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Penny Arcade - Comic - Unhelpful-ism

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
edited January 2016 in The Penny Arcade Hub

imagePenny Arcade - Comic - Unhelpful-ism

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

Read the full story here


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Posts

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    edited January 2016
    "gabe's art has gotten worse over the years"

    *looks at this comic*

    lol, ok

    Orphane on
  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    What's this about?

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • NemrexNemrex Registered User regular
    edited January 2016
    What's this about?
    Pure, unrelenting sorrow.

    By the way, has anybody seen the trailer for Dirty Grandpa? Funny stuff, ammirit!?

    Nemrex on
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    This game has done an excellent job of pointing out just how many parents I follow on twitter. I think pretty much every one has gone "I'd like to play it, but.. nope".
    Really hope it does well, it sounds like an incredible piece.

    forumsig.png
  • ziddersroofurryziddersroofurry Registered User regular
    How Tycho is in the middle panel is pretty much how I've been ever since David Bowie died.

    Fuck cancer.

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    Oh thank god. It's a game he's talking about.

    In retrospect, I suppose he wouldn't have been using an actual cancer-based personal tragedy of his as the focus of a joke in this comic.

  • Knuckle DraggerKnuckle Dragger Explosive Ovine Disposal Registered User regular
    In three panels, they managed to perfectly illustrate the difference between people who have played this game and the geese who haven't but are still commenting about it on the steam boards.

    Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion.

    - John Stuart Mill
  • DJSquiggyDJSquiggy Registered User regular
    shouldnt the title of the game been in quotes? if i dont know the game, its hard to know whats witty dialogue and a games title.

    maybe the game titles could be bolded instead. just to help me feel smart when reading the first time....I still wont get it until i read the comments, but i will feel better about it.

    Also, as a parent, i wont be playing this.

  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    Enlong wrote: »
    Oh thank god. It's a game he's talking about.

    In retrospect, I suppose he wouldn't have been using an actual cancer-based personal tragedy of his as the focus of a joke in this comic.

    2013: Jerry's dad.

  • RobonunRobonun It's all fun and games until someone pisses off China Registered User regular
    Honestly, I would pay money to *not* play the game. $20, $50, whatever, right to the American Cancer Society. Bad enough to lose my father, an uncle and two aunts to that evil fucking disease, but having to (however vicariously) live through losing a child to it would just wreck me.

  • ScumeScume Registered User regular
    This comic is pretty much how I was like after completing Kana - Little Sister, which is a game about your sister slowly dying of a heredity disease. I think it had 5 endings, only one of which she lived in and you had to play the other 4 to see it. Also, apparently that ending was still sad as fuck. I didn't have the constitutional fortitude to play through all the ending though.

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    Enlong wrote: »
    Oh thank god. It's a game he's talking about.

    In retrospect, I suppose he wouldn't have been using an actual cancer-based personal tragedy of his as the focus of a joke in this comic.

    2013: Jerry's dad.

    Oh. Right.

  • Senna1Senna1 Registered User regular
    edited January 2016
    Robonun wrote: »
    Honestly, I would pay money to *not* play the game. $20, $50, whatever, right to the American Cancer Society. Bad enough to lose my father, an uncle and two aunts to that evil fucking disease, but having to (however vicariously) live through losing a child to it would just wreck me.

    RadioLab did a podcast about That Dragon, Cancer just this week. It included enough audio snippets of the game for me to "Nope" out entirely. As the father of a 10-month old, I can't even listen to it without losing it. While driving. In public. The 'crying scene' created a physical need for me to find and hold my son.

    Playing it isn't even an option... It would utterly destroy me in ways I couldn't imagine before having been a father. I think Jerry's written about such things in previous news posts somewhere...

    Senna1 on
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    I played That Dragon, Cancer last night. It is, indeed, distilled deep grief. I do not have children. The closest thing I have experienced was losing a beloved pet to cancer. I still sobbed uncontrollably. It's not all sadness... there is light and hope and laughter in the game. A lot of it, actually. But it serves as a contrast to the feelings of helplessness and despair, which makes the depths of sadness seem even more deep.

    The game isn't polished. One could argue that it doesn't need to be; it's raw, just like the real life subject matter. It is amazing and unbelievable, nonetheless.

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    Senna1 wrote: »
    Robonun wrote: »
    Honestly, I would pay money to *not* play the game. $20, $50, whatever, right to the American Cancer Society. Bad enough to lose my father, an uncle and two aunts to that evil fucking disease, but having to (however vicariously) live through losing a child to it would just wreck me.

    RadioLab did a podcast about That Dragon, Cancer just this week. It included enough audio snippets of the game for me to "Nope" out entirely. As the father of a 10-month old, I can't even listen to it without losing it. While driving. In public. The 'crying scene' created a physical need for me to find and hold my son.

    Playing it isn't even an option... It would utterly destroy me in ways I couldn't imagine before having been a father. I think Jerry's written about such things in previous news posts somewhere...
    https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2013/06/24/larvae1

    i-NCzgQDx-1050x10000.jpg

    "That’s not really how it works now. Children carve something out of you, a place for themselves; people can twist the knife in that spot, and it just bleeds and bleeds."

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
  • chopchop Registered User regular
    In the same spot as a parent as so many above. Each PAX that I see the TDC devs in the Indie Mega Booth I stop by and look. They always ask me if I want to demo it and I tell them I can't bring myself to do it.

  • WhelmedWhelmed Registered User regular
    This is a good comic but Jerry's post is a great post.

  • ElijahBaileyElijahBailey Wordsmith. VirginiaRegistered User regular
    Jerry's writing is always at its finest when he lets his feelings bleed out onto the blank screen.

    That said, the catalyst of his feelings for today pains me. I hope writing the post was at least some small catharsis.

    "Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing."
  • megnanimousmegnanimous Registered User regular
    In three panels, they managed to perfectly illustrate the difference between people who have played this game and the geese who haven't but are still commenting about it on the steam boards.

    This. And oh my, those steam board comments. Is that normal? I'm almost never on steam. I mean, I know the internet is full of terrible comments, but those are some of the worst.

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    I just read the news post. I don't even know what to say.

  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    When he said he was staring at the cursor I found myself staring for a little while at the space between that sentence and the next for a while.

    (PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    Lost my mother... has it really been almost four years?
    Still within my personal statute of Nope.

  • brossabrossa Registered User new member
    The news post today was my favorite piece of Jerry's writing ever. My wife is a neonatologist, and everything he said rings so horribly true.

  • nevermore13nevermore13 Registered User regular
    I normally don't post in this part of the forum but Jerry's post was written very well. I am lucky to have never been in any of the situations he was talking about and just reading it nearly brought tears to my eyes. At least it helps me realize (or remember) how important Child's Play is.

  • Modred189Modred189 Registered User regular
    The panel is great, the post leaves a crater far too near my current residence. I have a 10 month old daughter who has had some struggles in her little life. NOTHING like what you guys saw at Children's, but enough so that I saw that look on my daughter's face of pain and confusion and fear. Without any words, she said, "why" clearer than anyone ever could. And it was my hand guiding the tube into her nose and down her throat.

    My wife spent three days with her as they got things locked down, and I visited before and after work each day. But in those days, I learned too what Child's Play is about. Our daughter was relatively "fine" compared to the other kids in that hall, and the stress we experienced was nothing compared to what I saw in the eyes of the other parents, and the nurses.

    ANY force in this world that pushes against those emotions, those states of being, with love and comfort and support is as Holy an effort as we see these days.

    I may not have much in the way of money these days, but once I do, I'm writing a big, fat check to Child's Play.

  • ArtereisArtereis Registered User regular
    Jerry's writing is at its best when it's shot through with agony.

  • Senna1Senna1 Registered User regular
    Hahnsoo1 wrote: »
    Senna1 wrote: »
    Robonun wrote: »
    Honestly, I would pay money to *not* play the game. $20, $50, whatever, right to the American Cancer Society. Bad enough to lose my father, an uncle and two aunts to that evil fucking disease, but having to (however vicariously) live through losing a child to it would just wreck me.

    RadioLab did a podcast about That Dragon, Cancer just this week. It included enough audio snippets of the game for me to "Nope" out entirely. As the father of a 10-month old, I can't even listen to it without losing it. While driving. In public. The 'crying scene' created a physical need for me to find and hold my son.

    Playing it isn't even an option... It would utterly destroy me in ways I couldn't imagine before having been a father. I think Jerry's written about such things in previous news posts somewhere...
    https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2013/06/24/larvae1

    i-NCzgQDx-1050x10000.jpg

    "That’s not really how it works now. Children carve something out of you, a place for themselves; people can twist the knife in that spot, and it just bleeds and bleeds."

    Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. TLoU's cold open is brutal, and the first real 'Dad moment' I feel like I had in gaming, but it pales in comparison to That Dragon. Probably something to do with the fact that one is purely fiction, and the other not so much...

  • RavelleRavelle Registered User regular
    I can't really deal with loss that well, I keep it locked up but the lock is super fragile. One look back or writing/reading of losing someone is enough to break it and make me a sobbing mess.

    D083uBC.jpg
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited January 2016
    Modred189 wrote: »
    that look on my daughter's face of pain and confusion and fear. Without any words, she said, "why" clearer than anyone ever could. And it was my hand guiding the tube into her nose and down her throat.
    Jerry wrote:
    And it’s very confusing if you can’t see your little brother right now because he is too sick, you’ve got balloons for him and you can’t go in.

    I don't know either of you; you aren't allowed to make me feel these things.

    Curse this universal Dad-feels conduit. And these dusty contact lenses...

    Needless to say, put me down for some of the Nope on TD,C.

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • fortyforty Registered User regular
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

  • ThroThro pgroome@penny-arcade.com Registered User regular
    forty wrote: »
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

    Hey now, they can be both if they want!
    (Mostly joking; I came here to say that this was a good news post and I liked it, in contrast with some of his other recent ones.)

  • BRASKYthatSOBBRASKYthatSOB Master (of Physics) AlaskaRegistered User regular
    In three panels, they managed to perfectly illustrate the difference between people who have played this game and the geese who haven't but are still commenting about it on the steam boards.

    This. And oh my, those steam board comments. Is that normal? I'm almost never on steam. I mean, I know the internet is full of terrible comments, but those are some of the worst.

    When first reading your comment, I thought you wrote "the internet is full of terrible cowards".... Seemed true even if you didn't write it. I believe that is generally who writes the terrible comments.

  • NeuroskepticNeuroskeptic Registered User regular
    forty wrote: »
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

    Also for the "Jerry is a bad writer" crowd

  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    forty wrote: »
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

    Also for the "Jerry is a bad writer" crowd

    This. He can actually write pretty powerfully when he really wants to do it instead of just play with words to amuse himself. His news posts about his father's illness and death are devastating to read.

  • Blackhawk1313Blackhawk1313 Demon Hunter for Hire Time RiftRegistered User regular
    Difficult thing for me here. I'm very glad this game exists and it's important both for people to play it and as a method of coping and dealing for the family. That said, I can't touch this, even mention of this wrecks me. That's because I've lived it already losing my own son. So honestly I can intellectually recommend playing the game but emotionally tell you it's feelings that you should never, ever, want to feel, even vicariously. I... need to go lie down for awhile...

  • IrishHunterIrishHunter Registered User new member
    Long time reader, first time forum poster, lifelong pseudo-Grammar Nazi here.

    I'm not as in-touch with gaming as I used to be. Kids, wife, job, life... many know what that's like. I read this comic today, and I didn't understand that "That Dragon, Cancer" was an actual GAME... so I read the text that goes with the post, and I said to myself, "You know what? That's a guy who needs some help. I know, because that guy has been me from time to time." Not the snarky-jackassery type help we see so often on the web. This kind of help is just a bit of guidance. I've been a registered nurse now for close to 20 years, and a lot of that was in the ER. Sometimes you do that kind of work, and it becomes overwhelming, and it's very easy to become sad, despondent, grieving, and generally, become a different person than you once were, especially when you spend a lot of time pondering the suffering kids like that go through. It helps if you've got people who care about you, and can help arrest your slide down into that dark, sad place. But sometimes, especially when it's the first time you really wind up looking full in the face of "kids who are dying and it's just so goddamned wrong"... you can find yourself a little too far down in the hole to make it out. Here's my guidance on beating that place: Go outside with your kids. The younger the better. Take them somewhere they can run. Maybe it's just down the sidewalk, or maybe you have a nice backyard. Tell them you want to see how fast they can run. Make it a game. While they run, take a big, deep breath. Pull your shoulders back. Spread your arms. Look at the sky. Realize that sometimes, there's no good answer for why some people suffer when they don't deserve to suffer, while some truly horrible people don't seem to suffer at all. No one has the answer to that question, and if they tell you they do, they're deluded or lying. Look at your kids again, and resolve to help them be the best they can be, and that's why you have to keep on, and that's what the point of it all is. Be grateful that you have enough emotional range to feel sadness over the suffering. Understand that you are not alone.

    Sorry if this was long winded. I'm sure I broke a few grammar rules, but hey... stream of consciousness, I guess. Have a good weekend... and thanks for doing Child's Play. That's a huge good deed right there. You deserve mad karma points for it. You can go ahead, look in the mirror some morning, and think "Hey... that guy is kind of a hero". Smile, and carry on...

    IrishHunter

  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    forty wrote: »
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

    Also for the "Jerry is a bad writer" crowd

    This. He can actually write pretty powerfully when he really wants to do it instead of just play with words to amuse himself. His news posts about his father's illness and death are devastating to read.

    Or his son's problems. It's like literary Picasso, you know? You get so good at a thing that you end up deconstructing it instead to better understand its form, but don't think for a second that guy couldn't paint you the best damned bowl of fruit you'd ever see if he felt like it.

    forumsig.png
  • NeuroskepticNeuroskeptic Registered User regular
    darleysam wrote: »
    Gaslight wrote: »
    forty wrote: »
    That was a good newspost and feels like something useful to reference when people insist that Jerry and/or Mike are terrible human beings for making jokes and having opinions sometimes.

    Also for the "Jerry is a bad writer" crowd

    This. He can actually write pretty powerfully when he really wants to do it instead of just play with words to amuse himself. His news posts about his father's illness and death are devastating to read.

    Or his son's problems. It's like literary Picasso, you know? You get so good at a thing that you end up deconstructing it instead to better understand its form, but don't think for a second that guy couldn't paint you the best damned bowl of fruit you'd ever see if he felt like it.

    Right. Some of his writing is difficult, but it's never difficult because it's not good enough. More often the opposite.

  • dennisdennis aka bingley Registered User regular
    I've been really wanting to "play" this "game", but I just didn't think I could. I'm a pretty emotionally sensitive person (I cry on cue when watching a movie or sometimes even listening to a song). I also have a 4 year old and a 5 month old. So I watched the trailer when it popped up on Steam recently.

    Nope.

    NOPE.

    Started misting up. I was kind of melancholy for the next hour or so, and might have maintained the hug with my son a few seconds too long.

    I cannot face the dark truth about life. It's all RNG.

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