Two years ago I was introduced to The Hip Hop Gamer show. I saw videos of Hip Hop Gamer talking about himself, as well videos of him playing basketball and exploring a local Gamestop. I gravitated towards his charming personality and the fact that he was an African American with a voice in the gaming industry. I thought to myself if he could do it, why cant I? A month later I was blogging about videogames and the rest is history.
I had the opportunity of meeting Hip Hop Gamer at a Playstation Move Event in Boston and we chopped it up. We talked about videogames and even filmed a few moments together as we tried out the Playstation Move. I was already a fan, but now I know how cool the guy is in person. Then the problem showed up.
I had a front page story on Bitmob back in August about the racism in Mafia II. I spoke up about it after I realized nobody else was saying anything. I figured it was mostly due to both politics, and the racial majority in the gaming industry not being offended by the content. I decided to ask Hip Hop Gamer, a minority in the gaming industry, what he thinks about the situation via Twitter. A day or two goes by with no response. I figured he's a popular guy and didn't see my question. No harm no foul. I then discovered the song "Mafia Music" by Hip Hop Gamer in support of Mafia II. I guess I got his response.
I'm not saying he should agree with my view, but I was interested to know why he supported a game that refers to African Americans as "Moolies." I went back to Twitter and asked him about the song. I grew frustrated after not hearing anything back from the guy and said something along the lines that only a b*tch wouldn't respond to my question. You can see the response I got from the Hip Hop Gamer on the picture to the left. I get that I might have been out of line by calling him a b*tch, but why respond to that and not the actual issue? It was clear he wasn't going to answer my question, so I just decided to drop the whole situation.
Fast forward to a month later. I began to get excited about Pax East 2011 and logged on Twitter to express my thoughts. I said I wanted to do things differently than I did this year. In 2010 I had the opportunity of meeting a few personalities in the gaming industry at Pax East which was cool, but next year I want interviews with these people. I mentioned the Hip Hop Gamer's name in the tweet, and he replies. "You talk sh*t now you want an interview. Step Ya Game Up, and I'll think about it." I took that as an insult to the almost 2 years of writing I've done as a blogger. I might not have the fans, but I'm working hard at my craft. I decided to challenged him to a Freestyle Rap Battle since he's too hot for an interview.
Hip Hop Gamer is a man of many talents. He's a rapper with many songs on Youtube. One song he has is "60 Seconds." The line "If you want to battle. let's battle you can't get rid of me" stuck out to me like a sore thumb. I decided to see if this so called rapper practices what he preaches. I told him I'll put up $500 dollars if he does the same for a battle at Pax East 2011. Once again he get's quiet on Twitter again. I begin to poke jokes at Hip Hop Gamer as a way of showing that I'm serious. I guess he decided he was too important, and blocked me on Twitter.
I recorded a song titled "Psycho Sid" to get Hip Hop Gamers attention. One could call it a diss, but I call it a challenge. "$500 says I'll Beat You in a Battle" is repeated at the end of the song to make sure my intentions were clear. I'm sure he's heard the song by now, but I'm still waiting on his response. Remaining silent says a lot about his character. It says he's a fake rapper that's scared to battle some kid from Boston. My challenge is all in the name of friendly competition, and he has the opportunity of making $500 dollars if he wins. Maybe he can't rap at all, and knows he'll lose $500 dollars if he battles me. The offer is still on the table, and I'm still waiting for his response.
What does the Hip Hop Gamer's presence in the gaming industry say about the industries view of African Americans? It says that you have to fit the image of what the gaming industry thinks an African American should be. You have to be "Hip Hop" which I guess means wearing durags, bad writing, and an attitude that you're better than other African Americans. What kind of example does that set for the younger generation that looks up to you? I want to be the next Hip Hop Gamer so I'll just focus on being a likable stereotype at gaming conventions, as opposed to working on my craft to be the best journalist. If that's what the gaming industry wants then I signed up for the wrong sport.
You gotta do what you gotta do. Face it Blow your interview with Edge Magazine is mad long. Most people checking CVG don't give a damn about Edge Magazine. Print is dieing for a reason. All we have as gaming journalists is hits. It's how we stay relevant, and get noticed by people in the biz like yourself. You're mad that CVG sensationalized a small portion of your interview? At least CVG's article is readable. 
Lets start with the obvious, the game was FILLED with bugs when it was released. It's clear New Vegas was rushed in order to make it's release date. Bethesda figured they'd release a broken game and fix it through downloadable patches as times goes on. They promised patches would come the following week, it's been 2 months and they're starting to show up. As I'm writing this I'm still not sure the 360 or PC versions has received patches yet.
I lost well over 50 hours due to the bugs in New Vegas. One instance occurred when the game froze while it was autosaving. There was nothing I could have done to prevent that besides manually saving before I walked into the Lucky 38 Hotel. The result of that was a CORRUPT file that refused to load. I ended up with a few corrupt files in my journey through the Mojave Wastleland. It's frustrating to be reintroduced to characters and places I've already met and explored. Sure the ability to change the way I approach any situation is refreshing, but it would have been better if I could have done it with a new game as opposed to making up for corrupted saves.
The story to New Vegas was also a disappointment. New Vegas' story is longer than Fallout 3's, but it ends abruptly. I'm not going to spoil it, but if the story kept going it would have made more sense. The ending to the game made me feel like most of the work I had put into the game was pointless. I felt like I was doing busy work for most of the time.
I had the opportunity of meeting Hip Hop Gamer at a Playstation Move Event in Boston and we chopped it up. We talked about videogames and even filmed a few moments together as we tried out the Playstation Move. I was already a fan, but now I know how cool the guy is in person. Then the problem showed up.
I had a front page story on Bitmob back in August about the racism in Mafia II. I spoke up about it after I realized nobody else was saying anything. I figured it was mostly due to both politics, and the racial majority in the gaming industry not being offended by the content. I decided to ask Hip Hop Gamer, a minority in the gaming industry, what he thinks about the situation via Twitter. A day or two goes by with no response. I figured he's a popular guy and didn't see my question. No harm no foul. I then discovered the song "Mafia Music" by Hip Hop Gamer in support of Mafia II. I guess I got his response.
I'm not saying he should agree with my view, but I was interested to know why he supported a game that refers to African Americans as "Moolies." I went back to Twitter and asked him about the song. I grew frustrated after not hearing anything back from the guy and said something along the lines that only a b*tch wouldn't respond to my question. You can see the response I got from the Hip Hop Gamer on the picture to the left. I get that I might have been out of line by calling him a b*tch, but why respond to that and not the actual issue? It was clear he wasn't going to answer my question, so I just decided to drop the whole situation.
Fast forward to a month later. I began to get excited about Pax East 2011 and logged on Twitter to express my thoughts. I said I wanted to do things differently than I did this year. In 2010 I had the opportunity of meeting a few personalities in the gaming industry at Pax East which was cool, but next year I want interviews with these people. I mentioned the Hip Hop Gamer's name in the tweet, and he replies. "You talk sh*t now you want an interview. Step Ya Game Up, and I'll think about it." I took that as an insult to the almost 2 years of writing I've done as a blogger. I might not have the fans, but I'm working hard at my craft. I decided to challenged him to a Freestyle Rap Battle since he's too hot for an interview.
Hip Hop Gamer is a man of many talents. He's a rapper with many songs on Youtube. One song he has is "60 Seconds." The line "If you want to battle. let's battle you can't get rid of me" stuck out to me like a sore thumb. I decided to see if this so called rapper practices what he preaches. I told him I'll put up $500 dollars if he does the same for a battle at Pax East 2011. Once again he get's quiet on Twitter again. I begin to poke jokes at Hip Hop Gamer as a way of showing that I'm serious. I guess he decided he was too important, and blocked me on Twitter.
I recorded a song titled "Psycho Sid" to get Hip Hop Gamers attention. One could call it a diss, but I call it a challenge. "$500 says I'll Beat You in a Battle" is repeated at the end of the song to make sure my intentions were clear. I'm sure he's heard the song by now, but I'm still waiting on his response. Remaining silent says a lot about his character. It says he's a fake rapper that's scared to battle some kid from Boston. My challenge is all in the name of friendly competition, and he has the opportunity of making $500 dollars if he wins. Maybe he can't rap at all, and knows he'll lose $500 dollars if he battles me. The offer is still on the table, and I'm still waiting for his response.
What does the Hip Hop Gamer's presence in the gaming industry say about the industries view of African Americans? It says that you have to fit the image of what the gaming industry thinks an African American should be. You have to be "Hip Hop" which I guess means wearing durags, bad writing, and an attitude that you're better than other African Americans. What kind of example does that set for the younger generation that looks up to you? I want to be the next Hip Hop Gamer so I'll just focus on being a likable stereotype at gaming conventions, as opposed to working on my craft to be the best journalist. If that's what the gaming industry wants then I signed up for the wrong sport.
Of all the games released in 2010 I don't think of Alan Wake as being a standout. It might stand out for taking five years to be developed, but that gets out shined by Gran Turismo 5. During Alan Wake's five years in devlopment many gamers had forgotten about it. Gamers never forgot about Gran Turismo 5, and were actually looking forward to playing it. The only time I saw Alan Wake on anyones most anticipated list was when someone was trying to remind gamers it wasn't cancelled.
"Lots of video-game covers have a bold M on their lower left corner, but none have felt as mature as Alan Wake does."
That sounds like a profile of Harry Mason, the main character from Silent Hill. It's clear Silent Hill had a huge influence on Alan Wake. The intro to Alan Wake is so similar to Silent Hill, I had trouble believing it wasn't a remake. Speaking of remakes that whole walking around with a flashlight thing was used a year earlier in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. 
It's a 2 hour commercial.
The Gaming Industry has no personality. 
I get that the awards show is an outlet to promote upcoming games for the following year, but December isn't the right time. Sure it's the best time to give out Game of the Year Awards, but the trailers should just stay on the Internet where they belong. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the Forza 4 announcement, but everything else was leaked before the show. I knew about Unchared 3, SSX, and many others before the fact. That's no cool. The awards show should come the week of E3 and be held in the same place as the convention. That way there's a bigger audience, more upcoming game announcements, and better performers. Past E3's have seen Eminem, Jay-Z, Method Man & Redman, and others perform.
After watching this mess it makes me wonder how the gaming industry sees it's consumers. It's clear there's a gap in front of gamers and the industry itself. Sure the gaming industry knows how to keep us entertained, but does it know how to represent us? Watching this show I don't think it does. Black Ops proved the gaming industry is bigger than the movie industry, but what good is that if nobody can represent it? The gaming industry needs more people out there representing it.
