While some of their language has changed, the sentiment of this latest aggressive movement is just as distressing. It’s time for the games industry to stand up to it
Gamergate was one of the first online instances that showed how easy it is to spread lies and misinformation through social media in order to manufacture outrage and weaponize it against specific targets.
The same exact tactics have been used by the far-right since. Gamergate felt like a testing chamber, before the full blown nazi propaganda plan that’s getting far-right politicians elected in many places. I live in one of such places, and the online tactics used by literal nazis against progressive politicians are 1-to-1 the same used in gamergate.
Those issues with social media have never been dealt with. If anything, social media has become more mainstream since, and now these tactics of lying and manufacturing outrage have become more powerful.
Traditional media seemed to have some semblance of accountability (although not really), but in social media, anyone makes up shit, people will take their word for it, if they like what they hear (or aligns with their beliefs), and it doesn’t matter if it’s debunked, because no one listens to that part.
The only solution is, and has always been, a zero tolerance policy against any kind of hateful or bigoted behaviour, by the people who control these online spaces. No one expects 4chan to moderate their content at these point, but when someone makes a new online space for conversations, those same people shouldn’t be welcomed, or they’ll shit all over the floor, turn it into another gross place, and you’ll have to start over.
These new complaints about “wokeness” in games, that happen with every game announcement, aren’t even dog-whistles at this point. They’ve been straight up howling for a while. The follow-up attacks, threats, lies, the dismissal that “none of this happens, it’s all made up”, and the support of fellow misogynists (like the companies with a history of sexism mentioned in the article), are all just part of the program.
And of course, you can see them in some of the comments in this very thread.
parpol@programming.dev 5 months ago
Almost every statement in this article is a complete lie, from the targeted harrasments to the sexism allegations and racism. Even the Hades 2 statements are completely out of context to misrepresent the problem.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
Sweet baby Ink known to extort and threaten to push their agendas into videogames, (there is a video of the CEO Kim Belair explaining how she uses threats if game companies refuse to listen to her advice) was never targeted by harassment. A steam group was made that lists all games they’ve been involved with. (SBI already does the same on their own website). Never did anyone in this steam group go out of their way to harass anyone involved with the company. It is just a group of people who don’t like this company and want to avoid buying games that they are involved with.
Then suddenly one of SBI employees started a harassment campaing against the steam group owner, and tried to get him banned from steam altogether despite no wrongdoing. He never retaliated, and instead just defended his own points.
In comes the game journalist allyssa Merchante who has historically made bigoted statements such as “you can’t be racist against white people” and starts spreading lies of a harassment campaign against SBI. People call her out, and now suddenly she’s a victim of harassment despite she being the one contacting people’s workplaces to get them fired, or phonecalling their partners in an attempt to shame.
The controversy around Hades 2 is not around square jaws, but rather, linked to the smear campaign gaming journalists have had against stellar blade, citing sexism. People were upset that gaming journalists were being hypocritical with titles like “Hades 2 Gods somehow hotter than Hades gods” while they also criticized Stellar Blade for its sexy main character claiming it appeals to white males and that it is problematic.
Ubisoft being in bed with SBI is also not a lie, as SBI officially lists Ubisoft as their customers. The new assassins creed game is another example of these same journalists spreading misinformation.
Being a retainer does not automatically make you a samurai, and playing African-American hiphop music when playing as an African is incredibly stereotypical and innacurate since Africans and African-Americans aren’t the same thing. Game journalists claim white people are just upset about there being a black character in the game (with no evidence). The game is disrespectful towards japanese, but to game journalists that doesn’t matter because they’re “white adjacent”.
The controversy around Wukong is entirely fabricated. The developers of Wukong were being extorted by SBI for 7m USD for advice they didn’t ask for, and when they refused, suddenly gaming journalist started digging around, and found past statements they claim are sexists. However, as it turns out, these statements were in fact mistranslated statements, and the original Chinese statements weren’t even remotely sexist. Of course once people started pointing this out, once again “look at the harassment campaign against us journalists” started again.
These articles always are quick to spin the narrative and paint journalists as innocent, but every.single.controversy. was retaliation against misinformation and harassment campaigns by game journalists and DEI companies. Never was it “a bunch of sexist and racist white people being upset about diversity in videogames”.
But of course the author of this article wouldn’t tell you that she and many of her peers like, liked and retweeted all the false statements I’m bringing up here, or that she follows SBI.
chloyster@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Sweet Baby Inc found themselves at the center of attention at kiwi farms, a website known for harassment and driving people to suicide. I find it very far fetched to believe they received no harassment.
Unless I totally missed it, I see nowhere in this article that said they didn’t work with SBI?
Everything I have seen points to Yasuke being a samurai. Lots of reading on it sourced in this reddit comment: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/…/l4bghbu/?utm_sou…
How is the game disrespectful to Japanese people?
There are so many outlandish claims in this comment with basically nothing backing it up
FarceOfWill@infosec.pub 5 months ago
This 100%
I deleted my reply because it was too much but the original ign article on wukong is very tame. I can’t see why they’re so worked up to harass the author off the internet.
Some days beehaw not having downvotes is a real issue.
GammaGames@beehaw.org 5 months ago
You are appreciated 🙏
Templa@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Very bold statements in favour of people that I know myself are extremely “anti diversity / anti woke”. Do you even know who the creator of the Steam group is? Guy is known for being the scum of the Brazilian WoW community.
TheMalWare@lemmy.ml 5 months ago
One extreme doesn’t justify another, plus what matters here is the information. Couldn’t care less about who runs or frequents the group, but I’m glad it brought awareness to SBI and their influence.
TheUnicornOfPerfidy@feddit.uk 5 months ago
Defensive much? I find myself being very suspicious of this opposing narrative. I’m not up to speed on this these days, but I remember Keza MacDonald being generally outstanding in her betrayal of events in video games culture.
parpol@programming.dev 5 months ago
What part do you find suspicious? I can provide some links and screenshots.
CaptainBasculin@lemmy.ml 5 months ago
7 million dollars? You could get multiple professional historians, mythologists or whatever expert your game’s theme is focused on to review and revise your entire game’s story for less than that.
Templa@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Imagine when they learn about executives. Also it is funny that no one mentions BG3 when talking about DEI consultancy groups.