RE: NPR on #gamergate women videogames

In reply to
NPR: Gamergate controversy fuels debate on women and video games

This article seems to imply a few things
1) That appearance of games like Candy Crush Saga and Words with Friends is a large enough change in game industry to "leave" someone "behind".
2) That people who enjoy a more of a classic game experiences are by and large afraid of being "left behind"
3) That the vocal minority that harasses women is the same group of people as those who enjoy classic game experiences

Putting (2) and (3) together brings us to the inevitable conclusion that
(4) people who enjoy classic game experiences deserve to be "left behind" in the name of protecting women of the industry against harassment.

Let me address these statements in order.

1) Not true. Candy Crush Saga and Words with Friends are a not all that groundbreaking in anything but monetization models. As far as games medium is concerned, these games serve as gateway drug to the industry for a lot of people. That is great, both because of inclusivity reasons and because these games earned the industry a lot of money. However, the notion that casual games are eventually going to supplant the classic genres doesn't hold up. In fact, as the history of Angry Birds franchise shows, it is instead casual players that are becoming more interested in "core" experiences.

2) Again, not true. I am a very run-of-the-mill representative of someone who likes classic game experiences and i don't feel at all "left behind". If anything, i feel that the world is finally catching up to where i am. I am actually more worried for game journalists who seem to have gotten themselves swept away in the "casual games" fad (and the flood of money that it brought). A game journalist that has forgotten what makes games good to begin with is someone on a fast track to becoming irrelevant in games industry.

3) Again, not true. There are vocal harassing minorities in every community. They are not representative of anyone but themselves and should never be assumed to be the voice of the entire community. Sadly, modern Internet culture gave those voices a lot of power, and we have not yet figured out how to properly deal with them. I don't feel it is fair to accuse specifically gamers of this large-scale cultural failing, though. Neither it is fair to place the burden of responsibility for this failing on just gamers.

Since statements (2) and (3) are not true, statement (4) is not true. Gamers do not deserve to be called "dead" because there is a harassing minority that is not even unique to gaming scene.

However, a more fundamental problem with statement (4) is the very idea that you can somehow "leave gamers behind". This is not what is actually happening, as i demonstrated in reply to statement (1). What actually happens is that the whole civilized world is embracing the gamer culture, much like how in the past it embraced book-lovers and movie buffs.

Revolutionaries be advised. Woe to those who scorn the forces of the heart! - Romain Rolland