We can go more into that next week though. For now, let's talk about opinions on the interwebs.
Considering how much vitriol, anger, and criticism I dish
out regularly, I'd like to take a moment to actually try and be positive for a
change. I'd like to discuss opinions a
little bit here. This is less to do with
publishers or developers, but more the game industry as a whole and our growth
overall. See...our industry, our
culture, is still relatively new in the eyes of the world at large. And it shows.
While the internet, and internet culture, has allowed people from all walks of life to feel included or to find something they love that they can share, gamers
sometimes have...a bit too much passion.
And they don't really take kindly to people expressing opinions or views that
don't fall in line with their own. Things
that they feel might threaten the medium they love so much. However...an opinion isn't an absolute
truth. It's not a law that needs to be
changed. It's not even a pressure
against this medium they care about. It is a
thought. An idea. We all have them. You have them. I have them.
And truth be told, that's not a bad thing.
 |
| Opinions are important for the game industry. They affect everything from review scores to editorial articles to the very content of games...so we should respect them. For they have power. |
Story
time. When I was younger, say about
16-17, I got Final Fantasy X-2 for Christmas.
I loved the game. While I found
the story only passable, the combat was enthralling, using the idea of changing
the female characters' clothes as a job system...however, I admit freely that
sometimes I'd have the characters dress in the skimpier outfits because I found
them attractive. Looking back, this
strikes me as rather sexist, objectifying the characters for a sexual
thrill. Know how I came to this
conclusion? Anita Sarkeesian.
 |
| Yes, I played the Final Fantasy dress up game. Sue me, I was in my late teens and a huge fan of the series. Surprisingly fun to play, though. |
Let me put
a bullseye on my back and say, I really don't like Anita Sarkeesian. Probably said it before, but let me just put
this out there. I don't like her
internet persona. I find it a bit
abrasive, extreme, and smug. That being
said, I don't dislike her as a person or really disagree with most her
opinions. I don't agree with all of
them, but at the same time being exposed to them changed me. They probably helped kick start me thinking
about feminism in video games and the objectification of female
characters in fiction in general. I always considered myself a
feminist and was overly fond of strong female characters like Terra Branford
from Final Fantasy 6 or Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere but except for the most
extreme examples, I'd never really connected feminism to video games...I was
one of those "last bastion of fun" kinda players, trying to keep my
games in a glass bubble. However, even
if I don't like Anita's internet persona and even if I don't agree with all her
opinions, they have helped me grow out of that glass bubble. They've helped me to change. And that's a good thing. Many gamers threatened Anita with things too
reprehensible to repeat here and too despicable for me to want to. Some carry a huge amount of hatred for her
and her discussions of feminism on youtube, Feminist Frequency. I admit, I'm not a fan...but I still respect
that she has a right to her opinion. Not
only that, but her opinions carry merit and I for one am grateful that they are
floating out there on the internet.
Why? Well, because it's another
voice.
 |
| Okay, look. I don't like Anita Sarkeesian. But she is not a coward for disallowing comments on her youtube pages, she is not ruining gaming by making feminist critiques, and she is not trying to subvert some twisted glass bubble we all think games exist in. Just leave her alone and let her voice her opinion like anyone else, okay? |
Human
beings are formed by the experiences, opinions, views, etc. around them as they
grow. Truthfully, humans don't ever
really stop growing until death, so we are constantly growing, learning, and
being molded by our experiences and the world around us. They help us to mature. All opinions help us to grow in one way or
another. Exposure to crass commercialism
could lead to people becoming highly consumeristic and wanting everything they see
on the TV or it could make them jaded about many products which are too in your face with false
promises. It could even lead to them being middle of the road about it, liking
some thing but being a discerning customers in their own right. Exposure to racist ideas could horrify,
intrigue, elate, or just depress others.
It could make them staunch civil right activists or bigots...but either
way, the fact that the opinion exists means that it will affect our growth.
 |
| Never gonna evolve if you don't try new things and get out of your comfort zones. |
Going back
to Anita, I have to say that rather than trying to destroy her or discredit her
or just make ourselves nuisances...why not simply let her speak? She has as much right to an opinion as anyone
and her opinion will help mold us and those who come after us. When you have an opinion, you have a right to
put it out. Others have a right to
criticize it. And likewise, we have the
right to criticize the critics. This
creates countless voices, many mimicking the opinions of others, but some
speaking out, taking ideas in different directions, and ultimately offering
something to the world.
 |
| It may be a chaotic maelstrom, but the sea of opinions in this world can change us...it's an eerily beautiful thing, in my opinion. Hehe...see what I did there? |
Now, let's
take this one step further. We all have
opinions. So, how about we respect
that? In fact, how about we stop seeing
all the bad in opinions and start trying to examine the good that we can
see. Every opinion can have something
good attached to it, if you're willing to see it. If a bigot appears in a comments section
discussing the merits and shortcomings of creating a tribalistic class of
enemies in Resident Evil 5, where is the good?
Well, it does spark some interesting awareness of both insensitivity in
the issue at hand and for the community at large. If someone is so rooted in that kind of
belief, would not this rude awakening to a casual reader that will help either shock them
out of their own complacency, reinforce their stance against racism, or even
take the discussion in a totally new direction?
It might not seem like a good thing on the surface, but it can lead to a
positive effect. It can also lead to a
negative effect, certainly, such as people being offended or the discussion
turning into a flame war, however I'm trying to look at the positive
possibilities.
 |
| Discussing racism is not easy, even if it's just exaggerated in a game like Resident Evil 5. But we kinda need to...we shouldn't turn away from an opinion or something in front of us just because we dislike it...we may not want to, but we need to know, good or bad, what's out there. |
Going back
to respect, I think it important to do two things if you disagree with someone
else's opinion. First, appreciate that
you could be the one giving the opinion next.
Think about how you would feel if you put someone down just because you
disagree with it. Try and take into
account perspective. Imagine how Anita
must have felt when, in trying to further feminism and highlight some ways the
game industry could have improved, she started receiving death threats...now
imagine if it were you. This is the
basic respect people should have for one another. Phil Fish, sometimes an abrasive developer,
quit the game industry and cancelled the sequel to his popular game, Fez, because he was so
heavily criticized and insulted for his opinions by a pundit named Beer. What if it had been Beer or any of the other
critics who had to take the abuse Fish had to?
Would they then have been so willing to hurl abuse at the opinions and of
others if it had been them? Second,
understand that there may be some truth to the opinion you disagree with. Accept that you may be wrong in your beliefs
or that they may be flawed. Take into
account the possibility to be wrong and if nothing else that there is something
worthwhile about the opinion of your opponent.
This too, is respect. The respect
of someone to make decisions on their own and share their views with the world. Bottom line, you are welcome to
disagree. But do it constructively and
in a civil manner. Take into account
your own flaws in perception and the perspective of others and don't try to spread
anger, but create something good.
 |
| The chance for a sequel to the breakout hit, Fez, died because people didn't respect Phil Fish or his opinions. A tragedy for all of us. |
Now, why
does this matter for gaming? Well, our
industry is full of vitriol. Anger. We tend to be very dismissive of any
criticism because our industry is very young.
Our culture is less than forty years old, at most. So, we don't like people from the previous
generations criticizing video games and gaming culture when they do not understand it. This tends to make us very
defensive. I would even go so far as to
say abusively defensive, where we will get very angry and mean to people who
disagree with any facet of our current game industry, such as gender issues set
in place since the 1980s, ideas of corporate reliability such as the value of
the Nintendo or Konami brand, or the issue of violence in video games. Some of these issues have changed. Some need to change. And we fear change. But...we really shouldn't. Our industry, our culture, is only going to
grow if people aren't afraid of change.
If we can share our opinions freely and learn from them. So, every time I voice an opinion about how
bloated video game publishers have become?
It has the potential to inform people about the situation the game
industry and perhaps take notice, perhaps work for change, support indies,
etc. When Anita tries to make a change
through her feminist examination of video games as a whole she has the potential
to raise awareness of issues of gender in video games, encourage further
learning, perhaps even cause an indie developer or a major publisher to make a
change to their game for the sake of the issues she has raised, such as the
Last of Us focusing on Ellie as well as Joel. Even Jack Thompson, hated, reviled, and
despicable attorney who so railed against violent video games can make people
reexamine their views on game violence and cause change for the better. Opinions shape our industry just as they shape
us. They help it to grow. However, if we try to squelch these opinions,
we will never grow. We will stagnate.
 |
| This isn't the 1980s, guys. If we want to keep improving, we can't be afraid of change. |
Some people
are of the opinion that the game industry is fine as it is. And, these opinions still have merit, despite
what I have said previously. These kinds
of opinions can highlight what makes our current industry good and, once again,
mold it to help retain these properties.
However, the people who have opinions that differ from these shouldn't
clash. Just because we have differing
views does not mean we want differing things.
Sometimes we do. Some people want
Suda51 to make more games where you can freely walk on a stripper as part of a
psychedelic experience as in Shadows of the Damned. I personally don't. The first opinion may argue for artistic
merit, anti-censorship, or just playing to a specific niche audience. All of these are good points. I may argue feminism, offensiveness, and
maturity. While we want differing things
and argue different points, both myself and this hypothetical person making the
first opinion each want to improve or maintain the game industry. We may disagree, but we should respect the
opinions of our opponents as well as our compatriots because I think it's fair
to say that we all want what we believe is best. By respecting and understanding the opinions
of others, we can work towards this goal.
Everyone believes they are the hero of their own story and that extends
to their opinions, which they believe to be just. You cannot bold facedly tell someone they are
wrong and expect them to simply change when they are the hero of their own
story. However, you may be able to make
someone rethink their opinion and gain some perspective if you can plant that seat in their mind with your own opinions.
 |
| Immature or not, Suda51's games have a place in our industry and people can like or dislike them as they please. Their opinions are all valid. |
Opinions
have power. The Xbox One, which used a
number of DRM features and required an always online connection, changed
because of the opinions of the gaming public.
Opinions won the fans of Mass Effect an extended ending for the third
game in the series. Opinions are how
Steam games get greenlit. More than that
though, opinions are interwoven into every purchase we make. We are showing our opinion for a specific
genre, publisher, developer, or even just the game itself each time we decide
to purchase it, recommend it, etc. And
we shouldn't belittle people for these kinds of opinions. Much as I despise the DOA Beach Volleyball
series, people like it. That's
okay. I disagree with it, but I respect
their right to play any game they please.
If we start being judgmental on opinions, it is a slippery slope, as
they say.
 |
| Opinions can change things. Sometimes, an entire console. Sometimes an entire people. |
Obviously,
I'm being a bit idealistic here. Opinions
are like assholes. Everyone has one and
some people have bigger ones than others.
But, I think it's important to remember that we are learning creatures. We learn from every experience we have. That includes opinions. So...how about we make the best of opinions? Let's learn from them. Let's respect those who give them. And let's stop being so angry. The other thing about opinions? If you don't like them, you can always ignore
them. A game that someone criticizes and
receives a 1/10 on Metacritic doesn't destroy every version of the game in
existence. You can still play the
game...you don't have to listen to the opinion if you don't want to. You might not learn anything from it, but
that too is your choice.
 |
| Love it or hate it, Metacritic doesn't destroy the games you love...they still exist. So...quit obsessing over scores. |
For me, opinions, criticisms,
views, etc. are a lot like video games, movies, and books. Even if they're not always good, the fact
that they exist is almost always a good thing because they have something to
offer. A bad book or movie can be
entertaining, a boring game can be an object lesson, and any opinion can have
something to be gleaned from. Opinions
put something into the world. They offer
something that others can look at and grow from, or not if they so choose. And it's far harder to bring something into
the world than destroying something already in the world. So, respect people for their
opinions...because they are the product of their life and their presence in the
world, one way or another, will shape us all.
I have
opinions. You have opinions. Everyone has opinions. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Just want to take a
moment to step back from my position as an editorialist and say I try to live
by a simple mantra. Do no harm to
others. That, alongside some interesting discussions about Anita Sarkeesian and similar personalities have led me to
write this. Gamers are often self
entitled and frustratingly abusive in their opinions...and I cannot for the
life of me figure out why. I mean...why
would you want to make someone else suffer?
It is such an alien concept to me...so, I want to encourage others to
respect the opinions people have and to address them with respect and intellect
rather than vitriol and ignorance. I may
not always be able to live by my mantra, but I try...and that's all I ask of
any readers I have. Try.
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