Deep Freeze: Load of Crap or Exactly What We Needed?

The GamerGate controversy rages on after a number of months that I've lost track of.  While I've not been keeping too close an eye on it due to most discussions devolving into gender politics and claims of harassment or whatever, something has popped out of the whole thing that has piqued my interest.

For a long time I've not been a fan of gaming media websites and press and I think there are quite a large number of people who feel the same way.  There's too much blatant bullshit going on behind the scenes and I hate how I can guess a games final score before I've even opened the web page.  In recent years it has been so bad that certain members of the gaming press have taken to just flat out insulting people who disagree with them.  The biggest example I can think of this was the whole "gamers are entitled" thing that came with DmC: Devil May Cry.  Hardcore fans of the first 4 games were upset with the new direction the game had taken, both stylistically and mechanically, but were completely dismissed by games media as "whiny entitled babies"

http://identitygaming.blogspot.jp/2013/02/the-height-of-idiocy.html

So very recently Deep Freeze pops up right out of fucking nowhere.  It's a database of people within games media, journalists and other writers and it keeps records with links to evidence of stuff they are doing wrong.  It also seems to host articles regarding GamerGate and the state of gaming media as well as providing links to sites that it deems ethical.

It's a strangely useful resource for two big reasons.  The first is that now that this exists, it's bound to keep a number of writers in check.  If they say something stupid or get caught doing something they shouldn't be, there is now a place on the internet where that shit will be documented and easily available for general viewing.  The second is that if you happen across an article that seems a little bullshitty then you can look up the writer or site and see if they are the kind of person or publication who deals in clickbait or may have some ulterior motives.

There are some arguments to be had about certain entries on the site.  The big argument against Deep Freeze that I've seen so far is that sometimes they are logging a writers opinion as an ethical breech.  For example, a number of writers have a "sensationalist" mark on their profile for docking points from Bayonetta 2 for it's "gross portrayal of women".  Given that misogyny is the big game controversy du jour it does seem, at least to me, that the writer is fishing for clicks from a certain crowed but there is an argument to be had that maybe the writer just genuinely does hold that opinion of the game.  Inserting gender politics into game reviews may be annoying and disrespectful but holding a dumb ass opinion is not unethical.

Still though, what Deep Freeze is NOT doing is telling you to flat out dislike anyone that it has a file on.  It is only presenting you with information so that you can form your own opinion and if you don't like what you see, where to go for your gaming news.

I'm still going to carry on not giving a shit about games media because I don't enjoy reading reviews.  I'll look up a trailer and some gameplay footage and make my own decisions.  But for those who do read reviews they now have a resource to make judgements on where to get their info from before they make a purchase, which seems like a good thing to me.  Depending on how it's handled from here it could mean an improvement for games writing. 

More actual and honest games writing and less bullshit seems like a good idea to me.

Don't listen to me though, check it out and make your own judgements on it

www.deepfreeze.it

The Fuck Is GDC Anyway?

As someone who claims to love the medium of video games I have no idea if I should be embarrassed by the above question or not.  Judging from what I've heard about GDC2015 though, probably not.

I know very little about GDC.  I know that it stands for Game Developers Conference and that it's some kind of big event.  Judging from the name I would guess its a time for game developers to get together, show off their latest shit and talk about the industry.  I've never once followed any of the GDC events and I still don't see a reason to.  I'm not lacking in any information about upcoming games and if anything huge did happen I'm sure it would be plastered everywhere for me to see anyway.

That said, I have friends who follow GDC and I have people on twitter who pay attention to the goings on and judging from what they've posted regarding the event it seems to have very little to do with video games.  Everything I've seen about GDC is about social justice issues (Read: Bullshit), online bullying and all sorts of other stupid non game related crap.  The biggest thing that seems to be flying around my twitter feed these days is that Tim Schafer, a fat hack who hasn't produced anything of quality since Psychonauts, made some kind of GamerGate joke with a sock puppet or some shit.

Seriously, a big conference about the games industry and the biggest news going around the web right now is about a fat man making shit jokes during a speech?!  Why the fuck should ANYONE give a shit about GDC if this is the case?  I've not heard ONE thing regarding video games but I'd sure as hell love it if someone clued me in as to what actual gaming related stuff went down at that event.

When I went to the Tokyo Game Show last year it was just wall to wall games.  Games on show, games to try and developers coming out to talk about their fucking games.  There was a little bit of cosplay going on in the back but most of it was game themed so I'll forgive that.  GDC on the other hand seemed to be about everything BUT fucking games.

Someone please explain the point of this shit to me, I'm actually completely stumped. 

No One Wants You To Stop Gaming, Idiot

Jesus fuck, here I am about to talk about #GamerGate on my blog.  It's an issue I've been, generally speaking, trying not to talk about too directly because it's an extremely polarizing controversy and I want this blog to be mostly fun and stuff.  However, today I saw a video titled "What it feels like to be a Gamergate target" from ABC news that has pissed me off so much I can't help but write something.

First of all, the video itself.  I'm not going to link it because it's complete bollocks that attempts to paint people who enjoy games as horrible human beings and the amount of cherry picking to push certain incorrect points is disgusting.  Apart from the video being full to bursting with complete lies about video games and the people who enjoy them it's also biased, one sided bullshit.  They interviewed 3 people; Sarkeesian, Brianna Wu and some dude in a shop, all who were anti-GamerGate and all who had nothing to do with the core issue behind it. 

This isn't something new, main stream news and media have been trying to paint gaming enthusiasts as horrible, antisocial, fat, dangerous nerds for YEARS so really this whole thing about "misogyny" is just the violence controversy from the 90s with a new lick of paint.  That doesn't stop it being any less annoying or wrong.  So screw that video, it's full of bullshit and all it does is make gaming an unpleasant thing to be a part of because now there are throngs of morons who will eat that shit up and will judge you on site just for owning a game system.

Now let me say a little something about #GamerGate.  For those that don't know, #GamerGate is this big online movement that's been going on for MONTHS now regarding the unethical practice of journalists for big name websites.  The only reason women in the industry came up as a topic AT ALL is because that's what people in the media like to hide behind when they face criticism.  If you call out and unethical practice, disagree with their agenda pushing in articles that don't call for it OR just disagree with them in general, you are a misogynist, according to them.

Due to this, #GamerGate gets a lot of flak for being this massive hate campaign to try and get women out of the games industry but that couldn't be further from the truth.  I'll admit something here; when I'm on the train going to/from my job, I jump on twitter and see what's happening in the tag and to be quite honest with you, I don't see ANY of the so called harassment or anti-women mentality that apparently every single supporter carries.  I see plenty of nastiness from the other side but very little from #GamerGate itself.

Also, if #GamerGate is a hatemob designed to stop women from gaming or being part of the industry they are doing a fucking crap job at it.  The only people that they have apparently "harassed" are a critic who has nothing to do with it but likes to antagonize trolls for attention and a shitty developer who has made one crappy phone game and likes to antagonize trolls for attention.  If anything, I see them doing the OPPOSITE of what they are supposed to be doing, celebrating games made by talented female developers and helping with trying to get their work noticed.

What I'm trying to say with all this is that despite what certain idiots on the internet will tell you and despite the kind of stupid stories that major news outlets push, gamers don't want certain groups of people to stop gaming/being part of the industry.  We've been collectively moaning for YEARS about how stale AAA development has gotten and people from diverse backgrounds may help counteract that, we welcome them with open arms.

It doesn't matter about your race, creed, colour, sexuality or what-the-fuck-ever, if you are here to play then you're welcome and that's what it's been about since gaming fucking started.  No one who games gives a shit who you are as long as your here to game.  If your new to games or a hardened veteran since the days of 8 bit or younger, it's a hobby filled with great people always up for a bit of fun no matter who you are or where you come from.

However keep one thing in mind, gaming is a multi billion dollar industry and when this many people are playing there are BOUND to be a few fucking idiots that could do with a slap.  That's the same for any hobby with mass appeal, there's always going to be a small group of fucking morons trying to ruin your day but in the grand scheme of things they don't matter, just take whatever it is in your stride and move on.

Remember, games are about FUN!  There are a lot of people who would do well to remember that

Online Harrassment Is Largely Bollocks

Thanks to the ongoing Gamergate controversy that I've been quietly watching from a distance it seems like harassment and cyber bullying have become hot topics for the games industry.  Not a day goes by on my twitter when someone isn't talking about "harassment" but quite frankly, harassment and cyber bullying is LARGELY complete bullshit and I speak from experience.

First I'm going to say a little bit about what I would define as harassment or bullying.  Harassment or cyber bullying, to me, would be a situation where the online nastiness that one is experiencing overflows into your real life.  For example, doxxing is a great example of what I would define as ACTUAL harassment.  Putting someones info such as their address and phone numbers on the internet and then having large numbers of people make calls and mail all manners of horrible bullshit is disgusting behavior that could only really be defined as harassment or bullying.

Also things such as DDoSing websites and such I'd define as actual harassment because if you're a content creator that relies on your site to make money (and maybe even a living) then you're directly harming them in some kind of actual way that they can't prevent.

However, saying nasty things to people on social media or in video games is NOT harassment and it's not bullying.  Even if there are large numbers of people doing it, I disagree with the idea that you are being harassed by randoms on the internet.  Almost every website, every social media outlet, every messenger service and every app has a block feature and an account removal feature.  If people are saying stuff you don't like then block them and if it becomes too much, shut down your shit, it's that simple.  Surprisingly, even in 2015, I'm pretty sure you'll be OK if you don't have to log into Facebook every day.

I'm sure there are people who are affected quite badly by people saying horrible things to you on the internet but I'm quite cynical of these people because, as I said before, I speak from a great deal of experience of being "harassed" and "bullied" across my life.  Allow me to tell you some stories.

In my high school days I was rather unpopular (nothing's changed lul) and I'd get bullied a bit at school.  As a young child I discovered MSN Messenger and on there I would talk to the few friends I did have and have a grand old time.  Occasionally, the bullies from my school life would appear to say nasty shit to me but I didn't mind it so much online because that was the one place where I didn't have to take their shit.  Without responding or even really reading what they said to me, I'd block them in a heartbeat and get back to living my happy life.  At home, on the internet, I didn't have to take that shit and so I chose not to.  Now we have a lot more avenues for communication like twitter, LINE, Facebook, Snapchat and all that shit, but I guarantee that they all have block features so you can avoid having to hear shit that upsets you from randoms on the internet looking for a reaction.

I'm aware that some people who are "cyber bullied" may then come off Facebook and face that shit in real life but when it gets that far, to me, it stops being cyber bullying and falls into the realm of just straight up normal bullying, right?

Now what about online harassment?  Things like emails and stuff that I hear people talking about so often?  Well that's bollocks too.  A long while ago my wife bought my Hatsune Miku Project Diva F2nd.  Since I'm a website that talks about games, I announced how pleased I was with the gift I had received with a little picture of the box on Twitter.  Not long after I made that tweet, I received an email telling me, in short, that I'm a horrible person and my wife is a traitor to women who should kill herself.

Pretty horrible thing to have to read right?  Well yeah, but it was sent by someone I didn't know and quite frankly, I don't give a shit about what anons on the internet think about me or my wife.  The criticism leveled against the two us wasn't constructive and the tone of his or her email was nasty so I just deleted it.  I received one more after that with similar words about me and no mention of my wife and did the same thing.

If it was continued assaults, there are features in my email thing to block addresses and filter shit as spam or whatever, so I could have just used those but I've not received one since and I refuse to let stupid shit like that get to me.

As for gaming there's been a sad change in what qualifies as harassment.  Back when I was younger, playing games online was an almost guaranteed way to hear something nasty.  Comments like "you're shit" and "fat nerd tryhard" as well as much wittier stuff was commonplace, it was just the rough and tumble nature of playing competitive online games and still is.  They don't know anything about me and they say stuff just to get a rise and 90% of the time it doesn't come from a place of malice so there's no need to get upset.

The problem is that nowadays, the definition of harassment has become silly and maybe that's another reason as to why I'm so cynical about it all.  Harassment on twitter can now be defined as disagreeing with someone or re-tweeting something that they don't like.  People like to use the word harassment to deflect legitimate criticism.  For example, if someone says something and you respond with like "well, you didn't really do enough fact checking, here are some sources of stuff that says you might be barking up the wrong tree.."  the person will just use the H word and large numbers of people will come to defend despite the idiocy behind the first statement.  I've also seen people use the word harassment to talk about calling someone shit at a game in an in game chat, which is just ridiculous. 

All this said, there are large numbers of people and large groups dedicated to stomping out or supporting victims of harassment and cyber bullying, so I'm more than willing to admit that maybe I just don't understand the whole issue.  If there's anyone with experiences they'd like to share or ideas they would like to put forward to try and tell me that maybe it's not all complete bollocks, I'm open to the idea that maybe I'm wrong on this.