7 ms·

Politics are ruining videogames. It was one of the last medium where people just didnt care,but now game journalists or even game companies give a tribune to p

by aikah 12y ago

Politics are ruining videogames. It was one of the last medium where people just didnt care,but now game journalists or even game companies give a tribune to people that are not gamers,that dont care about gaming and with whom it's all about social justice warfare , i.e. manifactured outrage, to divide gamers on things that are hardly related to gaming and make the gaming community look like trolls. Everybody knows who i'm talking about. I dont want video games to be like TV,or cinema. I want it to be basically interactive cartoons for children/young adults/adults,like it always has been. Not every game is suited for every audience,but adult games shouldnt be PC because fear of being a victim of social justice warriors. And if social justice warriors want politicaly correct games,let them write games and see how successfull they are.

Loughla 12y ago
And you've gotten to the point with most art. It's not a human right to access art and entertainment. Therefore, art and entertainment really don't owe us anything in terms of considering our feelings or opinions. All they owe us is to be interesting and entertaining enough to make us want to spend money or time on them. BUT, because we live in a very privileged society (any first world country at least), we have nothing better to worry about than whether or not the new Half Life has a strong woman character in it, or whether or not it portrays minorities in a positive light. Somewhere along the way people got it in their heads that they can dictate what is art and what is entertainment to other people. This has been a struggle since the dawn of time, I believe. The only problem is that now we have a medium for communication that allows these shallow, backward censors to find each other and be much, much louder than they should be. I love Leisure Suit Larry simply because it is hilariously sexist. I also treat the women in my life and women I meet as equals in all aspects of my personal and professional life. It's as if, in some cases, there can be a disconnect between what I do as entertainment and who I am as a person. It's also as if there exist certain items for certain audiences. I'll not let my 10 year old play leisure suit larry; then again, I'm not going to bother with candy crush nonsense, he can have it. People need to learn that not everything can make them happy, and that the world isn't sunshine and puppies. Sorry for the lengthy (vaguely off-topic) response, but this really strikes a nerve. Fun fact - my graduate studies are in Critical Pedagogy in Educational Leadership, emphasis in Social Justice. The current incarnation of "Social Justice" is so far from what individuals like bell hooks, Paulo Freire, Maxine Greene and Henry Giroux had in mind that it's fucking ridiculous and absolutely infuriating.
- mrcharles 12y ago
  Good news! No one is ever going to stop a game from being made.
  - dripton 12y ago
    I'm not so sure. Several of the most popular game platforms (Xbox, PlayStation, iOS) are effectively closed, with gatekeepers who decide which games are allowed. And those gatekeepers don't allow certain types of games on those platforms. Of course it's still possible to create whatever games you want on the remaining free platforms, but removing some of the most popular and lucrative options could make it economically challenging.
    - mrcharles 12y ago
      Platforms have denied games and game content for well over a decade now and games seem to be doing just fine thanks. I'm unsure which popular and lucrative options are being removed though. Could you provide examples of what you think will magically disappear?
      - judk 12y ago
        Decade? Nintendo is over 30 years old.
        mrcharles 12y ago
        Truly, games are doomed.
- thirdtruck 12y ago
  You say we have nothing better to worry about than certain portrayals, but try and imagine being constantly portrayed as: (a) a likely gang member, (b) someone who can be called a slut and spanked because of the length of their skirt, (c) someone who can shot dead because someone of a different skin color felt slightly threatened. or (d) someone who can be killed for using the wrong bathroom. Where does "nothing better to do" fit into those prevalent portrayals?
mrcharles 12y ago
"Won't someone please think of the white dudes!"
- Karunamon 12y ago
  This is not a constructive comment.
  - zem 12y ago
    but neither is any comment that includes the phrase "social justice warrior"
    - Karunamon 12y ago
      SJW's are a self-proclaimed group (much like "conservative" or "liberal" or "foodie") with some general, widely held beliefs within that group. Pretty hard to objectively discuss a group when you go out of your way to avoid describing them.
      - dragonwriter 12y ago
        Virtually every use of "social justice warrior" or "SJW" I've ever encountered has been using it as a label to stick on people who do not self-identify that way, usually as a personal attack, and I can find no evidence of the existence of such a "self-proclaimed" group; doing a search, the term appears to be entirely a hostile epithet ascribed to others, not a self-proclaimed group.
        gnarbarian 12y ago
        They created the term (I believe on tumblr) and their universal insufferability has caused it to be associated negatively.
        dragonwriter 12y ago
        Even if there is a group on tumblr or some other community that initiated the term as a self-proclaimed identity, and even if that group still exists and uses the identity, very few of the uses of the term in practice (none that I can find, including those that purport to present definitions of the term) use it to refer to that group particularly. So even if it started as such as self-proclaimed identity, the term isn't generally used in reference to that self-proclaimed identity.
the_af 12y ago
> [people that are not gamers] divide gamers on things that are hardly related to gaming and make the gaming community look like trolls. I don't understand this. Who are these self-proclaimed "gamers"? Most people who play videogames don't let this define their identity. They are not "gamers"; they play videogames. Same with movies: I'm not a "moviegoer"; I watch and enjoy movies. I'm not a "book-reader"; I simply enjoy reading. I feel entitled to have strong opinions on games, movies and books. Are you saying journalists and game companies are "giving tribune" to people who never play or think about videogames? Or did you instead merely meant "people who don't describe themselves as gamers"? Because I couldn't care less about gamers.
kevingadd 12y ago
People who don't know jack shit about video games shouldn't talk about who or what is ruining them. Video games have been intensely political for AGES. Crammed full of warmongering nationalism, sexism, racism, moralizing and speculative fiction on various topics, including social issues. Don't believe me? Off the top of my head, here's a list of recent AAA titles that all have significant political & social themes (usually related to warfare, but not always): Call of Duty (all of them) Spec Ops: The Line Shadow Complex Battlefield (all of them) Mass Effect (all of them) Metal Gear (all of them - hoo boy are all these games crammed with politics and moralizing and social topics) Splinter Cell (all of them after the original; in particular Blacklist and Double Agent) Syndicate Deus Ex (all of them) Hitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money Assassin's Creed (all of them) Max Payne 3 Basically all the GTA games Remember Me Red Dead Redemption Nier If I expand the filter to indie games there are hundreds more. Most importantly, these games are not a monolith: The worldviews and opinions displayed in them vary wildly, some of them are judgemental and others aren't. Some of them strictly ground their political/social topics inside fantasy worlds, while others ground them in worlds that very closely resemble the real world. Some use broken, flawed characters as a glimpse into real issues while other games position 'just' and noble characters in opposition to the forces of people who are politically or socially Evil.

by aikah 12y ago

Loughla 12y ago

And you've gotten to the point with most art. It's not a human right to access art and entertainment. Therefore, art and entertainment really don't owe us anything in terms of considering our feelings or opinions. All they owe us is to be interesting and entertaining enough to make us want to spend money or time on them. BUT, because we live in a very privileged society (any first world country at least), we have nothing better to worry about than whether or not the new Half Life has a strong woman character in it, or whether or not it portrays minorities in a positive light. Somewhere along the way people got it in their heads that they can dictate what is art and what is entertainment to other people. This has been a struggle since the dawn of time, I believe. The only problem is that now we have a medium for communication that allows these shallow, backward censors to find each other and be much, much louder than they should be. I love Leisure Suit Larry simply because it is hilariously sexist. I also treat the women in my life and women I meet as equals in all aspects of my personal and professional life. It's as if, in some cases, there can be a disconnect between what I do as entertainment and who I am as a person. It's also as if there exist certain items for certain audiences. I'll not let my 10 year old play leisure suit larry; then again, I'm not going to bother with candy crush nonsense, he can have it. People need to learn that not everything can make them happy, and that the world isn't sunshine and puppies. Sorry for the lengthy (vaguely off-topic) response, but this really strikes a nerve. Fun fact - my graduate studies are in Critical Pedagogy in Educational Leadership, emphasis in Social Justice. The current incarnation of "Social Justice" is so far from what individuals like bell hooks, Paulo Freire, Maxine Greene and Henry Giroux had in mind that it's fucking ridiculous and absolutely infuriating.

mrcharles 12y ago
Good news! No one is ever going to stop a game from being made.
- dripton 12y ago
  I'm not so sure. Several of the most popular game platforms (Xbox, PlayStation, iOS) are effectively closed, with gatekeepers who decide which games are allowed. And those gatekeepers don't allow certain types of games on those platforms. Of course it's still possible to create whatever games you want on the remaining free platforms, but removing some of the most popular and lucrative options could make it economically challenging.
  - mrcharles 12y ago
    Platforms have denied games and game content for well over a decade now and games seem to be doing just fine thanks. I'm unsure which popular and lucrative options are being removed though. Could you provide examples of what you think will magically disappear?
    - judk 12y ago
      Decade? Nintendo is over 30 years old.
      - mrcharles 12y ago
        Truly, games are doomed.
thirdtruck 12y ago
You say we have nothing better to worry about than certain portrayals, but try and imagine being constantly portrayed as: (a) a likely gang member, (b) someone who can be called a slut and spanked because of the length of their skirt, (c) someone who can shot dead because someone of a different skin color felt slightly threatened. or (d) someone who can be killed for using the wrong bathroom. Where does "nothing better to do" fit into those prevalent portrayals?

mrcharles 12y ago

"Won't someone please think of the white dudes!"

Karunamon 12y ago
This is not a constructive comment.
- zem 12y ago
  but neither is any comment that includes the phrase "social justice warrior"
  - Karunamon 12y ago
    SJW's are a self-proclaimed group (much like "conservative" or "liberal" or "foodie") with some general, widely held beliefs within that group. Pretty hard to objectively discuss a group when you go out of your way to avoid describing them.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      Virtually every use of "social justice warrior" or "SJW" I've ever encountered has been using it as a label to stick on people who do not self-identify that way, usually as a personal attack, and I can find no evidence of the existence of such a "self-proclaimed" group; doing a search, the term appears to be entirely a hostile epithet ascribed to others, not a self-proclaimed group.
      - gnarbarian 12y ago
        They created the term (I believe on tumblr) and their universal insufferability has caused it to be associated negatively.
        dragonwriter 12y ago
        Even if there is a group on tumblr or some other community that initiated the term as a self-proclaimed identity, and even if that group still exists and uses the identity, very few of the uses of the term in practice (none that I can find, including those that purport to present definitions of the term) use it to refer to that group particularly. So even if it started as such as self-proclaimed identity, the term isn't generally used in reference to that self-proclaimed identity.

the_af 12y ago

> [people that are not gamers] divide gamers on things that are hardly related to gaming and make the gaming community look like trolls. I don't understand this. Who are these self-proclaimed "gamers"? Most people who play videogames don't let this define their identity. They are not "gamers"; they play videogames. Same with movies: I'm not a "moviegoer"; I watch and enjoy movies. I'm not a "book-reader"; I simply enjoy reading. I feel entitled to have strong opinions on games, movies and books. Are you saying journalists and game companies are "giving tribune" to people who never play or think about videogames? Or did you instead merely meant "people who don't describe themselves as gamers"? Because I couldn't care less about gamers.

kevingadd 12y ago

People who don't know jack shit about video games shouldn't talk about who or what is ruining them. Video games have been intensely political for AGES. Crammed full of warmongering nationalism, sexism, racism, moralizing and speculative fiction on various topics, including social issues. Don't believe me? Off the top of my head, here's a list of recent AAA titles that all have significant political & social themes (usually related to warfare, but not always): Call of Duty (all of them) Spec Ops: The Line Shadow Complex Battlefield (all of them) Mass Effect (all of them) Metal Gear (all of them - hoo boy are all these games crammed with politics and moralizing and social topics) Splinter Cell (all of them after the original; in particular Blacklist and Double Agent) Syndicate Deus Ex (all of them) Hitman: Absolution and Hitman: Blood Money Assassin's Creed (all of them) Max Payne 3 Basically all the GTA games Remember Me Red Dead Redemption Nier If I expand the filter to indie games there are hundreds more. Most importantly, these games are not a monolith: The worldviews and opinions displayed in them vary wildly, some of them are judgemental and others aren't. Some of them strictly ground their political/social topics inside fantasy worlds, while others ground them in worlds that very closely resemble the real world. Some use broken, flawed characters as a glimpse into real issues while other games position 'just' and noble characters in opposition to the forces of people who are politically or socially Evil.