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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: jhocking on 28 Mar 2010, 15:33

Title: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: jhocking on 28 Mar 2010, 15:33: http://gameon.msn.com/articles/4607/Would-You-Pay-a-Girl-to-Play-Halo-With-You?GT1=28155
Title: Re: gamecrush
Post by: Storm Rider on 28 Mar 2010, 15:37: Every day mankind finds new ways to disappoint me.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: evilbobthebob on 28 Mar 2010, 15:41: I suppose now we just have to wait for all the copycat services to start :-(

The worst thing was the overall positive tone of the review. And the way that the bad thing singled out was that the girl the reviewer played with had a boyfriend, so she wasn't flirty. :|
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 28 Mar 2010, 16:23: hah, camwhore site with a gamer spin.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Blue Kitty on 28 Mar 2010, 18:18: A sad day for the human race

Then again I'm tired of playing Left 4 Dead 2 with underage aussies

A review (http://jezebel.com/5501847/tits-or-gtfo-the-sexualization-of-women-in-gaming-spaces)
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: David_Dovey on 29 Mar 2010, 05:01: This is pretty insulting to both sexes, really. Aside from the whole women-as-commodity stuff that's obvious to anyone with the ability to read the article, there's also the particularly egregious implication that all male gamers are socially retarded shut-ins who wouldn't be able to elicit any kind of female attention from anyone not being paid for it.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 29 Mar 2010, 05:28: I don't find it insulting at all, just incredibly amusing. I don't think the 'models' are being coerced into anything, and those lonely guys know exactly what it is they're paying for. Consent all around. I don't think this is indicative of anything else at all, and I don't think it makes any sweeping assumptions about anybody that cam-sites don't already make. Those assumptions being 'lonely guys will pay to see girls fuck around on the internet'. There's millions and millions of sites that prove that assumption to be correct, so what's insulting? The gamer spin?

This site isn't relevant to gamers at all, really. It's just a cam-whore site with a gimmick, they have sex toys off camera, and Halo on the computer. It's a site that's implicit rather than explicit, and this has gotten it some very good free advertisements in mainstream media. That link is not a news article. It's free advertising to a camwhore site. They know precisely what it is, and so do the patrons. I genuinely believe that the only people being taken advantage of (arguably) are the media sites that are forwarding this link. As for the rest of us, why do we care? We shouldn't find it to be anything other than slightly amusing, that it has this much attention. It's an ingenious publicity stunt for a typical website and nothing more.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: LTK on 29 Mar 2010, 07:13: You're quite wrong, actually. According to this article (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99350-Gamecrush-Pay-To-Play-With-Gamer-Grills-NSFW) you can sign up as a player or playdate, the difference being which way the cash is going. Ideally, the players are the sex-deprived loners and the playdates are the hot chicks, but in reality the playdates are...

Quote from: The Escapist article
Here are some of the lovely ladies you can game with:

(http://www.escapistmagazine.com/images/display/65673.jpg)

badkiwi

Profile: ohai HELLO WORLD! What's a girl to do on a lonely Monday night? If your answer is SIGN UP FOR THIS MADNESS, then you get a gold star.

(http://www.escapistmagazine.com/images/display/65672.jpg)

InkedBBW

Profile: I love gaming co-op! There are NOT enough co op games :( I am really into zombie games and enjoy playing Left 4 Dead 1 & 2! I can have a foul mouth on occasion when really into gaming, but I still have fun and enjoy myself a lot more when chatting with others! I'm no expert at games but I like to have a good time!

(http://www.escapistmagazine.com/images/display/65671.jpg)

2girls1game

Profile: Pip-Girl (blonde) and Thirteen (brunette) are two best friends with a profound love of gaming. Amazed at the lack of team profiles on GameCrush, they've decided to go two-on-one with the site's most gracious gamer guys.

--

And for you gamer girls, there's a few good men looking to have a PlayDate with you too. Take a gander at:

(http://www.escapistmagazine.com/images/display/65675.jpg)

SunnyBoy

Profile: yo my names sunny

ima thrill seeker so anything that is death defying or anything crazy or extreme will get my blood flowin
love the adrenaline

i think ima tough challenge so thats why you shud play me.
step up to the challenge

Just to give you an impression.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 29 Mar 2010, 07:26: ...I don't care what you say, you just showed me a camwhore site.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 29 Mar 2010, 07:33: If this is not a camwhore website, somebody give me a compelling argument as to how it isn't, instead of telling me I'm "quite wrong" and then describing the exact same thing I talked about.
Literally the only difference I can think of is that there no contractual obligation to fuck around, it's only implied. Just because it's implied, rather than explicitly stated doesn't mean it's not a camwhore website.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Inlander on 29 Mar 2010, 07:34: Quote
ima thrill seeker so anything that is death defying or anything crazy or extreme will get my blood flowin

I don't know if it's death defying or crazy or extreme but excessive gaming will put you at risk of RSI so you go Sunny! Give the reaper the bird when you see him playing for the other side in Team Fortress!

Also here's a bonus clip of the Sunnyboys, just because: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0hZXDMQ6OE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0hZXDMQ6OE)
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: LTK on 29 Mar 2010, 07:46: Quote from: Sox on 29 Mar 2010, 07:33
If this is not a camwhore website, somebody give me a compelling argument as to how it isn't, instead of telling me I'm "quite wrong" and then describing the exact same thing I talked about.
Literally the only difference I can think of is that there no contractual obligation to fuck around, it's only implied. Just because it's implied, rather than explicitly stated doesn't mean it's not a camwhore website.

Well, for one, the site doesn't seem to be oriented on showing off half-naked models to desperate guys, even though those two are probably present anyway. The 'models' are outside participants just as the players are, and it works in both directions. So maybe we just have different concepts of what a camwhore site is. This one doesn't fit my understanding of 'websites that hire girls to fuck around in front of the camera for horny men'. I couldn't say if that is their actual intention, though.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: a pack of wolves on 29 Mar 2010, 08:19: I find it hard to believe that isn't exactly what it'll become though, regardless of the intentions of the site or even a majority of the people on it. Who else is going to pay a fair amount of money for 6 minutes of casual gaming or 10 minutes of xbox live than people expecting something analogous to phone sex or a webcam porn site?
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 29 Mar 2010, 08:57: Oh come, even the payment method is exactly the same. The guy pays, the girl profits. The more he pays, the further she goes. That much WAS explicitly stated when they compared it to a 'drinks' system. So there's no titties on the front page? You don't need them with users like "InkyBBW" and "2Girls1Game". So the girls aren't technically 'employed'? Neither are 99% of camera whores. They're making money, both for the site and for themselves. You call them "outside participants" just like the 'players', but that is actually how most cam-fuck sites work. You think there's giant buildings full of camwhores in cubicles, fucking around for money? They work from home, dude, just like the 'playdates' on this website.

It's clear what the intention is. The site is implicitly sexual in nature, and that is intentional. It lets them get away with pretending to me something other than what it is.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Spluff on 29 Mar 2010, 20:31: I will play games with lonely forumites for the low price of only $50 an hour! Book today, as places are filling fast!
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Spluff on 29 Mar 2010, 20:34: And for a limited time only, I will operate the controls using only my dick!
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: David_Dovey on 29 Mar 2010, 20:36: OK see that I would pay $50/hr to see
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: JD on 29 Mar 2010, 21:51: Whoa first one looks like a friend of mine. Gonna be awkward hanging out with her for a while.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: jhocking on 30 Mar 2010, 04:33: No need to be awkward, just get it out there in the open.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Christophe on 30 Mar 2010, 07:44: I'm sure she'll let you play videogames with her any time. Free of charge.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: JD on 30 Mar 2010, 18:01: Yeah friends with benefits. Exciting non-sexy video game benefits.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:27: Quote from: LTK on 29 Mar 2010, 07:46
This one doesn't fit my understanding of 'websites that hire girls to fuck around in front of the camera for horny men'.

That's because your definition of camwhore ignores a lot of 'net history and is thus super narrow, rendering it somewhat useless. Many camwhore pioneers were individual women (in some cases underage girls who couldn't really be hired by sites) who didn't have any sort of particular business model but realized that they could get free stuff by posing or just flirting with guys and pointing them at paypal or their amazon wishlists. A camwhore isn't necessarily the same thing as pornstar, softcore or otherwise. It can be a very ad hoc kinda deal and it isn't necessarily tied to the one big page with 2 dozen girls and a shit ton of banners, although obviously there's a lot of those around as people have figured out there's money in it.

God damn you internet, why do I have to know things about camwhores via osmosis? It makes me angry.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Sox on 30 Mar 2010, 18:45: We have regulars who are/were camwhores.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:48: It just that it bugs me when I realize how much useless info I know, particularly since I'm borderline incompetent irl. It's like when my friend reminded me the other day that I'm forever a bigger nerd than he is because I know how thac0 works.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:50: Also, I just went to a funeral the other day and turned 28 a couple weeks ago and oh god I am wasting my life.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: jhocking on 30 Mar 2010, 20:08: Quote from: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:48
I'm forever a bigger nerd than he is because I know how thac0 works.

oh god I know that too

At first I didn't recognize what you had written, but then when I did recognize it I felt a crushing depression descend upon me.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 20:22: ONE OF US
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: JD on 30 Mar 2010, 20:23: I have no idea what you are talking about.

yay
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 20:24: That's because I have drank things that are older than you.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: JD on 30 Mar 2010, 20:29: So have I! It's not really that hard.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: ackblom12 on 30 Mar 2010, 21:57: I'm still confused by the fact that I was the only person in my group that understood how thac0 worked.

I'm pretty certain I should feel more depressed by that fact than I do.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 21:58: It's not like it was that hard, honestly.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: KvP on 30 Mar 2010, 22:39: Thac0 wasn't that hard. It got a little harder if you introduced more minute rules about weapon and armor types. The worst thing I remember about 2nd ed was the save system. 3rd's revision is much better.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Storm Rider on 30 Mar 2010, 23:37: I remember what THAC0 stands for, just not necessarily how to calculate it anymore.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 31 Mar 2010, 15:11: RE: Saving Throws.

Yeah, there were far too many categories and they were both too specific and too general all at once. For a start, it was kinda unnecessary to have different numbers used to defend against spells and magical devices with spell-like abilities. And then there was the whole thing about separate categories for Breath Weapons and Poison/Paralysis/Death. I honestly can't remember if you roll twice or just use one or the other when defending against say, a breath attack that can inflict poisons. Fuck 2nd Ed. saving throws.

But yeah, the dumb part about THAC0 wasn't that it was hard, but that it was a standard that nearly always required you to tack on one more step, with the only exception being when you fought someone that had an Armor Class of 0. The way you progressed as you leveled, for example, wasn't actually much different from the way Base Attack Bonus worked. It wasn't a difficult system, by any means, but it certainly wasn't as simple to sum up as saying "Your d20 roll and attack bonuses need to add up to 30 or better 'cuz that's their armor class."
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: snalin on 31 Mar 2010, 15:28: Quote from: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:48
It just that it bugs me when I realize how much useless info I know, particularly since I'm borderline incompetent irl. It's like when my friend reminded me the other day that I'm forever a bigger nerd than he is because I know how thac0 works.

Does it count if you know what Thac0 is from BG1?

Around my second play through I even realized how it worked, about in the same instant that I realized that it was a "0" not an "o".
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: yellowfoliage on 31 Mar 2010, 19:37: It was never so much an issue that THAC0 is difficult as it was that it's counterintuitive. For somebody who has never played a PnP game (or BG or the first NWN or Torment blah blah) it tends to make sense that a higher armor class is better. Of course, when I was a socially isolated high school geek I defended THAC0 and all the other nonsensical bullshit that came with earlier D&D editions to the death because it meant I could feel like I was better than those sorry know-nothings playing their blasphemous new systems, but I now understand why they did away with it.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: glyphic on 08 Apr 2010, 13:13: Talk like this is why people have to pay girls to participate.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Coward on 08 Apr 2010, 15:49: At least it's not Warhammer.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 08 Apr 2010, 16:32: Beneath my snarky pinko liberal exterior I'm a bit of a closet greenskin.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Coward on 08 Apr 2010, 16:47: Is your car red?
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 08 Apr 2010, 16:50: Red ones go faster.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Coward on 08 Apr 2010, 16:51: True dat.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Jace on 11 Apr 2010, 04:49: Quote from: Alex C on 08 Apr 2010, 16:50
Red ones go fasta!
FYP
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: 20 jazz funk greats on 11 Apr 2010, 07:19: why yes, i would love to pretend to date a sexist basement-dwelling moron who throws hissy fits when i kick his ass at video games and then tries to make excuses for his own incompetence!

oh wait, been there done that. would not recommend to anyone.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 11 Apr 2010, 12:45: I don't throw hissy fits, but I do get a touch frustrated after losing often enough. It's not a gender bias thing though, I've just never been the most graceful loser. I'm getting better.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Inlander on 11 Apr 2010, 20:32: Quote from: 20 jazz funk greats on 11 Apr 2010, 07:19
why yes, i would love to pretend to date a sexist basement-dwelling moron who throws hissy fits when i kick his ass at video games and then tries to make excuses for his own incompetence!

oh wait, been there done that. would not recommend to anyone.

You're just bitter because you didn't think to charge money for it.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: 20 jazz funk greats on 11 Apr 2010, 20:52: right, because i'd love to be a headset-wearing bimbo instead of an actual software developer.
/facepalm
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Coward on 12 Apr 2010, 13:34: Okay, easy big-timer...
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Alex C on 12 Apr 2010, 13:40: I think I'd rather be a headset-wearing bimbo.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: David_Dovey on 13 Apr 2010, 08:56: Sounds a lot easier, plus think of all of the attention
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: LTK on 14 Apr 2010, 12:01: So apparently you will be able to conceive children with your co-op partner in Fable III (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99960-You-Can-Get-Freaky-With-Your-Fable-III-Co-Op-Partner). I swear that Molyneux is in on this whole GameCrush thing.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: JD on 18 Apr 2010, 17:56: I want a dude to be able to knock up another dude. It would be like that one oglaf comic.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: LTK on 19 Apr 2010, 05:53: BLOOD AND THUNDER!
VICTORY AT SEA!

It would really complete the picture when they release Fable III with the Playstation Move:

(http://www.gamemania.be/Portals/0/PlayStation-Move_001.jpg)
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: Felrender on 19 Apr 2010, 11:13: Natal.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: LTK on 19 Apr 2010, 11:39: (But Natal doesn't fit the picture.)

(It is not reminiscent of sex, you see.)
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: McTaggart on 19 Apr 2010, 12:18: Thanks to seeing this thread I've listened to Original Pirate Material again. I forgot how much I love this album.
Title: Re: It has come to this: GameCrush
Post by: BeoPuppy on 23 Apr 2010, 07:27: Quote from: Alex C on 30 Mar 2010, 18:48
[...] I'm forever a bigger nerd than he is because I know how thac0 works.

Sign me up for that club.