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[Zafir]

I generally don't stop supporting a game even if the creator/leaders politics are questionable. After all, most games aren't just made by one person.

That said some recent examples where I'm kind of annoyed about creators were relating to gamergate. Where Brad Wardell of Stardock and Daniel Vávra of Kingdom Come both were defending that controversy and said some really shitty stuff relating to it.

 

[Death Penalty]

Nomura prefers cats over dogs.

Wait what?!

WHAT?

NOOOOO

 

[BabyFaceKillah]

Edit: I can separate the creator from the art..

.

 

[cryptosporidium]

Id reckon it is political reasons why we will never get an official Mother 3 localization. Namely being I find NoA are probably cautious to the wests handling of the Magypsies especially now that Trans-issues are in the limelight of the publics conscious.Might also to do with Mother 3's criticism of western capitalism/imperialism

So Mother 3 is then unplayable (excusing the wonderful fanlation) because of political reasons. Its a bit of a spin on the OP but I think this still flows with the topic?

 

[User 73706]

The creator of the Brutal Doom mod sampled actual gore for the game's bitmaps and there are also a handful of other things buried away in the code, like a weapon description dropping the N-bomb (hard R and all).

 

[autoduelist]

Meanwhile Left Behind features what...two girls kissing? There's no politics or statement there whatsoever.

Sure there is.

Being gay is not "politics", it's Biology. People are gay. Is water being wet in a game politics now as Well? Because I couldn't handle that in Uncharted.

While I agree with you that being gay is not politics, and it 'just is', that is a political position. Just because I agree with it, and you agree with it, and most/all people on this site agree with it doesn't mean it's not a political position. The earth is round was once a political position.

 

[Maledict]

I will be honest, a lot of people are coming across as patronisingly smug by going on about 'separating the artist fro the art'. Whilst that is a laudable aim, when the artist is directly using the funding he gains from the art in bigotry and oppression it becomes a lot harder.

Orson Scott Card isnt just someone has unpleasant, homophobic views, for example. He sat on, and directly funded, campaigns to suppress gay rights and make life worse for people. By supporting the artist I would be supporting those same outcomes.

It's not as simple as ignoring the creator - you can't boil a complex issue down to a single line and then act like you have the answer and everyone else should just get over themselves.

 

[orborborb]

Most RPGs in the last 15 years (everbody's equal and can do anything!)

Resident Evil 4 (creepy right wing dehumanizing of terrorists)

Tomb Raider 2014 (weird misandry AND misogyny as if they somehow balanced each other out)

 

[petghost]

Id reckon it is political reasons why we will never get an official Mother 3 localization. Namely being I find NoA are probably cautious to the wests handling of the Magypsies especially now that Trans-issues are in the limelight of the publics conscious.Might also to do with Mother 3's criticism of western capitalism/imperialism

So Mother 3 is then unplayable (excusing the wonderful fanlation) because of political reasons. Its a bit of a spin on the OP but I think this still flows with the topic?

im sorry this is unrelated but i like your mingus avatar.

 

[Monocle]

It's not heresay, there are archives.



Doug is a shitty guy and proud of it.

Wow what a massive knob.

 

[Yasumi]

Out of all the shady politics espoused by some game devs that have been cited so far, this is what you feel strongly about? A minor disagreement over the localization of underage scantily clad anime girls is what made you choose to boycott Zeboyd's games?

Huh. Okay then.

Way to over-simplify and misrepresent, but I guess? I've certainly seen dumber reasons for not wanting to buy a game.

I only have so much time and money, I generally support the media that falls in line with my personal views and interests, like most people.

 

[Cheesemeister]

If you stop consuming a product because one creator out of many on a project has political views different from your own, you'd basically have to stop consuming products altogether. Statistically, there are bound to be one or more people on any project whose views you don't know about don't align with yours.

Rather, judge any product on its merits and don't worry about a fraction of one of your pennies winding up in a particular person's wallet.

 

[Lijik]

Every time I am reminded of Doug TenNapel's behavior I get really bummed out, because that dude made a lot of games that I really love. And he's apparently an awful person.

I bought a graphic novel of his, read it that evening and enjoyed it. Literally the next day was when he had his big homophobic meltdown in the Ratfist (his old webcomic) comments section. It was weird to go from being jazzed about the dude to learning hes a major piece of shit overnight.
edit- i think this was also the year or maybe the year after the ewj remake came out, which between that and the webcomic rekindled my interest in his work. it was a major bummer to find out hes a shitbag

 

[Hypron]

Edit: that was maybe a bit too much of an assholish post.

 

[Alucrid]

If you stop consuming a product because one creator out of many on a project has political views different from your own, you'd basically have to stop consuming products altogether. Statistically, there are bound to be one or more people on any project whose views you don't know about don't align with yours.

Rather, judge any product on its merits and don't worry about a fraction of one of your pennies winding up in a particular person's wallet.

well i guess i put pennies into the wallets of people who are sensible enough not to publicy espouse their shitty views than

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Phil Fish won't see my money.

A lot of people here are mistaking "political views" for "made a game I dislike/says things I dislike".

Which is really sad because the thread title is not at all obscure.

Most RPGs in the last 15 years (everbody's equal and can do anything!)

I find it hilarious that, in the very same post where you say inclusion is a bad thing, you also say terrorists are people, too.

 

[User 73706]

Way to over-simplify and misrepresent, but I guess? I've certainly seen dumber reasons for not wanting to buy a game.

I only have so much time and money, I generally support the media that falls in line with my personal views and interests, like most people.

uh

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

The attitudes of Kamiya and JP have put me off Platinum games

 

[Necromanti]

Didn't know that about the creator of Neverhood.

 

[Aarglefarg]

If you stop consuming a product because one creator out of many on a project has political views different from your own, you'd basically have to stop consuming products altogether. Statistically, there are bound to be one or more people on any project whose views you don't know about don't align with yours.

Rather, judge any product on its merits and don't worry about a fraction of one of your pennies winding up in a particular person's wallet.

A person can reasonably have their personal limits for what goes too far for themselves.

And of course, not in response to the above, those personal limits can be discussed if people put them forward in a discussion.

 

[uomoartificiale]

I honestly don't see the relevance. You only talked about your feelings about Quinn and how you felt forced to change them because of Gamergate, but know you can finally get how you really felt about her off your chest. You're not even discussing the issue the thread's about.

You don't like her, but you think it sucks that she's harassed. Not a new opinion or one really relevant to this thread.

Thanks for sorting that out for me so brillantly. Now that I've been put in your little box I'm so cozy and warm. And you're right, my opinion is not relevant.

Spoiler

You did not understand what I was saying. You're a bully. I'm out of here, I won't see the reply where you pat yourself on the back and tell me you're such a good guy.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It doesn't bother me personally (it's more like a little trivia) but Nasir Gebelli, the programmer of Final Fantasy I, II, III and Secret of Mana, used to donate money to the Republicans from 1996 until 2008.

 

[Calvero]

The big one I remember was Orson Scott Card and his relation to Shadow Complex.

He's homophobic, etc.

fuck

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Thanks for sorting that out for me so brillantly. Now that I've been put in your little box I'm so cozy and warm. And you're right, my opinion is not relevant.

You did not understand what I was saying. You're a bully. I'm out of here, I won't see the reply where you pat yourself on the back and tell me you're such a good guy.

You didn't really try to explain anything.

 

[aGuyInaBearSuit]

I don't think Levine was making any racial statements, at least not intentionally. It seemed more like a "hate breeds hate" sort of thing IMO.

 

[Hjod]

Most RPGs in the last 15 years (everbody's equal and can do anything!)

Resident Evil 4 (creepy right wing dehumanizing of terrorists)

Tomb Raider 2014 (weird misandry AND misogyny as if they somehow balanced each other out)

I need some receipts for this, especially the Misandry part.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Next up we worry about who to elect based upon their ideas in low-poly modeling. Long story short, I don't buy politics, I buy games. What the people who profit from the sales of those games think or believe politically isn't any of my business. Where is that caring continuum chart when I need it?

 

[Yasumi]

uh

Okay?

 

[Gin-Shiio]

Nomura prefers cats over dogs.

Maybe I should get into Kingdom Hearts after all.

 

[Petrae]

Phil Fish won't see my money.

Same here. I haven't and won't ever play a game he's had a hand in. After Shahid Ahmad's antics post-No Man's Sky, I won't buy anything he has a hand in, either.

 

[Simbabbad]

This thread reads more and more like one of senator Joseph McCarthy's wettest dreams.

 

[tiebreaker]

Nomura prefers cats over dogs.

Based Nomura.

I would be inclined to not buy a game if I find the creator to be a horrible person, but bar some extreme cases, I would still buy it if it's good.

 

[bobawesome]

uh

SLAMDUNK, BRO! YOU GOT 'EM!!!

I see people still have an issue with dismissing posters by quoting their avatars, as if that's supposed to mean anything.

 

[Retromelon]

Couldn't care less about creator's politics, doesn't offend me. You could be Hitler incarnate, but if you make a great game then it's worth my money. Although that's mostly because very little offends me.

I do find the tension between the alleged immorality or despicability of a person and the greatness of his art fascinating. In some cases, the formeer actually benefits the latter (Lovecraft's racism was one part of his worldview that fueled such imaginative worlds).

Lol if a guy killed 6 million people but made a good game for you to play, you wouldn't care?

 

[Bronx-Man]

There was a quote from Ken Levine getting passed around Twitter the other day, where he rather clunkily talked about BioShock 1 & Infinite - and how it related to the plights of Jewish Americans.


Source

Essentially, it sounds like Levine is saying that the moral of BioShock Infinite is that oppression breeds oppression. But some questionable connections pop up once you think about the real world. Is he saying that in contemporary society, Jews (and in the case of Infinite, African-Americans) have taken on roles as oppressors?

I still love both games, but it's become clear over time that Levine's view on the subjects he wrote about may be a bit questionable.

Here's what I'd say. BioShock 1 is about Jews. I'm a Jew. If you think about it, Andrew Ryan, Sander Cohen, Tenenbaum, they're all Jews. Suchong is Korean. During World War II, Korea was brutally occupied by Japan. He's a guy who survived.
They're all survivors of oppression. And they don't come out of it heroes. Oppression turns them into oppressors. And that's the cruelest aspect of oppression. If you look at Andrew Ryan and Daisy Fitzroy, they're not that far apart.

Jesus christ, Ken. Not all activists or survivors end up turning into terrorists or dictators.

 

[fester]

Lol if a guy killed 6 million people but made a good game for you to play, you wouldn't care?

Entertainment über alles.

 

[Barakov]

It only becomes as issue for me if the game is so ingrained in the creator's political ideology that the entire game's purpose is to put forth said ideology. Can't say I've come across many games like that.

EDIT: Some of the stuff that Bioware guy said is pretty messed up. Won't turn me off of ME : Andromeda though. He is just one of the many people who are working on that game.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

I don't think I've boycotted a game for a reason that wasn't apparent with or within the game itself. I'm not gonna buy Hatred, Postal, or Hunie Pop, but I never had any intention playing those anyway.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Codename Steam is one that I think of as quite a few folks boycotted the game when it was announced that Wil Wheaton and Adam Baldwin, though I not sure why.

Anyway Doug TenNapel being involved with Earthworm Jim doesn't me too much as

- I didn't know about Doug TenNapel and his bigoted view before getting Earthworm Jim,

- I brought Earthworm Jim pre-owned so none of the money went back to him,

-He was not the only person to work on Earthworm Jim

-My first knowledge of Earthworm Jim stemmed from the cartoon series, I didn't get the game til much later and it was for my little brother

-Doug TenNapel doesn't even own the series,

Having said that I did opt not to buy his latest game and decided to boycott all future game created by him.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Besides the obvious stuff like homophobia, people who support gamergate like adrian chmielarz aren't people I'm going support.

 

[Alucrid]

Codename Steam is one that I think of as quite a few folks boycotted the game when it was announced that Wil Wheaton and Adam Baldwin, though I not sure why.

Anyway Doug TenNapel being involved with Earthworm Jim doesn't me too much as

- I didn't know about Doug TenNapel and his bigoted view before getting Earthworm Jim,

- I brought Earthworm Jim pre-owned so none of the money went back to him,

-He was not the only person to work on Earthworm Jim

-My first knowledge of Earthworm Jim stemmed from the cartoon series, I didn't get the game til much later and it was for my little brother

-Doug TenNapel doesn't even own the series,

Having said that I did opt not to buy his latest game and decided to boycott all future game created by him.

probably because adam baldwin is a crazy alt right gamergating ass

 

[Grief.exe]

https://vice-images.vice.com/images/content-images/2015/12/08/donald-trumps-real-estate-tycoon-is-a-warning-from-history-950-body-image-1449569006.jpg?resize=*:*&output-quality=

With revolutionary gameplay from Donald Trump like hiring illegal immigrant workers and not allowing minority tenants.

 

[Foffy]

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a perfect case where the studio's leader got an ego so big he essentially fucked up the sequels.

And damn, the nonsense of Doug TenNapel. What a creative-yet-close-minded person.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

Codename Steam is one that I think of as quite a few folks boycotted the game when it was announced that Wil Wheaton and Adam Baldwin, though I not sure why.

GamerGate supporters boycotted it over Wil Wheaton opposing it. GamerGate opposers boycotted it over Adam Baldwin supporting it, even creating the original hashtag.

Me, I bought it. Like I said, I don't boycott many games, though in this case, it would've been because of Baldwin.

 

[Brainfreeze]

Jesus christ, Ken. Not all activists or survivors end up turning into terrorists or dictators.

He didn't say all of them do. All he's saying is that it's a thing that has happened, and he's making games about that.

When a totally non-radical view backed up by history gets as much push-back as the Daisy Fitzroy story has, it seems to me like all the more reason for Ken to keep making games like that.

 

[Drek]

I restrict my assessment to the product itself, with the exception of anything:

1. Produced by someone committing/committed a criminal act I feel is appropriately classified (i.e. Polanski, but not a game dev who smokes pot)

2. Where proceeds from or purpose of said product are specifically earmarked for a cause I disagree with (America's Army games for example, trying to use a shooter video game to gateway kids into the military when the topic should be a tool of last resort for the average soldier).

 

[televator]

I sold my copies of Eternal Darkness and Soul Reaver after Dyack's gator bait comments.

 

[Easy_D]

I sold my copies of Eternal Darkness and Soul Reaver after Dyack's gator bait comments.

Dyack only worked on Blood Omen. The series was a Crystal Dynamics joint after that. Even then, I couldn't hate on Blood Omen, but I might be biased. Maybe.

 

[Spukc]

I really really like bruce willis movies.
The guy is an huuuge douche.
Several journalist said this.

Does it stop me from watching his movies?
NO.

He is an great actor. (Fifth element)
Don't mix politics with games.
Enjoy the art ignore the person behind it.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

A lot of people here are mistaking "political views" for "made a game I dislike/says things I dislike".

Which is really sad because the thread title is not at all obscure.



.

Both are interesting thread ideas, the OP clearly meant actual politics, but the title made me think of fez and Phil immediately.