The New Comic Thread for Wednesday, May 26, 2010

scsscs

donhonk

I was aboot to post this!

I liked the comic once I understood what was happening. Its hard to follow the flow of this one.

Lucky Cynic

Can you hear me now?

Henroid

Tycho is weak-willed.

dad comic

VALVEjunkie

Henroid wrote: »

Tycho is weak-willed.

dad comic

dammit I was gonna say that

Langly

I heard that you pick up coffee thermoses in this game for an achievement.

That is like the most boring thing I have ever heard.

YaYa

I liked it

Sars_Boy

I really want to play this game.

Blake T

I know the battery thing is there. But is the Verizon thing also in it too?

Melding

It was a fun game, but the product placement was pretty boundless.

Giant ass bill boards everywhere.

Blake T

Also it seemed that Gabe is saying what Tycho is saying and vice versa.

Henroid

Blaket wrote: »

Also it seemed that Gabe is saying what Tycho is saying and vice versa.

Yeah I had that problem for a second there. But it works out.

Butler

I like what Gabe did with the speech bubble colours.

Sars_Boy

Blaket wrote: »

Also it seemed that Gabe is saying what Tycho is saying and vice versa.

i think that's why the colors are there

Blake T

Sars_Boy wrote: »

Blaket wrote: »

Also it seemed that Gabe is saying what Tycho is saying and vice versa.

i think that's why the colors are there

Oh I know that. But it seemed to me that Tycho usually says the stuff Gabe said in this one and Gabe said things that Tycho usually says in this.

Waka Laka

Metal Gear Solid Peace walker has an amazing amount of placement in it. So does 4 actually.

Ima go eat doritos cos Big Boss says so.

VALVEjunkie

thats actually only in the Japanese version

everywhere else its just generic soda and chips

Tonkka

Nice.

DesertBox

It should be "subliminable," rather than subliminal, I say.

JAEF

Fucking hilarious.

Peter Ebel

I likes it.

tofu

Blaket wrote: »

I know the battery thing is there. But is the Verizon thing also in it too?

Yeah there are some Verizon ads, I've seen worse in other games though

Burden of Proof

This one seems a little clumsy.

Rhesus Positive

Are the ads localised? We don't have Verizon in the UK.

Also, would this game be suitable for a fan of Heavy Rain? I need gift ideas.

ascot

I saw a few Verizon billboards I think, and I get that it's posisbly a verizon phone, but I don't think at any point Alan is like "I suddenly got a call on my Verizon wireless cell phone with awesome $5 data bundle". And they don't say "I need some Energizer batteries for my torch", they just are energizer.

I mean, I'll go look in my crap drawer for some batteries... oh look, they are duracell PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN MY HOUSE

L|ama

I'm only really against product placement if it's strongly immersion breaking, like I dunno having energizer batteries for guns in mass effect or something. As it is, making up brands can often be weirder if the game is set here and now.

ascot

I think finding batteries called "BATTERIES" with a voltage sign on would be worse. Particularly when they put so much detail in everything else.

Was the xbox in the mental hospital room product placement? Is it not product placement if it's for something you already have?

cooljammer00

He has a point. Why advertise Energizer as a shitty battery?

ascot

Alternatively. If you put energizer batteries in your torch then press the on button HARDER it makes the light so bright it banishes evil.

Energizer - powering your survival

Darric

I only saw the Verizon labelling on the phone itself, but it's never really made obvious. This is in South Africa too, which, I mean, eh. Who's Verizon?

Henroid

L|ama wrote: »

I'm only really against product placement if it's strongly immersion breaking, like I dunno having energizer batteries for guns in mass effect or something. As it is, making up brands can often be weirder if the game is set here and now.

Yeah product placement isn't that big of a deal. Like product placement is far and away from in-your-face-ad. And like you said, sometimes it fits the setting and would only be a problem if it didn't.

Like if they had Marlboro cigs in Mass Effect. Or did they? I haven't played it.

AJR

Blaket wrote: »

I know the battery thing is there. But is the Verizon thing also in it too?

I don’t know if this is worth spoiling, but heck

When you’re inside people’s houses and cabins you’ll occasionally find TVs that show this weird, live action TV show that’s a riff on The Twilight Zone. I kept watching all the TVs I came across because I was kind of interested in it (most of the dialogue is pretty great in this game, and I’ve found it pays off to hang around and listen to what people have to say).

Then in episode 4, I come across a TV that doesn’t have the live action TV show and instead has all these videos of cars and stuff like that, like someone is switching the channel. I hang around to see what happens (assuming there was some kind of easter egg) and bam

Verizon ad.

I didn't even notice the other in game advertisements, but that one ad kind of took me out of the experience for a little bit.

Raneados

the cut-off word balloons weird me out

Houk

Raneados wrote: »

the cut-off word balloons weird me out

aghh dammit why did you have to point it out

DarkPrimus

Alan Wake was a good game, and the billboards were better done than other games with product placement like SWAT 4 or Splinter Cell Conviction, where ads are plastered all over the place in a manner totally anathema to the real world. At least in Alan Wake the ads are limited to actual billboards.

Raneados

Houk wrote: »

Raneados wrote: »

the cut-off word balloons weird me out

aghh dammit why did you have to point it out

i had to

so don't lumping yell at me

Synthetic Orange

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODsttTZf1Xk

This was the worst that I remember.

AIRWAVES

Hedgethorn

AJR wrote: »

Blaket wrote: »

I know the battery thing is there. But is the Verizon thing also in it too?

I don’t know if this is worth spoiling, but heck

When you’re inside people’s houses and cabins you’ll occasionally find TVs that show this weird, live action TV show that’s a riff on The Twilight Zone. I kept watching all the TVs I came across because I was kind of interested in it (most of the dialogue is pretty great in this game, and I’ve found it pays off to hang around and listen to what people have to say).

Then in episode 4, I come across a TV that doesn’t have the live action TV show and instead has all these videos of cars and stuff like that, like someone is switching the channel. I hang around to see what happens (assuming there was some kind of easter egg) and bam

Verizon ad.

I didn't even notice the other in game advertisements, but that one ad kind of took me out of the experience for a little bit.

There's even an achievement just for watching that ad.

Cilla Black

Product placement in a game that looks like it relies heavily on the use of good atmosphere is not so good. But I haven't actually played it, so it could only impact things minimally.

Crashmo

The worst product placement I've ever seen was the Avatar episode of Bones

IT'S AVATAR, MAAAANNNN

Tube

The worst product placement ever wasn't even product placement. The fucking iPod scene in Blade Trinity. They didn't get a dime, David Goyer just thought it was cool because he's a moron.