Back in the 1990’s when video games were under attack from
the media and landmark titles like ‘Doom’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Quake’ were all the rage,
many concerned parents were wetting their collective panties regarding the
overt violence and gore exposed to their fragile, sheltered youth. The target
audience of your average gamer was between the ages 8-24, male, and either hung
out in Hot Topic at the local mall or Chuck’E Cheese. The popularity of mall arcades were dying,
while PC and gaming consoles were ubiquitous trappings in the cheetoh’s coated
realm of the common nerd. Many characters were often over-sexualized and
overtly macho to the point of parody. Duke Nukem wantonly swung stacks of
Benjamin’s at skimpy dressed pole dancers while spouting crude one liners
(Gasp: Objectification of women!) and Leisure suit Larry introduced us to the
art of seducing two dimensional broads with artistically rendered bosoms
(Simply Abhorrent!) all the while, the bloodletting effects in your arcade
style fighting games had more pixelated red squares than a Minecraft server:
I am taking this opportunity to weigh in on ‘Gamergate’ as
well as segueing into the progression of video gaming and the direction of
the industry as a whole.
Running the spectrum
The proliferation of console gaming into truly mainstream culture
really began in the late 90’s early 00’s and delineated a shift from a mere
child’s ‘toy’ and curio-gadget of the niche hobbyist to a fixture of the social
nexus essential to any modern home entertainment center. Video gaming itself is
one of the hallmarks symptomatic to what so called ‘social psychologists’ have
dubbed the ‘Millennial’ generation. Along with the internet, social media ,
smartphones, and the influx of anime and Japanese culture injected into the
veins of the Western adolescent, it
represents one of the underpinnings our generation just inherently ‘get’s’ without
having to exacerbate its significance. While all of the aforementioned
technologies and cultural assets were developed in the mid to late 20th
century by preceding generations, they weren’t embedded into the social fabric of
their upbringing in quite the same way.
The term ‘gamer’ has also changed. To put this in
perspective, your average six year old playing angry birds in mom’s minivan
could be considered a ‘gamer’ just about as much as your average senior citizen
playing video poker in Vegas while wearing black oversized shades and a
sun-visor: Both examples are a radical departure from the grizzled gaming
enthusiasts leveling up their Paladin to level 80 in DOTA 2. So sure, the
prevailing stereotypical tropes will
enjoy the medium of gaming to their own degree, just as much as your average
Joe-moviegoer chortles on his extra
buttery popcorn while watching ‘Jackass’ appreciates cinema in the same way as
a jaded, balding film-buff does while critiquing the finer points of ‘Citizen
Kane’ in his studio chair.
This only becomes a problem to the self-identified ‘gamers’
who have adopted the title as an identification label, nothing more than a
dispute of terminology that they have made exclusive to themselves which is largely
irrelevant outside of their social strata. No longer is the traditional core
audience being targeted by the major marketing developers: Therefore affecting
the sensibilities of hardcore enthusiasts who have been playing video games for
their immersive plots, creative gameplay, artistic visuals and moving
soundtracks or just for the thrill of competition, stress relief and escapism,
or to vent frustration and anger playing GTA5 rather than recreating the
missions on the streets, pacified by the warm glow of their LCD screens. This was the inevitable repercussion of
gaming going main-stream and appealing to a far wider audience which was once
largely the realm of young male teens, and 20 something’s. And yet, there persists a relevant analogy
that can be applied to any other form of entertainment media: The more
widespread it becomes, the more it becomes oversaturated with content that the
initial audience cannot relate to as it garners a fan-base that is just as
estranged.
Attack of the 50 foot
SJW
Now, along comes a small but growing group of very vocal fringe
feminists that seek attention, publicity, and most importantly of all, money, by lambasting the gaming
community and exposing what they perceive as misogyny in gaming by putting it
on par with its history of violence and sexist portrayal of women. In
opposition to this, actor Adam Baldwin coined #Gamergate to rally gamers
against this onslaught, witnessing that their inclusive hobby (and some may say
life-style) is under attack by outsiders. For anyone already familiar with the
debacle, Gamergaters have long touted that the integrity of gaming journalism
is the core issue and the legitimate talking point, not misogyny in gaming; further
confusing matters since both issues overlap. But this has been overshadowed by the
accusations of misogyny, in particular, those made by Anita Sarkeesian, an
active critic and blogger. These involve harassment and trolling of female game
developers and game ‘journalists’ in the workplace, objectification of women in
games, and general violence toward women, claiming that the gaming industry is
inherently sexist against them. A small part of the self-professed
‘Gamergaters’, who, in actuality, represent a pretty insignificant portion of
‘Gamers’ as it stands, have responded in kind by posting death/rape threats to
Anita and other ‘feminists’ involved in the over-arching scandal including Zoe
Quinn and Brenna Wu, giving them exactly what they wanted: The fuel for the
media outrage they needed to acquire talk-show appearances on TV, dialogues with
radio hosts, and publications with magazine editorials giving them the money they wanted. The seedier
underbelly of the internet has spawned endless flame-wars on chan-boards,
twitter feeds, and tumblr forums in response. This form of online harassment
has been ongoing since the internet itself went mainstream, and has been
directed at every single race, ethnicity, gender, orientation and subculture
that has ever existed. It is nothing new, it is not excusable to those making the threats, but it is not exclusive to women. These threads
are highly effective at attracting the lowest common denominator of both Gamer
and SJW (Social Justice warrior) alike who thrive off conflict and drama, festering
like flies on a shit-pile.
Gamers have awakened to the fact that they do not have
traditional news media outlets to represent themselves; only a handful of
crackpot websites, blogs with PC police pushing personal agendas, youtube video
commentaries, and a smattering of community forums which provide the only real platform
for them to voice their concerns. There is no legitimate foundation for gaming
journalism or reputable news sites to cover what is now a multi-billion dollar
a year industry. I personally feel the ‘core’ gaming community provides an easy
target for radical left wing social extremists that harbor a quasi-political
feminist agenda to spew their vitriol without much backlash, mainly because the
traditional ‘Gamer’ stereotype is quite negative, and that young, ‘privileged’
white males represent the core audience of that stereotype are at a
disadvantage when addressing these issues because their inherent attributes are
used against them by these fanatics much like a race-card is used when hot-button
issues about race are discussed. Conversely, some of the ‘Gamergaters’ are to
be just as reviled since they have brought out the worst aspects of the gaming
community. Many of the harassing tweets
made by some Gamergaters have proven counter-effective and have played right
into the hands of these radical feminists who have used this broad-stroke victimization
as a PR example to justify their accusations and vilify Gamers as a whole.
All in all, this is further marginalizing the adherents of a
hobby that has been under siege for decades now. The result is typical of human
behavior, as we are using overgeneralizing labels to describe sweeping social
ideologues that pander to the simplistic human dichotomy of an ‘Us-Vs-them’ mentality.
The fact is, some ‘social justice warriors’ as well as some ‘Gamergaters’ are
equally repugnant, and are to be held just as responsible for souring the well.
For the details of the scandal, I refer
to the following youtube videos for those interested.
The gaming industry is being hijacked by con-artists and
feminist radicals, and this is bad.
Once predominately male, the title of ‘Gamer’ is far more
encompassing now than it was in past, and now many Gamers are women. This is a
great thing, all told. I feel that female gamers and developers have every
right to voice their input and participate in the industry, putting their
unique talents and perspectives into the fold. Many women in this field have
sided with Gamergate, realizing that the radicalized absurdities vomited by
Sarkeesian and her ilk are generally reviled by sane individuals.
Sure, straight men tend to enact a ‘power fantasy’ of white-knighting
for a damsel in distress. It’s an inherent, embedded genetic trait for masculine
archetypes to protect women, and appeals to the tribal, hunter-gatherer male
psyche when we apply this to entertainment. There is nothing wrong with this.
Sex sells, and women have been catering to this since the dawn of time. Straight
men view women as sexual beings, and radical feminists believe this somehow
enforces objectification, in the same way that cheerleaders on the sidelines of
the football field are ornamentation to the male libido. This drive is expressed
in typical heteronormative dominance over women, viewing them as something to
be seduced and conquered: This is what radical feminists hate. They can’t stand
healthy, straight, male energies projected toward females in any form, seeing what
they view as enforcing a patriarchal hegemony.
This is the heart of the issue.
Ethics in Gaming journalism, while just as valid in hindsight, ties into
the issue because Zoe Quinn used her gender to have affairs with numerous men
in gaming journalism. A writer for Kotaku is the notable example and she allegedly did this in exchange for positive reviews of her game ‘Depression quest’, and
was exposed by her Ex boyfriend for her wrongdoing. Gamers have seen the
ongoing corruption taking place in gaming journalism and realize that it should be
exposed for what it is. The SJW’s want the public to believe this has provided
a false flag to cover for their supposed misogyny toward women, but the fact
remains that bribery for biased gaming reviews, while little more than a
sideshow for an already overinflated issue, is a serious problem that is undermining
the industry. This has been widely arraigned by the entirety of Gamergaters ,
touting “Ethics in gaming journalism!” as their battle cry.
Am I a Gamer?
Absolutely. I love games, and always have. The Metroid series, featuring female
protagonist Samus Aran, is one of my favorite franchises of all time. It is
refreshing to see plot directions take a different twist from the ‘save the
princess’ re-hash not for its own sake, but because it is crucial for character
development and unique storytelling and that is what should be explored in this
day and age. Games like Bayonetta, Remember me, No one lives forever, Tomb Raider,
Beyond good and Evil, and Portal all possess female protagonists, and can
appeal to male and female Gamers alike.
I grew up playing video games; it was a joyful part of my
childhood as much as it was a part of those awkward, angst filled adolescent
years where retreating into a virtual world was the most appealing option when
faced with dealing with the life of a high school student and the social
hardships that come with it. Being a teen outcast is something many past
generations can identify with, and although I used gaming as form of
self-imposed virtual isolation and escapist therapy, it had its merits in helping
me cope and eventually become more social and branch out. Only those who have
experienced this form of alienation will find sympathy in the plight of young
gamers today, where others will merely scoff, abject to their own ignorance and
lack of empathy for the issues that teenagers must struggle with.
We must collectively realize what is at risk; the backlash
from the current Gamergate controversy has the potential to alter future game
content through political lobbying and enact content laws that would put more pressure
on the gaming industry should this SJW movement gain any more momentum, destroying
mainstream gaming as a realm of virtual experimentation and fantasy. This would
inhibit artistic creativity in gaming by forcing more concessions by game
developers to appease fundamentalist social extremists, as well as further stigmatizing
gamers.
Rather, I’d advocate on behalf of gamers of all stripes to
be able to enjoy a socially acceptable hobby without the unwarranted ridicule
or hostile preconceived notions projected at them by contemporary society and
feminist fanatics, partaking in a past-time that is generally shared in the
collective social unconscious typical to their peers. Interpreted in the context of communication
and media theory, video gaming would have been termed a ‘Hot’ medium by Mr
Marshall McLuhan, a renowned philosopher of the digital age. Objectively, video
games are immersive, interactive entertainment that engages all the human
senses at once save for smell, and this mode of interaction externalizes the
psyche into a transmigrated state while reducing awareness of surroundings to
varying degrees. Gaming can tie people together, expand their imagination and
horizons, and provide rejuvenating escapism and avenues to vent negative
feelings, sharpen deductive powers and problem solving skills while honing
situational awareness, hand eye coordination, timing, and mental reflexes
outside of the game.
While I strongly advocate artistic freedom, I validate the
safeguards keeping violent and sexual themes from being viewed by underage
players are quite necessary as well. In
the kangaroo court of public opinion, fact checking and credibility are thrown
out the window and decisions are based on emotionally charged, knee-jerk
reactions. This is a dangerous prospect to those who push the boundaries of
artistic creativity for shock-value and for adults who can appreciate adult
themes. This only helps to levy strength in the hands of powerhouse publishers
such as EA, which exploits these issues to their benefit by launching ad
campaigns that will play both sides of the field for profit, since their bottom
line is to outperform the competition through any means necessary. This is also
highly polarizing in an industry where Indie developers simply do not have the
funds and backing necessary to compete with the big house publishers, and while
they may not possess crack-dev teams and the massive licensing agreements and capital
investment that the major houses get, indie developers are crucial to keeping
the industry fresh, and producing truly unique content for the modern gamer to
enjoy. Some of the best games in recent memory are indie titles, and this is a
breath of fresh air in a industry bogged down by innumerable 'variations on a theme'.
State of the Industry
It is small wonder that today’s youth are more familiar with
the mythology of the Kingdom of Hyrule rather than that of Troy and Athens. Video games spin intricate lore that speak to
the modern psyche in a way that the old tales cannot, and yet these interactive
stories often possess powerful symbolism that used to be expressed in these old
stories that still taps into that subconscious mind, continuing the proliferation
of modern myth in different form.
Gaming has changed drastically over the
years. It has become ‘piecemeal’ since the advent of DLC (downloadable content) for profit that has
been milking as many intangible virtual commodities from a game as possible.
This tactic has been successful in maximizing revenue for the gaming houses even
on titles that may be incomplete, only to be patched at a later date. This is
very much a double edged sword with positive and negative consequences. DLC
(and expansion packs) are often met with mixed reactions by gamers, but can
also be used as an excuse for developers to cheapen the initial release of
their game with sparse content and hook the core audience of a popular game
while dishing out an endless stream of virtual trinkets, maps and updates.
There is also no question the US military has embraced video
games and see’s their value as a propaganda tool, loosely using the ‘Call of
Duty’ and ‘Battlefield’ series to glorify warfare and help boost their ROTC
enlistment numbers in high schools around the country, preparing the American
youth for combat scenarios. How hyper-realistic will first person shooters get
until they stop being a game and start becoming a gore simulation that would
make even the most hardened players flinch as they pump virtual bullets into a
virtual hooker? Where do we draw the line?
If there is one major shift that underscores the ‘au
courant’ of modern gaming, it is the fact that it has become predominately mobile
to the ever growing mainstream audience: The vast majority of mobile, java and
flash based games on smartphones are more popular than ever, providing highly
accessible, cheap, and, most of all, extremely addictive distractions: little
more than a delivery platform of a Pavlovian reward mechanism flooding the
primitive ape-brain with bright colors and gratifying sounds and jingles for advancing
game progress, thereby hooking the deductive centers of the mind and providing
only the illusion of input, ala ‘Candy Crush’, or ‘Tetris’. Many of the
gameplay factors in these types of games are completely left up to pure chance
in the same way gambling does in making addicts out of players.
Perhaps this could also be said of the early titles like
Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, which are just as stimulating and repetitive, yet we
hold these titles in high esteem as the cornerstones of classic gaming.
Granted, this was mostly due to the novelty of gaming during the early 80’s and
the fact that there were many technical and graphical limitations at the time.
Doubtless to the sensibilities of your seasoned gamer, that it would seem though
desecrating a masterpiece to compare them to something as pedestrian as Candy
Crush, yet they all essentially fuel the same reward centers of the brain while
triggering the same addiction pathways, and influx the conscious mind with a
façade of immersive escapism.
I would venture that video games can be as moving and
emotionally charged as a feature length film or a book of prose; and yes, some
works in particular I would strongly consider have so elevated their craft and
inspired us that they invoke the senses as a work of Art. This may be contrary
to what some feel is accurate to their worldview, but I digress. This, however,
can be exemplary of any consumption media which requires active participation,
(Film, books, music, graphic novels) and it is noteworthy that Gaming in
particular has one Achilles heel that robs the end-user of a certain virtue: Video Games have the peculiar quality of forming chronic addiction, and
a very wide range of personality types are susceptible to it. Procrastination
and eventual stagnation is the inevitable product of this type of addiction,
and those who have succumbed have found themselves squandering away their lives
away playing video games in a sordid cycle that they might not even consciously
realize they are trapped in: Perpetually consuming media rather than creating
it.
