Mail Bag

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 16:28:28 -0800
From: "Mark Cooke"
Subject: id is evil

A Quick thought:

Now, I know you're not a student, but legions of Quake fans are. All of us are of course reeling in pleasure about the news of Quake 2 going gold, slobbering in anticipation for it to hit stores so we can rush out and get it. After thinking about this (and the news that it would possibly be released next week), I remember something called school. Unfortunately, it has a tendancy to have these things called finals at the end of the year. Unfortunately, Finals + Quake 2 = Quake 2. Is this an id plot to destroy the youth of America? Or, is it a much deeper rooted government conspiracy? Or, have I watched too many episodes of the X-files? We may never know...

Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 07:14:09 -0500 (some people have their computer clocks set funny)
From: "Gussman"
Subject: I'm angry, and here is why... (2 things I bitch about)

Here are two things that have been bugging me for a while. Since I'm pissed, I decided hey, why not write about it? Sorry to be burdening you with it, but here are my deranged rantings.

Bitch #1:

I was skimming my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (#407 November 28), when to my surprise, I encountered an article on online gaming. It was nice to see a magazine I like do an article on my favorite past-time. But then I made the mistake of reading it. To put it plainly, the article sucked. It was shitty beyond belief and it pissed me off. The article a) had no content, b) TOTALLY misrepresented online gaming, and, above all, c) was NOT researched. It described Quakecast as a show covering clan matches and online gaiming as being "painfully slow." This article was obviosly written by someone who had NEVER played an online game. Ever. Not once. They merely looked at the hype and descriptions of online games and wrote an article based purely off that.

Misreporting is nothing new, and it will never go away. But what annoys me about it is this: Every magazine or newspaper article I've ever read about online games, and computer games, has been extremely shitty. (The obvious exception to this is any computer related magazine, I'm not talking about that.) "Mainstream" media (Time, Newsweek, etc) writes REALLY shitty articles about computer games, and in particular, online gaming.

Maybe I'm a fanatic too obssessed to see straight, but it seems to me that online gaming represents an important trend in society. Games are recreation, they're what we do for fun. The harnessing of computers, and more important ly, the Internet for this use marks a major jump in society's acceptance of technology. It seems to me that this deserves a better look than "Wow, Quake2 will be a hot item this Christmas." Wine tasters actually taste the wine, is it too much to ask that people who would report on online games actually, I don't know, PLAY THE GAME????

Bitch #2:
   
I have heard rumors of a Doom movie, and I am scared. I am sure that this movie will suck. Why? Because it will be written by BASTARDS in Hollywood who will look at a monitor and go "Gee, that's neat, but here's what I'M going to make it about..." and they will write a really shitty script. The script will have a pointless love interest, a stupid human villian and lots and lots of mindless explosions. The movie will be written by people who have never played the game, and never will. The movie will suck, but we, the legions of fans (myself included) will go to see it, because, God help us, DOOM is in our blood.  Anyone who has ever played either Doom game will know that they are incredibly atmospheric and immersive. I am positive that the movie will NOT capture this. Why? Because no effort will be made to do so. The movie will not convey the white hot competition of a 1 on 1 deathmatch, the friendship that comes from a sacrifice in co-op, or the all consuming fear of playing in darkness at 1:00am and you walk into a room and you realize that, dear lord, you are going to die.

I have many memories of Doom. Of death defying escapes, and total bloodbaths. There is an indescribeable bond between the player and the Space Marine, one that defies time and space. The monsters, too, had personality. They were all distinct, and you come to love them all, in each of thier special ways. Everypart of Doom is a story, with characters, settings, and plot. Merely reenacting the game as a movie would make for a good movie. Will the movie capture this depth, or will it be an excuse for special effects?

I'd like to end with a plea. id, you have a perfect track record so far. Please do not allow this movie to spoil it. Please, please, tell me you have some Magic id Dust (tm) to spare for this misbegotten project. Nothing with your logo on it has ever been bad. So far. Please don't start now.

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