{"id":38,"date":"2021-01-26T03:44:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T03:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/?p=38"},"modified":"2021-01-26T03:44:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T03:44:50","slug":"a-tribute-to-a-cynical-brit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/26\/a-tribute-to-a-cynical-brit\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute to a Cynical Brit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This article originally ran under a different banner\/website in June of 2018 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello everyone; I know you have come here expecting me to be dawning my doomsayer persona and shouting about the end of the gaming industry, but I am just not feeling it.\u00a0 My plan was to talk about a game I played at PAX East called Bleak: Welcome to Glimmer.\u00a0 <\/em>The developers created an arcade cabinet for people to play the game on, since their game was inspired by the brutal nature of old school platformers, back when arcades were around.\u00a0 Of course, this all caught my attention, but after playing it for a few hours, I am just not feeling it.\u00a0 Partly due to the saddening news I received.\u00a0 On May 24th<\/sup>, I was informed that video game critic John Peter Bain, also known as Totalbiscuit, passed away losing his battle with cancer at the age of 33.\u00a0 Even though I never met him in person, his death has me heartbroken.\u00a0 Not only did my father pass away from cancer at a young age, but Totalbiscuit was hugely influential in how I view my favorite medium and how I commentate it.\u00a0 So, instead of talking about a game that I am not that into, I will talk about Totalbiscuit instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year is 2010, I was a sophomore in college and I could have been labeled as a World of Warcraft <\/em>fanatic.\u00a0 In between classes and studying, I could be found grinding for better gear for my healer.\u00a0 I have always been a player who liked to be prepared for the challenges ahead.\u00a0 I would research the best gear, the best areas to find crafting materials and the best strategies to take down bosses.\u00a0 With a new expansion on the horizon, I had to dig into the ins and outs of this new adventure.\u00a0 Whose videos did I happen to run into?\u00a0 None other than the Cynical Brit himself, John \u201cTotalbiscuit\u201d Bain.\u00a0 He had immense coverage of the beta covering everything from the new races to the cleaned up starting zones to small bits of lore included in the beta.\u00a0 Using the vocal presence he developed during his World of Warcraft radio days, Totalbiscuit\u2019s passion and skill was enough to grab my attention.\u00a0 I furiously tore through all his videos, absorbing all the information like I did in all my other college classes.\u00a0 When the expansion finally launched, I was the one all my friends went to for all the best strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few years later, I stopped playing World of Warcraft<\/em> and moved onto other games.\u00a0 Being the poor college student I was, I had to be careful about which games I purchased.\u00a0 Luckily, Totalbiscuit had transitioned from WoW coverage to games reviews and critic.\u00a0 While some mocked him for his obsession with field of view (FOV) sliders, demand for 60 fps, and refusal to take part in pre-orders, you can\u2019t say he drew a hard line and stuck to it, all in the name of consumer advisory.\u00a0 He knew a lot of gamers, like myself, couldn\u2019t afford to play every single game.\u00a0 He had to deliver some hard truths, including being one of the first to say Duke Nukem Forever<\/em> did not live up to the long waiting hype.\u00a0 In a time of major game coverage panning to developers, seeing someone stand up to the norms and give it to you straight was not only enlightening, but also inspiring.\u00a0 I would continue to watch and learn from the Cynical Brit through the rest of my days at college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after graduating, I began working in the real world.\u00a0 As many of you could guess, I didn\u2019t have time to watch all of Totalbiscuit\u2019s videos, but I always made sure to catch his podcast, Co-Optional Podcast.\u00a0 It was a simple podcast, Totalbiscuit, Jesse Cox, Dodger, and one guest, would discuss the games they had been playing along with some discussion on gaming news.\u00a0 Whether I was performing a test or updating documents, I always found the light hard humor combined with the informative news within the podcast helped me get through some rough weeks.\u00a0 I soon began fitting other podcasts, including the excellent Redlight Gaming Podcast (you all should check them out, they are really entertaining), into my weekly routine.\u00a0 Website promotion aside, the Co-Optional Podcast introduced me to many more critics and entertainers, all of having me laughing out loud or pondering the way I view my favorite medium.\u00a0 From doctors studying how games can be used to help improve your mental health like Dr. Jennifer Hazel to musicians who make music inspired by video games like Miracle of Sound, the number of content creators I was introduced to via\u00a0 Co-Optional Podcast was endless.\u00a0 I am sure I am not the only one to say it, but John Bain connected so many with his wide reach.\u00a0 The state of the gaming commentary would be vastly different without him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I sit here, I can\u2019t help but notice some people don\u2019t share in my sorrow over the passing of Totalbiscuit.\u00a0 Some people are disgustingly reveling in it.\u00a0 Without trying to shine a spotlight on said individual, an ex-member of the BioWare development team, went on a long and vile rant claiming he had an axe to grind against the critic.\u00a0 He claimed Totalbiscuit was more harmful for the industry than good, stating the critic used his fan based like rabid attack dogs that he would unleash onto any developer he wished. \u00a0 I read over this thread and can\u2019t help but be disheartened.\u00a0 He stood up for some many games over the years.\u00a0 Games like Warframe<\/em> and Rainbow Six Siege<\/em>, can attribute their rise to success to do his voice, but to see someone ignore all the good one could do, just to point out some mistakes really hurts.\u00a0 Maybe we didn\u2019t deserve Totalbiscuit.\u00a0 Maybe we don\u2019t deserve my voice.\u00a0 If people are only going to focus on my mistakes, rather than my accomplishments, then what\u2019s the point.\u00a0 Maybe this is a sign.\u00a0 Maybe it is time to put away the soapbox and picket fence sign.\u00a0 Maybe it is time to stop writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou what?\u201d I could hear Totalbiscuit say, \u201ca couple people say I am terrible and you want to pack it in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow could I not?\u00a0 You have done so much for the games industry, and yet still have people try to drag your name through the mud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou’re always going to have people who hate the content you create.\u201d he would probably say reassuringly, \u201cTrust yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let the haters dictate how you present yourself.\u00a0 I am leaving behind big shoes.\u00a0 I don\u2019t expect you to fill them, but I expect you to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s right, I thought.\u00a0 Who is going to help out the small indie teams.\u00a0 Who is going to help consumers make informed decisions.\u00a0 Who is going to talk about FOV sliders.\u00a0 Probably not me, but that\u2019s not my point.\u00a0 Now is the worst time to quit.\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t let the thought of hatred silence the voice that I bring.\u00a0 My voice might be small, but it will continue to grow and gain a following, despite what any nah sayer says.\u00a0 With that being said, the show must go on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HEAR YE!!! HEAR YE!!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! BOYS AND GIRLS!!! GATHER ROUND FOR I MUST TELL YOU ABOUT A GAME CALLED BLEAK: WELCOME TO GLIMMER.\u00a0 <\/em>THE COLOR PALLET CONSIST OF DULL YELLOWS, BLUES AND GRAYS.\u00a0 THE SOUNDTRACKS SOUNDS LIKE THEY COULD ONLY AFFORD THE BASSIST.\u00a0 THE PLATFORMING HAS MANY TRIAL AND ERROR JUMPS.\u00a0 THE GAME IS BLEAK.\u00a0 I ARGUE YOU ALL TO PLAY SOMETHING ELSE.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest in peace, John.\u00a0 You will be missed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally ran under a different banner\/website in June of 2018 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy. Hello everyone; I know you have come here expecting me to be dawning my doomsayer persona and shouting about the end of the gaming industry, but I am just… Continue reading A Tribute to a Cynical Brit<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opinion","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/40"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}