I believe in representation of all types of people in games. No, not all games. I think there is room for games like GTA, Gone Home and Dragon Age: Inquisition in this industry – different titles target different portions of the market. While there are plenty of things to discuss, unfortunately that has been made impossible due to vitriol from the extreme ends of the spectrum.
Last year, Gavin talked about racism in eSports. In fact, he did it twice. Both articles elicited a whole bunch of comments ranging from outrage at the racism, to people shrugging it off, to others being blatantly racist (and strangely homophobic) and attacking us for even writing about it. it’s something of the nature of the internet – people will come out of the woodwork for certain topics and defend or attack it depending on their stance.
Before the tropes against women videos started, we would often debate female representation in games. We talked about why games with female protagonists don’t sell as well, and even whether a women-only convention was good or bad for representation in gaming. All of these were interesting, civil and thought-provoking discussions. Sure, there were some trolls, but it was all quite manageable. But not anymore.
Anita Sarkeesian is a polarizing figure. Unfortunately, she has also become a major target. Whether you agree with her arguments or not, there are certain things that I think we can all agree are unacceptable. While we may debate the merits of harassment/trash talk during online gaming, it’s certainly not acceptable when directed at someone via social media all day every day. Sarkeesian has revealed her twitter feed of harassment for just one week – you can read it over here, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Can we all start from the point that online harassment is bad? Can we at least agree on that, regardless of who the target is? I’m not a fan of Anita Sarkeesian – I think her arguments aren’t always valid. That doesn’t mean that she, or anyone, should made a victim of harassment the way the she has.
The worst part is that her polarizing nature has polarized the entire argument, making everyone a target regardless of their actual stance. Just because I agree with representation in games, I’ve been associated with her and “social justice warriors,” leading to some horrible comments just the other day. And yet, if I say anything positive about games with perceived “bro-culture,” I receive similar abuse from the other side of the fence.
And this, I feel, is how Anita Sarkeesian has undermined the very thing she sought to do. By having more discussions about when and where representation could be improved, we might have seen more interesting games. No, I don’t think throwaway gore-porn like Sniper Elite III needed more women, because it was a game set in a particular period of history, but it’s nice to see COD allowing people to make female soldiers if they so wish. No, not every romance in a game needs to allow for the full spectrum of sexuality. However, some really interesting moments in games like The Last of Us and Dragon Age: Inquisition come from having nuanced characters who represent a broader range of sexuality and race than we normally see in games. It makes for interesting gameplay. While it’s not necessary in every game, it might be worthwhile for developers to at the very least consider how representation might effect or improve a game, even if they opt for a straight male lead in the end.
Unfortunately, these kinds of discussions and debates have now been tainted by internet toxicity. The discussion has been too polarized; people are forced to choose sides and then hurl mud (or rape threats) at each other. It’s a sad state of affairs, and gamers of all types will lose out. Just as gaming was getting some positive attention by mainstream media, we have been reduced to a bunch of juvenile hate-spewers.
I hope that this is the year that we can move past it, but I have the sinking suspicion that it will only get worse before it gets better.
Last Updated: January 28, 2015
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 12:08
Online harrasement
is bad. I feel almost ashamed to be a part of this human race when I read what
some of the broader community has said to Ms Sarkeesian.
Get Cancer and Die? I want to violently rape you?
What is that? Is that a debate? No meaningful and thought provoking debate can be started or had when such thoughtless vitriol is thrown around.
As someone that has and will again interview people, I wonder at the twitter thing. If I looked up a prospective employee’s twitter account and I saw this (cause it is public) I will think twice.
HairyEwok
January 28, 2015 at 12:19
I want to go back to gaming when it was still fun and simple. Anybody up for some Pong?
Ceyber, The Metal Rabbit
January 28, 2015 at 13:32
Arcade machines and a pool table. Mini-bar and pizza included. Heaven.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:19
Anyone can be a douche thanks to the internet. 99.9% Of people online wont have the balls to say what they said in person.
Mandom (Umar)
January 28, 2015 at 12:22
Amazing though how anonymity gives people this amazing boost in bravado…to say ANYTHING they want. Some of them are gonna get caught one day…Well thats what I want to believe
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:26
It’s because there is zero accountability. If I shouted I wanted to rape someone on the street it can be perceived as a threat and land me in jail.
Mandom (Umar)
January 28, 2015 at 12:29
Exactly! but alas, the internet cannot be monitored…
Quo Vadis?
January 28, 2015 at 12:28
Keyboard warriors are the worst. The internet gives an abusive voice to the cowards.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:30
Little kids on team speak are some of the worst. I played a raid with random people on Destiny because we could only muster five people. This one A-hole would not stop singing and when we all muted him he left the game making our effort useless
Quo Vadis?
January 28, 2015 at 12:36
One day, out of pure boredom, I clicked on a link for a webchat site whilst sitting in the varsity library, and a guy called “Soul Ripper” was causing havoc and threatening/ bullying everyone, hacking their chats etc. I saw my IP address on the top of the chat window was ………@puk.ac.za65. The 65 was the computer number I was sitting at. His was ………….@puk.ac.za72. So I went and looked for number 72, and it was the slightest, tiniest little runt with long blonde hair, the thickest glasses ever and wearing an old Metallica T-shirt. Go figure….
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:41
It’s the little dogs that makes the most noise
Michelle
January 29, 2015 at 08:59
It’s usually losers that do that, that have no friends or social life.
They are the ones who are loners and create a aura of avoidance around them….weirdos.
Quo Vadis?
January 29, 2015 at 09:14
Agreed, but I also felt sorry for him. He is a social outcast. And I doubt he became one by choice. Every human has the basic need to be wanted, and to fit in with society. He looks like he could have been the kid in school who got bullied, and ostracised himself from society, as he perceives society to be inherently evil and harmful. Or that’s just my take on it.
Michelle
January 29, 2015 at 09:20
I blame the parents.
Quo Vadis?
January 29, 2015 at 09:22
So do I. Latchkey kids, I think they are called?
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 13:14
Yet it affects them in so many aspects of their lives. Imagine not getting that cool job because of some posts you made five years ago?
I think, same as when you are very tired, a true part of yourself comes out in the internet, the unthinking, just doing inner person. Is this who you are and want to be? I wish more people would think on that.
that should scare you, if I am right……..
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 13:24
That is scary. Everyone has an ugly side. But it’s up to you as a person how much you want to expose people to it.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:15
Thanks. Yes. Well said, Bear, Emp and Hammer
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:29
Tired… and drunk.
FreddyBear
January 28, 2015 at 13:43
Couldn’t agree more, that’s when real integrity comes through, what you do when nobody’s watching you. If you can spout something like that at someone from the anonymity of your keyboard, then deep down, that’s the freedom you chose.
Those comments are some of the worst things you can actually tell someone, and it’s never ok, no matter who it is, to wish things like that on someone!
Mandom (Umar)
January 28, 2015 at 12:18
And the thing is, instead of people letting go and just forgetting about Anita for a change, they just unknowingly add to the fire. Why?….Maybe its just me and yes I know many people don’t agree with her and what she has to say which some may even find offensive. But WHAT is she doing to the industry though? This is MY problem I have, is she the cause of broken games? Is she the cause of cash grabbing DLC? Did she implement DRM systems or is she the cause of expensive games?…What exactly is she doing other than saying things you don’t like???Why do people go on a hissy fit whenever she get’s mentioned? She’s not gonna steal your games….Can people get over it now please? Yes she undermines the very thing she’s trying to change, but we as gamers have allowed it turn into what it is today.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:23
She doesn’t affect me in the least. Hell, at the of the day she even did some good. DLC and MT are still at the top of my list.
Mandom (Umar)
January 28, 2015 at 12:24
yeah, F those things, seriously, DLC and MT are both cancerous monstrosities to gaming
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
January 28, 2015 at 12:47
Activision, EA and Ubisoft… they are the ones we need to fight!
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:37
Unfortunately what she is doing is polarising the gamers of the industry and that is where developers and publishers are going to start suffering…. Which side of the community do they cater for?
RustedFaith
January 28, 2015 at 15:43
To be honest I never heard of her 😛
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:19
Anita in the supermarket 😛
http://img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/gif-shop-height-1806133.gif
Mandom (Umar)
January 28, 2015 at 12:20
LOOOOOOL Male scum 😛
HairyEwok
January 28, 2015 at 12:21
LUUUUL. She was like awwww thank you… wait what.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 12:26
As a gentleman I find this a bit shocking. It is not patronising to help a lady in a situation like this. He is taller and can reach.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:28
I think it’s fake anyway. Also Ive never not seen a taller person help someone in a situation like this. You get the good feeling of helping someone for least amount of effort.
Sageville
January 28, 2015 at 12:55
I love helping the tiny people, it’s like one of the only benefits of being tall.
My fav is fetching escaped kiddy balloons stuck against the roof.
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:03
My favourite is looking out for kids’ teeth by taking their sweets. They’ll thank me later.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:22
rofl
z1n
January 28, 2015 at 13:25
My favourite is giving them ice cream then they get in the panel van to take a ride with ‘Uncle Greg’… wait, what??
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:28
Careful buddy, this is the Internet age. You are not allowed a sense of humor anymore. I guarantee that somebody has already called child line after reading that comment.
Besides I never charged them for the ice-cream 😛
z1n
January 28, 2015 at 13:32
I was so appalled I almost called child line myself. I should rather use a family sized station wagon to get kids to church for Sunday school. Works every time. #vaticanstrategies
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:36
Now I know you are joking lol. Its 2015, kids do not go to church. Their cell phone Internet debunked those fairy tales on Wiki. 😛
z1n
January 28, 2015 at 13:42
Ahhh rats, alright you got me. It’s the same reason I don’t play Santa at the mall either 🙁
2015 version: Nice phone you have there little girl/boy, does it take pictures? And they send their most shocking, vulgar pictures of themselves dressed in nothing… but their FBI badge over their crotch. My, my they start them young these days.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:44
I have no come back… 😛
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:25
0_O I thought you got in trouble for offering the sweets?
cookiemonster
January 28, 2015 at 13:29
That’s cruel and yet so funny
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 12:26
I remember the days before the INTERNET. When one would buy a Videogame Mag and read about Videogames.
There was no debate, there were no trolls like myself, there was no political or sexist outrage.
One just sat in their room AND PRESSED FCUKING PLAY.
Everything was so simple. PLAY.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:33
Simpler days were simpler. Now we are all connected. We can play together (most of the time,server errors depending) with online games (than only requires five or six patches before it works) on the internet (which is sad seeing how we have to go through European servers)
HairyEwok
January 28, 2015 at 12:38
Ever wondered how you knew to blow the cartridge of a SNES to make the game magically work again, back then there was no internet and no mobile phones to google from in SA. How did such information go globally.
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:40
Yeah, we learned it from people who played Atari
Quo Vadis?
January 28, 2015 at 12:40
Common sense didn’t need connectivity.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 12:41
Its like foreplay, you just know ;P
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:42
hahahaha
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 12:47
Brings a new meaning to the term blowjob 😛
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 13:11
Realy? Really?
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:17
We had no porn pre-internet. We had to sneakily steal our mothers Cosmo mag to try and figure out the birds and the bees.
Now a 2 year old can Google Naked Pregnant Mud Wrestling Dwarfs 😛
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 13:21
True, I suppose. Less expectation of the “right” way too. Better days.
RustedFaith
January 28, 2015 at 15:47
I use to get my Pamela Anderson porn from school. Load 3 images on a 1.44 stiffy, get home all excited to load it up and the image will corrupt just above the nipples.
The good old days.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 15:51
At least you still had your stiffy 😛
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 12:40
The old school like myself still find the internet age scary as fcuk. Partly the reason why oVg lives in ones own constitution. The soap box overload is becoming more serious. 10 years ago before Youtube and Facebook people on the internet were better composed. Then the Trolls started having fun, now it seems even the trolls have lost all sense of humor.
People need to cut off every so often to try and regain there individuality or it just gets brainwashed.
I feel for today’s kids. Its happened too fast too soon with no govern over mental stability.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 12:46
This is the future of human evolution.
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 12:51
Preach it brother! Bring back old TVs where you can just about make out that you are the other toad because both are a shade of green and some can’t tell the difference! Tired of this new bullshit. What happened about being excited about a game and not having someone put it down before it has even been released?!
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:05
We are so overloaded with information on an hourly basis that we have forgotten how to think for ourselves. We just end up riding the wave to the point that even one bubble of thought is rippled in seconds. The internet created entitlement.
Unfortunately our hobby relies on technology and has struggled to keep up. I remember having just as much fun playing Battletoads on a 1987 TV as we do now on our Widescreen TVs in GTAV.
Widescreen still baffles my mind. The old TVs used to be square right? So placing two black bars on the top and bottom does nothing but make the screen smaller right?… Im still trying to figure it out.
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:22
And keep on trying you will!
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:26
The world is too loud. Online just makes it worse.
The easiest way to get noticed is to SHOUT LOUDLY, and with so much being connected when you connect to it you’re immediately deluged WITH SHOUTING. About anything and everything, right or wrong, there’s no filter but what you apply.
It’s no surprise people do it either, it’s a competition to get attention.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:33
I mean, this is just a gaming site. Its our hobby and we love discussing our passion in life. Its the rest of the Internet that really needs to calm the fcuk down. The comments on those NEWS sites is mind boggling.
Reminds me. COULD ALL GAMERS CALM THE FCUK DOWN and try and separate all political and religious views from our hobby?!!!! Thank you.
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:42
That’s one place I’ll disagree with you. It can’t be separated any more, it’s grown to big as an industry. And just like movies, books, etc they’re a reflection of our society. Spec Ops The Line was sure as hell a political & social statement.
Of course, the approach to it is important.
Nahuel Graziani
January 28, 2015 at 12:27
I understand that Sarkeesian receives a TON of heat from douchebags and that is not right by any standard. Rape threats, death threats, “Kill yourself” messages are barbaric and Twitter needs to implement means on proper moderation and banning.
However, one thing that I have noticed about Sarkeesian is that she constantly talks and posts about every threat and insult she receives. While there’s nothing wrong with doing so, I can’t help to think that she doesn’t truly understand the nature of the internet. The same kind of people that tweet those things to her are the kind of people that get off on seeing her post about it, or her making the news about it. Because it means they’re getting to her and that’s their ultimate goal. For her to not understand this shows naivety. If she does understand it, then it shows that she’s exploiting this by using it as a means to receive support as a victim. Hard to say.
It’s, like, the first rule of the internet and she’s ignoring it. You never feed the trolls.
HairyEwok
January 28, 2015 at 12:32
I do hope the people who blatantly made the death and rape threats can be taken to the court of law. Freedom of speech can only save you to a certain degree.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:38
I seem to recall readings a year or two go about people being taken to court successfully based on facebook posts. This was in the US
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:35
I still think she phone in her own death threat that one time. Also the more she feeds the trolls the more she hogs our attention. Which is what she wants. People should leave her in peace if they want to hear less from her
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
January 28, 2015 at 12:39
Much like with Brianna (WHO?) Wu, Anita has taken the “professional victim” thing to new heights. Initially, I was sympathetic, but in recent months, I’ve come to the conclusion that she’s a massive scam artist who’s essentially using the controversy to boost her own brand…
It also doesn’t help that Jonathan Mcintosh is a mangina. Never go #fullMcintosh kids!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
January 28, 2015 at 12:36
I was recently chatting to an old friend of mine. Ever since Gamergate exploded on the interweb, we’ve been on two separate sides. The interesting thing is, it hasn’t negatively impacted on our friendship, because both of us understood that when you debate a topic, you don’t attack the person but rather focus on the topic at hand.
What I found interesting though is that he actually feels like he’s being held hostage because he initially supported the SJW side of things, and now that things have calmed down, and he found the time to think about it rationally, he finds it difficult to still be an SJW – but on the other hand, he doesn’t want to loose his new twitter followers.
I don’t really see his problem, I don’t see why you should be an actor on twitter. Just tell people where you stand and if they unfollow you or block you, “fuck em”
Hammersteyn
January 28, 2015 at 12:39
Or create a second account 😛
FreddyBear
January 28, 2015 at 12:42
Ah yes, when I read comments like those, it so very much reminds me of the first five minutes of Idiocracy…and where I believe our proud internet marauders come from!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
January 28, 2015 at 12:46
Don’t forget SJWs mocking or harassing TotalBiscuit because he has cancer. No one looks good in this, be it the moronic and self-righteous wannabe social warrior hipsters (with their first-year varsity social science crap) or the uber-male men’s rights activists.
This is a dark stain on all involved.
Gavin Mannion
January 28, 2015 at 13:17
Not the same level but the amount of abuse I’ve received from SJW’s on twitter is amazing.. they are so high up on their horses they can’t smell this shit that falls out of their mouth
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:50
The horse shits out of its mouth?
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/confused_lion_king.gif
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:54
Hahahahahahaha
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:13
SJW’s?
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
January 29, 2015 at 10:05
They appointed themselves guardians of the moral high ground. Some even refer to themselves as Social Justice Warlords….
I just call them “assholes”.
Lardus-Resident Perve
January 28, 2015 at 12:50
Honestly, I don’t care much who/what the main character is. I need a well written story and need to feel I can “become” the character for my gaming sessions. Fem-Shep is one of my favourites ever, and the new Lara Croft is great. But so is Tobias Reaper (alias sometimes used by 47) and Male-Shep. Why can’t people just allow others to be in this world? People who go to extremes (whether religion or sport or games or “equality”) are what make this world suck more than it should :'(
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:01
Empathy. Try to have some of that instead of living in your self-involved little bubble & shitting on everyone outside of it. You don’t have to agree with someone’s opinion or position, but maybe just try to understand their point – it’s not a weakness. The appearance of “strength” is valued more than restraint – it’s an illusion, and it’s pathetic.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 13:10
Most or some people I know struggle with empathy face to face. now imagine those people that struggle with it face to face on the internet. Your friends, your work mates, your distant family.
Empathy is both learned and instinctual. I believe a lot of people are missing this.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:47
Looking up Empathy…
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:12
Feck, I hate Ted. Love the rest of the show.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 13:11
Its easy for you to say that because of your age. The kids today have no idea what you just said. They were born on Facebook.
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:24
I don’t agree!
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:26
You’re an illusion ;P
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:31
Albeit a persistent one! 😛
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:31
You make a compelling case to sober up 😀
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:32
I’ll still be here!
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:33
goddamnit!
RinceThis
January 28, 2015 at 13:35
That too!
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 13:18
I would contribute to the design of a very sophisticated algorithm that moves all social comments that are deemed to be hate speech into a separate place on the net. Put like with like. Scan all posts, twits or whatever for content, message, context (i.e. where it came from) and put through a ranking system. not a self learning one, because then very soon it will rank hate speech as the norm.
Small project, this 🙂
I do not want to hear about things like who decides what and who guards the guardians. Simple plans. If you threaten to kill, you go on that side if the net. If you wish someone gets cancer or want to rape someone, you go on that side of the net.
Jonah Cash
January 28, 2015 at 13:23
Great idea!!
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:07
The North Koreans already did that 😛
The just have pictures of cats.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:12
No, no. I am sort of serious. (And I love cats, so this is big for me)
I know I am advocating electronic censorship. But what else is there? Their words infringe on my rights. That counts more than their right to say those words.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:21
True, I prefer Dennis Rodman to cats tho.
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:23
Um. Ok.
I still take cats. I have considered the situation carefully, but have decided that you must be a doody head and I still like cats. I hope you are satisfied and have not taken offence that I have chosen something different than you.
Or something 🙂
Am I just a bad troll?
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:26
Cats win 😉
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:33
Hah, I knew it. Hah!
I WIIINNNNNN.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:39
Sheeesh, no need to gloat about it 😛
Brady miaau
January 28, 2015 at 14:40
Sorry. I win (ok, the font was much smaller when posted)
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:50
meow
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:36
Yep, online harassment is not cool. Regardless of gender, race or sexual preference. Heck I even lost my cool with your article on the Transgender characters you wrote about.
I guess somewhere within us we are all tired of the debate. Many of us, myself included, don’t see a need for these arguments. To me gaming is about fun and should not delve in to real world politics, ethics etc because it’s meant to be used as an escape mechanism. Not something that draws us in to even more debate and arguments.
I will however always argue against many of the things Ms Sarkeesian says because I honestly believe she is hurting the females of the gaming industry by polarising the debate. She’s turned it in to a “Them Vs Us” thing and due to it, other arguments over sexual preference etc have been caught up in the war.
All that being said, seeing some of the things thrown her way? Disgusting. I cannot believe people could be that vile. I’ve said a few nasty things in my life. Heck I even managed to seriously offend some same-sex preference community members with some of my comments but I would NEVER threaten them or call them abominations.
The hate that Ms Sarkeesian gets is actually kind of nauseating. It’s no wonder she puts up such a fight over perceived culture against woman in gaming. She’s living it every day of her life thanks to the hateful and downright disgusting things she has thrown her way.
People tend to forget that their view cannot be the same as the person next to them. The world doesn’t work like that. I wish people would realise that.
I’m not saying arguments aren’t allowed. But why can a discussion not be civil (Even if slightly heated) without having to insult the other side?
*Sigh* alas there’s not much anyone can do about the hate that is spewed online. Anonymity is a strong force and one that lends itself to allowing people to spew the very worst that humanity has to bring
Jonah Cash
January 28, 2015 at 13:38
We have a very similar view on this stupidity!! See my post!!
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:39
I was so worried you were going to say the same thing I did 😉
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:38
tl;dr
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:42
There it is
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 13:43
I’m just so happy I got to say it first for a change 😀
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:43
lol 🙂
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 28, 2015 at 14:06
I don’t think you can remove politics/ethics/morality from gaming as a whole any more. It’s become too big. It’s a massive entertainment medium rivaling movies, TV, books, music which are also forms of escapism – all of which also deal with those themes in many instances, and there’s plenty of space for all types. Those themes don’t have to appear in every game but when it does it should be approached with some level of intelligence – otherwise it will lead to heated argument. Gaming needs to deal with it, and change is painful at times.
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 14:12
Unfortunately you are right. But I sometimes wonder if the arguments are made by people who actually care or just those hoping to get some fame (infamy) from finding a shortcoming and hammering on it over and over
Jonah Cash
January 28, 2015 at 13:36
Well written article Zoe!! The thing is that in this day and age the loudest people are winning the battles… What I mean is that we are taught that everyone is aloud an opinion(most of us) and we respect that even if you are wrong. Then somewhere in the last 10 year someone decided to not respect another persons opinion. This lead to realization that if you yell loud enough and drown out the other person their opinion becomes null and void. This went hand in hand with anonymity that the web and various chat platforms provided. Now you have two factions who each want to yell louder than the other…. You know what I have to say to both of these factions: Leave us in the middle to sort this out like grown ups who understand that everyone can have an opinion and we can discuss it and see if we get somewhere. If after the discussions we are still not agreeing then so be it!! We don’t have to agree on everything!! If we all agreed on everything all the time life would suck!!
So go and play on the train tracks and leave us level headed people to sort out your mess!!
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 13:45
So very true. People have forgotten what it is to debate and have rather gone for “I MUST BE RIGHT RAWWWR”
Ryanza
January 28, 2015 at 13:54
I guess I should say nothing. People don’t like the way I comment. I get called all sorts of things. Comments always directed at me like, I am stupid shit, when all my comments did was relate to some topic in my way. Anyway. Don’t Support Ryanza.
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:15
This will cheer you up 🙂
Ryanza
January 28, 2015 at 14:22
I don’t do the witcher 3 anymore. It’s now up to the lazygamer club to promote or not promote the game.
Don’t support the witcher 3.
Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7
January 28, 2015 at 14:23
Who are you and where is the real Ryanza????
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:30
mmmm
oVg elfroot slayer
January 28, 2015 at 14:30
mmmm
Ghost In The Rift
January 28, 2015 at 14:19
Well i’m just gonna sit and game, let the inevitable slip right pas me, its easier being oblivious and makes you look like your the sane one.:-P
konfab aka derp
January 28, 2015 at 15:25
*trigger warning*
I do personally take offence(the word so loved by SJWs) when I am told that a rape scene in a computer game was made for my personal enjoyment. I think the disgusting comments left on her twitter account are like that because the posters have already been tried and judged to be misogynistic racists just for liking a computer game.
Reid
January 28, 2015 at 15:56
I just want to play games. And that’s all I’m doing. Playing games.
Ultimo_Cleric N7
January 28, 2015 at 15:59
I would take the whole #gamergate argument more seriously if we could understand the age groups of people commenting.
Sorry to say it, but a 16 year old boy’s opinion sometimes may not be 100% based on factual information.
Tom Krager
January 28, 2015 at 22:08
Sadly only one side of the table is trying to censor games and is generalizing an entire demographic as misogynistic and sexist . .. yeah there may be gamergate supporters who fling rape threats but I’m pretty sure they represent a HUGE minority probably made up of children.
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
January 29, 2015 at 08:15
More and more everyday I realize the problem with these games is not the actual games or the developers decisions, but rather the community that chooses to be vocal, as it is easy to hide behind the keyboard and join the circlejerk. COD for example seems to foster the need to hate speech during the games, while others, like Diablo, turn the forums into a vile cesspool of hate as they are clearly better decision makers and know how to create games.
Guest
February 3, 2015 at 23:14
An analysis of Sarkeesians twitter feed. She gets less harassment than Richard Dawkins.
Sorry. linked to the wrong image.