I know this past month has been quite the whirlwind of emotions with the whole #GamerGate thing going on and I know that a lot of developers are stuck in a rough spot; if you speak out in favor of gamergate you risk losing pretty much everything, if you speak out against it then you risk losing the support of those who play the very games you make and if you remain neutral then it appears as if you simply do not care about the situation, truly a tough position to be in. I am not going to speak for everyone because I cannot presume to know what every person thinks or feels, so I am going to speak for me and I want you guys to know one thing: I support you.
Videogames are one of my true passions in life, they are the one thing that I will be an avid fan of them well into my old age ( when I have kids I plan on passing on that love of games to them). In my 24 years of life I have played some amazing games (Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy 7, Mass Effect, etc..) and it's all thanks to the people in your field, you have given myself and other games great joy and I want you guys to know that. I also want you guys to know that diversity in gaming is something that I enjoy and I would never want someone to feel as if they shouldn't enter the field due to their sexual orientation or gender because gaming should be an inclusive experience, not an exclusive one. Diversity brings in a fresh perspective and with that comes innovation ( like the games I listed above) and that is always a good thing and it's reflective of the gamers who play the games. You see, we gamers are not just a bunch of "whiny piss babies" or " white cis males", we are actually a rather diverse group of individuals with a varying array of tastes so having our diversity represented in videogames is a very good thing. Basically, I do want more women in gaming, I want more non heterosexuals in gaming, I want more minorities in gaming, I want everyone to be in gaming so we can all enjoy it...I want what you guys want.
I know that what I am saying seems counter to whats going on with #GamerGate and the whole Zoe Quinn thing. What Quinn does on her personal time in her personal life is none of my business and that conversation is for a different time, what I will say is that I honestly do hope she makes more games because even if I may not be a fan of her work, others might and I would never want to take away joy from other gamers ( If that were the case there would be no more Call Of Duty as it now stands but that's for another time also). I am on your side but I am not sure if you guys are on mine, there is a lot of misinformation going on and I have seen a lot of articles on what game devs think of the whole thing; I implore you all to do your own research, investigate #gamergate and #notyourshield and see what it's really all about before you paint the people who support your product as horrible folks.
With all that being said, I sincerely wish that all you game developers keep on making the games we all love to play and do not compromise your vision. I have nothing but good will towards you guys and if there are practices that seem unethical to you ( such as the crunch? I think that's what it's called) then let it be known so that we can bring awareness to your plights too. Just like how I know not every developers hates gamers (those there are a few on twitter I cannot say that about), not every gamer hates devs or female devs or women in general, again I strongly urge you guys to really look at the tags, interact with us and see for yourselves what it's all about..
- a black 24 year old nerd who just wants the games to be about the games.
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