Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine

[ColonelHardisson]

I love KoDT, mostly for the comics. I buy it every month at a local shop.

I like the HackMaster material, especially items or monsters the Knights have run across in the comics. They have one (pdf) collection out of this stuff, specifically monsters, and I'd love to see a collection of magic items, as well.

The Lost Game Safari is a nifty, handy article. It helped me recall a few games I had long, long ago.

The Gamer's Rant on Movies is awful. I have a film degree, love movies of all types, and would enjoy a good movie review column aimed at gamers. This column simply misses the mark - the "humor" is strained, at best, and with one or two notable exceptions, the reviewer seems intent on hating every movie he writes about. Maybe cuz it's, y'know, cool to hate everything and kinda seems funny if you slag on something long enough. The analysis and insight is pretty nonexistent. Check out any given episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, any given issue of Shock Cinema, or any Joe Bob Briggs review to see how to slag on a movie with humor and style.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

Great mag. The comic is awesome, not as funny as it once was, but much more engaging (kinda like OotS, actually). The articles are hit and miss like any gamer mag. Noah's Gamer's Rant column used to be a great read.

The main reason I never read his column (in the past) was because it had very little to do with any movies I was interested in. It just didn't seem very "game" related. I'm sure there were exceptions, but right now I can't dig through my stack of KotDT to see if I'm right or not.

The main reason I don't read his column (now) is because he is too self-important. You can tell, even if he's holding back, that the column is all about him. Even the little "cut along the dotted line" thing just seems to be about attention.

He's not a bad writer, though. Quite the opposite. And I really understand where this style comes from -- I had a similarly obnoxious style when I wrote a column back in college. IMO, he just needs to remove his ego (or his "persona" ego) from the equation and focus on what he can really do: some kick-butt writing.

Then again, the audience seems to be split right down the middle about his column, and changing to appease one side or the other might just end up a mediocre disaster.

 

[Agamon]

CH, not your kind of humor, understandable. But I find the columns, the older ones, anyway, to be very MST3K-like in execution. And the very fact that every month he finds something to seethingly hate about popular movies is in itself pretty funny, IMO.

WEW, the dotted line thing was the Kenzer crew's idea, not Noah's, and was just meant as a joke that I wish they'd drop, as it's getting old. As for his movie selection, they've always been genre flicks that most gamers see. I think that's what ticks a lot of people off, he's making fun of some shows that have more than a couple gamer uberfans that take what he says seriously for some reason.

Self-important? Yeah, it's coming out a bit more, too, now that he's trying be more review-y and less funny. The column ain't what it used to be.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

CH, not your kind of humor, understandable. But I find the columns, the older ones, anyway, to be very MST3K-like in execution.

I just don't find his writing to be even close to the same league as MST3K. His analogies and references are pedestrian and fall flat more often than not. If they want that style of review, maybe they should see what Seanbaby is doing (and I find Seanbaby very funny).

 

[Agamon]

I just don't find his writing to be even close to the same league as MST3K. His analogies and references are pedestrian and fall flat more often than not. If they want that style of review, maybe they should see what Seanbaby is doing (and I find Seanbaby very funny).

No, not in the same league, not even close. But the same style, I'd argue, if a bit more caustic.

Seanbaby is friggin' hilarious, I'll agree with you there.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

No, not in the same league, not even close. But the same style, I'd argue, if a bit more caustic.

Well, I'll concede you that point. The way I figure it, though, is that if one is going to adopt such a style, one had better have the chops to withstand such comparisons. The "Gamer's Rant" suffers badly in comparison to MST3K. Very badly. Even many of the amateur reviews in Shock Cinema show more solid wit and insight. If you enjoy it, hey, cool. It's all a matter of opinion, and maybe I'm just not grokking it.

Seanbaby is friggin' hilarious, I'll agree with you there.

He sure is.

 

[Agamon]

Well, I'll concede you that point. The way I figure it, though, is that if one is going to adopt such a style, one had better have the chops to withstand such comparisons. The "Gamer's Rant" suffers badly in comparison to MST3K. Very badly. Even many of the amateur reviews in Shock Cinema show more solid wit and insight. If you enjoy it, hey, cool. It's all a matter of opinion, and maybe I'm just not grokking it.

This is true, as someone noted here, the split is somewhere around 50/50. Everyone has an opinion, love or hate. But I'll also add that I haven't found the last 4-5 very good at all.

 

[Glyfair]

I just don't find his writing to be even close to the same league as MST3K. His analogies and references are pedestrian and fall flat more often than not. If they want that style of review, maybe they should see what Seanbaby is doing (and I find Seanbaby very funny).

My problem with the column is (and has always been) that it comes across like a lot of elitist internet posters. To me it reads like "Look at the garbage we gamers like, look I'll prove it's garbage." I find it useless and pointless. I don't think Hawk the Slayer is Citizen Kane, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it for what it is (which apparently he can't).

Still, KoDT has a lot of quality articles. I skip much of it, but realize they could be good references later (such as the NPCs). "Lost Games Safari" is a great reminder of some fun games that I remember, whether I played them or not.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

My problem with the column is (and has always been) that it comes across like a lot of elitist internet posters. To me it reads like "Look at the garbage we gamers like, look I'll prove it's garbage." I find it useless and pointless. I don't think Hawk the Slayer is Citizen Kane, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it for what it is (which apparently he can't).

That's a good assessment. Movies are first and foremost about entertainment. If they entertain, then even if they're bad, they're good. That's what that columnist seems to forget, and he keeps going on and on like he wants to somehow show us all the light regarding how bad the movies we love are. Of course, I gotta give him points for actually writing the column regularly and getting it published. Given my own background, I oughta be writing such a column, and haven't.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

Well, the "Gamer's Rant on the Movies" article is a rant, as it says. While I don't agree with everything he says, I do read his column every month, and it usually makes me laugh. Of course, everyone has different tastes, but so far the majority of readers seem to be in favor of keeping the rants.