PAX: IGN goes all Kano in Monday's comic
by Christopher Grant 
{ Aug 26th 2006 at 9:55PM }
While creating Monday's Penny Arcade strip live (in front of a studio audience), a member of that very audience made an observation. Fans had decided that a particular style of hand that Mike draws consistently appears cupped as if holding a human heart. After acknowledging that he had just drawn that very hand on an IGN employee in the comic's second panel, Mike adroitly added a still beating human heart to it. So, what might otherwise appear to be an inscrutable non sequitur in Monday's finished product was really part of a unique interaction between fans and creators. The more you know ...
Want the full funny? Hit up Tycho's script after the break. We know we're not the professional yucksters here, but we were under the impression that IGN reviewers didn't realize there were numbers less than 6.8. Just saying.
Enjoy seeing how the sausage is made? The duo promise the podcast will return as soon as PAX no longer weighs heavy on their time. Until then, enjoy the following:
Frame 1:
Gabe: Should we even be getting <i> into games? We've been pretty vicious to IGN and Gamespy.
They will be <i> unkind.
Tycho: Gabriel, these people are professionals! I'm sure that (This line is cut off by the next panel)
Frame 2:
This panel opens on a secene of INTENSE revelry. This revelery is taking place at the IGN offices.
Drinks are being drunk.
A man 'may' be dancing on a table (Lampshade?)
I'm just saying.
Frame 3:
In this panel, a man is poking his head out of a doorway. He has a festive party hat.
Some IGN Douchebag: Hey, guys - I just started my review!
Do you know if there is a number less than zero?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AssemblyLineHuman @ Aug 26th 2006 10:39PM
I lol'd...at the Joystiq joke about IGN not knowing there are numbers less than 6.8, not so much on the Penny-Arcade thing.
Mike @ Aug 27th 2006 12:07AM
transcribing a comic? scintillating.
Phil @ Aug 27th 2006 1:17AM
This is major bull about IGN. Have you guys actually LOOKED at the scores? Go have a look at all the DS, PS2, Xbox, and PSP review score list. This whole "reviewers are paid" bullshit about IGN and Gamespot is just that, bullshit. Read the reviews, they are quite accurate. Video game reviews are known to be more objective than book or movie reviews. If the controls suck, there's no other way to see it, if the graphics are ugly, they are ugly, if the game is too short, it's too short.
Truf @ Aug 27th 2006 1:52AM
The problem is phl that an average score is 7 on a scale out of ten. Then there are the hidden connotationsa game scoring less than 7 is unplayable. While they never actually say this, it is implied by their system. I am the only person who has at some point been under the impression that a title receiving a score lower than 7 isnt worth looking at.
Truf @ Aug 27th 2006 1:59AM
must apologize its 6am here and i havent slept, it appears my writing is betraying this fact.
But in addition there is also the fact that peoples difference in tastes ensures that however qualified the journalists over at ign and gamespot are their reviews will not be 100% accurate for everybody. There are still people out there that will find the game to be better or worse than the review suggests
Tweegster @ Aug 27th 2006 2:29AM
Your talking about the heart ... well I got most of this on video and posted it to YouTube .... the things that went on with the cartoon where awsome ... of course the things that are in this video I am sure will not be on the final comic ... enjoy and please feel free to put comments on the other PAX Videos I posted ... of course I will post more videos through out the weekend so Enjoy :D
Tweegster @ Aug 27th 2006 3:19AM
The URL is: http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BF66F4C8DFCF6D2F
that is where you can find all the PAX related videos that I will be taking :)
GSI @ Aug 27th 2006 3:28AM
Oh good lord...I swear ANYONE who even implies that IGN (I don't read Gamespot b/c I can't stand their web layout) is biased and is "paid off"...is a complete moron. Next thing you're going to tell me that Hurricane Katrina was created by some giant man-made machine.
rockintom99 @ Aug 27th 2006 5:08AM
No, IGN isn't baised by being paid, they just hate anything that isn't first party.
GSI @ Aug 27th 2006 5:41AM
Yea...right. That about as ridiculous as those saying they are paid off.
Jay @ Aug 27th 2006 9:34AM
Quote from above: "Video game reviews are known to be more objective than book or movie reviews."
huh? wha... really? Known by who? I'm sure you have some quantitative data to back up that statement. All reviews are completely subjective! Just because they use personal criteria to base their reviews on does not mean they are suddenly objective.
You points on why game reviewing is objective carry over to movies and books making your point moot: "If dialogue sucks, it's obvious. If there is terrible cinematography, it's obvious. If the editing is hideous, you can't miss it. If the special effects look heinous, it sucks."
Except ... all those things are subjective ...
Psaakyrn @ Aug 27th 2006 10:33AM
Maybe, just maybe, IGN reviewers aren't as picky as us, because they can get to play more games? Frankly, I'd consider the range 0-10 as: 0 = unplayable, period. 5 = playable. 10 = OMG FUN. and the rest in between. Naturally, we'd want games that are fun, so we'd look for games above 7.5. If you want a score range in which 5 is average in the fun factor, then where yould you put a game that is both not fun and not playable? (as opposed to playable but not fun)
C. Grant @ Aug 27th 2006 1:19PM
Thanks for explaining the joke to everyone, guys.
Everyone else: they use a scale of 1-10, but grade using the American school system's inscrutable scale where a ~7 is average, despite not being the mathematical average of 1-10. There is a long standing internet joke that 6.8 is their lowest score when, logic would indicate, 0 should be their lowest score.
Sean @ Aug 27th 2006 6:49PM
Its Wednesday comic, not Monday. It was going to be Mondays, but they said Monday will be the final to their 'dead rising' series, so they are moving it to Wednesday.
CAL_GORE @ Aug 28th 2006 3:12AM
The wednesday comic is going to be great; completely jam packed with inside jokes for those of us who were able to attend the panel. The presence of a certain blue ball and an enchanting piece of meat are very much appreciated in my eyes.
rDr4g0n @ Aug 28th 2006 9:40AM
though gaming reviews can be objective, mentioning bad graphics, bad controls, etc, one thing that isnt objective is wether or not those negatives get in the way of the game. on more than one occasion ign has said that a game wasnt playable because of one problem or another, but i found it to be just fun, and not be inhibited by the issues. game reviews are still just opinions and nothing more.
GSI @ Aug 29th 2006 2:01AM
-->"game reviews are still just opinions and nothing more."
If only the people who complained saying IGN, EGM, etc would be smart enough to realize that and not take their opinions as being biased or act as if it is a personal attack.