Hurlshort

Amen to that. It's the same if you reverse the genders too. These people should not be allowed anywhere near a classroom.

Video games should do whatever the hell they want. I disagree. This is a business, they are trying to sell a product. They should do whatever their consumers want. Indie developers have a lot more leeway, but they still have to think is terms of marketability at some point. Otherwise making games is just a hobby.

Significant Other. Ah, much cleaner than what I was thinking.

Longknife, do you really feel that coercion is the proper word here? Even after reading the definition? Because if so, I'd imagine we are at an impasse and it's best to agree to disagree.

I'm still trying to puzzle out what SO means. Also my daughter carved a heart into my wife's car. It's a bit of a debacle.

So what's the buzzword for people that overuse terms like SJW and straw man?

Nobody in this thread has a problem with criticism. But coercion is something different. Heh, when you say coercion I think of how the mafia spread its influence across America in the previous century. I think about political lobbyists. Video games and coercion, not so much.

This is the cost of living in a digital world. We have so much information and media at our fingertips, it's amazing. We get so much immediately. But we also have to deal with the immediacy of criticism and blowback. You can't have one without the other, this platform goes both ways. Also, Spider-Woman looked ridiculous and I thought it was awesome how quickly they had to backpedal on her cover art. Again, we get so much entertainment from this digital world!

Thanks Monte, I figured you were just in a mood. Even my unicorn-dancing-on-a-rainbow rear gets a bit pissy from time to time. More so as I get older and more cranky! I keep hearing about things like Gamergate, and this Zoe Quinn, and this Anita character, and every once in awhile I try to read through the threads about them, but I have a hard time getting any of it. Are these issues in the real world? I do get that video game journalism sucks. But that's hardly newsworthy. It's also not any worse than entertainment news and sports reporting is barely any better. Maybe I just need to go back to the other threads.

How are developer's supposed to know that the tired trope of the knight saving the princess in the castle is tired if people don't voice their criticisms? Also is SJW the new White Knight label? I try to ignore these silly internet memes that come and go.

And there you go. A perfect example of a liberal / relativist switcheroo in action. The kids see marriage all around them. Heaven forfend, some of their parents might even be married! At that point in time gay marriage was (a) rare and (b) not even legal in many countries. Of course the status quo is political (and as Marx insists) everything is political. And so you can safely compare marriage to a plunger or a goldfish. All that is solid melts into air. And you are trusted with tender minds? What a weird response, and how mature that you question my career as an educator. I'll restate, this is a kids game, why does it need an adult concept like marriage in it at all? My 4-year old plans on marrying his sister right now. Instead of being concerned about some some of incestuous intent, I recognize that he is young, and his concepts of marriage are not all that developed. So if you are going to take a goofy kids game and implement marriage, why not make it goofy? Now I do understand the percentage argument, the majority will choose a boy/girl relationship over same sex, and so why waste resources implementing something that a small percentage of the population may find appealing. At that point it should be a pretty easy response for a developer to say they were unaware of the demand for such options, and they will take that into account when feature-planning for future installments. That's how you keep it non-political. You weigh customer interest against your resources.

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. Speaking of which, wasn't there some huge backlash on Tomodachi Life for not including gay marriages? I found that EXCEEDINGLY odd considering it's Nintendo and they, yknow, typically have kid customers, so including such a feature is potentially going against what their consumer base would want. Likewise as a game mechanic, how the hell would you determine which Miis are gay? When I heard that one I just found it to be the weirdest **** ever. Targeting the Sims or something for not including it, sure, but Tomodachi Life....? It's a goofy game made for goofy fun, not for a political message.... But looking back on it now, it makes sense WHY it got targeted for that. I bet we could look up articles on the subject right now and find the typical "offenders" aka the people in that group and those that coordinate info. I think the better question is why does a kid's game need to include an adult concept like marriage in the first place? And if they are going to include it as a goofy concept, then why have a boy/girl limitations on it? That sounds more political than just letting your mii's marry whatever they want, be it another boy, a goldfish, or a plunger.

There are a lot of new folks around, but some of us crotchety vets are still grumbling about. Nice to see you Kaftan.

Hence my favorite book, "Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov.

Make photo of your workplace and post here. All different posts are offtop. Ah, so here is a picture of me at my workplace:

Wait, a dachshund? I take back what a said, she sounds like a wanker. Also not the dog I pictured Malcador with.

I'm a bit confused how Malcador's dog got close enough to this person for her to kick at? If you have your dog under control, it shouldn't really happen, unless that person went out of their way to approach the dog. Many people are terrified of dogs, she could have been lashing out defensively. Also, when I run with my dog, I give him a good jab with my knee every time he cuts in on my path. He is young and I'm training him to understand that is not ok. It's not a hard jab, but it lets him know not to do it.

The odds that Malcador really hauled off and slapped some girl on the street are pretty low.

Blizzard has very high expectations, and so they are very careful breaking new ground. That being said, they still do venture out, as Hearthstone proves. They jealously guard their reputation. I would love to see other major developers and publishers pay more attention to their reputation than the bottom line. Granted I also like to see studios take risks, but there is room for both types in the industry. And honestly there isn't really anyone else doing what Blizzard does. You can't really claim they are milking their franchises, Ubisoft released like 5 Assassin Creed games in between the release of Diablo III and the first expansion.

Blizzard is a developer that has developed numerous titles for years, and chosen to cancel them instead of releasing them because they weren't enjoyable enough to play. So I'm not sure what you are talking about at all.

Oddly enough, that's basically what I've been doing in the last couple months. They streamlined the levelling, story, and areas to all move quickly, and I've been soloing my way through a ton of it. So far I'm up to level 53 and it's been a blast, with some entertaining storylines. You can even solo the great dungeons once you are high enough, and they are rich in story.

The regular season is coming to an end. I'm not sure how I feel about the Giants. They don't have the pitching depth that they did in '10 or '12. They are going to face the Pirates in the Wild Card game, and I like their chances with Bumgarner on the mound. That being said, he's the only ace, it's not like in years past where they had 4 pitchers going strong. Angel Pagan is out, so that's gonna hurt. But Blanco, as he's done in the past, is hot at the right time. It's an odd lineup, it is feast or famine. The only thing I trust is the bullpen. They've still got the rock solid guys that shut down everyone in the previous runs.

Spec Ops: The Line is literally the only shooter I have finished in the last decade. It was wonderfully thought provoking and elicited a gamut of emotions. It is not a long game, so I recommend sticking to it.

Where the heck is Bester on this? It's his job to go after these Kickstarter scams! But seriously, not a surprise.

Proving to one and all just how out of touch with reality you remain, Hurlshot. Here's someone with a better grasp on the unvarnished reality of Islam. That was an interesting read, thanks. I would say I support many of his ideals about more Muslims speaking out against violence and Jihad. He hopes for a flowering or renaissance of the Muslim world where equality is the focus, and he says there is nothing 'anti-islamic' in that sentiment. I agree wholeheartedly. But yeah, I disagree on the CAIR thing. The idea that it is a shadowy front for Hamas is far-fetched. It was linked to a shady charity organization. But it's an organization that has been vocally condemning terrorism and extremism since before 9/11. The website is hardly a radical platform, and the CAIR branch in my area has done nothing but reach out to the civic and religious community to build bridges.