Shaun Joy · @DragnixMod
17th Apr 2015 from TwitLonger
A response to @lmaverick123 on Titan Souls Video Response
Thanks for watching, this is the kind of stuff that I love about making videos and writing: The dialogue it creates, and in particular, when each side has respect for what the other has to say. So I wanted to go into some of the points you made in your blog, and maybe elobarate on my original points or talk about them a little more. I of course mean everything I say with respect, even if I'm not the best with the pen in terms of expressing myself.
I agree with you that the idea of PR lately has gotten murky, and I think it's to the side of where the strengths of what I believe are the positive sides of PR lie, and where it's weaknesses are. I always thought of good PR to be two fold: being creative in spreading your message WITHOUT fooling the end user, and stopping incorrect or faulty messages for your product getting out. With the publishers and gaming press having too much influence on each other in terms of the PR section,that's where things indeed get murky, and I totally agree with that.
I think one of the bigger things I need to touch on is the idea of social issues being put into games, and people's reactions to my uncomfortable nature with this. Maybe I presented the point incorrectly, as I respect that today's gaming environment is able to touch on such large issues, and are able to create games that hit a wider social reach. Games like This War of Mine for example is a game that I love to prop up as a game that hits issues about war and it's consequences, and the gaming industry is better with it's existence.
Where I take issue is when a game is required to have some social message, or to change it's social message due to the idea that a group doesn't like it. Take the recent controversy with Pillars of Eternity and the "transphobic" joke. People read that as a slur to transphobic people, but that's the thing, I completely didn't read it like that. In fact, I actually thought it was a reference to history. In the time period that I put the game in, it was around the London period in the 1800s. Several places in Britian had actually outlawed homosexuality, and there was even a seperate language developed by the gay community so they could hide in plain sight. What was taken as a social issue was something that I don't think meant to touch on it at all, and what I thought was a clever reference to the influences that the game had. I may be reading too much into it, but that's the thing: I took what I wanted to take from it. And that's what bothers me. That the "message" and the social portion of the art became so controversal......that those who interpreted differently were left out in the cold. Art is supposed to be part interpretation, and I think those who would like to see those portions in terms of social commentary isolate things they don't agree with.....need to really look at themselves badly.
The gamers are grown-up part I'll somewhat give you in terms of the age portion, but I disagree with the underlying message. The child like mystique I refer to is discovery and imagination, and that can include even the more top of the line emotional experiences that we see today. Maybe it's just me, but I loved to imagine when I was a kid, a form of escapism that I still use to this very day to just enjoy my mind being involved with the world and what I "want" it to be. The fallout series is something I'd point to on that, the idea of learning of the world, and imagining myself in it, is part of what I refer to. The content in it may not be kid friendly, but it's more so of the discovery portion that I love. I don't like when I'm being told: you need to intrepret the game THIS way (again, back to the Pillar of Eternity point). Again, dealing with the control issues I have as well.
I think the face behind the medium was me exploring where the medium was going. I can see the appeal of the portion, but on the flip side, it worries me none the less. I keep on making this example, but one of my favorite books is Ender's Game. That game hit with me on so many levels, and yet, if I were to first pick up today with the idea of who Orson Scott Card is now, I may never have tried it. My concern revolves around not necessarily the face behind it: but letting that restrict your experiences because of it. I admit, I want to see those like Adrian C. from the Vanishing of Ethan Carter team to do well: i admit as much despite the attempt at objectivity in the video. But when it stops people from trying something, I just hope they realize that they may be heavily missing out.
And to your final point: yeah, it's changing. And part of that is my issues with control, and I will admit as much. I love what games have done for me, and it's something I may have to accept. I may not like where it's going in several ways, but it's something I'm going to have to deal with regardless. And to me, again, it's a fear of the unknown. I love games, it's why I do this, and it's a fear that games may not mean as much to me down the road in the direction in may be heading. It could also grow to, don't get me wrong, and the idea that it can touch more people? Yeah, it's thrilling to think that. That piece came from an emotional place, I will admit that entirely, and not only was it a piece for those viewing the video....it may have meant as much to me to get my thoughts out there as well, to cope with it.
Thanks for your detailed response. It's stuff like this that is always awesome to get discussions going and makes me realize why I love talking about it so much =)