[PA Comic] Monday, September 8, 2014 - The Chronomaster

Dog

[PA Comic] Monday, September 8, 2014 - The Chronomaster

The Chronomaster

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/09/08

Read the full story here

The Mantiz

And three days later it shows up on the general news sites. So it's basically 2 time machines in one.

Killericon

And /r/games is three to four hours ahead of that!

Quid

Oh snap!

KalTorak

I dunno, according to reddit, "games journalism" has been irrevocably tainted and ethically compromised because some woman had sex with someone.

Gaslight

Gabe's cavalierly irresponsible use of time-travel technology will bring about the catastrophic singularity that results in pumpkin spice lattes finally being available year-round. I heard a great cacophony of voices, as if thousands of marketing executives cried in anguish, and the ecstatic squeals of millions of girls in yoga pants then instantly drowned them out.

JackdawGin

KalTorak wrote: »

I dunno, according to reddit, "games journalism" has been irrevocably tainted and ethically compromised because some woman had sex with someone.

More specifically: because some woman had sex with someone who wasn't them.

Gaslight

Let's call to mind a previous comic which presented us with a cautionary tale about the folly of abusing time travel for the purpose of procuring forbidden culinary delights.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/02/07

Sterica

The origin of Rex Ready

Evil Taco

JackdawGin wrote: »

KalTorak wrote: »

I dunno, according to reddit, "games journalism" has been irrevocably tainted and ethically compromised because some woman had sex with someone.

More specifically: because some woman had sex with someone who wasn't them.

Well, that's a pretty amazing oversimplification of a complex problem involving biased journalism. Sure, right. That's the problem. Not sex for publicity or sex for favorable reviews of a terrible "game", they're mad because someone's getting sex that isn't them. Of course.

JackdawGin

Evil Taco wrote: »

JackdawGin wrote: »

KalTorak wrote: »

I dunno, according to reddit, "games journalism" has been irrevocably tainted and ethically compromised because some woman had sex with someone.

More specifically: because some woman had sex with someone who wasn't them.

Well, that's a pretty amazing oversimplification of a complex problem involving biased journalism. Sure, right. That's the problem. Not sex for publicity or sex for favorable reviews of a terrible "game", they're mad because someone's getting sex that isn't them. Of course.

What has happend to Zoe Quinn is not about biased journalism, nor is it complex. It is vile, misogynistic hate, pure and simple.

Tube

We are not having that discussion here. Go and have it in the appropriate thread in G&T if you absolutely must.

fightinfilipino

so the secret of time travel is knowable, but only if you go to reddit?

no thanks. no secret is worth that terrible price.

Linktm

I had a feeling the elephant in the room would come up (it's like saying Bloody Mary in the mirror now.)

Great comic overall, although I think that really applies to absolutely everything on the Internet, not just journalism.

Kagera

R/gaming is also great for all the 'anybody remember this fairly popular game from ten years ago' or reposts about how Gandhi is a warmonger in Civ games.

king0zymandias

I'm thinking he meant r/games. Because r/gaming is hardly replete of threads that would interest game journalists.

Hargaad of Omnar

Tube wrote: »

We are not having that discussion here. Go and have it in the appropriate thread in G&T if you absolutely must.

I honestly would have never known what the inside joke was had somebody not thrown a name out.
Though, I generally give zero fucks about what other people's problems are due to the fact that I don't have time for that shit.
Which is why it reasonably stands that it's a G&T thing.

On the topic of the comic, I really hope Gabe isn't drooling over the Starbucks crap.
If so, then I suggest people with similar desires check this out. I don't think I've ever purposefully gotten a drink at Starbucks before, and when I had to, I just got the most affordable drink, either black coffee or hot chocolate.
Starbucks, by no means, is bad, but their prices are what make me loathe them. If I were such a caffeine-holic, I would go cheaper by buying the ingredients and doing it at home by myself instead of paying a 75% convenience fee on top of the cost of ingredients, not to mention you're suspect to terrorism if you don't tip.

Gaslight

The day wears on, and I am still fascinated by Gabe's desire to sample next year's pumpkin spice lattes. Not being in the devoted fanbase of the Pee Ess Ell myself, I wonder: do they vary in quality from year to year? Are there vintages of pumpkin spice lattes, so that true connoisseurs might argue amongst themselves whether 2011 or 2012 was a "better year"?

Oddfish

Gaslight wrote: »

The day wears on, and I am still fascinated by Gabe's desire to sample next year's pumpkin spice lattes. Not being a devoted fanbase of the Pee Ess Ell myself, I wonder: do they vary in quality from year to year? Are there vintages of pumpkin spice lattes, so that true connoisseurs might argue amongst themselves whether 2011 or 2012 was a "better year"?

Yes to that whole last part. I hear these discussions. I hear them with more frequency than I probably realize even myself.

** as far as the comic goes, I've been noticing this trend growing worse and worse over the years but the aggregate volume of forums and message boards, etc., etc., has really blown up this whole hearsay slurry into something organic--a spawning pool of rumor and attention whoring--which feeds off the internet horde's desire for information right the eff now immediately now now this second now.

Once you press the enter key after filling out the search field you're surrendering yourself to the cavernous depths of Moria...

Gosling

Gaslight wrote: »

The day wears on, and I am still fascinated by Gabe's desire to sample next year's pumpkin spice lattes. Not being in the devoted fanbase of the Pee Ess Ell myself, I wonder: do they vary in quality from year to year? Are there vintages of pumpkin spice lattes, so that true connoisseurs might argue amongst themselves whether 2011 or 2012 was a "better year"?

He is referring to the fact that this year's pumpkin spice lattes have already been exhausted and that he must travel to the future in order to acquire more. Because pumpkin spice is a magical, mystical elixir. It is bacon for the fall season.

SwashbucklerXX

Makes me glad I'm not on the news side of things anymore. I miss so many pointless reddit/4chan/Kotaku-inspired controversies while buried in review deadlines.

Quical

They MUST mean r/games.
Either that Or they are reading a VERY different r/gaming to me. Maybe we should all tweet to find out?

MichaelLC

Just pumpkin spice lattes and McRibs erryday.

Hargaad of Omnar

MichaelLC wrote: »

Just pumpkin spice lattes and McRibs erryday.

And wash it all down with Pepsi Blue.

mrsinister

So what you're saying is... if I wait a few hours, I don't have to wade through the cesspool that is Reddit to get my gaming news. We need to tell as many people about this as possible.

Alistair Hutton

This comic is what is known as a "sick burn"

Browncoat451

As someone just starting to get back into gaming journalism, I'll admit to this comic giving me a bit of pause. As someone influenced by print journalism, I really enjoy what I do and I work hard to research what I write first-hand, or at least make sure my sources are accurate if I do clip news from somewhere else (which happens, sure - sometimes you need content and that's how the spread of information works: sometimes you have to pick up a story that's already run.)

I'll say that I do agree to a certain point that the current state of gaming journalism is pretty sorry, but I feel like Jerry's news post about "YouTubers" with media access is indicative of part of the problem: I've taken journalism classes, I've had my work overseen and edited and learned from my mistakes. These people have a camera and a ton of free time, which a journalist does not magically make.

I would really love to know how Jerry feels about journalists who actually DO care about doing a good job, and not just browsing reddit for reposts - largely because I respect his opinion greatly. I sincerely hope he hasn't written off the gaming press wholesale, like most of reddit seems to have, because of a few debacles and people who (I really hope) are on their way out anyway.

In lieu of an apology for the text wall, I'll say that the point he makes in this comic is something that's been bugging me for a while, and I write this mostly to see if anyone (especially Jerry) thinks there's still hope for the gaming press as I do. Maybe this post belongs elsewhere, so I'm sorry if I'm off-base...but I feel like there's a discussion lurking in this comic specifically that isn't taking place.

streever

I'm pretty sure that they don't read the forums (at all) or ever respond to things here, but I could be wrong; I think you can email him directly (tycho@penny-arcade.com) though.

KalTorak

They don't usually read the forums generally, but they do sometimes check the comic thread/comments.

DinoFight

So I have been listening to the DLC podcast a lot recently, and one kinda annoying thing that happened was that when Jerry mentions in an episode from the fourth season that Mike tripped once while they were recording, it took me listening to like a dozen episodes to find out which one it was. Turns out he trips in the DLC episode for this comic, The Chronomaster. You should check it out, it's pretty funny. The trip happens when Mike ritualistically stands up to read the script, around 23 minutes in.