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Ganrich

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Everything posted by Ganrich

  1. Intel responds to the outcry after pulling ads from Gamasutra. http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/10/03/chip-shot-intel-issues-statement-on-gamasutra-advertising
  2. I agree that doxxing needs to stop. It is really childish, destructive, and terrifying and will quickly get us into a really crappy place. If this article is real then it has the potential to give more validity to the GG claims of harassment from their opponents, or perhaps show that these attacks truly are people doing it to GG from within the movement to garner sympathy in other press outlets. I kind of hope it is real no matter who it was, and although I don't think 10 years imprisonment is necessary... A hammer being dropped on the culprit would be nothing but good for the world at large.
  3. This is another blunder if it is true. http://theralphretort.com/doxx-attempt-ends-badly-for-4chan-sjw/
  4. People do need to toughen up, but when a company makes crappy comments I can choose not to buy/use their product. I can not be offended and still decide their message isn't for me. That is the same as voting in an election to me. If the company decides to irritate a large portion of their consumers... Well, they have a larger group voting against them. No one person should be the judge, jury, and executioner though. The codex is fine. I don't go there, but they shouldnt need any moderation. You can get close to the same discussion or information elsewhere.
  5. @Bruce Sorry, the media had a chance to promote free speech by allowing dialogue. They chose to not do so. If you don't believe that people you disagree with have a right to speak then you don't believe in free speech. If you censor people that you disagree with you cannot complain when there is a chance you will be silenced. They won't lose their ability to speak in any case, but they might lose a podium or 2. They aren't being silenced, but losing their megaphone. BIG DIFFERENCE. They decided to lock down almost every major discussion thread and call their (and their sponsor's) customers names both on their websites and on social media. I said it further up thread, but I will repeat it. When you stop allowing people who disagree with you to have a voice they get trapped into a corner. You can say GG is hypocritical all you want, but you conveniently forget what caused GG to contact ad sponsors in the first place. They were silenced and demeaned on a massive scale by the media that they are suppose to consume news from. You are blaming dynamite for exploding and ignoring the guy holding the match. Honestly, I could give a rat's *** whether they are feminists or not. I don't like anti-consumerism. I don't like agenda pushing from the media. I don't like nepotism. I don't like the lack of transparency. I don't like the call for inclusiveness from a group of people that have demonized a certain group of people. The argument for their shenanigans is that "all game journalists do it" and that argument is that of a 6 year old that folded to peer pressure. Grow a spine media folk, and say "I won't be like the rest." I don't want a group of people that can't even hold their profession's ethical standards sactrosanct preaching to me about morals and ethics. Everyone makes mistakes, and eventually is a hypocrite given time. However, I can forgive and forget when someone owns up to their mistake. However, people that silence those that point out their mistake, stick their fingers in their ears and blow a raspberry at those pointing it out, or say "everyone else does it" I have little use for because they obviously haven't learned or don't care. If they wanted discussion they could have had it, but they didn't and they don't. I won't feel sorry that they made that bed and now it looks like the sun is setting which usually indicates bedtime.
  6. It is a warning to the media to not insult their ad sponsor's customers though. They haven't taken a Pro-GG stance, but they have taken a Pro-consumer one. They removed their ads as they don't support the site writing an article that could be a perceived attack on their cash flow. I find it equally important, personally. That was always the issue with the "Gamers are dead" articles. They are anti-consumer. You can piss off a small group of people and probably get away with it. Companies do that all the time. The problem is the media didn't know how many people would react to the article in a negative way, and as such were hasty and irresponsible in publishing those articles. They definitely didn't think about Intel when they did it. Intel may be pro or anti GG, or they could be anti-censorship, but most likely just don't like broad strokes cast against their current or potential future customers. Either way they pulled funding, and it is related to this situation in one way or another.
  7. @Lexx - except the action of contacting their ad providers may not have occurred if discussion was allowed from the start. It is funny because many of the GG crowd have been calling for discussion, but the media has been name calling and censoring their sites instead. It could have gone either way... You are right about that, but the conversation was never on the table. If it had been then this may not have occurred. I won't agree that GG is silencing the opposition because they are doing the only thing in their power because the conversation wasn't allowed on any major game media site (save the Escapist), nor was it allowed on Reddit, and it was eventually a ban-worthy offense on 4chan. The conversation wasn't allowed by the establishment in almost every major gaming discussion forum. The GG people were willing to have it initially, but were left very few options to do so.
  8. @Longknife - I think you are safe contacting "any" AAA publisher (including MS and Sony). Nintendo doesn't use the media anymore so do want you will there. Also, I believe AMD probably uses them, as does Nvidia, and I have seen Newegg before as well. Anyone else I am unsure about. It is a solid victory. I just hope Intel doesn't flip flop. If the AAA publishers are indeed afraid of another "Farcry 4 cover art" debacle or something similar then right now is the time to contact the media with intent to pull ads. The more these companies stand together the more likely major changes will occur.
  9. http://techraptor.net/2014/10/01/gamasutra-intel/ Interesting. The media is going bananas with "Intel hates women" and "I'm never buying Intel again" tweets. I hope those media guys don't use Apple computers because they are stuck. Lol
  10. http://youtu.be/bKvuszF2ts4
  11. I was on my phone, and quoting on a phone is a pain. I was actually referring to a post of yours on the previous page. My apologies for the lack of clarity. When the media can all coordinate reviews to reflect negatively on a product because they didn't have an appropriate female character you start precedence for it in the future. Next will be violence, racism, etc until games are as bland as the modern cinema. You don't have to lay this on the table with percentages. They never have to flat out say, "you need a major woman character that isn't objectified and is strong." If they did then people would call foul. They just dump on the game in the review, and it will hurt sales. It is much more subtle that way, but censorship in its own way. You only have to get your way once or twice and eventually it is every time. Then you can move on the next issue on the ideology list. AAA publishers having a multi-million dollar project underperform because of the media railing it for the sole reason that they don't agree with a message means AAA games become even more bland. These publishers have to think about their investors first, and a media crusading against a product because of a message or not being PC enough is going to hit them where it counts. They will completely change their games as a byproduct. Those games will stagnate even more than they have already. When indies are ignored and go unnoticed because they didnt tell the right story you lose developers as most indies can't afford to try 5 times to appease the media. These are major issues to me. This is NOT the purpose of any kind of review oriented media. I think you believe I was referring to TFYC? I support them. I have nothing more to really add to that conversation atm.
  12. My issue is allowing the media to cross this line, even with good intentions, sets precedence. What happens when the media attacks another social issue like violence, racism, religion, and/or politics? What if the game takes a religious approach and the media doesn't like the message? Should they be the filter for content by giving bad reviews or ignoring games that don't send a message they agree with? I am not saying I don't want more females in the gaming industry or as characters in a game. I am just saying that decision should lie with the developers and the consumers. Never should a creator say "Well there is a market for this game, but the media won't review it or they will give it a crap review. So there is no point in trying to make it." We can't say it cannot happen when a certain Tropico 5 review says otherwise. What if that collusion that came from the "Gamers are Dead" articles happened with the reviewing of a title? That game gets a slew of negative reviews that could leave the developer in the wind, and it might not be because the game is bad. Slippery slopes are slippery.
  13. "Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana
  14. I will side against anyone that tries to point to art as causation for human imperfection. The arguments in use didn't have a leg to stand on when Joe Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, and Jack Thompson all tried to prove that video games caused violent behavior. Now we have people saying that these tropes and story elements cause mysoginistic views and perpetuate sexism. The argument still has few legs to stand on. To try and use censorship and bullying to suppress the backfire made it worse, and in my eyes show the true colors of those involved. Humans are imperfect, but their art shouldn't be judged and filtered based on any specific ideals. Art ceases to be art when you have outside forces putting specific messages and ideas in the product... It starts becoming a pulpit for that ideology. Gamergate have some extremists as well. I don't agree with their actions anymore than I do with the gaming media or their extremists. The attacks from both sides are horrible, and i condemn them. However, I would say that the GG crowd has continuously condemned these people while the media hasn't even covered their own whackos. Their silence on this shows me they don't care as long as they succeed. They do not care if they ruin someone's life as long as they succeed in pushing this agenda. They also don't care if minorities and women are attacked as long as they meet their goals. They preach tolerance and inclusivity until someone disagrees then the gloves are off. A gay man gets a syringe in the mail, a black man loses his job, and women are harassed but it is ok as long as the media is the moral compass in the end... As long as the media doesn't discuss these incidents it is like they never happened. Plus, these people disagreed so they deserve their harassment. Pointing out moral shortcomings is only allowed against cis white males, those that disagree, and/or those that ask questions about ethics in journalism because of suspicious relationships. Ironically, I have a few forums I frequent. The reason that I hang around here more than the others is because I feel this group is more tolerant of differing views than many others. Things get heated much less often, and name calling is rare. Discussion happens very frequently here. That is important to me. In most forums there is a lot of "I am right. You are an idiot." I feel discussion is important because no viewpoint is universal among humans. Understanding and debating those views need to happen, but name calling an censoring because someone disagrees with you... is terrible. It is the byproduct of a person, or group, that believes their viewpoint is (or should be) universal, and thank god we are all different and that isn't the case. Our differences is what makes us human. I do agree with some of the goals GG are supporting: transparent media, ethics, and so on. If the media brings politics into gaming and starts filtering games then we all lose. Whether they filter indie via coverage or If they cause a change in the AAA way of things we lose the ability to tell a series of stories because of politics. This isn't about liberal vs conservative to me. This is about extremism. However, I don't see the majority of GG people as extremists, but there are a few. Perhaps the movement is somewhat tainted by those extremists, but no more than the media, and almost every group, movement, political party, etc has extremists. I won't damn entire groups because of the few. I do see pushing agendas through the media, whether well intentioned or not, as extremist. Coordinated articles across competing sites, hatefule responses to readers, and silent consent of harassment are extremist. I started this post with the intent of saying I a more anti-media in this than pro-gamergate. However, I am a GG supporter as it turns out. They aren't perfect, but I think the movement existing is for the good of gaming. I feel like this is a "power to the people" situation at the moment. I support the people.
  15. @Bruce - I agree with you, actually. I don't think it will happen, but I think many in GG are pretty determined. I have really been cruising the hangouts, twitter, and Facebook and the movement *hates those 2 the most. There is a rumor (so definitely take it with a giant grain of salt) that Rock Paper Shotgun is down to 2 sponsors. If a few of these media sites start dipping the bean counters may have no other choice but to start cutting people as a sacrifice to appease the monster that is GG. The people that have stirred the audience the most are likely the most at risk... At least IMHO. It is still a huge "IF," and not likely. edit: *hate* is probably too strong a word, and it is different from person to person.
  16. Nice update!! I am excited to boot it up.
  17. No worries. Keep in mind that techcrunch was also writing pretty one sided (anti-GG) articles throughout September. This is one where they don't. I think it is interesting that they may have pulled away from the rest of the pack on how they cover it. It may be a first step in the GG movement getting some objective press within the tech media outside of bloggers, former journalists, anonymous devs, and youtubers. If a few more do this we may see this issue swing the other way. I really enjoyed this article though. I will have to keep my eyes open for Allum Bokhari's future articles. Tadhd Kelly wrote the 2 earlier articles that were pretty damning of GG. In the article The #Gamergate Question they say this: http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/07/the-gamergate-question/ I would like to say that the consumers having a say in products is not a bad thing, IMHO. I don't understand how it is better to have the media filter this, and I dare say it is worse. A small group of journalists with ideology in mind shouldn't have that say. Consumers should always have the say in what gets purchased, but the problem is that we are being filtered. How can you buy a game when you never hear/read about it? So, you buy Fez instead, but not necessarily because it is better but because you are aware of it. The Fez/IGF situation is really a good example of why I think media shouldn't be the source of what should be bought. I should buy it because it won awards because the people giving the awards had invested in it? But not when these real consensus among consumers is that the game is good and maybe the message as well... I think this is an example of how generalized the gaming consumer has become in the media's eyes as we aren't capable of making that decision ourselves so they have to do it for us. If we want to argue that certain things need to change in the portrayal of minorities and women then it shouldn't be because the media filtered it, but that those that believe this become developers and do it. Maybe rally the publishers to do something new, but never should a review railroad a game because they don't agree with the message or the artist. Responsibility here isn't the media's but the creator's. If the change is needed then consumers will support it. How many controversial books would have been forgotten if this media existed throughout history? These books are controversial, but that allows us to discuss them, and it allows us to learn things about the writer and ourselves in the process. If they were never mentioned to us then they may get lost in the noise. All because someone, or a few someones, didn't like the message. The new Steam system has me finding all sorts of interesting little games that weren't covered by this media, and I realize that they can't cover them all. However, certain games in the Indie scene get a whole lot of press, and others get none. It is strange. I think the new steam interface is pretty cool myself. I am sure others feel differently. I almost feel like this system may make the media even less relevant, but we will see. I believe the GG movement will dissipate after the major media outlets somewhat defanged. So I think this worry is truly a scare tactic, and ironic since the media is already doing exactly what they are rallying against. Tropico 5 getting a 6.5 because the writer didn't like the message is an example. GG may keep going until certain figureheads(Ben Kuchera and Leigh Alexander in particular) are ousted from their jobs.
  18. http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/25/gamergate-an-issue-with-2-sides/
  19. I like this guy:
  20. Neither. I think they are asking questions about morals within the backdrop of their subject matter and seeing where that takes them. At least this is how I feel about kotor 2, MotB, FONV, and possibly PoE (given a specific quest we see in the beta). Less so in dungeon siege IMHO, and I haven't played AP in a while so my memory is fuzzy. Kreia, for instance, in most of the game tries to speak against extremism (even if she is extremist herself) which I believe isn't exactly something that the media would support in the current climate. Maybe the media doesn't see the censorship stuff, the attacks on people that disagree with them, or whatever as extremist. I am unsure there. Anyway, I think Obsidian leaves the players with really interesting ethical questions that don't always have a good (morally acceptable to everyone) way to solve it and sometimes that may coincide with what the media would prefer, and sometimes not. I do think they try to not use the game as a pulpit though. They also like letting the player find their own way which is important. However, a writer's ideology will always slip through at times. I have rarely felt Obsidian being preachy, but I may have not remembered something. I am human.
  21. If we were talking about the big AAA publishers I would agree. They have power that they don't use. Them stepping out for or against GG could change the tide of the battle. Obsidian is one of the few middle developers left in the world. The middle class developers died or were bought up the last 10-15 years or so. EA bought a lot of them. I see MS, EA, Activision, ubisoft, sony, Nintendo, etc because their ad money is what pays the bills for the media. If they stood up together with gamers then the media would almost have to change. If they stood against it then it would probably have little effect on their bottom line. I don't disagree that GG needs industry support, but Obsidian isn't the right people for it. I agree with KaineParker that the media already treats Obsidian unfairly. I think it is because Obsidian is already one of the most "artistic" developers, but not pushing the "right" message with their writing gifts.
  22. It is a lose/lose for Obsidian to comment. If they are proGG then they piss the press and possibly the publishers off. If they are antiGG then they potentially lose fans. The fact that they let us discuss this in their forums is more than enough IMHO.
  23. Another interesting video.
  24. Apparently Polygon isn't happy with Tropico 5. I am linking an archive to avoid clicks for Polygon. If you wish to support Polygon... I am sure you can find the article through google. I personally enjoy Tropico, but haven't had the funds to buy the 5th installment. I also have WL2, Shadowrun Dragonfall Director's Cut, and the PoE beta so my time is limited anyway. I feel this review is extremely biased, but I hope others will chime in on their impressions. https://archive.today/LWI0O
  25. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104839 This is what I bought when my Mx518 gave up the ghost. It is a great mouse. It is wireless, but it has a USB cable so you can play wired if you like. I do, myself. The rechargeable battery is pretty crap anyway. I swap mice for my MMO needs to a g600, but this mouse is good everywhere else. I use the 4 thumb buttons to weapon swap in Battlefield, and switch to accessories as well. You don't have to use them though. It took me no time to get accustomed to it after the mx518.
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