Hogwarts Legacy and Shaming in Gaming
Added 2023-02-13 21:11:50 +0000 UTCI welcome everyone's thoughts and feedback. Hopefully Starfield will be less eventful.
Hogwarts Legacy
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/26/tech/google-saudi-arabia-cloud/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26582812
Comments
Which begs the question: "Should I cover Diablo 4?"
Annie
2023-02-23 12:48:52 +0000 UTCOne- I loved your character in the game! I thought your design looked awesome. Two- I bought the game, and I love it, and I feel more than a little guilt about that. I'm sure I've done worse things, and will probably do worse things, but that doesn't stop me from feeling bad about buying the game. Three - The devs of the game did a great job on it. The inclusion of a trans character and allowing your character to be trans doesn't make up for the ill JK has done in the world, but it also doesn't mean their actions aren't for the good. Just because something was tossed in at the last minute doesn't mean it is bad. Far too many game's defining mechanics were due to a crunch time tweak. Addendum - The devs also don't get enough credit for releasing a game that actually worked on launch. That shouldn't be a very high hurdle, but despite the fact the first job of making a game is to make sure you can play it, most studios have forgotten that and decided that they will patch it after release. If you want a reason to support the studio, there is the best one I can give you. There game fucking worked when I booted it. That shouldn't have to be a positive, but it is getting too damn rare among big budget studios. Four - By letting this game into her world, she tacitly has to admit that trans people in the wizarding world are no major issue, and not the subject of scrutiny and hate like in the real one. Or if she felt that strongly about it, she could give them her money back, and complin to her agent. Five - and my last point, because my game has now downloaded and I can finally play (just reinstalling WoW. I told you I would be doing worse things) I have to wonder how much the Streisand Effect amplified this game, and the cause of trans rights overall? My 5 sec of googlefu didn't reveal anything useful, and I don't thing a university is going to pay me to answer that question any time soon, so scraping the top 100 trans and anti- trans charities donation reporting over the last 24 months to see if any pattern emerges is currently out of the question(though I do have a project due so maybe, but don't hold your breath, I might be playing WoW again.) I know the media coverage from all sides has increased visibility of both the game and the issues surrounding it. I would of probably ignored the game had people not talked about how much they wish it wouldn't make them an evil person for playing it. I was pleasantly surprised to find it a decent game. My bet would be the controversies surrounding the game elevated it beyond what it would of normally achieved, even with AAA funding.
Tc
2023-02-22 23:15:24 +0000 UTCThis is my personal struggle with chocolate.
Annie
2023-02-17 04:26:39 +0000 UTCAgreed. I wouldn't recommend buying either game based on whose pockets they are likely to line, but ultimately it's something each of us have to decide on our own, given all the facts. Harassing or shaming anyone for their decision doesn't help one's cause, and that goes for all sides. And I have to admit I'm still agonizing over whether to get Hogwarts Legacy. I would definitively donate to a trans charity to try to even the score, but such letters of indulgence still leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Ugh, why did the game have to be good?
Faxmachinen
2023-02-16 22:01:08 +0000 UTCTrue, luckily there are more people that knows how to behave online. Sadly, there is a small group that will do that.
Savio
2023-02-15 06:39:57 +0000 UTCI do want to help create a place where people can disagree. I just don't want it to detract too much from what we're trying to accomplish here.
Annie
2023-02-15 02:43:38 +0000 UTCThanks. I'm honestly just ready to move on to the next project.
Annie
2023-02-15 02:41:38 +0000 UTCI have a lot of complicated thoughts on this topic. I don't think I could say I agree 100% with everything you say in this video, or all of the rhetorical moves you use to convey your point. However, I'm glad you made it, and I'm glad you made it exactly like this, because I think it's important that you took what *your* stance was, and not the stance anyone else wanted to hear. Thanks for making it, and making it this way, and as ever, I'm looking forward to what's to come!
MxMorganic
2023-02-15 00:09:18 +0000 UTCThats sad to hear. I hope it wont affect you and your work that much. But if someone unsubscribes just for you having a different opinion in one topic, its questionable if this person would appreciate your content in the way you would wish.
TentacleD
2023-02-14 21:19:10 +0000 UTCJ.K. Rowling wrote a fantastic series over Harry Potter. Because you're disagreeing with her about her remarks, won't change that. What if you're a huge fan of another series or a band, maybe a maker of games. Would you're opinion change, when you find out that you have different opinion about several topics? What I find the most important thing, is that you have to respect each others points of view. That doesn't mean that you have to agree with that, that's something else, but it's always a good start. Sadly, since many people are anonymous on the web, they think that they can bash. That's so wrong and unnecessary, you're only hurting the other one.
Savio
2023-02-14 20:39:20 +0000 UTCI think that overall I'm going to lose subscribers from this decision (in the short term), but clearly stating the purpose of the channel will hopefully help me (and eventually everyone else) in the long term.
Annie
2023-02-14 17:54:24 +0000 UTCLike you have shown with your examples, the countless things we purchase and dont reeeaaally know who or which agenda we are financing right now. Its a lack of knowledge and unerstanding. This "discussion" about the Harry Potter Game was a great chance for the trans community to educate the rest of the world, or for followers of JKR (or herself) to clarify, whats the concern with trans rights. But sadly, its not really a topic you are able to speak about anymore or simply avoid. I personally think its a very good decision to stick to your statement and do exactly that, "no shaming, just gaming". I hope to tickle this content doesnt give you a headache in the aftermath. Fingers crossed.
TentacleD
2023-02-14 15:55:14 +0000 UTCI try really hard to talk about my own personal biases and hypocrisies. I know that I am going to make mistakes and have the wrong take. While all of the sexual content of the Harry Potter world has been sanitized from Hogwarts Legacy, the nature of this debate makes this a game about sex and sexuality. I always thought Ender's Game had a subtext of homoerotic self discovery and was shocked to learn about Orson Scott Card's personal views. I truly believe that giving everyone a safe and healthy way to explore sex and sexuality will help everyone. Including the proto-Orson Scott Cards floating out there in the ether. As for the Russian situation, there are a lot of developers in our industry from Russia and Ukraine. The ones in Russia are legally compelled to support the state and that doesn't even take into account how effective Russian propaganda is. I really try to stay quite about subjects and topics that deviate outside of the focus of the channel, because it will only distract from my end goal. How much better would the world be if people like Putin had the ability to explore sex and sexuality in a safe and healthy way before they became such a twisted creature?
Annie
2023-02-14 04:11:51 +0000 UTCI don't think allyship, or just being a good person generally, requires a perfectly sanitized media landscape. Adults should still be free to engage with problematic media... Hell, I wish more of them would engage *critically* with problematic media, because then we could have more nuanced conversations about it. I'm too old for HP to have had any impact on me, so the game holds no interest personally... But the easy parallel for me is that Orson Scott Card is a massive bigot, and yet Ender's Game was one of the most influential books of my youth. I'd definitely want to play a game set in that universe. The key relevant question for me is "Who gets my money?". If I bought Hogwarts Legacy, would I be paying royalties to JKR, funding her hatespeech, or has she already gotten paid off a licensing deal such that sales make no difference? If I bought an Enderverse game, would I actually be giving money to OSC? Because in that case I probably wouldn't buy it despite my interest. It's the same question I'm asking myself about Atomic Heart; is there actually a good argument that my purchase of the game in some way contributes to the Russian war effort or Z propaganda? Or is it just part of the backlash to Russian art and cultural works?
TheOldDruid
2023-02-14 04:08:41 +0000 UTCI don't think we realize how much creativity and advancement is held back by copyrights and patents.
Fafner
2023-02-14 03:58:12 +0000 UTCI'd rather we kept the old copyright laws. That way all of these franchises would now be in the public domain and open to anyone making content.
Annie
2023-02-14 03:47:51 +0000 UTCI think why this is particularly polarizing is that She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been vocally and personally fighting against the rights and validity of trans people for quite a long time now. Now there is a game that directly finances her activism that has an ethically questionable plot and suspicious bits of subtext, it seems like a slap in the face to the trans, Jewish, and other communities to purchase and promote this game. Personally, I think people really needs to become less attached to intellectual property; and more willing give it up if the creation or creator represents the antithesis of our values.
Fafner
2023-02-14 03:32:41 +0000 UTCI was less trying to be balanced and more trying to be like, "Talking about Sex and Sexuality on YouTube is hard enough without adding in bullying and hate speech, so at least please pretend to be civil before I get banned." I don't think that people realize how tenuous my position on YouTube is. I want to support the safe and healthy exploration of sex and sexuality and I love that people come here and passionately debate it. I have to modify my content for YouTube, but that is still better than no platform at all. People tell me to "hold to my principles", but I'm literally compromising in every video I release in order to continue to exist. This video was demonetized for hate speech before it even released. Seriously. That is just a piece of what I'm dealing with here.
Annie
2023-02-14 02:52:45 +0000 UTCI thought about doing a video about Daz and Daz models, but I'm not sure how interesting that would be. I think it is a fascinating company.
Annie
2023-02-14 02:43:56 +0000 UTCspeaking of sex trafficking. the more VN I purchase the more I seem to see the same Avatar look alike with a few shades difference with same tattoo with a difference role game.
Gamersocialite
2023-02-14 02:10:25 +0000 UTCThank you for your balancing words, from a non-binary supporter.
Coconut Probable
2023-02-13 21:53:42 +0000 UTC
