What is the Point in having High Standards?

[Adrianis]

It's all in the context for me. I mean, standards are personal right? I could say I have high or low standards, but that has no meaning to any of you until i define the terms of what meets that high standard.

I'm happy to say I don't think I have any sort of solid definition of standards, I judge things on their appeal to me at the time. In games, by far the most memorable and important experiences have come from interesting, creative, art-y games like Passage, Proteus, Dear Esther and just recently Gone Home. I judge these games to a high standard of creative appeal & artistic intent vs execution & their potential impact on the industry as a whole, which all sounds terribly high-brow and intellectual, so when a game tries to do something similar and fails, I think it's bad.

Then probably once a month or so I load up Call of Duty: Man Ops 5: Terrorist Slayer 3: Black Apocalypse and shoot some dudes, because its trashy bullshit fun, and I don't judge it on artistic intent because it has none - I judge it on the enjoyment of the mechanics

But then there's more context too - I know I can play that trashy bullshit and not in any way be pulled into the unquestioning pro-military line that they constantly try shoving down your throat, in fact I find it funny in an ironic way. BUT that's only because I do have high standards for socio-political issues, and I despair for the people that have low enough standards that they would lap it up without thinking.

Normally I wouldn't ever dream of imposing standards on other people, insisting that they conform to higher ideals in some batshit campaign for enlightenment, and hate the people that do. BUT what happens when those low standards are likely to lead indirectly to a situation where they will be getting misinformed on important issues, absorbing ignorant stereotypes from terrible TV shows or games where the only contact with people other than themselves and their immediate countrymen is via the barrel of a gun?

Context man... context is everything


EDIT: I also take issue with the phrasing of the first poll option, there's nothing irrational about pursuing more of something you find fun. If your intent is to do things you enjoy, and you know that you enjoy a thing, what could be more rational than doing the thing that you enjoy?