Slasher on 13/6/2017 at 01:37
Quote:
Another reason is that the trailer features two characters that rubbed the alt-right the wrong way: An African-American woman who appears to be some kind of rebel leader in the anti-Nazi insurgency, and a white man from the South who references the "proletariat" and rants against Wall Street and imperialism. The former, they say, is racist to white people, and the latter is a communist, which is even worse than being a Nazi.
Inline Image:
http://i.imgur.com/NJGwnQu.jpg <:mad:>
I refuse to pre-order games that marginalize America's white minority, or Nazis. Even Space Nazis.
Renzatic on 13/6/2017 at 02:11
WHAT MADNESS IS THIS? I thought liberals were supposed to be the shrill, uptight ones.
catbarf on 13/6/2017 at 22:05
Quote Posted by Renzatic
WHAT MADNESS IS THIS? I thought liberals were supposed to be the shrill, uptight ones.
I think some people on both sides like to see dogwhistles where none exist, and journalists are happy to amplify their misplaced outrage for clicks.
Resident Evil 5 is a good comparison- a handful of people assumed that because the trailer featured a white man shooting black men it meant the game was promoting racism*, and the controversy was magnified by widespread reporting. Then it turned out the game featured a black secondary protagonist and a mix of Middle Easterners and Europeans among the enemies. Trying to read into the political implications of a videogame from the content of a trailer is stupid, but as long as somebody's getting irrationally angry there will be gaming news sites eager to pick it up.
* That said, Sulphur is right, the bit in the middle of the game with spear-throwing African tribal natives in grass skirts living in mud huts is downright farcical, but that's not what the pre-release controversy was about.
Tony_Tarantula on 16/6/2017 at 16:37
Quote:
Resident Evil 5 is a good comparison- a handful of people assumed that because the trailer featured a white man shooting black men it meant the game was promoting racism*, and the controversy was magnified by widespread reporting. Then it turned out the game featured a black secondary protagonist and a mix of Middle Easterners and Europeans among the enemies. Trying to read into the political implications of a videogame from the content of a trailer is stupid, but as long as somebody's getting irrationally angry there will be gaming news sites eager to pick it up.
You know what Far Cry 5, Call of Duty, and all of the other games you all are mentioning have in common?
They train us to hate people that the corporate/government complex wants to see destroyed. In the mid 2000's it was middle eastern nations resisting the Saudi/Bush agenda, now they're more afraid of domestic resistance.
How about we read into the political implications of a videogame from what is said at GDC?
This was posted elsewhere.....the part I'm referring to (and the only ones I give a shit about) are the slides on the right hand side. Developers very openly and clearly state that they do have political agendas:
(
http://i.imgur.com/ZGpN7R7.jpg) http://i.imgur.com/ZGpN7R7.jpg
Renzatic on 16/6/2017 at 16:48
GUYS! THE MEDIA, GUYS! THE MEDIA! AGENDAS! NARRATIVES! OH MY!
What we're seeing here is the thought process of the conspiracy theorist. Take a few things that sound vaguely threatening out of context, present them in isolation, slap up a few pictures of black people in videogames, and OH MY GOD MY CULUTRE IS UNDER ATTACK BY THE LEFT! LOOK GUYS! PROOF IT'S HAPPENING!
Renzatic on 16/6/2017 at 16:52
BATTLEFIELD 1: IN THE NAME OF THE TSAR? WHY DO THEY HATE THE WEST SO?
Starker on 16/6/2017 at 18:31
Quote Posted by Tony_Tarantula
How about we read into the political implications of a videogame from what is said at GDC?
This was posted elsewhere.....the part I'm referring to (and the only ones I give a shit about) are the slides on the right hand side. Developers very openly and clearly state that they do have political agendas:
(
http://i.imgur.com/ZGpN7R7.jpg) http://i.imgur.com/ZGpN7R7.jpg
All humans have a certain point of view that is inherently political and these biases inform everything that they do. It's impossible to have a game that has no politics in it, because it's shaped by the politics of the people who did it. And just because something is the status quo or the default, doesn't mean that it's not political.
Slasher on 16/6/2017 at 23:53
Well, if the latest COD is anything to go by, they want us to hate Nazis. What was the enemy in Infinite Warfare? Space Saudis? The Emirate of the Great Red Spot? Something sci-fi-ish.
I'm pretty sure Wolfenstein has you in the shoes of the domestic resistance.
Tocky on 18/6/2017 at 01:56
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Er, RE5 had bigger problems than 'had black people'. It went a little too far with pushing stereotypes and depicting Africa as a land of tribal savages -- complete with spear-chucking zombies -- which is more than a little disingenuous.
Having said that, yeah, there's always going to be outrage over something or the other. I find it funny that a game about a fanatical cult, Christian or otherwise, draws people's ire because of the colour of its members' skin. Didn't the poster have a bunch of different races in it?
Edit: so, there's a token black dude on the far right. Diversity hire, I guess?
You do understand there are places in the interior with present day spear chuckers right? Do we ignore this for the sake of political correctness? Do we pretend the culture of the west has penetrated all corners? To what purpose? Cultural hegemony? Because someone has determined spear chucking to be a racist perspective? It works. It feeds the family. Chuck it all for the sake of OUR perspective? I don't like the twisting of facts to fit OUR sensibilities. Actual facts are a tad more important than some weenies perspective of what they ought to be for me. Actual facts are for me that what works and has been passed down over the centuries is still okay. Break it for the sake of another culture not so much.
Sulphur on 18/6/2017 at 02:18
Play the game first, Tockster. There are places in Africa with 'em, but they're hardly the rule rather than the exception at this point. Basing a decent portion of your game in said village complete with tribal overtones is pandering to an old-fashioned stereotype, and that makes me uncomfortable in those parts. Not enough to point at the game and say 'RAAAACIST', if that's what your impression is, but it's notable in how out of place it is in today's landscape. It may have been a Japanese dev's outmoded idea of a fun cliché, but it's a duff note; it adds nothing of interest to the game except a certain flavour, and that flavour is of subconscious cultural regression aided via zombie contagion -- an irony, perhaps, because the word zombi comes from African/French Creole in the first place.
The perception of popular media can change over time. Would you call Emperor Jones an even-handed look at racial dichotomy today?
