Recently I received this PM from a user on this site and, coupled with discussions I had today, I thought I'd use these experiences as a framework to discuss an opinion many people THINK I have yet are completely wrong about. So first, have a gander at this message from a user whose name will be withheld because it doesn't matter.
Note: I censored the profanity so as to not violate the rules. I will reply by using the pronoun "Me" but the user blocked me so you'll be reading my reply for the basis of this blog. TL;DR I was basically called a bigot.
User: "Your such a f***ing hypocrite you say s*** like representation doesn't matter and talk about when games were all text so race shouldn't matter But then your in every f***ing thread talking down anyone or any games that adds a minority spewing out words likr PC and SJW. I can respect that you have an opinion but what bothers me is your such a f***ing coward that you pretend your not racist and sexist. Race doesn't matter as long as the characters are white male and straight that's all i fucking hear out of you."
Me: The user doesn't understand what hypocrisy is. I am very consistent with my statements. Yes, I am in many threads about so called inclusion and it's because each article shows inclusion as a check mark made in a progressive box. Inclusion in games is done mostly to pander to the agenda of the loud and vocal Social Justice Warrior minority that have to make everything about identity. It is not sexist or racist to state that a character like Nadine is a token SJW character, or that making Tracer lesbian is the height of pandering. Nadine has unbreakable plot armor which makes her character unrelatable and unrealistic. Tracer's orientation has literally no bearing on anything and no place in a 5 on 5 multiplayer FPS with no story. How is that inclusion for the right reasons and not inclusion for pandering reasons?
User: "Every f***ing time there is a thread or a game there is Dragonknight with his long winded replies to call it propaganda and fight against any kind of inclusion."
Me: I never called it propaganda because it's not. It's pandering. I'm not fighting against inclusion, I'm fighting against the forced acquiescence of developers, or the shaming of developers, or opportunistic pandering that developers use to check that identity politics mark off. It's about being able to create for your own sake, not to cater to the fragile emotions of perpetually fragile ideologues that need validation every second of every day in every possible fashion.
Now, the rest of it goes on and is much much worse and more of a personal attack against me with no relation to games at all so I left it out. Since this blog is already long enough I'm going to try to briefly summarize my feelings about inclusion.
On the whole I don't care what a character's race or orientation is. Video game characters are not real people. They are not going through real struggles, they do not even exist. Everything the characters are experiencing in the game is unique to them and them alone and in reality is not actually happening. People who require validation of their existence through media have serious mental problems. If you can't feel good about being a girl, or being gay, or being any ethnicity unless you see fictional people living unrealistic lives in either total positivity or eventually overcoming all challenges and barriers, then you have personal issues you need to seek help for because they will never be resolved no matter how much media you consume.
I have many games with Character Creation and open relationship potentials and play all different kinds of characters because I'm trying to play as something as unlike me as possible. That's the point of escapist media. My problem is with progressives, political agendas, and identity politics being used as a weapon against developers who do not tow an ideological line. A developer who does not have females in their game is not a sexist developer, but they will be publicly shamed as being such. THAT is what I am against, and all the related issues and problems as a result of that kind of mentality. Your identity is not important to anyone but you, and you do not have the right to have your identity celebrated by the world. Celebrate who you are yourself, be happy with who you are, but the second you try to force me or anyone else to, we're gonna have a problem.
If you want to call me a racist or a sexist because of that, let me introduce you to a term you'll seldom hear from the progressive world but one you should always remember. DILLIGAF. It stands for Do I Look Like I Give A F***?
Hey gang, It’s been a whirlwind few months here at the Larian castle, attending some of the biggest awards ceremonies in our industry, and we are absolutely humbled by the recognition we’ve received from our players and our peers.
Publisher One or EIGHT and developer Team EARTH WARS will release physical standard and Deluxe editions of LOST EPIC for PlayStation 5 and Switch on August 8 in Japan, the companies announced.
Golf With Your Friends gets better again, with the introduction of a Critical Hit DLC pack and the launch of Speed Golf.
Not sure why "neatO's" comment was flagged as 'spam' ?
Truth is, no one can really the tell what the developer , writer or artist is actually thinking when making a video game , unless someone does a interview with that person .