Okay this might sound really stupid but what WTF is Gamergate?
A harassment campaign against women in the games industry.
Okay this might sound really stupid but what WTF is Gamergate?
Actually I don't, because I purposefully don't look at or follow anything relating to GG in any capacity and haven't since whenever it started. But thanks for the blind assumption, it's a decent example of what I mean about jumping to conclusions.Sure you don't.
I'll add you to the list of people who can't read too.
He says in his facebook post:
A game in which the player controls scantily clad women playing volleyball? Well, that's bad. Can't have it.
That is, that there are people who maintain the position that the option to produce and consume this type of game should not be available to anyone.
A harassment campaign against women in the games industry.
But isn't that the gist? That bucking back against calls to ban or blacklist people who buy or sell games is in the end a bad idea that stifles creative works? He's not calling for those people complaining to be censored either... he's asking them to engage with the other side and the dissenters, something he's advocating for a long time. To open the floor to discussion and debate, where censorship on EITHER side is a bad idea.
He's "objecting" not to objection, but to the objectionists who want to make a clean break from that form of medium entirely and only permit things that they are comfortable with that reinforce their own views, even if those views are altruistic and positive. He's saying there should be a place for negativity in the discussion, and his complaint is that BOTH sides need to listen more. Criticism is not a call for censorship. He doesn't want the moral grandstanders to shut up... he wants them to engage with the other side and recognize not everything is about them or for them.
Because, as you said... he's right. We tolerate a TON of offensive content in the west so long as it's violent and gory and cheer for the next awesome kill or fatality, while freaking out over Dead or Alive Xtreme and what Quiet is wearing.
That doesn't mean that Quiet isn't offensive as a design. Rather, he advocates she still has the right to exist, and for the critics just going "shun shun shun" - of which there ARE several - to be a bit open-minded in engaging with those that enjoy such content without demonizing the other.
There was a time when Alice and DOOM were on the receiving end of this same conversation. I'm old enough to remember it and experience it. That moral panic is surreal to me now.
Again, I don't agree with a lot of McGee's worldviews... but I also think he'd be open to hearing me out and engaging in a conversation about it from his very unique perspective versus my own. In fact, I'd really love to hear from him on the subject. Would be a fun debate and discussion because, as I said, I don't entirely agree with him, but he clearly has some interested opinions on the merits of art in all its forms, both hideous and lovely.
A bit, yes.
I always try and look at the perspective of the other guy, their experiences, and what shaped their thinking. Alice was a game that was deemed "offensive" once upon a time, that he was told by CEOs and people in authority was moral garbage and disgusting filth, and I like how he says those discussions are almost "quaint" in our current gaming climate of God of War gore and Witcher sexuality.
I feel like he bats for the "other side" perhaps a bit too much, but that's my opinion, since he he does have a more "South Park" approach to seeing flaws in both sides, and I know outright that GAF leans heavily into one side over the other. I do as well, but I try to be self-aware of it.
But he's also not entirely incorrect at the hypocrisy that one side claims to be the more "enlightened" and morally upright side, and they rarely engage with the dissent directly. Many of us would prefer not to give the other side a platform whatsoever, while he'd love to hear what they have to say, even if he wouldn't agree with them. Again, within reason.
He's staunchly against suppression of free speech, safe zones, or efforts to restrict gaming or art from being experienced by others. Inevitably, that has him defending OFFENSIVE ART and the people who ENJOY offensive art, and that's... offensive. I have been offended before myself, and sometimes that is the emotional reaction that was intended. Sometime's it's not. For as much as something like, say, OTHER M offends me and I wish it hadn't been made, I am glad it COULD be made, even if the end product is something I wish, on a personal level, had been done differently.
Because Alice itself has been through this portal before, and before that he worked on DOOM, which my mother once forbid my brother and I from playing because it was "satanic". He's been through the looking glass of attempts to legitimately stifle developer creativity, and lived in the country where such tactics are rule of law.
And then his family possibly experienced the very dark backlash of someone who disagreed with him.
I don't even fully agree with him either. I think it's fine to be critical of art and offense is neither a positive or negative response; just a reaction. There's much I dislike and I can articulate why while acknowledging it's not for me at all while wishing things had been done differently.
But as an artist, I can understanding the right to be offensive, nightmarish, vulgar, disgusting, screwed up, insulting, and negative. Art is not always beautiful; it's often ugly. And American often goes to bat for the ugly ones out there that we are offended by.
Should a complaint or a protest about what's included in the game lead to government censorship?
We're not talking about the viability of the games in the free market in this case anymore. We're talking about people who react negatively about a game and are trying to change it through government intervention.
I don't know why I'm asking you this question. It's not like I'm going to get a smart response from you. You ducked my last question. A scenario that implied the game developer would make something different i.e. that he would change the product by his own volition. A scenario that McGee would have absolutely no problem with.
Okay this might sound really stupid but what WTF is Gamergate?
Funny this is brought up, because I feel a lot of your statements are seriously LACKING context for what he's saying, when he's saying it, and why he's saying it. It's the same sort of generalizing that lumps everyone in together, like how a Christian guy must be a scumbag because a group of them hate gay people. Equating his advocacy for free speech - which LONG precedes Gamergate ever being a thing - is to diminish the actual context of his platform.Context is key. Latching onto 'free speech' arguments in the context of Gamergate is fucking toxic and is in no way defensible. It also means that you egg on the harassment campaign while you simultaneously throw people like Sarkeesian and Alexander under the bus while you're complaining about SJWs.
I don't think he has a membership card or anything. There's a litany of interviews with other people and players of his past and history championing for better portrayals of women, and his own heroine Alice, often against the marketing muscle of CEOs who demanded she be sexier or flash more flesh. He's keenly aware than the Alice games have a substantial female following as well. He's said he agrees with Anita on many things (and she has ALSO used Alice as a great example of a heroine in games), while disagreeing with her on other things (he doesn't like her advocacy for what he described as "blank slate" style heroines to emulate, etc.).It's so clear that the dude is part of the group that complains about feminazis and that you can't be bigoted without consequences. The whole free speech thing isn't about free speech, it's about silencing women and those in the margins to voice their criticisms whenever you're being a dick towards them. Gamergate and the rest of the fragile failsons who react strongly when a minority criticizes something just invoke free speech as a form of domination and shutting down any form of conversation.
"Know they enemy" and also figure out what's happening in the cultural zeitgeist. I follow Trump's feed too and loathe the man, but I'm far less shocked by many here by the things he's doing. I see many coming a mile away. More importantly, I don't just know WHAT the harassers and bigots and racists are doing, but I can better understand WHY they're doing it. Nobody is born with their beliefs set in stone. They're shaped that way.I don't see the need to follow harassers, bigots, and racists like the ones I mentioned.
I don't think he complains about free speech, considering that is THE thing he's been advocating (including speech you're offended by or that makes you feel bad). You selectively ignore the fact he ALSO follows feminists, liberals, anti-Trump groups, LGBT friendly groups, etc.Dude complains about SJWs and feminazis and free speech and concurrently follows MRAs, fascists, bigots, gamergaters, and the rest of the far-right shitpile that wants to dominate other people. I mean, you have to be pretty oblivious and naive if you think the politics of such a person is not affiliated with such crazy people. But keep apologizing and rationalizing his actions, I guess.
He follows that statement with talking about banning or blacklisting people who buy it. That would be an odd comment to make if his sole concern was over whether it could be available to anyone. This contextualizes what he means by "can't have it". He means "you can't have it and be morally acceptable to individuals and businesses who may choose to disassociate".
This is again what I mean by his argument being muddled. It allows for ambiguity and jumps around at different levels of focus. Also, if you include an ad-hominem again, I'm not going to continue to respond. Not that you necessarily care, just a heads up.
Who is actually advocating for this though? Any major organizations? Any people with a great deal of influence? And beyond social influence, any people with formal power: senators, presidents, representatives? American had a chance to quote anyone advocating for this, but instead he talked about Western journalists not liking objectification, and implied it could turn into the Ministry of Culture.
Currently they do have the freedom. And he's addressing people who have the view that those companies SHOULDN'T have the freedom to do so. This is just a simple difference between positive statements and normative statements.
Hot Coffee, your most recent example, was 13 years ago. The proposed legislation was to legally enforce the ESRB's existing rules. It was never passed. Jack Thompson wanted more draconian censorship, and was roundly dismissed. If there are current legal threats in the US that American was reacting to, he should have brought them up.
As far as I can tell, American was responding to Koei-Tecmo not wanting to sell the latest Dead or Alive game in the US due to a smaller anticipated market. This was subsequently attributed to the actions of "SJWs", AFAIK because Play-Asia said as much. But Koei-Tecmo's actions, to my knowledge, were a pre-emptive response. There were no calls for the game to be banned and no outcry at its existence.
Yes, it appears that American may be attributing coercive arguments to individuals who are making persuasive arguments.Then he needs to speak with more precision. He doesn't make a clean break between criticism and censorship. Western journalists not liking things are placed in close argumentative proximity to government-sponsored crackdowns. His objections muddle the lines between both.
Okay this might sound really stupid but what WTF is Gamergate?
Seriously, you people, dude is throwing SJWs around and free speech arguments and censorship bullshit about anime titties, and people are seriously still not realizing what he's on?
Context is key. Latching onto 'free speech' arguments in the context of Gamergate is fucking toxic and is in no way defensible. It also means that you egg on the harassment campaign while you simultaneously throw people like Sarkeesian and Alexander under the bus while you're complaining about SJWs.
It's so clear that the dude is part of the group that complains about feminazis and that you can't be bigoted without consequences. The whole free speech thing isn't about free speech, it's about silencing women and those in the margins to voice their criticisms whenever you're being a dick towards them. Gamergate and the rest of the fragile failsons who react strongly when a minority criticizes something just invoke free speech as a form of domination and shutting down any form of conversation.
I don't see the need to follow harassers, bigots, and racists like the ones I mentioned.
Dude complains about SJWs and feminazis and free speech and concurrently follows MRAs, fascists, bigots, gamergaters, and the rest of the far-right shitpile that wants to dominate other people. I mean, you have to be pretty oblivious and naive if you think the politics of such a person is not affiliated with such crazy people. But keep apologizing and rationalizing his actions, I guess.
Context is key. Latching onto 'free speech' arguments in the context of Gamergate is fucking toxic and is in no way defensible. It also means that you egg on the harassment campaign while you simultaneously throw people like Sarkeesian and Alexander under the bus while you're complaining about SJWs.
It's so clear that the dude is part of the group that complains about feminazis and that you can't be bigoted without consequences. The whole free speech thing isn't about free speech, it's about silencing women and those in the margins to voice their criticisms whenever you're being a dick towards them. Gamergate and the rest of the fragile failsons who react strongly when a minority criticizes something just invoke free speech as a form of domination and shutting down any form of conversation.
It is high time that the ACLU moved onto the right side of History and abandoned the "narrow reading" of the First Amendment that is the result of 50 years of unanimous Supreme Court precedent. In lieu, it must focus on working toward more diverse and productive ends, such as giving Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump the robust censorship powers that they so richly and urgently deserve. The United States federal government is now run at every level by Republicans. So, indeed, are the lion's share of the governors' mansions, statehouses, and localities. If the ACLU really knuckles down, it can ensure that these figures — and not pernicious "neutral" principle — determine the edges and contours of America's civil society.
Okay this might sound really stupid but what WTF is Gamergate?
Things don't go away just because you're not paying attention to them.Would be cool if it happens. Lmao at the gamergate comments. Is that still a thing?
Would be cool if it happens. Lmao at the gamergate comments. Is that still a thing?
I'm also not including an ad hominem. I'm insulting you while attacking your position. Get it straight.
No, but those and trends with Google, Facebook, and SJW culture are the dots American is connecting.
That's a strawman informed by his current ills with China and trends in Western free market/free speech. He prefaced that statement about Ministry of Culture with a paragraph about Western journalism. "Can't have it" isn't in quotes. It didn't come from anyone. It's rhetorical. Was DOA Beach Volleyball banned in the west? No -- maybe Germany?
Ducked which question? I don't know why you're being so insulting.
If a game doesn't align with my sensibilities, I simply don't purchase it -- no more, no less. Let's say everyone is like that. If enough people don't purchase a game for that reason to the point that its developer no longer finds developing games like that viable, do you really think McGee has a problem with that?
(1) One type of argument: Developers shouldn't make design choices X, Y and Z, because those design choices are objectionable, for reasons A, B, and C. The aim of this type of argument is to persuade decision-makers within the game industry to make different choices about what goes into their games (and/or to persuade consumers to make different choices about what games they purchase). Arguments of this kind, which are entirely persuasive in nature (as opposed to coercive), are to that extent entirely unobjectionable.
(2) A different type of argument: Developers shouldn't have the FREEDOM to make design choices X, Y and Z. The aim of this type of argument is to persuade individuals in law-making positions to employ the coercive power of the state to prohibit and prevent game developers from making design choices X, Y and Z. Arguments of this kind can therefore themselves be considered coercive in nature.
However, outside of the Chinese context to which American frequently refers, it is not clear that there are any notable instances of coercive arguments being made, to any extent that would warrant Mr. McGee's concerns:
Based on this response, I'm choosing to disengage with you. It is most certainly an ad-hominem argument, as it is attacking an attribute (literacy and reading comprehension) so as to motivate others to devalue my argument, irrespective of its content. That is not your sole argument, but it is included for additional weight.
Reading Garlador's posts does seem to change the situation.I've lost all respect for the guy after his Gamergate allyship. What an inconsiderate and unemphatic dude.
Besides, it was probably Spicy Horse and the talented Chinese artists that made Madness Returns so beautiful.
Congrats. You're arguing a normative position which is independent of what is true about whether complaints/protests lead to censorship.
That's exactly what he's doing.
A strawman suggests that he's misrepresenting someone's position, but here you're saying that the quote doesn't come from anyone meaning he's not misrepresenting anyone's position. So it can't be a straw man, can it?
If a game doesn't align with my sensibilities, I simply don't purchase it -- no more, no less. Let's say everyone is like that. If enough people don't purchase a game for that reason to the point that its developer no longer finds developing games like that viable, do you really think McGee has a problem with that?
Anyway, I'm getting sick of responding which is mostly why I'm being insulting. This is my last response to you.
The works of Lewis Carroll are in the public domain. McGee could always make a new Alice in Wonderland influenced game without involving EA. It doesn't really seem like the type of product they would be interested in these days.
Would be cool if it happens. Lmao at the gamergate comments. Is that still a thing?
people throwing around gamergate accusations had me thinking mcgee was out here harassing women or some shit.
his actual words, that i still disagree with, combined with past life and works, makes this a bit more complicated for me to just say 'screw that guy'
The original books are, but the games and designs used in the EA published titles are not.
I believe the current situation is He can't make anything even vaguely inspired by the prior two games without EA at minimum giving permission.
Actually I don't, because I purposefully don't look at or follow anything relating to GG in any capacity and haven't since whenever it started. But thanks for the blind assumption, it's a decent example of what I mean about jumping to conclusions.
Madness Returns had a lot of potential and played wonderfulyl the first hours but turned into such a repetitive mess that it was a chore to actually play through, sadly. Don't see EA going for this at all.
I don't fund bigots.
I try not to *knowingly* fund bigots (with the exception of Sugiyama through Dragon Quest, which leaves a bad taste in the mouth).