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A review by amber_lea84
The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture by Katherine Cross, Cara Ellison, William Knoblauch, Linus Larsson, Ian Bogost, Zoë Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian, Ian Shanahan, Dan Golding, Evan Narcisse, Leigh Alexander, Hussein Ibrahim, Anna Anthropy, David Johnston, Merritt Kopas, Ola Wikander, Daniel Goldberg, Brendan Keogh
2.0
I have so much to say about this book, I don't even know where to begin.
The intro is awful. It's like, "Hey guys, we just want to fix your games because they're racist/ sexist/ homephobic/ transphobic, why are you mad?" when a much better intro would have been, "Hey guys, we see you love games, and we'd like to build a gaming community around diversity, inclusiveness, and new types of games we've never seen before."
The latter is a good message and a respectable goal. Great! Sign me up! But the first message often gets treated as if it's the second by people who aren't listening to themselves, then when people get mad the reason for their anger gets confused.
Like bruh, the gaming community isn't attacking you, you're attacking the gaming community.
YEAH I SAID IT. But hang on, hear me out. Or don't. It's your life.
So, because it's relevant: I have lady parts and I am a gamer, and I was once told that "video games aren't for girls" by a seven year old jerk who didn't want to let me have a turn playing Mortal Kombat. Other than that, no one has ever expressed to me that they give a single shit about my gender. Do I believe that women receive gender-specific harassment? Yes. I think there are crappy things that people only say to women. Do I think women get harassed just BECAUSE they are women? Not unless they get unlucky and run into a bitter husk of a human being who has it out for women. Do I think these bitter husks make up a vast majority of gamers? NO.
Now, do I think female game critics get dump trucks full of harassment? YES. There's no doubt in my mind. Years ago I made a post about how I agreed with something Anita Sarkeesian said and a hate mob appeared and yelled at me. Which at the time made me think man, maybe being a woman on the internet really IS dangerous and scary.
In retrospect I now realize what that mob was so angry about, and in retrospect I can see they weren't a bunch of MRAs, Incels, MGTOWs and whatever other fringe group. Most of them were actually trying to talk to me but I was so terrified that I wasn't listening. (I was in the mind set of, "This is it, this is the angry hate mob I've been warned about. They found me." Turns out they literally didn't care about anything I was doing, they just wanted to talk/yell about Anita.)
So okay, I'm someone who has always been annoyed by hypersexualized women in video games because it's so distracting and gross. And I'm all for attractive female characters, trust me. I like a good looking lady as much as the next guy. But sometimes it grotesque. And not in a fun Silent Hill type of way. If a game has a girl with crazy egg boobs and I feel like at any moment I'm about to get a glimpse of her asshole, I say no thank you to that game and move on.
I think the reason some game critics inspire hate mobs is because they act as if a majority of games are unforgivably sexist/racist/etc. I think almost anyone would understand why I'm not interested in games with women who are grotesquely sexy. I can't imagine anyone would fault me for not wanting to play them. BUT if I claimed that games in general are sexist and I don't feel comfortable playing any of them, I'm going to sound ridiculous to anyone who's played more than two games in their life.
But a lot of game critics act as if the extreme cases are the norm. One essay in here claims that women in games are more sexualized now than ever, giving two examples of female characters who are sexier now than they were originally. The claim that women are more sexualized than ever before is absurd. Yes, all female characters are sexier now than they were when they were 8-bit, but the idea that 2015 was the height of sexy female game characters is...come on. Look at Laura Croft. She went from grossly weird sex symbol to normal looking person. This shit goes both ways. I would say if anything, they're as sexy as they've always been, but to me things seem much, much better.
But hey, if we tell a game developer we don't want them to make a hypersexualized character and they do it anyway...that's fine! They're allowed to say no to our business if they'd rather appeal to whoever in is into that shit.
The thing is I have a really hard time believing that gamer culture is filled with people who hate diversity and that most gamers don't want people out there making more inclusive games. Like I personally hate "interactive stories" but do I want to stop you from making and enjoying them? No. Now, if you told me that you want to make every game an "interactive story"...I'm going to get hostile, real fast, because no. gtfo.
But that's how game critics talk. They have a problem with games people love and they tell them they're wrong to like them and they say those games shouldn't exist. That's why people get angry. It's not like hey, we want to get in here and make the types of games we want to see." It's "we have a problem with your games and we want to put a stop to them."
There was recently a controversy where a developer got yelled at because all of his characters are white (and I think dudes) and he refused to change them. Why is that a problem? In my mind, you shouldn't tell a developer what to make any more than you should tell an artist what to paint. But that's what's happening. And that is the problem.
Now if someone was dictating that all his characters had to be white and diversity isn't allowed, yeah, that is racist. That is a problem worth railing against. If you go to make a game with more diversity because you're sick of seeing so many white male characters and you get backlash for simply making that game, that is a problem. If every character in every video game was white...that's a problem. People should be free to make and play the games they want.
But if you need every game to be a game you like that has what you want, you're wrong. Grow up.
Like here's an example that has nothing to do with sexism, racism, or any other ism: There's an essay in here about post-apocalyptic games, and the author arrogantly assumes that if you like them it's because you're a narcissist who thinks you'd outlive everyone else in a nuclear apocalypse and you're playing out your narcissistic fantasy. And he makes the argument that post-apocalyptic games are a problem and he basically says that they should punish you for winning and if they don't they're encouraging a mentality that's bad for society.
Okay. I like post-apocalyptic games. A LOT. You know why? Because I would definitely die first. I like post-apocalyptic games because I get to cheat death. I am an extremely high risk for a particularly deadly kind of cancer, and I really enjoy imagining I would survive against very bad odds even though I don't think I would. I think we're all afraid we're going to die before we're ready, and we all like to imagine what it would be like to survive when we shouldn't. It's thrilling to be like "Holy shit, everything is radioactive and I know I should be dead, but here I am, kicking ass and taking names." In a video game I can take a light jog carrying 200 pounds of guns and amour through a radioactive wasteland, and in real life I have to go to the doctor every six months to get a biopsy to make sure I'm going to see my next birthday. ALSO, in game I'm the good guy, helping strangers rebuild their lives and making the wasteland a better place. If you're going to criticize me for something, make fun of me for being a way better person in a video game than I am in real life.
This author doesn't know me or my motivations. But he thinks he does. He also thinks he has special insight that the rest of us don't have. You want to know what that insight is? It's that nuclear war is dangerous and not a good thing.
Yes. Thank you. I feel so enlightened.
Seriously, he keeps making the point that gamers these days don't know anything about the threat of nuclear war because the cold war is over. As if North Korea isn't a thing. What is the alternate reality this guy lives in where nuclear war isn't a threat anymore? Also, why does he think he's the only gamer that remembers the cold war? The average gamer is 30.
BUT THIS IS WHAT I MEAN. Anita Sarkeesian literally says, "We don't want to take your toys away." and the very next essay literally says, "They have astutely and correctly identified what is going on here. Their toys are being taken away, their tree houses are being boarded up."
These are people who think they're victims, but they're flinging wild accusations and acting like total assholes, and they can't see it. They just think they're being attacked because of sexism, racism, and homophobia. And not because of their garbage opinions and attitudes.
Do I think there was/is sexism in gaming? Yes. I think it used to be really bad. I think we've made a lot of progress. I think there's more that could be done, but I think we've come along way and that's exciting. People are listening to what gamers want! I don't understand why we have to be bitter that straight white guys get to have their games too. It's not like all they do is play games where they commit hate crimes.
Anyway, like three of the essays in here are okay. I'd give them at least three stars, so that's why I didn't give this whole book one star. I also picked up the game Deadly Premonition because of this book, and it made me want to see Blazing Saddles because one essay mentioned that they wanted to see a game handle race the way Blazing Saddles does.
There's one essay in here from the point of view of a Arab man who plays American Shooters and that's an interesting perspective. And while Anita Sarkeesian's opinions have since become like nails on a chalkboard to me, I actually enjoy reading things by Zoe Quinn. Obviously it's annoying that she pretends that everyone hates her because she's a lady game developer and not because her ex told everyone she's a monster, but she's a good writer and she does a good job of stating her opinions without continually insulting everyone which, considering her peers, is amazing. I can't help but feel impressed by her diplomacy.
The intro is awful. It's like, "Hey guys, we just want to fix your games because they're racist/ sexist/ homephobic/ transphobic, why are you mad?" when a much better intro would have been, "Hey guys, we see you love games, and we'd like to build a gaming community around diversity, inclusiveness, and new types of games we've never seen before."
The latter is a good message and a respectable goal. Great! Sign me up! But the first message often gets treated as if it's the second by people who aren't listening to themselves, then when people get mad the reason for their anger gets confused.
Like bruh, the gaming community isn't attacking you, you're attacking the gaming community.
YEAH I SAID IT. But hang on, hear me out. Or don't. It's your life.
So, because it's relevant: I have lady parts and I am a gamer, and I was once told that "video games aren't for girls" by a seven year old jerk who didn't want to let me have a turn playing Mortal Kombat. Other than that, no one has ever expressed to me that they give a single shit about my gender. Do I believe that women receive gender-specific harassment? Yes. I think there are crappy things that people only say to women. Do I think women get harassed just BECAUSE they are women? Not unless they get unlucky and run into a bitter husk of a human being who has it out for women. Do I think these bitter husks make up a vast majority of gamers? NO.
Now, do I think female game critics get dump trucks full of harassment? YES. There's no doubt in my mind. Years ago I made a post about how I agreed with something Anita Sarkeesian said and a hate mob appeared and yelled at me. Which at the time made me think man, maybe being a woman on the internet really IS dangerous and scary.
In retrospect I now realize what that mob was so angry about, and in retrospect I can see they weren't a bunch of MRAs, Incels, MGTOWs and whatever other fringe group. Most of them were actually trying to talk to me but I was so terrified that I wasn't listening. (I was in the mind set of, "This is it, this is the angry hate mob I've been warned about. They found me." Turns out they literally didn't care about anything I was doing, they just wanted to talk/yell about Anita.)
So okay, I'm someone who has always been annoyed by hypersexualized women in video games because it's so distracting and gross. And I'm all for attractive female characters, trust me. I like a good looking lady as much as the next guy. But sometimes it grotesque. And not in a fun Silent Hill type of way. If a game has a girl with crazy egg boobs and I feel like at any moment I'm about to get a glimpse of her asshole, I say no thank you to that game and move on.
I think the reason some game critics inspire hate mobs is because they act as if a majority of games are unforgivably sexist/racist/etc. I think almost anyone would understand why I'm not interested in games with women who are grotesquely sexy. I can't imagine anyone would fault me for not wanting to play them. BUT if I claimed that games in general are sexist and I don't feel comfortable playing any of them, I'm going to sound ridiculous to anyone who's played more than two games in their life.
But a lot of game critics act as if the extreme cases are the norm. One essay in here claims that women in games are more sexualized now than ever, giving two examples of female characters who are sexier now than they were originally. The claim that women are more sexualized than ever before is absurd. Yes, all female characters are sexier now than they were when they were 8-bit, but the idea that 2015 was the height of sexy female game characters is...come on. Look at Laura Croft. She went from grossly weird sex symbol to normal looking person. This shit goes both ways. I would say if anything, they're as sexy as they've always been, but to me things seem much, much better.
But hey, if we tell a game developer we don't want them to make a hypersexualized character and they do it anyway...that's fine! They're allowed to say no to our business if they'd rather appeal to whoever in is into that shit.
The thing is I have a really hard time believing that gamer culture is filled with people who hate diversity and that most gamers don't want people out there making more inclusive games. Like I personally hate "interactive stories" but do I want to stop you from making and enjoying them? No. Now, if you told me that you want to make every game an "interactive story"...I'm going to get hostile, real fast, because no. gtfo.
But that's how game critics talk. They have a problem with games people love and they tell them they're wrong to like them and they say those games shouldn't exist. That's why people get angry. It's not like hey, we want to get in here and make the types of games we want to see." It's "we have a problem with your games and we want to put a stop to them."
There was recently a controversy where a developer got yelled at because all of his characters are white (and I think dudes) and he refused to change them. Why is that a problem? In my mind, you shouldn't tell a developer what to make any more than you should tell an artist what to paint. But that's what's happening. And that is the problem.
Now if someone was dictating that all his characters had to be white and diversity isn't allowed, yeah, that is racist. That is a problem worth railing against. If you go to make a game with more diversity because you're sick of seeing so many white male characters and you get backlash for simply making that game, that is a problem. If every character in every video game was white...that's a problem. People should be free to make and play the games they want.
But if you need every game to be a game you like that has what you want, you're wrong. Grow up.
Like here's an example that has nothing to do with sexism, racism, or any other ism: There's an essay in here about post-apocalyptic games, and the author arrogantly assumes that if you like them it's because you're a narcissist who thinks you'd outlive everyone else in a nuclear apocalypse and you're playing out your narcissistic fantasy. And he makes the argument that post-apocalyptic games are a problem and he basically says that they should punish you for winning and if they don't they're encouraging a mentality that's bad for society.
Okay. I like post-apocalyptic games. A LOT. You know why? Because I would definitely die first. I like post-apocalyptic games because I get to cheat death. I am an extremely high risk for a particularly deadly kind of cancer, and I really enjoy imagining I would survive against very bad odds even though I don't think I would. I think we're all afraid we're going to die before we're ready, and we all like to imagine what it would be like to survive when we shouldn't. It's thrilling to be like "Holy shit, everything is radioactive and I know I should be dead, but here I am, kicking ass and taking names." In a video game I can take a light jog carrying 200 pounds of guns and amour through a radioactive wasteland, and in real life I have to go to the doctor every six months to get a biopsy to make sure I'm going to see my next birthday. ALSO, in game I'm the good guy, helping strangers rebuild their lives and making the wasteland a better place. If you're going to criticize me for something, make fun of me for being a way better person in a video game than I am in real life.
This author doesn't know me or my motivations. But he thinks he does. He also thinks he has special insight that the rest of us don't have. You want to know what that insight is? It's that nuclear war is dangerous and not a good thing.
Yes. Thank you. I feel so enlightened.
Seriously, he keeps making the point that gamers these days don't know anything about the threat of nuclear war because the cold war is over. As if North Korea isn't a thing. What is the alternate reality this guy lives in where nuclear war isn't a threat anymore? Also, why does he think he's the only gamer that remembers the cold war? The average gamer is 30.
BUT THIS IS WHAT I MEAN. Anita Sarkeesian literally says, "We don't want to take your toys away." and the very next essay literally says, "They have astutely and correctly identified what is going on here. Their toys are being taken away, their tree houses are being boarded up."
These are people who think they're victims, but they're flinging wild accusations and acting like total assholes, and they can't see it. They just think they're being attacked because of sexism, racism, and homophobia. And not because of their garbage opinions and attitudes.
Do I think there was/is sexism in gaming? Yes. I think it used to be really bad. I think we've made a lot of progress. I think there's more that could be done, but I think we've come along way and that's exciting. People are listening to what gamers want! I don't understand why we have to be bitter that straight white guys get to have their games too. It's not like all they do is play games where they commit hate crimes.
Anyway, like three of the essays in here are okay. I'd give them at least three stars, so that's why I didn't give this whole book one star. I also picked up the game Deadly Premonition because of this book, and it made me want to see Blazing Saddles because one essay mentioned that they wanted to see a game handle race the way Blazing Saddles does.
There's one essay in here from the point of view of a Arab man who plays American Shooters and that's an interesting perspective. And while Anita Sarkeesian's opinions have since become like nails on a chalkboard to me, I actually enjoy reading things by Zoe Quinn. Obviously it's annoying that she pretends that everyone hates her because she's a lady game developer and not because her ex told everyone she's a monster, but she's a good writer and she does a good job of stating her opinions without continually insulting everyone which, considering her peers, is amazing. I can't help but feel impressed by her diplomacy.