Support NeoGAF

[Rosstimus]

Really clever.

 

[Majine]

Saw this in Easy Allies's preview. Chuckled when they fretted over whether this slider was "crossing the line".

Crossing the line?

This is South Park.

This is exactly what I wanted.

 

[N3DS]

Truly the GOAT.

 

[T.O.P]

This is absolutely genious, glad to have the game pre-ordered

People who post screenshots out of context just expose themselves as never having watched the show.

It's an episode explicitly about how being transgender isn't a trivial decision, and isn't a slippery slope comparable to being "transracial" (which wasn't even a word when the episode aired) or trans-dolphin.

They were not centrists in the season leading up to the 2016 election. They directly lampooned every personality failing and campaign snafu of Trump via Mr Garrison, portrayed his voters as gullible, uninformed idiots, and the worst they portrayed Hillary was as boring and repetitive. They're being hands off now because weekly the Trump admin proves itself redundant to parody, and they would inevitably make the entire show revolving around Garrison as the presidency continues to spiral out of control.

We should really try not to turn hot takes from mouth breathers on 4chan, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube into nuanced discussion of long-form artistic endeavors.

There are people who post pictures of RDJ from Tropic Thunder, unironically using the film as a defense of blackface, despite the actual characters in the film telling his character that it was terribly inappropriate. There are (white) people who refuse to watch Dear White People because of the title, despite the film focusing on a black student (creator of the titular, fictional radio show whom other students point out is racist) who has to overcome her own petty hangups to be a better person. A good chunk of NeoGAF thought that last year on South Park was elevating Donald Trump. They were factually wrong, but they weren't any less vocal about it on the internet.

Matt & Trey won an Emmy that dolphin season (9), I think I'll trust my own first hand interpretation of the work instead of knee-jerking over memes like people seem to consistently do. If right wing idiots can't tell when they're being made fun of, that doesn't make it bad satire, it makes them fucking idiots.

Amazing respenses sir

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Does your parents change their skin colour as well, or are you adopted? ^^;

 

[Stop It]

We should really try not to turn hot takes from mouth breathers on 4chan, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube into nuanced discussion of long-form artistic endeavors.

There are people who post pictures of RDJ from Tropic Thunder, unironically using the film as a defense of blackface, despite the actual characters in the film telling his character that it was terribly inappropriate. There are (white) people who refuse to watch Dear White People because of the title, despite the film focusing on a black student (creator of the titular, fictional radio show whom other students point out is racist) who has to overcome her own petty hangups to be a better person. A good chunk of NeoGAF thought that last year on South Park was elevating Donald Trump. They were factually wrong, but they weren't any less vocal about it on the internet.

Matt & Trey won an Emmy that dolphin season (9), I think I'll trust my own first hand interpretation of the work instead of knee-jerking over memes like people seem to consistently do. If right wing idiots can't tell when they're being made fun of, that doesn't make it bad satire, it makes them fucking idiots.

Thank you.

I'm getting sick of people who clearly don't watch South Park properly denigrate the show because the creators are "both sides Centrist cunts". They really, really are not and watching single episodes or clips in isolation misses the point.

Anyway, an amazing piece of social commentary and it'll blow up hard in the alt right and Fox News realm, which will be delicious.

 

[Painguy]

We should really try not to turn hot takes from mouth breathers on 4chan, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube into nuanced discussion of long-form artistic endeavors.

There are people who post pictures of RDJ from Tropic Thunder, unironically using the film as a defense of blackface, despite the actual characters in the film telling his character that it was terribly inappropriate. There are (white) people who refuse to watch Dear White People because of the title, despite the film focusing on a black student (creator of the titular, fictional radio show whom other students point out is racist) who has to overcome her own petty hangups to be a better person. A good chunk of NeoGAF thought that last year on South Park was elevating Donald Trump. They were factually wrong, but they weren't any less vocal about it on the internet.

Matt & Trey won an Emmy that dolphin season (9), I think I'll trust my own first hand interpretation of the work instead of knee-jerking over memes like people seem to consistently do. If right wing idiots can't tell when they're being made fun of, that doesn't make it bad satire, it makes them fucking idiots.

This x24. People need to start looking at nuances in arguments and positions before lashing out just because something doesn't line up with their perception of the world. It makes for dumber and pointless discussion, and as you pointed out, the people not attempting to understand are being idiots. Even if Matt & Trey are centrists there is nothing wrong with that. Life isn't so simple that you can split things into two categories. Wrong and right, black & white, democrat & republican. Condemning an individual for not conforming to a particular side only shows how little you understand of the world, and it's intricacies. It's a simple way of thinking, and life is most definitely not simple.

I'll give an example of something that kind of shocked me. As an Iranian with more liberal tendencies it shocked me to learn that most Iranians are very right winged people. Many have in fact voted for Trump. I wondered how a group of people could vote for someone like him. Knowing a few here I wouldn't be surprised to hear the term Nazi thrown around to describe them. I later learned that the reason Iranians are right wing people is because many Iranians are under the impression that Jimmy Carter (a democrat) is responsible for the Iranian "revolution" and the cause of all the trouble and struggle they had to deal with. The memory of having their homes ruined by democrats has resulted in most Iranians denouncing any sort of involvement with the democratic party. Whether Jimmy Carter was the origin of the problem is up for debate ( I blame it on Reagan). My point being is that without understanding the nuances and the background of an individual or a group you'd be in the wrong to condemn a person or villanize them. No matter how strongly you feel about something, no matter how much you believe you are right, always make an attempt to get more info and make judgement later. You'll be a better person for it. That I can promise you. To call Iranians as a whole, racists or nazis because they voted for Trump would be incorrect(not saying anyone has done this). The trauma of the destruction of their homes is the cause.

 

[Bronetta]

This thread reminded me of that Kotaku article.

http://kotaku.com/5910857/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is

In the role playing game known as The Real World, "Straight White Male" is the lowest difficulty setting there is.

This means that the default behaviors for almost all the non-player characters in the game are easier on you than they would be otherwise. The default barriers for completions of quests are lower. Your leveling-up thresholds come more quickly. You automatically gain entry to some parts of the map that others have to work for. The game is easier to play, automatically, and when you need help, by default it's easier to get.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

That's good but I'm not sure if the people behind South Park can handle these matters with taste and delicacy

Past storylines like "I identify as a dolphin" and Mr/s Garrisson were very transphobic

 

[firehawk12]

That's a brilliant use of a game mechanic to convey meaning. lol

 

[Oddduck]

People thinking South Park is alt-right is new to me. It should be pretty obvious that that's not the case at all if you watch the show.

It's really insane because they spent an entire season making fun of Trump.

 

[wandering]

I'm not getting into the weeds over the show, but I'm just going to point out that Matt and Trey have outright stated they're libertarians who hate liberals more than conservatives. The fact that people are calling them left-leaning is just lol.

 

[Kuosi]

Wonder do girl characters get paid 83% of quest rewards

 

[Frozenprince]

It's an interesting idea marred by the fact that it's connected to a South Park game

Put this concept into a high budget RPG that takes itself seriously and I'd give it all my money.

 

[aygomyownroad]

Going to play through as a white character. Then re play as a black character and see the differences

 

[WrenchNinja]

Even if Matt & Trey are centrists there is nothing wrong with that. Life isn't so simple that you can split things into two categories. Wrong and right, black & white, democrat & republican. Condemning an individual for not conforming to a particular side only shows how little you understand of the world, and it's intricacies. It's a simple way of thinking, and life is most definitely not simple.

There's lots wrong with being a centrist acting like both sides of any given argument are just as bad as each other. And yes, things can be pretty simply split into wrong and right, it's ludicrous to act like there's nuance with every situation.

 

[BBboy20]

Look, I think Trump is absolutely a real piece of shit. But calling anyone who voted for him a real piece of shit is a bridge too far.

One of my favorite pieces of research to talk about when explaining institutional racism is the study where resumes were prepared with "stereotypically white European names" (e.g. Rachel, David) and "stereotypically African American names" (Tyrone, Monique) but with all other content being literally identical, then submitted for job openings. Unsurprisingly, the "white" resumes received a far higher number of callbacks. This demonstrates the immense number of hurdles that black people face to even *start* entering middle class life.

...but guess what? A similar study was done for law firms, but this time it involved "high social class signifiers" vs "low social class signifiers", e.g. identical resumes, but in the "interests" section you had either things like rowing and polo or country music and hunting. Literally identical resumes otherwise. Guess who the least called back group was? Low-class males. Even low-class women got a higher number of callbacks than low-class men, one of the rare instances in which women were better off. White privilege is real, but mostly for the middle and upper class sections of society. For poor white men, aside from the lack of racism towards one another, their situations are fucking dire. They are actively despised by the economic powers of modern society and are struggling with opioid addictions, loss of manufacturing jobs, poor environmental regulation and various other challenges. So, yes, for these people, who are god damn desperate, they are willing to vote for a racist asshole because he appears to be the only one who actually gives a shit about them. Now you and I both know that Trump does not really care about them, but the point is that he's the only one perceived as actually reaching a hand out.

So instead of spitting on these people who feel backed into a corner and were willing to go along with Trump, why not make a genuine effort to listen to their concerns and stop ascribing all of their motivation to racism? Yes, some of them are deeply, profoundly, genuinely racist, but even racism has been shown to be correlated with economic anxiety; in other words even that fucked up situation may be a symptom rather than a cause. Nobody is asking you to compromise your values - continue to fight racism by all means. But you *NEED* to understand the other side's problems and motivations if you want to have any chance of building a functional society that works for everybody.

EDIT: Adding links.

Race and hiring study
Social class and hiring study
Economic anxiety

There is a reason why his approval rating isn't below 30%.

 

[DrFurbs]

I had a feeling this feature would be loved here lol

 

[orava]

Games can be really realistic these days.

 

[Brock Reiher]

Really pretty clever. I would have loved to be in the room when they were straining to come up with a realistic difficulty system for a game about kids living in a small town, and then it just clicked.

 

[Painguy]

There's lots wrong with being a centrist acting like both sides of any given argument are just as bad as each other. And yes, things can be pretty simply split into wrong and right, it's ludicrous to act like there's nuance with every situation.

Allow me to clarify, there is nothing wrong with being e centrist with the proper context. There can be a lot wrong with being a liberal or being a conservative as well. (I know you didn't imply this, not trying to put words in your mouth, im just elaborating) It all depends on why. This applies to any belief or ideology imo.

Also why do you believe the bolded statement? What in life has made you come to such a conclusion. Every year I see and learn new things which I use to look back on how individuals behave and act. I've personally seen everything imply the opposite of what you claim. I don't mean to be offensive, but it seems very close minded to me. Maybe you are right, but what's wrong with making an attempt to see if there are nuances? Is that not better than hastily jumping to conclusions because a particular viewpoint doesn't aline with your own? Regardless of the situation I feel that you would come out as the better person if you make an attempt to understand.

Many professionals have attempted to define wrong and right, but none have succeeded. There are volumes and volumes of books on the matter. Many have concluded it on being relative and/or context sensitive.

It also might be a better idea to ignore me so that we do not derail the thread and go off topic lol. I think that in general many of us here can agree that this mechanic is at least decent commentary on real life happenings.

 

[Clefargle]

When stereotypes are defied, people are surprised and even frustrated. I know a few who equate voting republican with supporting racism on a personal level.

Wow, poor republicans. Getting lumped in with racists for voting for racists. What an unfair association.

 

[wandering]

Allow me to clarify, there is nothing wrong with being e centrist with the proper context. There can be a lot wrong with being a liberal or being a conservative as well. (I know you didn't imply this, not trying to put words in your mouth, im just elaborating) It all depends on why. This applies to any belief or ideology imo.

Also why do you believe the bolded statement? What in life has made you come to such a conclusion. Every year I see and learn new things which I use to look back on how individuals behave and act. I've personally seen everything imply the opposite of what you claim. I don't mean to be offensive, but it seems very close minded to me. Maybe you are right, but what's wrong with making an attempt to see if there are nuances? Is that not better than hastily jumping to conclusions because a particular viewpoint doesn't aline with your own? Regardless of the situation I feel that you would come out as the better person if you make an attempt to understand.

Many professionals have attempted to define wrong and right, but none have succeeded. There are volumes and volumes of books on the matter. Many have concluded it on being relative and/or context sensitive.

The majority of philosophers are moral realists. Of the anti-realists, very few are normative moral relativists or moral nihilists.

 

[Catvoca]

So it turns out the slider doesn't actually affect difficulty at all and it's just a joke

http://www.gamesradar.com/south-par...wont-actually-affect-difficulty-says-ubisoft/

We reached out to the game's publisher, Ubisoft, who had no official statement but confirmed that it's just a joke. It doesn't affect combat difficulty or any other aspect of gameplay difficulty. The slider changes skin tone, but it's purely cosmetic.

 

[uncleniccius]

We should really try not to turn hot takes from mouth breathers on 4chan, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube into nuanced discussion of long-form artistic endeavors.

There are people who post pictures of RDJ from Tropic Thunder, unironically using the film as a defense of blackface, despite the actual characters in the film telling his character that it was terribly inappropriate. There are (white) people who refuse to watch Dear White People because of the title, despite the film focusing on a black student (creator of the titular, fictional radio show whom other students point out is racist) who has to overcome her own petty hangups to be a better person. A good chunk of NeoGAF thought that last year on South Park was elevating Donald Trump. They were factually wrong, but they weren't any less vocal about it on the internet.

Matt & Trey won an Emmy that dolphin season (9), I think I'll trust my own first hand interpretation of the work instead of knee-jerking over memes like people seem to consistently do. If right wing idiots can't tell when they're being made fun of, that doesn't make it bad satire, it makes them fucking idiots.

Jesus Christ this is on point. Good post.

 

[mckmas8808]

Oh my lol

Of course if you are soft and scared you'd be white, but if you are hardcore and tough you'd be a black person.

::

Freaking HATE that stereotype!!!

 

[R_thanatos]

So it turns out the slider doesn't actually affect difficulty at all and it's just a joke

http://www.gamesradar.com/south-par...wont-actually-affect-difficulty-says-ubisoft/

But we knew that since the start of the reveal ??

The actual difficulty select is later

 

[Catvoca]

But we knew that since the start of the reveal ??

The actual difficulty select is later

People were saying it affects how much money you make and stuff like that but according to that article it's purely cosmetic.

 

[Lord of Castamere]

People were saying it affects how much money you make and stuff like that but according to that article it's purely cosmetic.

I don't know if I believe that, without an actual quote. If they said it didn't effect combat, or gameplay difficulty, which is true, then that's different from being cosmetic. That's why you always post you quote in an article verbatim.

This is from the op article, you know, from people who actually went to the hands on preview event.

Our Aoife Wilson and Chris Bratt, who captured the gameplay in the video, asked Ubisoft developers about this feature during a recent hands-on event. They were told the difficulty of the game affects the amount of money you receive and the way other characters speak to you throughout the course of the game. It is, quite clearly, a social commentary on racism in modern society, and as far as video games go, a pretty effective one.

 

[mckmas8808]

But we knew that since the start of the reveal ??

The actual difficulty select is later

Oh MY! Okay now it is kinda funny lol. Considering how lots of gamers view black lead characters in games and how a lot of those same people like to increase the difficulty.

 

[guiJedi]

that's genius lol

 

[TimeEffect]

I imagine it will give u less money for playing as women or pocs, but I assume money will ultimately be easy to get in the game. Im guessing they have a separate option for combat difficulty

 

[PSqueak]

It's really insane because they spent an entire season making fun of Trump.

The cherry on top is, people call them alt right after they said they would down play making fun of trump precisely because they spent the entire season making fun of him but he won the presidency anyway, and basically if they commited to keeping it up the show would become "trump park".

 

[GavinUK86]

Of course if you are soft and scared you'd be white, but if you are hardcore and tough you'd be a black person.

::

Freaking HATE that stereotype!!!

Did you quote the wrong person?

 

[benjammin]

Of course if you are soft and scared you'd be white, but if you are hardcore and tough you'd be a black person.

::

Freaking HATE that stereotype!!!

This might not be the game for you.

 

[ElFly]

only on neogaf you will see someone listing an Emmy as some proof of wokeness

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Holy Toledo.

 

[mckmas8808]

Did you quote the wrong person?

This might not be the game for you.

At first I thought it was a real difficulty setting. Didn't realize it was being used to troll certain type of gamers to make a greater point. I'm good now with it.

 

[Lady Gaia]

At first I thought it was a real difficulty setting. Didn't realize it was being used to troll certain type of gamers to make a greater point. I'm good now with it.

Read more of the thread. It’s a real difficulty setting, but it doesn’t affect combat. That’s a smart decision since actually having a difference in racial effectiveness in combat isn’t the point at all. Being treated unequally by the game’s NPCs and economy is a much clearer message.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Is there any info on what is in the season pass of this game?

 

[Lord of Castamere]

Read more of the thread. It’s a real difficulty setting, but it doesn’t affect combat. That’s a smart decision since actually having a difference in racial effectiveness in combat isn’t the point at all. Being treated unequally by the game’s NPCs and economy is a much clearer message.

Yep, it sounds like that's what went into the game during the delay(s), more ways to make each play through unique.

This really is fantastic news on mutiple levels, right when I was starting to worry about the gamem

 

[Alienfan]

The cherry on top is, people call them alt right after they said they would down play making fun of trump precisely because they spent the entire season making fun of him but he won the presidency anyway, and basically if they commited to keeping it up the show would become "trump park".

They spent an entire season peddling dangerously close to both sides territory, Trump wins, and they drop their presidency jokes. They put themselves into that position, people were understandably disappointed and the show deserves every ounce of criticism they get.

 

[smokeymicpot]

They spent an entire season peddling dangerously close to both sides territory, Trump wins, and they drop their presidency jokes. They put themselves into that position, people were understandably disappointed and the show deserves every ounce of criticism they get.

Not once was it both sides territory last season. They flat out and say please don't vote for Trump.

 

[MrSaturn99]

Laura Kate Dale wrote a Kotaku article expressing her apprehension about this/the transgender aspect of the game.

I can sympathize with her regarding the latter, but that streamer comment about SP's supposed racism/homophobia is nonsense.

We should really try not to turn hot takes from mouth breathers on 4chan, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube into nuanced discussion of long-form artistic endeavors.

There are people who post pictures of RDJ from Tropic Thunder, unironically using the film as a defense of blackface, despite the actual characters in the film telling his character that it was terribly inappropriate. There are (white) people who refuse to watch Dear White People because of the title, despite the film focusing on a black student (creator of the titular, fictional radio show whom other students point out is racist) who has to overcome her own petty hangups to be a better person. A good chunk of NeoGAF thought that last year on South Park was elevating Donald Trump. They were factually wrong, but they weren't any less vocal about it on the internet.

Matt & Trey won an Emmy that dolphin season (9), I think I'll trust my own first hand interpretation of the work instead of knee-jerking over memes like people seem to consistently do. If right wing idiots can't tell when they're being made fun of, that doesn't make it bad satire, it makes them fucking idiots.

People who post screenshots out of context just expose themselves as never having watched the show.

It's an episode explicitly about how being transgender isn't a trivial decision, and isn't a slippery slope comparable to being "transracial" (which wasn't even a word when the episode aired) or trans-dolphin.

They were not centrists in the season leading up to the 2016 election. They directly lampooned every personality failing and campaign snafu of Trump via Mr Garrison, portrayed his voters as gullible, uninformed idiots, and the worst they portrayed Hillary was as boring and repetitive. They're being hands off now because weekly the Trump admin proves itself redundant to parody, and they would inevitably make the entire show revolving around Garrison as the presidency continues to spiral out of control.

Thank you.

 

[Perona]

This kinda makes me want to actually play Stick of Truth. I remember being really disappointed that I couldn't make a female character and didn't play much, but the whole retcon angle of "wait, she was a girl that whole time?" kinda.. fixes it in a way for me.

 

[ResoRai]

Great move and very cool implementation.

Crossing the line?

This is South Park.

This is exactly what I wanted.

Exactly and lol at "crossing the line". We battled aborted Nazi fetuses and got probed by aliens with giant dildos in the last game.

 

[Hades Hotgun]

They spent an entire season peddling dangerously close to both sides territory, Trump wins, and they drop their presidency jokes. They put themselves into that position, people were understandably disappointed and the show deserves every ounce of criticism they get.

This did not happen.

They were overtly against Trump. It isn't subtle or nuanced or anything of the sort. Last season was easily the most explicitly anti Trump program on television.

Also, when he won, the season wasn't over and they kept fucking trashing him. They had to make up a new story because they assumed Hillary would win, and so they just tore into what a pathetic piece of shit he is. The episode after his election opened with Randy screaming "You maniacs!" In reference to the end of planet of the apes.

The things you wrote are easily disproven by even the most cursory Google search of the subject.

You are complaining about a things that did not happen.

 

[KimonoNoNo]

Being as it's part of the character creation, I honestly don't think it anything more than a satirical joke.

 

[kirblar]

This kinda makes me want to actually play Stick of Truth. I remember being really disappointed that I couldn't make a female character and didn't play much, but the whole retcon angle of "wait, she was a girl that whole time?" kinda.. fixes it in a way for me.

In Stick of Truth there's a a few specific plot points related to the fact that you're a boy (or at least now w/ the retcon, based on other characters believing you're a boy) that would have have had to be drastically redone in order to do a full-on gender choice in that game.

The fact that they leveraged that aspect in the sequel to allow for players to have their player avatars "come out" as trans or a Mulan-style tomboy is really awesome.

 

[Doukou]

Brilliant