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Undid revision 532612815 by Jarkeld (talk) The comment section of cited episodes illustrates that the cited episodes have sparked a controversy. Both comments and episodes are a reliable source.
Undid revision 533143932 by 31.176.193.245 (talk) Per WP:CRIT, WP:UNDUE, WP:RS. See talk
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===Dispute with The Escapist===
===Dispute with The Escapist===
Around the end of July 2011, there was a dispute between [[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]] and Extra Credits. The dispute was over how the remains of a charity that was to pay for artist Allison Theus's surgery should be used.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.joystickdivision.com/2011/08/extra_credits_leaves_the_escap.php|title=Extra Credits Leaves the Escapist|publisher=Joystick Division|first=Alexander|last=Bevier|date=2011-08-10|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> Portnow planned to create a game publishing label with the money, where the revenue would go directly into funding subsequent projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockethub.com/projects/2165-extra-credits/posts/740|title=Because Games Matter|first=James|last=Portnow|publisher=[[RocketHub]]|accessdate = 2011-08-11}}</ref> The Escapist stated the money should have been used to create more episodes of Extra Credits for The Escapist and to compensate Themis Media for donation incentives, such as premium memberships and T-shirts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/notes/alexander-macris/a-response-on-extra-credits/10150287107583910|title=A Response on Extra Credits|first=Alexander|last=Macris|publisher=[[Facebook]]|date=2011-08-09|accessdate=2011-08-11}}</ref> As a result, Extra Credits broke ties with The Escapist,<ref name="Extra Credits Team Leaves Escapist Over Alleged Back Payment">{{cite web|url=http://elder-geek.com/2011/08/extra-credits-team-leaves-escapist-over-alleged-back-payment/|title=Extra Credits Team Leaves Escapist Over Alleged Back Payment|publisher=Elder Geek|first=Gavin|last=Greene|date=2011-08-10|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> and after a brief four-week stint posting directly to YouTube,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz/|title=Extra Credits|publisher=[[YouTube]]|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> the show has since aired primarily on Penny Arcade's PATV network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits|title=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> Starting with episode 100, Elisa Scaldaferri (artist of former Escapist webcomic ''Name Game'') became an official staff artist for the show, to rotate episode productions with Theus.
Around the end of July 2011, there was a dispute between [[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]] and Extra Credits. The dispute was over how the remains of a charity that was to pay for artist Allison Theus's surgery should be used.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.joystickdivision.com/2011/08/extra_credits_leaves_the_escap.php|title=Extra Credits Leaves the Escapist|publisher=Joystick Division|first=Alexander|last=Bevier|date=2011-08-10|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> Portnow planned to create a game publishing label with the money, where the revenue would go directly into funding subsequent projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockethub.com/projects/2165-extra-credits/posts/740|title=Because Games Matter|first=James|last=Portnow|publisher=[[RocketHub]]|accessdate = 2011-08-11}}</ref> The Escapist stated the money should have been used to create more episodes of Extra Credits for The Escapist and to compensate Themis Media for donation incentives, such as premium memberships and T-shirts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/notes/alexander-macris/a-response-on-extra-credits/10150287107583910|title=A Response on Extra Credits|first=Alexander|last=Macris|publisher=[[Facebook]]|date=2011-08-09|accessdate=2011-08-11}}</ref> As a result, Extra Credits broke ties with The Escapist,<ref name="Extra Credits Team Leaves Escapist Over Alleged Back Payment">{{cite web|url=http://elder-geek.com/2011/08/extra-credits-team-leaves-escapist-over-alleged-back-payment/|title=Extra Credits Team Leaves Escapist Over Alleged Back Payment|publisher=Elder Geek|first=Gavin|last=Greene|date=2011-08-10|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> and after a brief four-week stint posting directly to YouTube,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz/|title=Extra Credits|publisher=[[YouTube]]|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> the show has since aired primarily on Penny Arcade's PATV network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits|title=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]|accessdate=2011-12-11}}</ref> Starting with episode 100, Elisa Scaldaferri (artist of former Escapist webcomic ''Name Game'') became an official staff artist for the show, to rotate episode productions with Theus.

===Religion, Faith, Science Controversy===

In December 2012, on the second part of the episode about religion in games, Extra Credits made the claim that "all reason is based on faith" and went on to equivocate science with religion, causing an uproar in the comments section which reached 737 posts by January 2012, highest number of comments to an Extra Credits episode to date.<ref name="Religion in Games (Part 2)">{{cite web|url=http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/religion-in-games-part-2|title=Religion in Games (Part 2)|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref> In comparison, first part of the episode about religion in games had merely 100 comments,<ref name="Religion in Games (Part 1)">{{cite web|url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/religion-in-games-part-1|title=Religion in Games (Part 1)|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref> while what could have previously been described as a heavily commented episode averaged at under 200 comments.<ref name="Mechanics as Metaphor (Part 1)">{{cite web|url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-1|title=Mechanics as Metaphor (Part 1)|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref><ref name="Games You Might Not Have Tried: 16-bit">{{cite web|url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/games-you-might-not-have-tried-16-bit|title=Games You Might Not Have Tried: 16-bit|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref><ref name="Spec Ops: The Line (Part 2)">{{cite web|url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/spec-ops-the-line-part-2|title=Spec Ops: The Line (Part 2)|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref>
This has lead Extra Credits to revisit the topic one more time in an attempt to clarify the issue in the next episode titled "God Does Not Play Dice". But instead, they ended up accusing commentators among other things of "hatred of religion", "knee-jerk hostility" and "utter rejection of exploration" while proclaiming "that faith is universal, and applies to everyone's life in some way or another". This caused another heated debate in the comments section, this time reaching over 1000 comments.<ref name="God Does Not Play Dice">{{cite web|url=http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/god-does-not-play-dice|title=God Does Not Play Dice|work=Extra Credits|publisher=[[PATV]]}}</ref>


==Format==
==Format==

Revision as of 11:14, 15 January 2013

Extra Credits
Extra Credits
Allison Theus, Daniel Floyd and James Portnow in the show's art style.
GenreEdutainment
Video game and industry analysis
Created byDaniel Floyd
James Portnow
Written byJames Portnow
StarringDaniel Floyd
James Portnow
Allison Theus
Elisa Scaldaferri
Opening theme"Penguin Cap"
by CarboHydroM
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
Original release
NetworkInternet: Extra Credits on PATV
ReleaseFebruary 17, 2008 (2008-02-17) –
present

Extra Credits is an ongoing webseries presented by game designer James Portnow, animator Daniel Floyd, and artists Allison Theus and Elisa Scaldaferri. The series of videos discuss issues pertinent to video games and game studies, particularly discussing issues concerning the development of video games, addressing the legitimacy of video games as art, and creating intellectual discourse on important issues in the video game community.[1] The show is currently published on PATV, a distribution channel hosted by the creators of Penny Arcade.

History

Beginnings

The series began in 2008 when Floyd created two video presentations for his art history and media theory classes at Savannah College of Art and Design. Floyd states that the style of his presentations was "loosely modeled after Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's Zero Punctuation reviews.".[2] Floyd then contacted James Portnow, who was referenced in the early videos, and they agreed to work together on the series (untitled at the time) with Portnow attaching episodes to his articles on Edge. One episode also features journalist Leigh Alexander from Gamasutra in a discussion about video games and their female audience.[3] In July, 2010, an announcement was made that the series would be a featured series for The Escapist,[4] where weekly episodes of the series began, as well as the introduction of the new title, Extra Credits. Since Floyd had started working at Pixar Canada at the time, Portnow also enlisted Allison Theus (a colleague of his) to handle the art.

In May 2011, Extra Credits hosted the first annual Extra Credits Innovations Awards at Login 2011, which was meant to praise developers who were willing to take risks and push the boundaries of video games as a medium.[5] Awards were intentionally nonstandard compared to other awards frequently awarded to other award series, focusing on ingenuity rather than success, including categories such as: Innovation in Game Design, Innovation in Narrative Delivery, Most Unbelievable Awesome Fun, Genre Buster Award, Positive Impact Innovator, LOGIN Special Award for Innovation in Multiplayer.[6]

Dispute with The Escapist

Around the end of July 2011, there was a dispute between The Escapist and Extra Credits. The dispute was over how the remains of a charity that was to pay for artist Allison Theus's surgery should be used.[7] Portnow planned to create a game publishing label with the money, where the revenue would go directly into funding subsequent projects.[8] The Escapist stated the money should have been used to create more episodes of Extra Credits for The Escapist and to compensate Themis Media for donation incentives, such as premium memberships and T-shirts.[9] As a result, Extra Credits broke ties with The Escapist,[10] and after a brief four-week stint posting directly to YouTube,[11] the show has since aired primarily on Penny Arcade's PATV network.[12] Starting with episode 100, Elisa Scaldaferri (artist of former Escapist webcomic Name Game) became an official staff artist for the show, to rotate episode productions with Theus.

Format

Extra Credits is written by Portnow, narrated by Floyd, and the art is primarily made by Theus. Occasionally guest artists will substitute for Theus, most notably Erin Siegel, who has made repeated appearances as artist. Videos are presented in the style of a lecture hall, and address the topic of the week with "doodles" and random imagery from various sources on the internet, with a strong focus on visual puns. The tone of the videos are generally light-hearted and often humorous, but always didactic, intended to educate the audience and begin to foster dialogue on the presented subject. Generally, the show is presented from the perspective of a game designer rather than the average gamer.

While Extra Credits discusses new topics every week as they apply to games, there are some topics which are more frequently addressed than others, including: poor narrative creation, level design, gamification, tangential learning, sexuality and gender discrimination both within games and in the gaming community, and diversity in games (including gender, sexuality, and racial diversity). The show is also frequently critical of the triple-A video game industry.[13] Extra Credits is also a big proponent of independent developers, although it has frequently stated that they don't want to see only "art house" games either. "No one on this show wants every game to try to be gaming's Ulysses or even gaming's Blood Meridian. But we really would like to see a few more Mass Effects, Portals, Bioshocks, even Call of Duty 4s."[14]

Episodes

Main article: List of Extra Credits episodes

References

  1. ^ Force, Sebastian. "Extra Credits: The Web Show That Changed How I Think About Games". BnBGaming. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  2. ^ Floyd, Daniel. "Video Games and Storytelling". YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  3. ^ Floyd, Daniel. "Video Games and the Female Audience". YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  4. ^ Floyd, Daniel. "BIG NEWS! (Escapist Announcement)". YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Extra Credits Innovation Awards recognizes awesomeness in video game design".
  6. ^ "Extra Credits Innovation Awards at LOGIN 2011".
  7. ^ Bevier, Alexander (2011-08-10). "Extra Credits Leaves the Escapist". Joystick Division. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  8. ^ Portnow, James. "Because Games Matter". RocketHub. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  9. ^ Macris, Alexander (2011-08-09). "A Response on Extra Credits". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  10. ^ Greene, Gavin (2011-08-10). "Extra Credits Team Leaves Escapist Over Alleged Back Payment". Elder Geek. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  11. ^ "Extra Credits". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  12. ^ "Extra Credits". PATV. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  13. ^ Eisen, Andrew (2011-02-24). "Extra Credits Chastises EA's Marketing". GamePolitics.com. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  14. ^ "Art Is Not the Opposite of Fun". Extra Credits. PATV.
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