As my wife and I were watching Cold Case tonight, I noticed something odd.
The serial killer picked up kids by playing a certain video game. One of the cops state the game is an RPG (Roll Playing Game). The character then explains that it's a game where players fight and the loser falls into a pit. To me this sounded like a fighting game, specifically Mortal Combat. Sure enough, they show the kids playing it and what game is it? Mortal Combat.
Do none of the writers play video games, or at least have kids that play video games? The only reason I can see to use a term like "RPG" is to sound hip and cool, since it had nothing to do with the plot. CSI: NY had an episode with an online RPG game that the killer was using to find victims. That one was so full of erroneous gaming jargon, and misused computer terms it was sad.
If you're going to try and use gaming to be cool, hire a gamer as a consultant. Anyone who plays games, or works with computers can see how inaccurate the writing is, which unfortunately detracts from the show as a whole. Don't writers research anything? I know that TV dramas aren't exactly accurate, but aren't there limits, or am I being way too geeky?
On second thought, don't answer that...
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Writing blind
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5 comments:
It's Kombat with a "K"!!!!!!!!!! A self-proclaimed "Gamer" should know that!
Of course the writers don't research.
They strike.
And as far as you're concerned....
GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!
;-)
Good point Anon.
In my defense though, Mortal Kombat was never a big thing with me. I do however still lose a few geek points...
But you get bonus points for blogging about losing geek points, so it all evens out in the end.
Snarky Smurf (who is not you know who!)
Almost without exception, whenever a TV episode or news story covers an area I happen to know something about, they mess stuff up. Which says to me that all the rest of the time they're telling stories or reporting news, they're messing just as much stuff up -- I just don't know it.
So EVERY episode or CSI and every story on even the professional news web sites? There's factual errors in all of them, I figure.
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