Geek Is In: A Thesis about Fans of Fallout

cazsim83 · Post by **cazsim83** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:23 am

[ Community -> Editorial ] - More info on <a href="#Bethesda Softworks">Company: Bethesda Softworks</a> | More info on <a href="#Fallout 3">Game: Fallout 3</a> A member at <a href="http://www.onlinefandom.com/">OnlineFandom</a>, who, presumably is a Professor at the University of Kansas (USA), has a student who made his Master Thesis about Fallout fans.Because it is really meant to be taken as a whole, I'd ask that you read the whole thing <a href="http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/gu ... /p>I'll try to post a few highlights that tie the feel of the article together:<blockquote dir="ltr">You could pick up with Dragnet or Full House midstream and be fine. But Lost requires a more devoted viewership. One that rewards producers with a niche group to market DVDs and digital games to (or in the case of Heroes, sell Nissans to), and rewards consumers with a full universe to expand on and explore, and a deep story to enjoy, one full of self-referential mysteries and clues. Therefore, this enjoyment may be directly correlated to the knowledge one has of the universe.So how do producers and fans of media texts relate in this era of sudden interactivity?A few things impressed me. One of the first things I noticed was that even in a marketplace where geek is in, the producers still seemed to hold all the cards. It was Bethesdaâ€™s game. It was Bethesdaâ€™s site. It was their vision of Fallout that, whether valid or invalid, would hit the shelves. Fans, recognizing a lack of official ownership or control, acted as lobbyists and watchdogs, attempting to indirectly influence the integrity of Fallout 3 through pleas and petitions spread across thousands of forum posts. Bethesda employees, fittingly, treated fans like outsiders in their responses. Whether cordial or hostile (and different producers interacted in different ways at different times), the undertone was clear: we are the organization, you are the public. Weâ€™ll let you suggest, but we will decide. The text is ours.Fallout 3 MUST be like Falloutâ€¦the best answer for every question on this forum besides â€œI have the holy sacred duty to watch over my beloved gameâ€�But the tone on the Fallout 3 forum seems to mirror the tone of many media producers. Fans are a great niche market to sell things to, and a ready-made audience to focus-group and beta test. But they are not productive partners in the development of media texts. They are still a rung down on the production ladder. I have to wonder what the media market would look like if producers forgot the words â€œaudienceâ€� and â€œconsumerâ€� and began to think of fans as co-laborers in a community of enthusiasts.Then, I think we could definitively say geek would be in.</blockquote>Spotted @ <a href="http://fallout3.wordpress.com/">Briosafreak's Fallout 3 Blog</a>

Dreadnought · Post by **Dreadnought** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:51 am

Short:

Glittering gems of hatred?

rabidpeanut · Post by **rabidpeanut** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:21 pm

Caszim. Have you noticed that no one actually reads any of these gay posts. We just use them to spam and say mean things about your close relatives and their herpes.

cazsim83 · Post by **cazsim83** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:58 pm

rabidpeanut wrote:Caszim. Have you noticed that no one actually reads any of these gay posts. We just use them to spam and say mean things about your close relatives and their herpes.

rule #6

I see an awful lot of views per news item compared to how many people post insults about me, etc.

I would say "noone" is a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?

rabidpeanut · Post by **rabidpeanut** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:04 pm

yeah dude i just read this one. It is actually not bad. Fucking devs are money whores.

but w/e

NO MORE INTERVIEWS. plz

srsly. n mr rvws.

cazsim83 · Post by **cazsim83** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:02 pm

I wish I could post a few more reviews, but unfortunately Bethesda is not yet in the mindset to show us any real gameplay footage, besides pre-rendered sets for the 'big guys' like GameInformer, etc.

When they do though, I'll be glad to honor that request

This one wasn't so much of an interview as an outsider's take on the nature of Fallout fans, which I'm glad you liked (I think?).

Tingel Tangel · Post by **Tingel Tangel** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:07 pm

I usually don't read the actual news post, unless someone who's judgement I trust gives it the thumbs up. I just skim through the posts to see if there are any posts that need to be split at sent to the Wasteland at a moderator's discretion.

mixmastermind · Post by **mixmastermind** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:20 pm

cazsim83 wrote:I wish I could post a few more reviews, but unfortunately Bethesda is not yet in the mindset to show us any real gameplay footage, besides pre-rendered sets for the 'big guys' like GameInformer, etc.

When they do though, I'll be glad to honor that request

Seriously, this game comes out in 4 months, you'd think they'd be showing a little more gameplay footage. This does not bode well...

Okay, so it bodes worse.

rabidpeanut · Post by **rabidpeanut** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:27 pm

cazsim83 wrote:I wish I could post a few more reviews, but unfortunately Bethesda is not yet in the mindset to show us any real gameplay footage, besides pre-rendered sets for the 'big guys' like GameInformer, etc.

When they do though, I'll be glad to honor that request

This one wasn't so much of an interview as an outsider's take on the nature of Fallout fans, which I'm glad you liked (I think?).

yeah it was good since this guy hit the nail on the head, i just wish he would use that hammer of his to break a few skulls at bethesda then use the hammer to 'format' their dev pcs..

Psychoul · Post by **Psychoul** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:12 am

HAHAHAHahehe....
I read the main post, the ni read the rest, and its funny how the other comments most of the time dont relate to the topic at hand...not even this ..HAHAA

Dreadnought · Post by **Dreadnought** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:54 am

I wish this all was one of cazsim's simpleton-dreams. And he wakes up tomorrow morning and it turns out Bethesda doesn't even exist. Haha... ha.... Ha.

Briosafreak · Post by **Briosafreak** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:42 am

The guy that made this used DAC for research, he thanks you guys.

rabidpeanut · Post by **rabidpeanut** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:16 am

It's cause we are totally freaking awesome

Dreadnought · Post by **Dreadnought** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:32 pm

*hit himself with a big wooden mallet*

Brother None · Post by **Brother None** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:50 pm

Now that DaC finally has cool newsposter(s), it really needs better newscommenters

You guyz suck

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:59 pm

Die in a fire

cazsim83 · Post by **cazsim83** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 7:30 pm

Brother None wrote:Now that DaC finally has cool newsposter(s), it really needs better newscommenters

You guyz suck

rabidpeanut · Post by **rabidpeanut** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:12 pm

Brother None wrote:Now that DaC finally has cool newsposter(s), it really needs better newscommenters

You guyz suck

get vivisected and then die in several fires.

Thor Kaufman · Post by **Thor Kaufman** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:51 pm

fags all of you

Smiley · Post by **Smiley** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:11 am

He's right, you all suck major boner.

+1