IcyCalm is making a game..

[zinger]

These two quotes sum up much of how I feel about Insomnia.

A very precise, very adroit and very unforgiving intellectual calling himself "icycalm" or Alex Kierkegaard runs this site, where more is written in the forum than on the frontpage. His ideas and views on gaming are more than enough for anyone who wants to actually know anything about what games actually are and which ones are worth playing. He has also studied (and *understood*) the writings of Baudrillard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and probably some others, and is an authority there as well (naturally, his unusually high confidence will be seen as bluster intended to intimidate and dazzle others, but he walks the walk that he talks). Assume from the start that he is more intelligent and capable of well-founded thought than you, and that he has played enough videogames to be more of an authority on the subject as well.
He has no time for those who don't show humility and who do not only write on what they are genuinely knowledgeable about. He treats his forum like a home rather than a public square, which is actually refreshing, and reflects his view of the zeitgeist as run over with mediocre thinking and relativism, where everyone has to get along and be "equal". So don't write anything that you haven't thought through and applied all possible criticism to in advance, or you will be verbally abused.
He calls himself the "number one videogame expert in the world", and while this is quite a claim he certainly offers a corpus of writing (reviews, essays, forum posts) on games that really has no match anywhere else, if only in quality and depth of criticism. He is writing some collections of essays on games, which will not receive the attention they deserve (not that the author wants to be read by people who aren't worthy in his eyes).
icycalm is simply very good at thinking well and then exhibiting this through intelligent, persuasive and efficient writing. Any complaints about (or exultations over) his particular tone and personality are completely irrelevant.

Have a look at "On the Genealogy of 'Art Games'".
Tell me one gaming website that reaches anywhere near such a level of incision, depth, sensitivity, penetration, sagacity, etfuckingc.
Just one. No more required. Show me one case of someone on the internet who has even brought up the issues put forward in that article.
And if you wish to dismiss that part by saying the issues are discussed incorrectly, or whatever — read it, and tell me it doesn't make sense, also showing *why*.
See, this is how we debate things in big boy land. Not with greentext and offhand words we've picked up through years of plaguing our brain with 4chan. With reason and purpose.

For a theoretical perspective on games, I've never come across anything so well-written and insightful. Grasping (or even accepting) some of the more radical ideas can be difficult, but 90% of his articles make total sense to me and have completely revolutionized how I look at games. There are a handful of people who have really inspired me when it comes to discussing Japanese games -- for their insane amount of passion and knowledge (historian/Gameside writer Haruhisa Tanaka, Macaw, Recap, Randorama, BIL) -- but for a wider theoretical perspective, icycalm is essential reading as far as I am concerned.

I just wanted to provide an alternate perspective, and give the man the credit I think he deserves. I'm looking forward to reading about the updates on this game, and I've offered to help him with the music (if I can find the time)...

[Friendly]

Who is the greater fool, the fool or the fool who follows him?

[Udderdude]

.

[Xyga]

These two quotes sum up much of how I feel about Insomnia.

A very precise, very adroit and very unforgiving intellectual calling himself "icycalm" or Alex Kierkegaard runs this site, where more is written in the forum than on the frontpage. His ideas and views on gaming are more than enough for anyone who wants to actually know anything about what games actually are and which ones are worth playing. He has also studied (and *understood*) the writings of Baudrillard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and probably some others, and is an authority there as well (naturally, his unusually high confidence will be seen as bluster intended to intimidate and dazzle others, but he walks the walk that he talks). Assume from the start that he is more intelligent and capable of well-founded thought than you, and that he has played enough videogames to be more of an authority on the subject as well.
He has no time for those who don't show humility and who do not only write on what they are genuinely knowledgeable about. He treats his forum like a home rather than a public square, which is actually refreshing, and reflects his view of the zeitgeist as run over with mediocre thinking and relativism, where everyone has to get along and be "equal". So don't write anything that you haven't thought through and applied all possible criticism to in advance, or you will be verbally abused.
He calls himself the "number one videogame expert in the world", and while this is quite a claim he certainly offers a corpus of writing (reviews, essays, forum posts) on games that really has no match anywhere else, if only in quality and depth of criticism. He is writing some collections of essays on games, which will not receive the attention they deserve (not that the author wants to be read by people who aren't worthy in his eyes).
icycalm is simply very good at thinking well and then exhibiting this through intelligent, persuasive and efficient writing. Any complaints about (or exultations over) his particular tone and personality are completely irrelevant.

Have a look at "On the Genealogy of 'Art Games'".
Tell me one gaming website that reaches anywhere near such a level of incision, depth, sensitivity, penetration, sagacity, etfuckingc.
Just one. No more required. Show me one case of someone on the internet who has even brought up the issues put forward in that article.
And if you wish to dismiss that part by saying the issues are discussed incorrectly, or whatever — read it, and tell me it doesn't make sense, also showing *why*.
See, this is how we debate things in big boy land. Not with greentext and offhand words we've picked up through years of plaguing our brain with 4chan. With reason and purpose.

Wait I don't know who wrote this but there's a somewhat gay bdsm atmosphere to it... that's the kind of relationship his supporters have with him anyway. Admirative, sensual and scared at the same time.

[BryanM]

Be sure to use a vocaloid or something as the singer in your muzak.

blackman.txt

Generally you'd think it'd be a collection of racist jokes, or theses on how the white race is the best race, or internet copy-pasta of things he liked about all the ways the tan man has it easier than whitey, like WhiteCivilRights.com (we call this martyr syndrome. It's no coincidence that 98% of the MasterRace.txt people view themselves as Jesus on his cross); occam's razor dictates its all three at the least.

Just, in which percentages. I guess only 5-10% jokes, 70-80% martyrdom, and ~15-25% being-better-than-other-people (cause "science says so"!!). After all, narcissism is a universal primary motivation.

Maybe I've spent too much time on the internet in places saturated with Just World assholes, and am overthinking the entire thing...

[Ed Oscuro]

I know that feel, bro.

[Imhotep]

For a theoretical perspective on games, I've never come across anything so well-written and insightful. Grasping (or even accepting) some of the more radical ideas can be difficult, but 90% of his articles make total sense to me and have completely revolutionized how I look at games. There are a handful of people who have really inspired me when it comes to discussing Japanese games -- for their insane amount of passion and knowledge (historian/Gameside writer Haruhisa Tanaka, Macaw, Recap, Randorama, BIL) -- but for a wider theoretical perspective, icycalm is essential reading as far as I am concerned.

I just wanted to provide an alternate perspective, and give the man the credit I think he deserves. I'm looking forward to reading about the updates on this game, and I've offered to help him with the music (if I can find the time)...

could you please describe some of these radical ideas? if they are as you say, I'm interested in them.

following your quote, I started to read that genealogy article, just to find it bare of any ideas so far.

[Squire Grooktook]

I just wanted to point out that there may be reasons why he turned out like this...

And they're nothing to do with this or any other forum, I assure you.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure you can't stop someone from going insane by being nice to them on an internet forum.

[Skykid]

The fabled blackman.txt, its mysteries sealed away in a desktop screengrab.

You guys wanna see? It's been a long time and I think Icycalm making a game is good enough reason to celebrate one of the forum's most enduring memes.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I want to see, if only because I have no idea what you're talking about.

[trap15]

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 34#p350034
See the glorious glory of black man.txt

[BareKnuckleRoo]

"Pactrik number" "shmup raido list"



Those spelling mistakes bother me.

One of my fave Icycalm threads:

I mean, just look at Mushihime-sama Ultra mode. It is inconceivable that a human being could 1CC that using a pad. The pad is simply inadequate for translating the tiny, precise movements that are required. This is an extreme case, but from that you can see that all manic shooters are better played with sticks.

Who are these others? I've never seen anyone 1CC a Cave shooter with a pad. And if you manage to find one or two examples you'll only be proving the rule [that sticks are better]. And then again, even your examples will probably be older, easier titles. I repeat, Mushihime-sama Ultra mode is IMPOSSIBLE to 1CC with a pad.

And then Gus counterstopped & 1cc'd Futari Ultra on a non-tated CRT with a 360 pad.

[trap15]

And became insane in the process. So isn't that... the exception proving the rule

[quash]

I don't want to risk being labeled an icycalm apologist, but...

I miss Insomnia. I miss digging through reviews of arcade games I'd only previously heard about. I miss when icy spent more time on explaining why games are awesome and less time shitting on irrelevant indie games that will be entirely forgotten in a few years (except for its review on Insomnia, of course). I miss when the test of might was not getting banned after your first post (for the record, I was banned on my second) instead of giving icycalm money in pursuit of promises that will almost surely never be fulfilled.

(If you really need the money dude, just turn Orgy of The Will into a desktop calendar or something.)

Perhaps I've simply outgrown the purpose his site once served for me, but I can't say I care too much for what it's become. I'd rather just buy the Orgy if/when it comes out than bother wasting time and money on his sad excuse of a forum.

Of course, he will read this post, respond to it on his forum, yadda yadda. We know the drill by now. It's become old and tired.

I might read his response, I might not. I'm pretty busy playing games during my free time, so excuse me if I miss the overman gracing me with his internet presence.

[AntiFritz]

I miss when the test of might was not getting banned after your first post (for the record, I was banned on my second)

Are there people besides icycalm with more then like 10 posts...?

[Acid King]

The fabled blackman.txt, its mysteries sealed away in a desktop screengrab.

I like to think of blackman.txt as the forum's briefcase from Pulp Fiction.

[quash]

I miss when the test of might was not getting banned after your first post (for the record, I was banned on my second)

Are there people besides icycalm with more then like 10 posts...?

It's not a matter of volume of posts, moreso that the posts made there by users other than icycalm typically serve little purpose past reinforcing what icy previously said.

When he banned me, he said that he didn't want a forum of yesmen. This was around the time one of the few longtime posters got his shit pushed in by some random dude in the Street Fighter IV thread and icy basically turned a blind eye to it ("I didn't read this thread but I'll probably ban you", or something to that effect).

I'm not about to register an account to find out the current state of affairs, but if that incident was any indication, I don't have to.

[quash]

For me, the day I was banned from Insomnia was the most important day of my life.

For icy, it was Tuesday.

[jpj]

he'll be 40 in a couple of years

7 years on and he's still just a self-published amateur. time to grow up and get a life

although sadly i get the feeling in ten years time we'll be hearing about some 50 year old arrested at E3 with explosives taped to his chest while rolling our eyes going "yup, that's our icy..."

[ArrogantBastard]

As for what happened -- the same thing that has been happening ever since I started posting in videogame forums. I hold a mirror to people's faces, they see their ignorance and stupidity reflected in it, and then instead of learning from that and mending their ways they lash out at me, for showing them the mirror.

The Athenians poisoned Socrates for this.

The Jews crucified Jesus of Nazareth.

This is human nature.

[ArrogantBastard]

One of my fave Icycalm threads:

I mean, just look at Mushihime-sama Ultra mode. It is inconceivable that a human being could 1CC that using a pad. The pad is simply inadequate for translating the tiny, precise movements that are required. This is an extreme case, but from that you can see that all manic shooters are better played with sticks.

Who are these others? I've never seen anyone 1CC a Cave shooter with a pad. And if you manage to find one or two examples you'll only be proving the rule [that sticks are better]. And then again, even your examples will probably be older, easier titles. I repeat, Mushihime-sama Ultra mode is IMPOSSIBLE to 1CC with a pad.

And then Gus counterstopped & 1cc'd Futari Ultra on a non-tated CRT with a 360 pad.

MrMonkeyMan 2-ALL'ed Ketsui on Saturn pad and 14" CRT if I remember correctly.

[Ruldra]

And Prometheus 2-ALL'ed DDP on a keyboard. However, they are all exceptions that prove the rule, of course

That's an incredibly convenient way to never be wrong about anything. Whenever you're proven wrong, just say it's the exception to the rule.

[Ed Oscuro]

"Pactrik number" "shmup raido list"



Those spelling mistakes bother me.

F17 once told somebody to put him on their "Ingore LIST BABY!"

The fabled blackman.txt, its mysteries sealed away in a desktop screengrab.

I like to think of blackman.txt as the forum's briefcase from Pulp Fiction.

The amber light was the fact that there was a JPG on F17's desktop named "Desktop" - in his picture of his desktop.

But that was back in the days when the forum software doubled as a Galaxy Force II renderer.

If you commit suicide, your soul will be forever trapped in Fighter17's home.

I have blackman.txt and will sell it to the highest bidder!

I went through too much shit this morning on account of this text to just hand it over to your ass.

[DMC]

Ed Oscuro: So will you give him your wallet instead?

Emphatic: Yes, I am aware of the origin of the name - but I, as many others, wasn't aware of it at first exposure. Hence why the name is contradictory.

He has also studied (and *understood*) the writings of Baudrillard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and probably some others, and is an authority there as we

I'm aware that this post is from another forum but still. How ironic that this claim is basically a logical fallacy (see argument from authority).

Premise: Icycalm says x about subject matter shoot 'em up.
Premise: Icycalm should be trusted about subject matter Philosophy.
Conclusion: Therefore, x is correct.

Unless you show the connection between his philosophical understandings and his understanding of arcade and video games, the above is irrelevant. And the expression "probably some others" just make it sound very superficial and pseudo-intellectual.

[GaijinPunch]

Am I the only one here that doesn't need any philosophy with their games?

[pestro87]

Didn't really know who Icycalm was until I started reading this thread. It sounds to me like he thinks that he knows more than everybody else (based on what I've read in the threads that were posted as links in this thread) yet I don't see any evidence (high scores) to back this up. Never_Scurred summed up my feelings perfectly in the Unban Icy thread:

Looks like I really didn't miss much.

[BryanM]

I technically prefer my games to use philosophy in them at the very least, but that's like a philosophy of design or fun. "This will be a grueling dungeon crawler of endless tears" / "This will be a happy bouncy gentle walk from the left to the right", and all the little things that build up to that kind of high-level goal.

That's why I put so little stock in the field. Everyone already does it without having to wank about it - we call it thinking.

A field long since rendered obsolete by the scientific method...

[KAI]

Wha!? you need scores to back your opinions? but that's...coherent.

[ACSeraph]

Main thing I learned from the links in this thread was that jp was a way bigger piece of shit than Icy ever was.

I kind of wonder though, how the hell did Icy go from wanting to blow Cave executives to saying that RE6 is an amazing game? That's probably the biggest proof of his spiral into insanity.

[Ed Oscuro]

Am I the only one here that doesn't need any philosophy with their games?

Before I completed a philosophy degree I woulda said "pfft"
Now...I am with ya man, 110%. Well, at the best I would keep them widely separated.

In truth Icy's problem is that he's bringing the wrong kind of philosophy to games. Aside from the many people who (unfortunately) make hay (and dollars) opining about moral authority of things, no doubt there's some philosophy behind learning a zen approach to gaming, or whatever you'd like to place. But I don't think of something like that as having a gateway from games...you can have a philosophy of life and not have to make specific arguments about how it applies to gaming or the tea ceremony (because that'd just be a collection of ad-hoc baloney rather than a system).

Obviously, games were just a distraction from his real project, which was onemanupship and shit talk.

Ed Oscuro: So will you give him your wallet instead?

What do you think? Mine is the one with "Bad Mother Fucker" on it.

Main thing I learned from the links in this thread was that jp was a way bigger piece of shit than Icy ever was.

I learned that I was even more annoying back then, on a more regular basis. (Well, sometimes I'm still annoying for no good reason, but yeah.)