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Should we boycott Shadow Complex?

GhaleonQ

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
oh dear god, when will the conservative be free from persecution, to freely say that he hopes those gays (with their gay disease) won't be given rights

it's just not fair, when we get our rights
(is a middle class white male that spends his time playing expensive electronic toys)

See? He plays to type, and often!

Y2Kev said:
I barely even post in PoliGAF!

LIES! "Today, 08:56 AM" I'm mostly just referencing you being mean to me during the 1 time I dove in and generally bringing up politics when it's odd to do so. I should say that there are far better targets, but you were at the top of the page. Sorry. In any case, whie I appreciate the nuance you want to add to the boycott side of things, you should also add degrees to the side that's against you. Are you against Card's political writing, NOM, Focus On The Family, black megachurch organizations, Mormons, and the Catholic Church to the same extent? Is it all just hate speech and (I censor because GAF is insane) people who hate f*****s? That question matters because that's how his money will be spent. And come on, his side was outspent, anyway.

Also, calling Ken Levine's work "genius" offends me on the aesthetic level. *grins*

Y2Kev said:
edit: Why do you even see this as a conservative/liberal question?

I'm unsure what "this" is.

Anyway, I really don't want to post. I've never been banned, but moderators are quick on the trigger and indiscriminate (or is it?).
 
Teknoman said:
Didnt stop people from reading/buying Lovecraft books till this day...and he seemed to be pretty racist.

Nobody even liked Lovecraft until he was dead and the copyright lapsed on his works. He made like $5 on his stories the whole time he was alive.

(Plus, he wasn't a public spokesperson for the National Organization of Hating Black People, which makes him kind of different from OSC.)
 

duckroll

Member
Teknoman said:
Didnt stop people from reading/buying Lovecraft books till this day...and he seemed to be pretty racist.

Now if it was in the game, then I could see a cause for outrage.

Interestingly enough, Lovecraft was never really that successful while he was alive. His works only caught on after his death. Especially with lots of other authors referencing his mythology and stuff, spreading it's awareness in that way. He was indeed a racist bastard though, and I guess it was karma that it turned out that way.
 

eshock

Member
To be honest, I had a lot of qualms about buying this for all the above-stated reasons, but at the end of the day I want there to be more games like Shadow Complex. If one or two are created by troglodytes, it's a price I have to pay (by donating $20 to a local anti-Prop 8 group). I'd advise everyone else to do the same.
 

sonicmj1

Member
ShockingAlberto said:
I do.

And you can go to hell for saying it's a stupid position to associate an entirely optional entertainment product with the people who made it. Straight to hell.

That'll teach him to be tolerant of other people's views!

While I've expressed my beliefs earlier in the thread, and I stand by them, I can understand why people might attempt a boycott. There's some logic behind not wanting to give money to someone who you are sure will use it against your beliefs. I still think it's dangerous, though, and I don't think it sends the right message.

You have to be careful how you present it, or you get comments like this from very reasonable people.

shidoshi said:
This argument in favor of OSC makes not one bit of sense to me. Everybody should have the right to make a living, including Card, right?

Great... too bad he doesn't think everybody should have the right to get married, and works to make sure of that. Call me a kook, but I'm perfectly fine thinking that no, maybe he shouldn't be making a living so long as he is helping to keep other people from having the rights he has.

I can understand why you feel this way, but to anyone who doesn't feel very closely to the way you do, this sounds incredibly close-minded and discriminatory.
 

Malvolio

Member
Thanks for the info OP. I'm not able to purchase this game, but I will do my best to make sure I don't contribute funds in any way to his future projects.
 
I loved his books when I was younger. I think he's a great writer, and that opinion doesn't change when I got older and found out more about his personal philosophy. The two don't have anything to do with each other I suppose, I don't retroactively go back and say "well, I can't like what I read years ago anymore based on what I just heard" Many of his opinions do directly conflict with mine, but that doesn't have anything to do with whether I enjoyed his work, or whether I would buy this game.
Also, LOL at people getting angry and saying he's a bad author. Thank God little barking dogs don't decide what the rest of us can enjoy.
 

nightez

Banned
The personal views of the developers involved shouldn't matter as long as the game itself has no questionable content in it that will offend people.

We live and work in a society with people of many different and varying personal views on issues; anarchists, racists, nazis, nation of islam, etc you name it. You can't expect us all to have the same views, we're all human remember. By the way, they may even have been gay developers also working on this very game too. Don't you want him to reap the fruits of his labour?

...
 

ZZMitch

Member
The sad irony is that (judging by the posts I have read) that this thread has sold more copies of Shadow Complex then caused people to boycott it.

I support gay marriage and all, but I don't think you should boycott this game because (as someone mentioned earlier) this guy is already extremely rich and some money from this game is not going to change that. Most people that are going to buy this game have already anyway so this thread will change little.
 
Don't get me wrong, you have every right to boycott. And you know, you very well might if you're a gay individual. But this particular work does not make any political commentary about homosexuality. I find the connection to be a stretch. I would buy the game for the gameplay, I didn't even know Card had any connection to it. I still don't know how strong the connection is.

Also, throwing around the word "homophobic" is disingenuous and a miserable term to use to stereotype those with different views on homosexuality. It's a layered topic that a wikipedia article isn't going to solve.
 

jeanRicK

Member
The thing is tho that there no such thing as true equality, or true freedom .... by their definition, such states of society cannot exist in the real world as one will always be bounded so to speak by the 'freedoms' of others.

So yes, we the consumer have the right to boycott and what not, but we have to remember as well that others have the right to buy and enjoy this game (even after being informed about Card and possibly Chair). We most also bear in mind that Card and Chair are free to their views and what not and if we are to take the definition of freedom at face value... to some extent free in their actions as well.

We basically end up in the 'I'm right', 'you're wrong' kinda ditch :(
So: "Should we boycott Shadow Complex?"
Ans: Whatever seems right to you
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
To lay the Gordian Knot on the table:

Guys, will the relatively small royalties OSC makes off Shadow Complex make much difference anyway to his anti-gay activities?

I'm gay. I think OSC's personal opinions are batshit insane and that he's very misguided for actively supporting various marriage defense organizations. But the dude is already a very successful author with a lot of disposable income that has been made before he got crazy in his old age and went off on gay people.

I'm all for the principle involved, but pick your battles. OSC already has his money from plenty of sources. I think donating money to gay rights efforts probably does more concrete good than /preventing/ Card from getting a trickle of extra royalties.
 
Cartman86 said:
Seriously @ the Joss Whedon thing? Or did I miss a joke?
It's a semi-joke. I wouldn't be a fan anyway because I don't like his writing style, but he's also way too into the male feminist thing.
 

jay

Member
There seem to be a few arguments that pop up over and over by those who are offended some people may want to boycott the game. Here in no particular order are responses to those arguments.

Not championing all causes does not make someone a hypocrite.

Having a belief is not the same as actively campaigning to round up support for that belief.

OSC is world famous, the vast majority of people are not.
 

GashPrex

NeoGaf-Gold™ Member
well before I buy my next game I want a rundown on each developers political views, PAC contributions and any significant political activity. In fact, I want that for every movie, tv show and any book I ever read.
 

Coins

Banned
nightez said:
The personal views of the developers involved shouldn't matter as long as the game itself has no questionable content in it that will offend people.

We live and work in a society with people of many different and varying personal views on issues; anarchists, racists, nazis, nation of islam, etc you name it. You can't expect us all to have the same views, we're all human remember. By the way, they may even have been gay developers also working on this very game too. Don't you want him to reap the fruits of his labour?

...

If Jack Thompson helped make a non-violent puzzle game that was great, and you knew some of the money he made was going to his activities he is commonly known for, would you still buy the game?
 

GhaleonQ

Member
Dragona Akehi said:
So GAF is insane because we actively dislike the use of a slur on our forum?

Glad to know this.

No. I meant that the probability of getting punished for using the word in the context of, "This is what pro-same-sex marriage people think anti-same-sex-marriage people think," (that is, referencing ironic usage to accuse them of bigotry) is too high for me to risk it. That should be clear from the context.

Also, I hope that you people aren't going to play Earthworm Jim (isn't that getting remade?) or The Neverhood series. TenNapel's hopped up on Jesus and Bill Buckley, too. Last post!
 

Fantasmo

Member
Drinky Crow said:
holy shit, apf finally wins a thread

Harm? I just found out I've been missing out on a Metroid clone, thanks to Coin's attention getting thread title.

Wishful thinking there guys.
 

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
Meh, it's not like Card's is a likeable individual but...

Why not boycott all those corporations that build things like computers, sneakers and the lot at nearly slavery-wages at the far East?

I mean calling a boycott on Card while typing it on a computer made by XXIth century slaves while wearing apparel made by underage kids whipped to work the whole day is sort of upsetting.

Ah, don't forget to boycott meat too, cow meat for example requires so much land and energy to be produced you could feed several hundreds of guys with rice or other crops if that land and energy was used to produce vegetables.

Our collective hands are already covered in blood, feeding a few bucks to someone like Card is probably a minor offense. The guy's a religious bigot but we're not gonna start hoarding money below the mattress to boycott the finantial execs that inflated the bubble, right?
 

Chrange

Banned
It's pretty funny that Chair Entertainment is being lumped in with OSC's beliefs now. There's even speculation they might be funding anti-gay activities themselves. :lol
 

ZZMitch

Member
Coins said:
If Jack Thompson helped make a non-violent puzzle game that was great, and you knew some of the money he made was going to his activities he is commonly known for, would you still buy the game?

Ya, after watching some reviews and looking at what website like IGN rated it just like I do before I buy all my other games.
 

dacuk

Member
Coins said:
People saying his views do not have anything to do with the game are wrong. He is a VERY active homophobe and spends money towards anti-gay measures such as keeping gay marriage illegal. He also is a proponent of heterosexual marriage only adoption. You dont think they money he earns (no matter how small) will go towards such campaigns?

Anyway, the article also said if you want to buy the game, buy it! Just donate a small amount to a gay friendly cause.

Why do I have to do this? I am not buying this game because somebody related to it is a homophobe, I am buying it because it seems to be a good game and pays homage to one of my favorite series.

The beliefs of the persons related to it won't make the game more or less fun to me, and this is the main reason I care about this game.
 

Timber

Member
This is an extremely difficult issue, but one thing I can say for sure is that the people who ridicule the OP and brush off Card's intolerance and the influence he, as a person who enjoys a certain amount of presence in the public consciousness, may have among certain people, are simple-minded fools who are far more pathetic than anyone wishing not to support this game on account of moral objections.

On the other hand, Kosma is right in that the vast majority of us (regularly) purchases products made under far more dubious circumstances without batting an eye, and getting all up in arms because this particular product features the involvement of someone famous seems a bit disingenuous. It's easy to cherry-pick your battles like this and boycott something simply because you are more aware of the issue at hand than you are of others. However, everyone is hypocritical to a certain extent, and I don't believe the proper remedy to this is to allow every possible evil that we may come across simply because we are aware of these hypocrisies. As the saying goes: two wrongs don't make a right.

Besides being an intolerant person, I find Card to be a poor writer. But his personal politics are no worse than those of a significant number of far better authors whose works have become quintessential literary achievements, and may even be taught in schools. But, fortunately for us, the bulk of these authors are long dead, so with them we're not faced with the moral dilemma of whether it's responsible or not to support them with our money.

I didn't know the developers behind Shadow Complex have a relationship with Card that extends beyond the superficial, and to me that newly gained knowledge puts the issue in a new light, and pushes it well over my moral threshold. It's easy to dismiss Card's influence because, hey, he's just one person and making a game takes many more than that, so why deprive all these other people of some well-earned sales, right? But even if the relationship between Card and the developers did not exist, the fact remains that Card is a public figure, and as such holds a certain amount of influence. The people who object to this game and choose not to buy it most probably do not do so because they're afraid the profits will be funneled directly to anti-gay propaganda, but rather because they want to see Card out of the spotlight. And when you take that into account, I think a boycott is not at all undeserved here.
 

Fixed1979

Member
If we were afraid to purchase something because somebody who had views we didn't agree with had a part in producing it we would probably all be living in the woods lighting fires with sticks.
Obviously Card may be a bit more outspoken than others, but I don't see any reason why I need to change or modify the things I enjoy because of the (unrelated) views of others.
 

Big-E

Member
nightez said:
The personal views of the developers involved shouldn't matter as long as the game itself has no questionable content in it that will offend people.

We live and work in a society with people of many different and varying personal views on issues; anarchists, racists, nazis, nation of islam, etc you name it. You can't expect us all to have the same views, we're all human remember. By the way, they may even have been gay developers also working on this very game too.

...

Swing and a miss. Another one just doesn't understand the difference. Let me try to explain this as best we can. There are two things that we have here in this life, one is opinions the other is money. Everyone has opinions but not everyone has money. Money and opinions have a unique correlation as money can influence opinions. If I give money to someone who is high profile and has a lot of money and likes to spread his opinions onto others with it, I increase this persons ability to influence opinions with money. This is what OSC does. OSC is not some gas station attendant who thinks gays are the devil. OSC is a high profile anti gay campaigner whose fundamental goal in life, given how much he spends and how much time he commits to the eradication of gay rights, is to ensure that gays do not marry and that his opinions and beliefs spread to others. If you can not see that people are not boycotting on beliefs alone than I feel sorry for you.
 
Bitmap Frogs said:
Meh, it's not like Card's is a likeable individual but...

Why not boycott all those corporations that build things like computers, sneakers and the lot at nearly slavery-wages at the far East?

I mean calling a boycott on Card while typing it on a computer made by XXIth century slaves while wearing apparel made by underage kids whipped to work the whole day is sort of upsetting.

Ah, don't forget to boycott meat too, cow meat for example requires so much land and energy to be produced you could feed several hundreds of guys with rice or other crops if that land and energy was used to produce vegetables.

Our collective hands are already covered in blood, feeding a few bucks to someone like Card is probably a minor offense. The guy's a religious bigot but we're not gonna start hoarding money below the mattress to boycott the finantial execs that inflated the bubble, right?
I can't change the whole world by myself, so I'm not even going to try to change anything at all. Do you steal? Do you lie? Do you murder? If not, why not? The world's evil anyway lol!
 
GhaleonQ said:
No. I meant that the probability of getting punished for using the word in the context of, "This is what pro-same-sex marriage people think anti-same-sex-marriage people think," (that is, referencing ironic usage to accuse them of bigotry) is too high for me to risk it. That should be clear from the context.

Also, I hope that you people aren't going to play Earthworm Jim (isn't that getting remade?) or The Neverhood series. TenNapel's hopped up on Jesus and Bill Buckley, too. Last post!

People do not get banned for the word "faggot". They banned for the use of it as a slur. If you cannot tell the difference between these two things, I feel very sorry for you.
 
nightez said:
The personal views of the developers involved shouldn't matter as long as the game itself has no questionable content in it that will offend people.
I see this point and I'm going to go in another direction with it. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom of consequences of making said speech. If you're a public entertainer of whatever stripe and don't want backlash from fans over a non-related issue, keep opinions on anything not related to your field to yourself. It's a risk when somebody gets on a soapbox.
 

Mutagenic

Permanent Junior Member
Segata Sanshiro said:
hahaha

religion...fucking everything up since, well, ever
Thank you for your generalization. I'm sure the orphanages in Mexico I've been blessed enough to have a hand in help build and nuture over the course of the past ten years as a direct result of the funds provided by religious outreaches would disagree with you. Nobody is perfect, and I can attest to that in my own life. But to over-simplfy and categorize such a broad subject is harsh, dude.
 

RSLAEV

Member
The OP has the right idea. You vote with your dollars these days, not at the ballot box. I wasn't going to buy the game anyway but I'm glad I've been informed about where the money would be going, and I'll be sure to inform others around me who might be thinking of purchasing it.
 

Quixzlizx

Member
elrechazao said:
You should demand in writing from every piece of entertainment you are considering a purchase of, the complete and full voting record and political views of everyone who worked on the game in order to only play ideologically pure products.

Even if you are against prop 8 this is literally McCarthyite bullshit. Take this shit to OT.

Why do most people think that adding "literally" to some retarded statement suddenly makes it reality? Literally means the opposite of making shit up.
 
Coins said:
If Jack Thompson helped make a non-violent puzzle game that was great, and you knew some of the money he made was going to his activities he is commonly known for, would you still buy the game?
If said person's sole purpose was to fund a campaign to make video game artistic expression limited, probably not. On that same note, I won't buy a completely depraved game like I wouldn't go see a movie like SAW, but the ability to create such content shouldn't be limited (within reason).

From the little I've read of Card, I don't find his position offensive. I have not seen full speeches. Also, in this thread, Card is no longer an author, but an anti-gay (loaded generic term) activist, so everyone comes in here with a skewed impression.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
GhaleonQ said:
Are you against Card's political writing, NOM, Focus On The Family, black megachurch organizations, Mormons, and the Catholic Church to the same extent?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes to varying extents depending on the extent to which they act to deny human rights.

Although I live in a country that only has one of six things, for what it's worth.
 
Mutagenic said:
Thank you for your generalization. I'm sure the orphanages in Mexico I've been blessed enough to have a hand in help build and nuture over the course of the past ten years as a direct result of the funds provided by religious outreaches would disagree with you. Nobody is perfect, and I can attest to that in my own life. But to over-simplfy and categorize such a broad subject is harsh, dude.
Thank you for being a humourless twat that completely misses jokes. Makes my life more enjoyable.
 

Smash88

Banned
Honestly, if you don't buy Shadow Complex due to someones opinion, that in no way is involved with the game or is part of the dev team, you must be smoking something. Even then its one man's opinion, who cares what he thinks. I could care less if he thought we were all born on Mars, it is not going to stop me from enjoying a great game.

@At the Jack Thompson puzzle-game, a) I don't like puzzle games and b) that analogy is a joke. Really... Then we shouldn't be buying half of the games (I'm sure people have their opinions about different things in life). I guess we need to tell people never to speak their opinion ever again as well? No matter how ridiculous or crazy someone might be, doesn't mean you should not enjoy a product that is in no way related to him other than getting a small profit from it.

Ironically as well I just purchased it 5 minutes ago.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
GhaleonQ said:
LIES! "Today, 08:56 AM" I'm mostly just referencing you being mean to me during the 1 time I dove in and generally bringing up politics when it's odd to do so. I should say that there are far better targets, but you were at the top of the page. Sorry.

I honestly don't remember ever being mean to you! I apologize for that, and I accept yours. But I think my last post in PoliGAF was a post on Rachel Maddow (whom I really do love) and before that it was a picture of a protestor at a Health Care rally holding up a sign that says, "OBAMA, BRING BACK ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT."

Does Arrested Development offend you aesthetically? :)

In any case, whie I appreciate the nuance you want to add to the boycott side of things, you should also add degrees to the side that's against you. Are you against Card's political writing, NOM, Focus On The Family, black megachurch organizations, Mormons, and the Catholic Church to the same extent?

Well, yeah. I'm not targeting Shadow Complex (rather, I haven't targeted it at all-- I've purchased it) because I dislike Chair or Utah.

Is it all just hate speech and (I censor because GAF is insane) people who hate f*****s? That question matters because that's how his money will be spent. And come on, his side was outspent, anyway.
I don't contribute to or support any of these organizations, yeah. Though...I thought that YES on 8 dramatically outspent NO on 8.

Also, calling Ken Levine's work "genius" offends me on the aesthetic level. *grins*

Look, it was either I say "KEN'S WORK WAS SO NUANCED AND BELIEVABLE THAT YOU COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT" or "Wow, you're a fucking retard." And I went with the former.

I'm unsure what "this" is.

Anyway, I really don't want to post. I've never been banned, but moderators are quick on the trigger and indiscriminate (or is it?).

Well, you said conservatives shouldn't post. Do you really think it's just liberals that would find the idea of boycotting anything associated with OSC appealing?
 

TheKurgan

Member
ShockingAlberto said:
Unless the guys who made the games also give money to organizations like the National Organization for Marriage. Which, given the information in this thread, is not all that unlikely.

I couldn't care less who they give money to or what their political and religious beliefs are. I am only interested in the quality of the games they are selling. These guys could donate millions in support of gay marriage, or whatever, but if their games are shit I am not going to buy them.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Epic Tier 3 Engineer said:
Also, throwing around the word "homophobic" is disingenuous and a miserable term to use to stereotype those with different views on homosexuality. It's a layered topic that a wikipedia article isn't going to solve.

So someone who would want to deny the rights of black people to marry shouldn't be considered a "racist". They should be considered a "marriage activist".

Got it.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
shaolin242 said:
lol gayest thing ive ever read. who cares - the game looks amazing - who cares that someone who didnt have much to do with it is opposed to homosexuality. the fact you made this thread makes the issue look even worse.
I sort of wonder whether this was meant to be taken literally. Either way, I'm sure he'll enjoy his ban :lol

I personally wouldn't anything with OSC's name attached to it. Thread is a good heads up.
 

Dali

Member
Everyone should buy Shadow Complex. Buy it twice. Consider what really matters, people: The return of 2D gaming.
 
charlequin said:
No, it really isn't. If you oppose granting legal rights to gays then you are indeed holding an anti-gay belief.

And if you're against a Mormon choosing to follow their beliefs in the public square, you're holding an anti-Mormon prejudice? These kinds of 'you do x, you're a y!' dismissive statements are completely useless to the overall SSM debate.
 

mollipen

Member
Dragona Akehi said:
People do not get banned for the word "faggot". They banned for the use of it as a slur. If you cannot tell the difference between these two things, I feel very sorry for you.

Let's be fair here: bans around here have, on many occasions, not made one lick of sense to a lot of people, and the fact that mods typically enjoy giving no reasoning for said bans doesn't help in the confusion. So you can't really act like it's shocking that members would feel like they have to walk on eggshells when it comes to many topics over uncertainty from what will and won't get you banned.
 

Big-E

Member
Smash88 said:
Honestly, if you don't buy Shadow Complex due to someones opinion, that in no way is involved with the game or is part of the dev team, you must be smoking something. Even then its one man's opinion, who cares what he thinks. I could care less if he thought we were all born on Mars, it is not going to stop me from enjoying a great game.

@At the Jack Thompson puzzle-game, a) I don't like puzzle games and b) that analogy is a joke. Really... Then we shouldn't be buying half of the games (I'm sure people have their opinions about different things in life). I guess we need to tell people never to speak their opinion ever again as well? No matter how ridiculous or crazy someone might be, doesn't mean you should not enjoy a product that is in no way related to him other than getting a small profit from it.

Ironically as well I just purchased it 5 minutes ago.

JESUS AGAIN THIS ISN'T ABOUT OPINIONS! Buying this game directly supports the fattening of OSC's wallet which in turn allows his vendetta against gays to continue.
 
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