to my incompetence...I assume...

[@toothlessdavid]

Just rewatched this video for the second time! Keep up the great work! Stuff like this, Idea Channel, Game Show, Nerd Writer and Errant Signal are all part of my daily media breakfast.

[@bentoth9555]

Love the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at the end!

[@aoifemcandless-davis226]

The R&G are Dead reference at the end made me so happy.

[@wrh73]

Yup. That's why I was a backer on KS. Great food for thought!

[@irl_lizard7880]

Here, you hit on a point that has become essentially unavoidable to me, namely that a lot of times when people argue about what they want in reviews they're arguing from a place entirely different from the opposition. Like, I want insightful commentary and analysis from a review, whereas many others just want to hear their own opinion told back to them. When people say they want objective reviews I think they're really meaning that they think their own opinion of the game is objectively right and everybody should conform to it, and are unwilling to accept that their opinion might be valid and not the only valid one.

[@TwoHeadedGiant]

Very, very happy to see new content and I'm happy I subscribed a while back. Loved this video. Thanks for making it. Looking forward to more!

[@RaunienTheFirst]

I hadn't even heard of the game until I watched this video 3 years after it was published. Take that multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

[@zacherywolf3276]

Nice editorial; this is something I've been thinking about for a while. Keep it up man!

[@minch333]

I saw your phil fish video ages ago and thought it was great! I see you're making more, and I'm totally subscribing!

[@IndieVidualDE]

Great work! Happy to have been part of the kickstarter campaign :)

[@FALCONLICK]

I know you this but I bet a reassurance is always good. Keep doing what you do man. I loved it!

[@AustinKaiserwutangforever]

Thorough and meaningful. Simply superb.

[@ErrEff]

I do find it odd how some publishers feel the need to add SP onto a MP-focused game and others refuse to ship SP games without some form of MP, even if other games do it way better. Got to cover all those bulletpoints on the back of the box, even if nobody will bother playing it (because there's nobody online to play against).

[@OrionCallisto]

While I believe you make many good points throughout the video, I wanted to criticize one inclusion. Uncharted. In that section of the video you discuss games whose narrative might not necessarily call for shooting, like Bioshock Infinite. (Which I enjoy in its current form, but understand the criticism.) Uncharted's whole concept, top to bottom, is steeped in violence. Adventure serials, the niche from which it pulls its character, narrative and gameplay mechanics, is an innately violent genre. Its most famous example, Indiana Jones, has a body count in the hundreds. Arguably, its finer narrative aspirations are served by the outright violent and action packed atmosphere, as its rhythm depends on that tension and release. Now, I could be misreading your point toward the end of the video, as you bounced around several topics. In which case, I apologize. I felt this was a point I'd like to make.

[@shinydino]

THANK YOU FOR THE ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN REFERENCE

[@Normerra]

Interesting topic, splendid execution. Certainly looking forward to whatever you've got in store next.

[@devinkrause6127]

I've watched your Kenny (from TWD) video and now this one and wow, you make me think a lot

[@mgaborio]

Great topic, great execution. Can't wait for more.

[@m.streicher8286]

Biggest take away here is that I don't want Kevin spacey in my appendix

[@nomdeplore7604]

The joy (for moi) comes by the end being of the film "rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead" thank you.

[@TheChillLefty]

Yo, the Thief games in your collection. Clutch.

[@SneakyRANGERREX]

I get that alot of the buzzwords we like to use on something seemingly conservative like Call of Duty like Xenophobia and Pro-American Jingoism are super common in games media that simply doesn't know much about these games in question. While I'm not a big fan of the series I am a casual player of the single player campaigns because they are in my house and they are something to kill time with. In the Modern Warfare sub series the United States Military is shown to be monsterously incompetent, their military adventurism in the middle east in 4 lead to complete disaster due to a number of factors mainly short sightedness, and two of the better villains were Americans who either in one case wanted to renationalize and militarize the US even further, and in Advanced Warfare conquer the world because of a belief in the inferiority of other peoples and the inefficiency of Western Breaucracies. Not all the games are uncritical of the themes that they tend to glorify at a glance if you look at them for just a bit.

[@Isaac-rl1qq]

Is a shooter that is narratively anti-war but mechanically pro-war really anti-war at all? They can waffle about the horrors of war all they want, but priority number one is to make a fun war game. I'm not saying that mechanics are more important that narrative when examining a game, but that you should look at the core of what that game is when you're assessing what it's "about". In this case, it's "about" having fun playing pretend soldier. "This War of Mine" is a real anti-war game because it isn't fun, it isn't pretty, and it's primary focus is to display the horrors of war.

[@BosonCollider]

So? Lots of pieces of classical literature glorify war while still showing how horrible it is. Take the Iliad for example. It is entirely about war, yet the single most famous scene in it is the one where after having committed many atrocities in the name of revenge without finding peace, Achiles finally does find peace by forgiving king Priam and allowing him to give Hector a proper burial. The fact that the entire story is about a war doesn't change this. There's nothing wrong in treating games to the same standard as we treat every other media.

[@Millionsofpeas]

BosonCollider No one in their right mind would call the Iliad anti-war. It is an explicitly pro-war text. The idea that war is okay is never challenged. Having one character be vexed somewhat after slaughtering a dozen others is not sobering.

[@SiraSpirit]

This goes back to the idea in the video that the story only exists for the sake of existing, not because anybody actually cares about it. If only 1/5 of their players actually sit through the anti-imperialist, military-critical story, what does it matter that there is technically a military-critical story there?

[@appa609]

Does RDR glorify the government? Because the plot of the whole game is in service of the fed. There are always different ways of looking at the same thing.

[@colinwhite324]

I don't know if you are still reading comments for this video but an interesting game for you to look at it the online only "Escape from Tarkov." It bills itself as the most realistic shooter and is in a constant state of development with highly realistic graphics.

[@air139]

omg you went off after question 3, thank you

[@mikeymoughtin]

"has a gamecube" you sly smasher you, i know whats up

[@allenwright89]

You're one of the good discussers.

[@toothlessdavid]

Good stuff yo. Through your Phil Phish video I found Errant Signal and have been watching his stuff while eagerly waiting for more from you. Let me put it this way: I have ADD. The other day a friend showed me a video of a terribly awkward person, on camera, describing their feelings about a movie trailer. I only make the effort to watch/follow video "essay" series (like Renegade Cut) that inform and exercise the mind and your's is one of just a few that does. Thank you.

[@pseudogenesis]

This is awesome, in so many different ways. You're off to a fantastic start.

[@constantchanger]

Very nice Tom Stoppard hat tip to end on. And thumbs way up on the thought put into the commentary in all of your videos.

[@ygypt]

damn that ending was fucking awesome

[@tierfreund780]

"I experienced the passion" -- Innuendo Studios

[@brandonsoboleski5642]

I really like the way you make videos. You have a great way of narrating what you present so even if I don't agree I'll appreciate the presentation. I think you deserve more views and you should make more videos assuming you want the channel to grow. You might want to try doing a review for a game and see how it goes. Good luck with your videos.

[@DanielAvelan]

Blood is not compulsory, that's what most devolopers think because they can only think of two alternatives: either a action game were you kill a bunch of people or a boring adventure game where you are an espectator that presses buttons until the story progresses(be it by exausting the dialog options, be it by clicking random shit or be it by walking from point a to point b). Other developers have found different ways, you got thief, a guy about stealth and stealth only, you got papers please, were you have a crazy game disguised as buroucratic work, you got spec ops, where the killing is basically a shore, you got mirror's edge, you got portal, you got minecraft, manager games, hacking games, etc. Players don't want to kill, they want a good challenge with a good story. And that what most of these "innovative" developers that "need" to put their "innovative games" in first person shooters don't get.

[@personette3226]

I subscribed when you namechecked Proust. High five.

[@korisnthere]

Brilliant video! Looking forward to the next one :)

[@DarkPrject]

Where is that "Blood is compulsory" scene from? I find it hilarious.

[@InnuendoStudios]

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

[@DarkPrject]

Thanks ^^

[@marko8095]

This is brilliant. But it is not science with precise theories and facts. It's humanities, where arguments and points of view are just as, or more, important that the conclusion. And the author has a way of getting to the slowly. It reads like a philosophy book. How do you finish a book like that? You don't. You keep rereading it and finding new things and interpreting them. Its a world of tough where nothing is final or certain. Thinking is the point. But so is learning. Its just very different then some other channels for natural science lovers like - What is random?. In fact IMHO - i think this channel is great and fresh and please keep them coming. Thank you for your work.

[@Autumn-Muse]

This is actually one of the reasons I enjoy some aspects of the MGS series. It actually does question the toll of war and the merits of American intervention. Of course, being developed in Japan, that's probably to be more expected than in CoD.

[@CuddlestheDalek]

Can I just say, I have no real actual interest in Advanced Warfare, but I mostly turned up here for the Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead reference? It was still an interesting video, though. =3

[@jadefae]

Yeeep the blood and rhetoric scene at the end it perfectly applicable.

[@loorthedarkelf8353]

Hey there Ian, back again to watch this video. Would you believe it was this and your gushing about Smash that got me into your channel? I'm commenting back here on a way old video in hopes it will be seen. Yesterday I went back into treatment for my mental health, and the world feels the tiniest bit of hopeful-- a feeling thats been absent from my life since my teens. Through some happenstance of fate, I can trace that ball rolling back to me getting into your videos. Getting into more creators who talked about behavior on the internet and the human cost. Listening to more voices who were seemingly casual in the mention of therapy or medication. Your work was a gateway, for me, into hearing a lot more voices that got me to ask some questions of myself. So thank you. I know odds were something would have pushed me that way eventually, but I'm glad for however fewer days I don't have to suffer because your work exists. Thank you for everything you've done here. You'll have a new patreon backer as soon as I'm less broke

[@98JSB]

Wait the story is just tacked on? Frick, I always assumed it was a mandatory part of the experience based on how critics keep talking about it. You're right. That is interesting.

[@totlmstr]

Pretty awesome points raised here, especially the three major points.

[@kellyloganme]

Heh, was quoting "Blood is compulsory" in the actor's voice to myself as soon as I saw the title, perfect lead in and summary of the topic, at least for me. 😎

[@FrankieSmileShow]

This was a good video, very interesting! I don't have any experience with the Call of Duty series, but as I understand it, the single-player campaign does have an important role to play in addition to what you talk about in this video. It also provides first-time players and beginners with a safety net of sorts. A single-player campaign gives first-time players an easy outlet for them to play and feel like they had their money's worth even if they can't quite cut it in the multiplayer. If the game was actually multiplayer-only, it would be more daunting to them, it would appear that the game is only meant for people who can compete in that arena. After playing the single-player campaign, those first-time players are then much more likely to try playing online. Now I don't know if this actually does work, I'd be curious to see the ratio of newcomers to the series/genre who do play the campaign, and how it compares to the ratio of experienced players, and how this contributes to the series' audience growth.

[@InnuendoStudios]

Actually, the single-player and the multiplayer have completely different physics and tuning systems, and playing one doesn't set you up well for playing the other.

[@FrankieSmileShow]

Innuendo Studios yeah, that's something I heard before, I wonder what the rationale is behind the different physics? I suppose they are developed so separately that they really have no relation to one another at all. They are essentially two different games packaged together. But I didn't mean the campaign prepares you as a mechanical tutorial to ease you into the multiplayer, I mean more of a psychological thing. It frees new players who don't have the confidence to see themselves as competitive gamers to buy the game anyway, seeing as the game is explicitly not ONLY for competitive gamers, but also has this other narrative single player side to it. Then once they have the game and play single player, they might get the confidence to try the more daunting multiplayer.

[@xXxXboxROXxX]

Innuendo Studios Can we get a source that they're using different physics engines because that doesn't sound believable. and considering your statement that you haven't played the games I don't believe you are a reputable source on that.

[@Gilboron]

I disagree on score discrepancy of CoD-esque games not being cited in discussions of corrupt game journalism. Well, admittedly, I've given up on trying to be an active participant in that area of debate, so perhaps that has shifted in recent times. But I think that this perceived lack of accusation for CoD-score-discrepancy happens because when someone accuses CoD reviews of corruption, nobody cares. The review sites won't respond or adjust their review, the fans won't loudly exclaim the accusation to be motivated by any sort of ulterior prejudices, and likewise 'trolls' - I hate using the term, but in this case it's relevant for people who get a rise out of controversy - won't latch on to these accusations because it generates no response. That's what I think, at least. This was kind of a ramble, so apologies if it's incoherent in some areas.

[@totlyepic]

I think it's worth at least a footnote, that there have been discussions surrounding "stuff" just being tacked onto shooters, puzzle platformers, etc. Hell, Levine & co. left and started their own company in response to this discussion around Bioshock: Infinite specifically.

[@xanman2003]

And then there's us nerds who played CoD for the campaign and not for the multiplayer :( Then again, the campaign peaked with the Modern Warfare Trilogy and then troughed immediately afterwards.