Unpopular Geek Media Opinions

[Dannyalcatraz]

But it's also about power dynamics. When creators are new and don't have a lot of clout, they have to listen to the editor/publisher/producer/etc. As the creator becomes more successful, wealthy, and famous, they gain more power and can tell the editors, publishers, and studio execs to go shove it.

I’ve seen many a creator who lost the ability to listen to constructive criticism.

 

[pukunui]

How dare you! I just watched it a few years ago and found it was still an excellent movie. Unlike Romulus, at least the actors didn't look like teenagers from 90210....or whatever young people star in these days.

I just watched it a year or so ago with one of my daughters and I found it as boring as I did the first time. It’s just so slooooow, and I don’t feel any of the tension that others feel when watching it. I like Aliens much better, and I quite liked Romulus.

 

[payn]

As with a lot of multiverse plots, it was tough to care about any of it. It was no Spiderverse movie....

Even Spidervrrse 2 was no Spiderverse!

 

[Nikosandros]

I read Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire (the first book of his Thrawn trilogy), and came away unimpressed.

I read it a long time ago, but I found it a poor book, Never had any interest in picking up the rest of the trilogy.

 

[jian]

I read Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire (the first book of his Thrawn trilogy), and came away unimpressed. While I understand a lot of what Zahn was trying to do, a lot of what he had in there didn't feel like Star Wars to me, even if many of those elements would later be built upon and expanded...which I suppose might be a part of the reason why I've fallen out of love with the franchise.

It was good fodder for a WEG Star Wars campaign but not great reading. Honestly, that’s a pretty good summary of the whole EU.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You don't actually "need" a new RPG or edition of any RPG. You are capable of ignoring problems or tweaking the rules to suit you.

Buying new RPGs or new editions of RPGs is fun and that's the main motivation for wanting them.

 

[overgeeked]

You don't actually "need" a new RPG or edition of any RPG. You are capable of ignoring problems or tweaking the rules to suit you.

Buying new RPGs or new editions of RPGs is fun and that's the main motivation for wanting them.

I’d extend that to the bulk of the hobby. Monster books, adventures, etc.

The imagination is like any other mental muscle. If you don’t use it, it will atrophy. Buying other people’s imagination means you use yours less. Make your own stuff. You know your table better than anyone else.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

That is in fact an unpopular opinion.

And yet a wholly correct one!

It's not one that I'll bring up in casual conversation but it's one I still stand by!

It's right to stand by it!

My unpopular HP opinion, also not one to bring up in casual conversation because it makes a lot of people uncomfortable, is that it was increasingly obvious as one went through the HP books that the writer was an extremely narrow-minded person with specific ideas about how the world should work, and and who and what was cool and not, and that those ideas were basically the ideas of a English "mean girl" who'd happiness-peaked at like 16. I dropped the books after the 4th one (I read it in 2001 or 2002) with the SPEW stuff, where I realized not only was this person narrow-minded and a little mean-spirited, they were actually nasty. You don't set up an ultra-elaborate scenario where you try to make out slavery is cool, actually, and these little guys just love being slaves, and the best-natured main character is wrong and to be mocked and scorned for caring about them, not unless there's something seriously wrong with you lol, imho anyway! I kept reading because the natural assumption was "Oh well Hermione will turn out to be right in the end!", but no. That very much did not happen.

 

[jian]

And yet a wholly correct one!


It's right to stand by it!

My unpopular HP opinion, also not one to bring up in casual conversation because it makes a lot of people uncomfortable, is that it was increasingly obvious as one went through the HP books that the writer was an extremely narrow-minded person with specific ideas about how the world should work, and and who and what was cool and not, and that those ideas were basically the ideas of a English "mean girl" who'd happiness-peaked at like 16. I dropped the books after the 4th one (I read it in 2001 or 2002) with the SPEW stuff, where I realized not only was this person narrow-minded and a little mean-spirited, they were actually nasty. You don't set up an ultra-elaborate scenario where you try to make out slavery is cool, actually, and these little guys just love being slaves, and the best-natured main character is wrong and to be mocked and scorned for caring about them, not unless there's something seriously wrong with you lol, imho anyway! I kept reading because the natural assumption was "Oh well Hermione will turn out to be right in the end!", but no. That very much did not happen.

Yes, I’d mostly agree, including the fact that said mean girl (or superficial girl who wasn’t very introspective or empathic) also clearly thought that she was a good and right person for having the ideology of a right-wing Labour voter from about 1990.

I’ve always found it interesting to compare Joanne Rowling and Jack Monroe - they were both English single mums who were effectively homeless when they wrote successful books in cafes in their 20s. There are many differences - Jack is trans and a cookery writer, not a children’s fantasy writer - but a major difference is that Jack is 20 years younger than Joanne, and being a homeless single mother in England in her time was very different (mostly much harder) and encouraged her to be a more empathic and socially conscious person than Joanne has ever had to be.

 

[Scribe]

You don't actually "need" a new RPG or edition of any RPG. You are capable of ignoring problems or tweaking the rules to suit you.

Buying new RPGs or new editions of RPGs is fun and that's the main motivation for wanting them.

Its funny though, because while this is true, for me the tension between updating something I think is great (SD/DH) vs just playing it because its great, leads to a dissatisfaction.

On the other hand, the 6e thread @Reynard started has me opening up my old files. "Why yes, I do think D&D could be better, and heres how."

So maybe that becomes an effort I work on for a bit here.