I don't necessarily enjoy being the guy wearing cleats in the bounce house, but somebody's gotta keep a firm footing around here.
Cold Take is a Web Video series, narrated by Sebastian "Frost" Ruiz, where he discusses his gripes with the games industry. The series began in November 2022.
Initially hosted on The Escapist. However, following Editor in Chief Nick Calandra's firing in November of 2023, Frost quit in solidarity, along with many other Escapist contributors, and continued the series on the employee-owned Second Wind.
Cold Take Provides and Discusses Examples of:
- Capitalism Is Bad: "One Last Gripe at the Industry", fittingly the first thing Ruiz posted under Cold Take after quitting The Escapist, has an undercurrent of highlighting problems with corporate organization and the loss of the human element that comes with it, as people become numbers and ruthless efficiency becomes standardized. He himself admits that "capitalism is bad" isn't exactly an uncommon viewpoint and can be annoying when repeated too often.
- New Media Are Evil: "AAA Studios Sued for Addictive Games" is an analysis of the pitfalls of the contemporary newest media of video games and their criticisms. Ruiz makes an in-between point that, yes, video games can be addictive and manipulative, but they're bad in the same way as junk food and cigarettes are unhealthy: enjoying them is a controlled risk, and using them irresponsibly is the bad part.
- It's Hard, So It Sucks!: Discussed in a video about Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, in which Ruiz talks about difficulty in video games and compares it to spice: pleasant when used tastefully and capable of complimenting other flavors, but too much and it'll only appeal to people that are crazy for the stuff, and which will overpower everything else.
- Take That!: Frost likes to dabble in this from time to time. "Fatigued By The Numbers" has this little gem while he's discussing gear score in looter-shooters:I see it as an attempt to streamline the process for those who are not as math-inclined. You know, English majors.
