On July 23, in response to the ongoing backlash against black protagonists in upcoming films Assassin’s Creed ShadowsDeveloper Ubisoft issued a lengthy statement. The reaction on X (formerly Twitter) was exactly what you’d expect: racist images, slurs, and calls for historical accuracy in a video game series that has always been steeped in science fiction. An unpublished community note (a feature often used by users to “add context” to posts) reads “Assassin’s Creed N***** Squire.”
A group of budding but fiercely vocal gamers will tell you Assassin’s Creed Shadows The backlash is about respecting Japanese culture or refusing to accept “woke ideologies” “imposed on their game” by consultative groups that hold no real power. But just like the first full iteration of GamerGate in 2014, it’s not about anything but hate.
The Internet is a powerful place, an in-between world where images and rhetoric can be weaponized to the point of seeping into real life (“from the wire to the weeds,” as 2022 book meme wars explain). In 2014, a misogynistic campaign demanding “ethics in gaming journalism” broke gaming’s curbs so violently that it caught the attention of politicians. President Donald Trump’s former chief political strategist Steve Bannon Tell author Joshua Green He “realized [former Breitbart technology consultant Milo Yiannopoulus] There’s immediate access to these kids…you can activate that army. They get in through GamerGate or whatever, and then move on to politics and Trump.
Harnessing this power changed the landscape of mainstream politics forever. Many people believe that this directly led to Trump winning the election in 2016 and the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. Stuff – for Trump and his ilk it’s a veritable list of known problems that only he can solve: immigration (“rapists”), taxes (tax breaks for billionaires), transgenderism (a rollback of Title IX), abortion (a ban on abortion), and so on. There’s always something to be wary of, always something to make you scared, angry, concerned, and ready to do whatever it takes to get him re-elected.
It’s also true that the reactionary right-wing movement in gaming has reared its ugly head once again, and there’s a reason why it’s happening now. Sociocultural issues reach a fever pitch in an election year, and just as they did a decade ago, political anger is seeping into popular culture, seized upon by those who want to take advantage of naive, impressionable young people who shy away from public spaces. Angry but praised (even loved) online. have countless study and story Proof that the radicalization of male youth is sustained and perpetuated by the Internet; read them because they will convince you more effectively than I can. But what I can say, especially after facing this kind of outrage for months, is that this movement is driven by nothing but hate.
It’s a special kind of hatred that careens through the air like a boomerang of regressive logic on its way back from progress. Since its inception, gaming as a cultural space has been largely dominated by white boys and men – you had to have a certain amount of wealth and free time to participate, and those weren’t readily available to marginalized groups in the ’80s and ’80s. the 90s. The marketing and design of games aimed at boys increasingly reinforces the common perception that this hobby is exclusive to boys, so much so that many girls interested in it are met with parental resistance and cultural shunning. I myself only made progress in gaming after my parents refused to pursue a “boy hobby” because I could buy an Xbox 360 with money from my summer job, and my story is not unique.
Ultimately, a large number of women, queer people, and minorities found jobs in the video game industry as developers, social media managers, community organizers, reporters, and more. The rise of indie games has opened up space for more unique approaches to game development, more diverse schools of thought, and more games in undefinable genres. Thanks in large part to the MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, bad actors are being held accountable for perpetuating outdated ideologies in games or anti-social behavior against marginalized people. It’s been a struggle even to get a level playing field, but it feels like we’re getting there.
But that’s when the reactionaries step in. try to debunk it Charged with conspiracy. It gained more traction. Elon Musk posted related posts. Because of the monetization of virality perpetuated by Musk, YouTube, Facebook, those who were the first to ring the reactionary bells see signs of the dollar, and they want more. More eyeballs equals more money, and you can’t get eyeballs if you don’t fan the flames of hatred – people need to stay angry, stay fearful, stay uncertain about their future so they can continue to look to you for answers— —Unless you don’t offer anything. Your goal is to ensure that the anger continues, and solving these problems means grabbing the gasoline fire.
So, this week is Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Before that, it was a content warning added to Capcom games. Before that, it was considered a failure flintlock. Before that, she was a heroine in a movie Star Wars The game isn’t hot enough. Before that, it was black people who were leading in a race Star Wars Just show presence. Until then, this is the way the character harmony It seems. Before that, it was a transgender voice actor final fantasy 14 expansion. Before that was Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disney World. Before that it was Lara Croft’s jawline. before that it was Dungeons and Dragons‘The orcs are waking up. Before that, it was game strategy ring of fire. Until then, it’s the romantic option Dragon Age: Veiled Wardens. Before that, Jean Gray stars in the upcoming movie Wolverine game. before that it was Cross flag cosmetics in call of Duty. Prior to this, the wording in Nintendo job postings was “DEI.” Before that, she was a female reporter Report on the working environment in the studio behind the scenes Black Myth: Wukong. Before that, it was “take off the butt” boys‘Firecrackers are here war zone. Until then, it’s politics Hellraiser 2. Before that, it was a “race-swapped” comic character. Before that, this was (another) jawline perfect darkness Remake. Before that, it was a female guardian Warhammer. All this manufactured anger has been shoved down the throats of impressionable young people in the last 45 days alone.
They will never run out of hate to spread. The only way forward is for the big names and biggest companies in the industry to loudly condemn bad actors in the video game space, rather than issuing bizarre, ham-fisted statements that lend credibility to their baseless nonsense. Their arguments are rooted in logic when hate itself is illogical. as as a result ofGita Jackson wrote: “Racism is not a logical position, so you can’t defeat it with logic. Facts don’t matter to racists, especially the boring racists who make video game culture their home. There’s always new hair To be separated.
.
