So, The Last of Us Part 2 is finally out and it's glorious! And leading up to its release there was the controversy regarding some asshat leaking major spoilers. Fortunately I've done a great job of avoiding nearly all possible info on the game and have gone in as blind as possible. No small part due to how well the Dtoid community are quite aware of posting spoilerly stuff (though it does happen from time to time still )
Also, earlier this week Persona 4 Golden hit Steam. Since I've never played it and loved Persona 5 I bought it the second I heard the news. This game came out in 2008. You would think that anyone who wanted to play it would have done so by now. In my case I've wanted to play it for a while but when it was first released I was in a period of big change in my life and didn't have time for it and when things slowed down I wasn't ready to drop a few hundred bucks on a Vita to play one particular game. So the Steam version is a big deal for me and I imagine others. In fact, I see that for many this will be their first time playing P4.
Sure, there's been a deluge of fan art and music covers plastered all over Dtoid FP, Qtoid, CBlogs, and the internet, and even if I personally consider showing a character who isn't revealed in the first 10 minutes of gameplay or playing music a spoiler, it's not an egregious one. And somehow, for the past 12 years I've been able to avoid nearly all story spoilers. I didn't even know what the general set-up was going into the game.
Then, what really sparked me wanting to start this conversation, a post on Qtoid dropped a big spoiler on P4 for me. The person is a long time Dtoid member and one of my absolute favorite people 'round here. They posted a screenshot they found humorous and unwittingly spoiled a story beat that would have been a big surprise for me. They probably posted it for the humorous joke in the dialogue but the image behind the dialogue told a lot, even if I saw it in a half-second glance while thumbing through Qtoid while taking my morning coffee poop.
Another thing that sparked me wanting to start this conversation was a small discussion on a Qtoid post talking about how long should one hold off on posting anything regarding a new game. 2 weeks? 2 months? 2 years? 20 years?
TLoU2 will probably take me roughly a month to beat as I like to savor and take my time with games (especially one's that I have been anticipating a long time) and there are certain days I don't want to play because of my tinnitus. Some people will be done with the game in a matter of days. Should I suck it up and avoid interacting with Dtoid and the internet till I finish the game? I know a couple members are doing this for TLoU2 and I don't like that because I like having them around engaging with the community.
So, before I keep rambling on and on let me ask my questions:
I know Dtoid has it's own site rules but what I want to hear are your opinions on this. What one considers a spoiler may not have even crossed the mind of another. Since Dtoid is a gaming site, let's keep the discussion related to game spoilers as much as possible.
Also, earlier this week Persona 4 Golden hit Steam. Since I've never played it and loved Persona 5 I bought it the second I heard the news. This game came out in 2008. You would think that anyone who wanted to play it would have done so by now. In my case I've wanted to play it for a while but when it was first released I was in a period of big change in my life and didn't have time for it and when things slowed down I wasn't ready to drop a few hundred bucks on a Vita to play one particular game. So the Steam version is a big deal for me and I imagine others. In fact, I see that for many this will be their first time playing P4.
Sure, there's been a deluge of fan art and music covers plastered all over Dtoid FP, Qtoid, CBlogs, and the internet, and even if I personally consider showing a character who isn't revealed in the first 10 minutes of gameplay or playing music a spoiler, it's not an egregious one. And somehow, for the past 12 years I've been able to avoid nearly all story spoilers. I didn't even know what the general set-up was going into the game.
Then, what really sparked me wanting to start this conversation, a post on Qtoid dropped a big spoiler on P4 for me. The person is a long time Dtoid member and one of my absolute favorite people 'round here. They posted a screenshot they found humorous and unwittingly spoiled a story beat that would have been a big surprise for me. They probably posted it for the humorous joke in the dialogue but the image behind the dialogue told a lot, even if I saw it in a half-second glance while thumbing through Qtoid while taking my morning coffee poop.
Another thing that sparked me wanting to start this conversation was a small discussion on a Qtoid post talking about how long should one hold off on posting anything regarding a new game. 2 weeks? 2 months? 2 years? 20 years?
TLoU2 will probably take me roughly a month to beat as I like to savor and take my time with games (especially one's that I have been anticipating a long time) and there are certain days I don't want to play because of my tinnitus. Some people will be done with the game in a matter of days. Should I suck it up and avoid interacting with Dtoid and the internet till I finish the game? I know a couple members are doing this for TLoU2 and I don't like that because I like having them around engaging with the community.
So, before I keep rambling on and on let me ask my questions:
- What is a spoiler?
- What are the unwritten rules regarding spoilers?
- Is there a certain amount of time before we can freely post about a game?
- What are egregious and minor spoilers? Where do they fit in to the timeline regarding when we can post about them?
- How should a member comport themselves when wanting to share a reaction to a big moment in a game or discuss something that may be spoilery?
I know Dtoid has it's own site rules but what I want to hear are your opinions on this. What one considers a spoiler may not have even crossed the mind of another. Since Dtoid is a gaming site, let's keep the discussion related to game spoilers as much as possible.