Gender Inequality in Vid Games industry

[Dogg Thang]

Not quite sure that's support but, yeah, I guess so... At this point though, I don't think any of it is about her videos. Any new videos will be dismissed by those who wish to dismiss them no matter how good they are. And really, all they could do is expose the problem in different ways. The problem was exposed less by her videos themselves and more by the reaction to them and how she was sucked into Gamer Gate which apparently was about gaming journalist integrity (even though the targets were female devs rather than male journalists).

From here, it's about us. Anyone who actually enjoys gaming but who genuinely isn't cool with misogyny, whether we're male or female. The Gamer Gate goons have made it about us unfortunately, and that will come back to haunt us unless we address it - not Anita Sarkeesian.



Edit: Adding this tweet from Graham Linehan - "Well done #gamergaters. The giant **** you took on your own hobby has made the cover of the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/images/2014/1...tpage/scan.pdf "

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-17-we-cannot-let-this-become-gaming-culture

Eurogamer does a lengthy piece on Gamergate

[randombs]

"but I often treat Japanese thinking in a "hopefully they'll catch up with us sooner or later" way "

Yeah because our society is so perfect.

Of course it isn't. There's no perfect society in the world. But I do believe the society in which I was born and raised is a lot more progressive than that here in Japan. Especially in regards to women.

Your thing doesn't have to be perfect for you to be justified in thinking it's better than another thing.

[Asura]

EDIT - the Japan debate is a bit off-topic so I won't continue it

[Radirgy]

I actually finally decided to sit down and watch the tropes vs video games series the other day. I thought it was pretty damn good considering the expectation of uncertainty I went into it with.
I'm just glad we have critics in all at this point because in my ideal version of this medium there are a healthy population of both critics and also auteurs because I think those are two things the medium as a whole could benefit greatly from.

Also watching tropes vs women made me think over actual game design theory and why a lot of the content in these games is problematic. So to give one example, in Sleeping Dogs you can kidnap people by forcing them into the boots of cars, when you press the button command to do this however the games protagonist slams the non-playable characters head into the car itself, knocking them out, and then shoving their body in the car boot. Now the problem I have with this on a moral and design level is that the act is not acted out by the player but the game.

The big counter argument I hear to defend the likes of sandbox games is that they give you complete freedom. However if a sandbox game such as Sleeping Dogs contains pre-made animations and character actions like the above then not only does it contradict the game design philosophy of sandbox games granting complete freedom but it also contradicts the argument that the game is blameless for the players actions as the act of knocking a person out via smashing their head against a car frame is not an action controlled by the player but an action controlled by the game, all the player did in this case was activate it because the game does not give you an alternative.

From that angle the game comes off quite badly when you realise that there were people on the creative team who made and approved of such things and programmed them into the game. For these reasons a sandbox game like Grand Theft Auto III becomes easier to defend than Sleeping Dogs because in that game all the player actions are controlled by and done intentionally by the player.

Tropes vs Women isn't a deep academic criticism but it was never supposed to be in the first place, had it tried to be that you could make the argument that the entire project would have failed. A trend I have noticed in modern academics is that language over the years has become more simplified and easy to read, this is partly down to how the old methods of using high language limited the effectiveness of the readings. Had tropes vs women been entirely academic or attempted to play it up to the more academic audience it would have severely limited its scope and appeal. The reason it has succeeded the way it has is because it is pandering to the least objectionable demographic, in other words it aimed for an average that anyone can understand.

[chopemon]

Great post Radirgy!

[charlesr]

http://jezebel.com/video-game-reviewer-is-contacting-the-mothers-of-her-on-1664381934?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[fuse]

So, I made a post in another thread recently, calling out someone on what I believe to be irresponsible and reprehensible behaviour. They responded in a rather heated manner, got a temporary ban, and both posts were removed. That ban is up shortly, and with the approval of the mod team I'm reposting my side of things, albeit in a different part of the forum, to see if they're willing to engage minus the name-calling;

John - I know you still lurk here, and I hope you read this. Today I have seen this;

http://theralphretort.com/sjw-media-blackouts-coverage-of-japan-chroniclers-book/

? and I wanted you to know that I am utterly disappointed in you. I backed your book and kept quiet throughout the campaign (even trying to help raise awareness of it, and buying your DVD), and despite being stunned by any number of your KS updates, this is a new low. To make it clear for you and anyone else who's new to this whole saga - this was, and still is, not cool, and sadly only the first of many similarly inappropriate posts. If you want a reason people are not wanting to cover your book, I would recommend you stop trying to stir a conspiracy that jumps on the bandwagon of a current hot topic, and instead consider that it may be your continued lack of professionalism, and the ugly libel suit that it's landed you in as a consequence.

That you would actively turn to 'GamerGate' for support? well, for starters, the statement you've provided them is littered with baseless remarks and accusations, showing you've learnt nothing over the past year about how to conduct yourself in public. What makes it even worse though, is that you would write something that reads like a call to arms for a witch hunt, and then hand it off casually to a movement that is widely recognised for its harassment and abuse of women in the video game industry. This to me, is the clearest demonstration yet that there is an irresponsible and truly malicious side to your character. One of the few reassuring things I am finding from this is that there are already GG-sympathesisers commenting on the above article, debunking the validity of your claims of being the innocent victim in all of this.

I know your posting style on here has rubbed people up the wrong way in the past - myself included at times - but this is not dismissable as a bit of harmless fun on a message board.

Sadly I only got to see the response briefly, but in between the insults there were a few points I did catch that I'd just like to address;

Firstly: I am not defending anyone's behaviour. I have neither the time nor the inclination to wade through the documents you and the Kaku sisters have provided and to dissect who's telling the truth about this and that, but I can assure you that no number of emails, texts, phone logs etc will convince me that you are in a qualified position to throw around accusations that someone is "dangerously psychopathic" or "one of the most dangerous people in the games industry". I've re-read that Kickstarter post once again, and I honestly find it laughable that you believe it to be an unbiased, fact-only document.

Secondly: although I am certain you would love the symbolism if I were to burn your book as per your request, I am not going to do that. My issue is quite clearly with you and your conduct, not the book itself.

Thirdly: as harrowing and exhausting as a year-long dispute like this must be, I struggle to sympathise when so much of it is quite clearly of your own making. This may have all started in private and undocumented conversations, but you have been pouring oil onto this fire quite publicly since, and even worse, goading others to do the same and to harass your detractors despite the hot water it's landed you in.

[Guts]

He got banned? But I'm pretty sure he actively posts here with an alt called "".

[fuse]

Yeah, that's his account, and the one which got a temporary ban on Tuesday when responding to me.

[Deuteros]

XboxAchievements.com presents Festive Features: Top Five Best Boobs of 2014.

[Neon Ignition]

Number two is Haawt!

[nakamura]

Yeah, that's his account, and the one which got a temporary ban on Tuesday when responding to me.

With you all the way.

[Neil]

With you all the way.

Agreed Marty.

[fuse]

Gender Inequality in Vid Games industry

Cheers to the above! Saw it at the time, but would like to point out that I'm still pretty disappointed in the choice to edit Guts' post above in that way, though. Ho hum.

It would also seem that John has no desire to talk about this here beyond his initial response, and given the site he appealed to (The Ralph Retort) for GG support has all but dropped the story, here's a recent interview with Agness Kaku in its place, conducted by a similarly pro-GG chap, but one who has taken the time to read through everything: http://bit.ly/1ApxdZ0