TKO Creations

Okay, away from #GamerGate and onto my actual port of business.

I’ve been a supporter of National Novel Writing Month for many years, but as of late had not really had the time or opportunity to participate in it.

This year, however, is as good of an opportunity to try, as I will be writing up the first draft of the second book in the Endgames origin series, Dire Water, featuring the avatar of MegaTokyo’s fan favorite, Komugiko.  I’ll certainly do all I can to hit the 50,000 word goal (though the actual finished novel itself will no doubt exceed that number by more than a fair amount).  The hope is to meet that goal, as it would be pretty depressing to have such a high profile project (as least for me), fall short.

I must not cause such shame to the MegaTokyo brand.  I would have to commit seppuku.

And no one should want that.

Unless I really pissed off the #GamerGaters at this point.

So, having given myself some time to immerse myself more fully into the whole #GamerGate fiasco, here are my further thoughts.

1) It features two different arguments being argued against by no one.

There are two very distinct and indisputable issues that have arisen, and have (through the antics of one Zoe Quinn) become oddly entwined.  They are two arguments that really have no real counter-point… and the only reason that they have become part of an increasingly heated argument is because of extensive yelling through each other.

A) That the environment in games and gaming development is at best cold and at worst openly hostile towards women.  This is sadly an undeniable fact.  The number of female developers and the number of female developers that have faced gross sexual harassment at some point in their careers is pretty close to a 1 to 1 ratio at this point.  Meanwhile, women tend to face unique threats and reactions from the gaming community that men simply do not have to deal with (let’s face it, I don’t think anyone threatened to rape and slice open Mac Walter’s genitals after the ME3 ending debacle).  Men generally do not have to deal with “gamers” spreading nude pictures along with very personal information being publicly released on social media.

And I honestly don’t think anyone outside of a small cadre of neanderthals on 4chan dispute this.  It’s a plainly and self-evident phenomenon, and it’s wrong.  Everyone knows it’s wrong.  The only people who claim its not are summarily ignored (if not deservedly scorned) by the rest of civilization in most normal situations.  The gaming community doesn’t exactly know how to fight it (hint: The Fine Young Capitalists have a very good start going, you should all check them out), but they certainly don’t pretend everything’s okay.

B) That gaming journalism is infested with corruption, bias, and other shady dealings.  As I mentioned before, this is hardly unique to gaming journalism, and it is also a heavily cataloged fact of the matter.  It’s true.  Even the gaming media knows its true.  Honestly, in some ways, that the influence is so brazen is kinda perversely a good thing considering how under the table it could be (trying to figure out who is in bed with who, both literally and metaphorically, in the political arena often takes full teams of private investigators several months of effort).

Many publications do the best they can to minimize the effect, but there’s no escaping it.  Much like with sexism in the industry, there’s no good, all-in-one answer that would solve the problem.  Whenever you have an industry entirely dependent on another industry simply to remain relevant, this level of co-dependence is going to happen.  It’s not even a matter of if or when, it happens from Day 0.  Welcome to society at large.

The problem in #GamerGate, that both “sides” want to limit the discussion to what they have decided the terms shall be, and thusly accuse the other of not caring about their argument.

Which brings up…

2) The battle lines have been drawn by the extremists, and the rest of the crowd is stuck in the middle.

Would it surprise me to learn that the roots of #GamerGate stemmed from a cluster of mouthbreathers on 4chan’s /v/ who wanted to destroy some “uppity” female developer and feminist critic?  Not really.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that is how it started.  I know the environment of the chan network, especially in their IRC channels.  It can become a very despicable cesspool very, very quickly.  But that’s honestly irrelevant to the legion that have picked up the mantle since its inception.  Even if that small cluster is still active and using the shield of “journalistic ethics” to spout their sexist, racist, bigoted screeds (and for the record, I’m sure they are), that does not invalidate every single person who says, “Ya know… a publication shouldn’t be mingling so close to the developers of games they’re supposed to be reviewing.”

Likewise, someone who points out that cluster of misogynist twerps are making the movement as a whole look bad and giving people far too easy of a way to dismiss the movement as a whole isn’t some “femininazi” or “man hater” or “SJW” or whatever pejorative you desire.   They are correctly pointing out that there is a very seedy underbelly to the movement with some pretty disgusting motives, and as such makes it hard for the public as a whole to accept the argument that has percolated from the brew.

Yet, even as both are correct, both are also wrong, because…

3) There really isn’t much of a pro or anti-GamerGate side to begin with.

One of the major criticisms against the “War on Terror” was and is that trying to fight a conventional war against an unconventional enemy is a fool’s errand.  The power structure of terrorist organizations is not the same as a political body, and traditional attacks are extremely ineffective because of the independent nature of the cells and the autonomy that they have in their actions.

Now don’t get me twisted, I am not comparing 4chan or Anonymous to Al Queda or ISIS (which is apparently a real insult that was leveled).  But it’s a reasonably apt analogy to note from those who level criticisms against the #GamerGate hashtag.  There isn’t a centralized body to those that pick up the tag.  There is no primary manifesto.  There aren’t even any specifically defined terms that fit across the board beyond some very general bullet points.  On the same token, there really isn’t a “feminist” army leading their charge, or even a “female developer” interest group that is forming the head of the amoeba attacking the patriarchal culture within the video game industry.  Seeing the hashtag and immediately prescribing a certain set of beliefs, either for or against, is a dangerous assumption that winds up adding nothing of value.  It’s not effective shorthand, and it only raises dander.

I know that tends to run contrary to human “tribal” nature, but thanks to the modern Internet giving the means for more and more people to voice their opinions as individuals to a broad audience, we are seeing the flaws within the inherent tendency for people to coalesce other people into groups, and the “you’re either with us or against us” mentality that shoots up from it.  The people who point at the missteps of the gaming media with the tag aren’t necessarily supporting the fuckwad using that same tag to tweet obscene pictures to a female journalist or game developer or critic.  Someone pointing out those fuckwads isn’t necessarily claiming that journalistic ethics aren’t a problem or aren’t important.

They might be… but you won’t actually know that until you engage that person as an individual and find out what they’re actually saying.

Personally, I think that is what we need more of.  Individual engagement rather than groupthink.  Perhaps, if you see the #GamerGate tag, individuals need to take it for what it is (as a convenient way to put their thoughts into a larger discussion on social media), and take the time to learn what that individual is actually saying as opposed to prescribing a certain set of beliefs based on preconceptions.

But hey, as Dennis Miller used to say, “That’s just my opinion.  I could be wrong.”

Here I go again, walking into a minefield.  And this time post-surgery so my leg feels great.  So I dunno what my excuse is this time.

So.  #GamerGate.

Hunh.

I buy, play, and enjoy video games, to be sure (my bank account hates me for it every Steam Summer and Winter Sale), but I really don’t consider myself a “gamer”, mostly because I feel nigh entirely detached from the issues that gamers tend to have.  I really don’t care how many “p”s a game is rendered in.  I find the console wars a silly arms race often won not by the company that has the best product, but by which one of the three fucks up the least.  I find “physical vs digital” sales and game ownership to be largely a non-starter.

But one topic that has caught my ear is because journalism WAS an intended field of mine, and the flimsy ethics of journalism and the portions of society they cover extends far beyond video games.  That sort of corruption is a sad, despicable fact no matter where you go; be it sports, politics, food (yes… there is corruption within FOOD reviews.  And apparently there’s some pretty big money in it).

Yet as I read into the entire #GamerGate fiasco, I find myself tripping over some issues that honestly confuse me.  I don’t want to lump anyone into “sides” of this “debate” (because I find that does nothing but stir further ire).  So I offer these questions openly to anyone who wants to answer them.

1) Why is Zoe Quinn the flash point here?

Total honesty; I barely played Depression Quest.  I honestly felt it was a fairly insipid over-dramatized version of depression from what little I was able to get into it.  I don’t get what makes it so important.  Yet, a sentiment I’ve seen is that her antics (presuming the entire “Five Guys” thing is even true) were the “flash point” that lit the entire powder keg.

Why?

Why was some marginal indie developer the thing that finally caused all the frustration to explode, and not (for example) Microsoft paying $750,000 to the online publication Polygon?  What about Bioware brazenly offering a speaking role in Mass Effect 3 to a TV host at IGN?  But it’s the unverified rants from an ex-boyfriend of a mediocre indie developer that sets this all off?

I don’t mean this as an attack.  I honestly don’t get it.  Am I missing something here?  What makes this the straw that broke the camel’s back?

It’s very easy for someone “outside” the fiasco to reach the conclusion that the “gamer” crowd is using “journalistic ethics” as a flimsy cover to attack a woman who is perceived to threaten their “boys club.”  I’ll be honest, it’s very easy for me to reach that conclusion, knowing second hand just how hostile the gaming industry and fans can be in general.  On top of that, what tends to bubble to the top of the social ocean when women are involved has not historically been pretty.

But at the same time, I know first hand how dirty and insidious journalism can get, and I don’t doubt for one second that gaming journalism is any better.  So I don’t think its fair to dismiss that, even as the spark that lit the wick doesn’t make any sense to me considering there were open bonfires burning all around it.

Help me out here.

2) Why are efforts to bridge the gap mostly ignored or rebuffed?

As far as I can tell, The Fine Young Capitalists are a group that is genuinely trying to open avenues for women in gaming and encourage female gamers.  When they reached across the aisle to 4chan to try and show that it’s not all about sexism and misogyny, and that you can even find redeeming characters on /v/ of all places, that group nigh instantly came under attack for accepting funding and feedback from gamers who wanted to support their efforts.

Are we running out of enemies so quickly we have to manufacture them now?

What was so frightening about the idea of trying to brush away the battle lines?  Why did that scare feminist groups?

I understand that women in gaming have had a rough time.  Believe me, I’m very aware of that.  And I’m also keenly aware that 4chan is such a wretched hive of scum and villany that it makes the Mos Eisley cantina look like a Young Republicans convention at Dartmouth.  But is such a broad brush really necessary?  Do we have to assume that any support from an unusual source must inherently be somehow malicious in nature?  Is it imperative to assume anyone who doesn’t immediately prescribe to the proper talking point must be an enemy?

3) What is the real fear feeding the fire on both sides?

Because I do believe that at the heart of this conflagration on both sides is fear, and it’s real easy to get one side to say what the other is afraid of.

“They’re afraid that their sexist, bigoted games will be ruined,” is the claim from feminist camps.

“Sexism’s dying, and they’re afraid they’re losing influence,” claim gamers.

But I don’t really think that’s it.  That’s the excuses being given to rationalize ever increasing aggression.  That’s the equivalent of propaganda; exaggerations thrown through the magnifying class so that one side can dismiss the concerns of the other without actually having to think about it.

That’s the fear talking, but that’s not the fear itself.  And of course, getting people to say what they are afraid of isn’t easy, if damn near impossible.

So, I suppose this question isn’t one I expect an answer to.  This is something that people should be asking themselves.

What do you fear, and why do you think it will happen if your side “loses” the fight?

Barring any catastrophic delays, The Tower of Kartage will be ready for release and publication next week.  I’m gunning for the 25th of September, but Amazon isn’t always entirely consistent when they’ve cleared something.

In the meantime, here’s a short little teaser, just to wet the palette.  Hope you enjoy it!

Tower of Kartage Teaser

Though this one is not dark or forboding.  It’s actually a very nice tower, in a city with pleasant (if wary) people.

Still on schedule for a release in late September/early October… so it’s coming up quick.  Be ready!

As of this moment, I am writing a changed man… missing a little bit of bone and cartilage… and sporting a nice new slash across my lower back.

This is a good thing.

The surgery to fix the herniated L5-S1 disc was so successful that the doctors didn’t even feel the need to keep me overnight for observation.  I can already feel an immense difference (the pain in my leg is nigh entirely gone), but at the moment, I’ve just traded one pain for another (shocking development folks, having surgery leaves you really sore).

But the difference is, finally, the pain is only going to get better, as opposed to worse.  Sleeping will start being easier, rather than harder.  It’s not going to be a short road to a full recovery, but I can finally say I’m on that road to recovery.

It’s a good feeling.

In actual writing news, I’ve been able to push through the first manuscript of The Tower of Kartage, and the goal remains to have that ready for sale at the end of the month.  And barring a horrible turn for the worse, I should be well enough to attend Youmacon 2014 in Detroit.

Keep your fingers crossed on both counts.  I’m eager to get back in the swing of things.

Thank you to those who extended their support, and fortunately, my doctors and specialists working on my case aren’t wasting any time, as I will have the surgery to correct my herniated disc Friday, September 5th.  Hopefully, this will finally allow me to resume something resembling a normal life.

Thank you all again.

I’ve been placed in the urgent queue for a partial removal surgery of my S1 disc that has herniated and begun pinching my right sciatic nerve. The date is still TBD, but if I disappear from the Internet for a week, that’s the reason why.

I’ll be in good hands, Spectrum Health is one of the best hospitals in the Midwest if not the country, and boasts a 95% success rate with my particular procedure. I should be perfectly fine and make a full recovery.

But it doesn’t hurt to keep my few followers updated.

If there is one thing that raises my ire and blood pressure more than anything, it’s listening to armchair developers or writers grumbling that content creators are “lazy”, usually because it takes a year or more for the audience to enjoy in a matter of hours.

I used to think it was just a matter of ignorance, of people not really understanding just how much effort it takes to create and refine something to the quality that the creator deems is acceptable.  Sure, some fanfiction.net writer can slap together a 1,000 word chapter every day.  So could I.  But the time spent would reflect the quality.

It would be trash, just like 99% of everything created.

Could it be that creators tend to have too high of expectations for our work, and that the little quibbling errors we fuss over would be largely overlooked by our audience?  Maybe (but then I’d point you to the legions of video game message boards filled with vile little brats screaming bloody murder over any bug no matter how small).

There’s no method of content development that’s quick AND quality.  And lord knows content creators have any number of neuroses that slow the process of creation down.

But come on guys.  We’re not lazy.

We’re just messed up.  At least get the criticism right.

Some concept art for the cover of The Tower of Kartage!

Thanks, Fred!  It’s looking great.