“Gamers Are Dead” Article Analysis
Analysis kindly done by @firehawk32, italics added my me. This will cover 17 articles in total, all written around the 28th August. Though I am aware there are lists including more floating around – such as this one – most of the comments refer to between 10 and 18 in total, and focus on those that went live on the same day.
So the magic number of “Gamers are Dead articles all at once seems to be 12. That’s the number I’ve seen most often thrown around. In your article on The Flounce [PixieJenni note: referencing this piece that I wrote] someone linked to 12 articles claiming those were the ones they were complaining about. I plan to go through those and see what they actually say.
1. Leigh Alexander’s “’Gamer’s’ don’t have to be your audience. ‘Gamers’ are over.” August 28, 2014 Gamasutra / http://archive.today/l1kTW
Audience: Developers
I believe you’ve tackled this one already, so I won’t rehash anything you’ve already talked about. [PixieJenni note: this is a reference to my twitlonger, here]
Uses of the phrase “Gamers are Dead”: 0
Interesting quotes:
“This is what the rest of the world knows about your industry — this, and headlines about billion-dollar war simulators or those junkies with the touchscreen candies. That’s it. You should absolutely be better than this.”
“Don’t blame an entire industry for a few bad apples.”
2. Chris Plante’s “An Awful Week to Care About Video Games.” August 28th at 1:21pm Polygon / http://archive.today/rkvO8
Audience: Gamers/Game fans
This is mostly a rundown of the awful things that had happened that week within the realm of video games. Notably Phil Fish being hacked, Anita’s death threat that forced her to leave her home, and Tim Schafer being harassed for supporting Anita.
Uses of the phrase “Gamers are Dead”: 0
Interesting quotes (Not many, again it’s mostly a collection of events):
“This week, it should be clear to this community that games are at a cultural turning point. No longer are games designed, marketed and sold to a niche group of young men. Games are now ubiquitous, their ability to provide a safe space for experimentation and empathic experiences serves a population that, in a time as economically and politically bleak as this one, need them desperately. More games are being created by more people for more people than ever before.”
This seems to be the kicker for GG: “Two groups are at opposite ends of this moment: One side has folded its arms, slumped its shoulders while pouting like an obstinate child that has learned they are getting a little brother or sister but wants to remain the singular focus of his parents’ affection. The other side has opened its arms, unable to contain its love and compassion, because they understand they are no longer alone. This week, the obstinate child threw a temper tantrum, and the industry was stuck in the metaphorical grocery store as everyone was forced to suffer through it together. But unlike a child, the people behind these temper tantrums are hurting others. It’s time to grow up. Let’s not wait until next week to start.”
3. Casey Johnston’s “The Death of ‘Gamers’ and the Women Who ‘Killed’ Them” August 29 at 12:00am Ars Technica / https://archive.today/ZyLdw
Audience: ‘technologists and IT Professionals’
Another rundown of events. This one focuses only on Zoe and Anita’s harassment.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 1-ish (The headline)
Interesting quotes:
“Zoe Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian prove points a certain gamer-type refuses to hear.”
“The attack on Sarkeesian was among a number of incidents in the last few weeks that exposed some of the ugly (yet familiar) attitudes and prejudices that remain deeply ingrained in the gaming culture. This time, those sentiments have gotten tied up in ethical arguments in an attempt to highlight the toxic behavior.”
“And every time it happens, it advances the goals of the most poisonous “gamers,” while regressing everything else.”
4. Devin WIlson’s “A Guide to Ending ‘Gamers’ August 28 8:28pm Gamasutra / http://archive.today/2t93l
Audience: Developers
A blog post from the member of the Gamasutra community with the following disclaimer: The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. Although it was a featured post, though I’m not sure if that means it ended up on the main page or just in the blog section.
This post actually has some really good, thought out points about how we can make gaming better AS GAMERS. It does not denounce gamers as dead, instead it is a rejection of the stereotypical view of the gamer as the “basement dwelling neck beard” and putting forth ways in which gamers can be better. I can see why GG would HATE this post though, the author uses a LOT of “SJW” language to make their point.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 1/2 if you kind of squint when you read the title?
Interesting quotes:
“It’s not only the worst of us who need to change. None of us are outside of this system. None of us are completely above its effects. None of us are entirely innocent. We all need to work to make our role in games culture more positive (which absolutely does not mean “less critical”).”
“If our medium is designed for people to stay secluded for dozens of hours while having their egos stroked, then we reap what we sow in terms of the kinds of people who emerge from this pastime. We need to consider the very real possibility that the offensive behaviour displayed by gamers in recent weeks is not unrelated to the artifacts they rally around (which I doubt are especially obscure).”
Basically all the points raised are great I actually highly recommend reading this one.
5. Luke Plunkett’s “We Might be Witnessing the ‘Death of an Identity’” August 28 8:00pm Kotaku / https://archive.today/ht088
Audience: Gamers/game fans
This is a basic “bad things are happening and people are writing about it” post. Which points out two articles and quotes them a bit.
Instances of “Death of Gamers”: 6 (2 “death of an identity”s, One in the headline one a quote from Dan Golding’s blog which the title is referencing. And 4 “death of/End of gamers” all quotes or titles from Golding and Leigh Alexander’s posts.)
Interesting quotes: “Note they’re not talking about everyone who plays games, or who self-identifies as a “gamer”, as being the worst. It’s being used in these cases as short-hand, a catch-all term for the type of reactionary holdouts that feel so threatened by gaming’s widening horizons. If you call yourself a “gamer” and are a cool person, keep on being a cool person.”
6. Joseph Bernstein’s “Gaming is Leaving ‘Gamers’ Behind” August 28 8:29PM Buzzfeed / http://archive.today/jVqJ8
Audience: General
This one is not a great article (Buzzfeed) it spends most of its time in a labored metaphor comparing Gamers to a hypothetical Moviegoer. I imagine this is because Buzzfeed is outside the typical gaming sphere and it’s trying to explain it to the “normals.” It ends with a quote from Dan Golding’s post which is where the headline comes from.
Instances of “Death of Gamers”: 1 (if you count the title of Dan Golding’s post).
Interesting quotes: “What Golding is getting at, and what hope I made clear with my long-winded analogy, is that video games are in the process of shedding the assumptions larded on them by their history. They are becoming simply another medium—one with no inherent bias towards any group. In twenty years, it may sound as old-fashioned to call someone a “gamer” as it is to call someone a “moviegoer”. And we may well look back at these few weeks in 2014 as the moment when the medium finally separated from the limitations put on it from outside, and from within.”
7. Patrick O’Rourke’s “Sexism, Misogyny and Online Attacks: It’s a Horrible Time to Consider Yourself a ‘Gamer’” August 28 9:33pm Financial Post / https://archive.today/HkPHc
Audience: General
This was kind of a great article and I think people on both sides should read it. It’s a rundown of the abuse Zoe and Anita have faced, talks about protoGamerGate (before they had a name) and highlights ways the industry is getting better.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 0 (at worst he says the word “has taken on increasingly negative connotations.)
Interesting quotes: ” For a group who frequently wants the medium of video games to be taken seriously, it seems strange that many people who identify as gamers are so unaccepting of criticism, especially of the feminist variety.”
“As someone who sees video games as a large part of their life and values the medium as more than just simple, silly “games,” the toxic attitude of much of the core gaming audience is disgusting and at times even terrifying.”
“Although the way I view games has changed and evolved over the years, particularly after watching Sarkeesian’s series, it’s still possible to enjoy and revere these titles, while still being critical of some of their more problematic issues, particularly when it comes to their portrayal of women.”
8. Arthur Chu’s “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry” August 28 The Daily Beast / http://archive.today/9NxHy
Audience: General
Now this is the first one I’ve seen that people have actual cause to be upset about. He’s pretty condescending to the readers/people angry (even though I agree they have little cause to be angry) and he actively insults them. He makes some good points, but the overall tone is combative and not helpful.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 0
Interesting quotes:
“So no, I’m definitely not one of the fake gamer girls you fear and loathe so much, especially since I’m not a girl. So when I tell you you’re being misogynist losers who are making us all look bad, maybe you’ll listen.” (Not a great way to start things off)
“No, they say it’s about “corruption.” About “developers in bed with reviewers,” and the stain this leaves on the “integrity of games journalism.” At its most feverish, it becomes about the “conspiracy” of cliquish insiders that controls the industry, silences dissenting voices and ultimately harms all gamers by keeping their desires from being heard in favor of the “feminist agenda. To which I can only respond, “ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!” followed by “FOR FUCK’S SAKE, GET A LIFE!”
“The idea that your beliefs are objectively correct and, more importantly, that being correct entitles you to use every dirty trick in your arsenal to attack people who are incorrect is hardly thin on the ground on the Internet. But nowhere does it seem to be as over-applied as among defensive gamers.”
“I love games. I love gaming culture, despite everything wrong with it. My wife and I wouldn’t be together without games. The best times of my life have been spent playing games.”
9. Dan Golding’s “The End of Gamers” August 28 Personal Blog / https://archive.today/5jvcD
Audience: unclear, personal blog
He starts of recounting Zoe and Anita’s stories. It seems to me all the articles were not sparked by some “collusion” but rather the fact that Anita had to leave her home due to death threats [PixieJenni note: I would also add in the Quinnspiracy stuff as a root cause here]. Golding’s blog seems to be the first one to report on things as it’s linked or referenced in most of the “Death of Gamers” articles. He makes a point about how “Gamer” became a thing when playing games was unusual, and how when games moved more into the mainstream, the term became outdated. I can see why this is the crux of arguments. It’s exceptionally well written and GamerGate COMPLETELY misunderstands what he’s saying when he’s talking about “Gamers.”
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 4 (Including the title, though they are referred to as “end of gamers”)
Interesting quotes: Basically all of it, but I’ll find some highlights.
“For a while, perhaps, when such technology was found mostly in masculine cultures, videogames accordingly developed a limited, inwards-looking perception of the world that marked them as different from everyone else. This is the gamer, an identity based on difference and separateness.”
“When playing games was an unusual activity, this identity was constructed in order to define and unite the group (and to help demarcate it as a targetable demographic for business). It became deeply bound up in assumptions and performances of gender and sexuality. To be a gamer was to signal a great many things, not all of which are about the actual playing of videogames. “
“On the evidence of the last few weeks, what we are seeing is the end of gamers, and the viciousness that accompanies the death of an identity. Due to fundamental shifts in the videogame audience, and a move towards progressive attitudes within more traditional areas of videogame culture, the gamer identity has been broken.”
“The gamer as an identity feels like it is under assault, and so it should. Though the ‘consumer king’ gamer will continue to be targeted and exploited while their profitability as a demographic outweighs their toxicity, the traditional gamer identity is now culturally irrelevant.”
“The last few weeks therefore represent the moment that gamers realised their own irrelevance. This is a cold wind that has been a long time coming, and which has framed these increasingly malicious incidents along the way. Videogames have now achieved a purchase on popular culture that is only possible without gamers.”
“I am convinced that this marks the end. We are finished here. From now on, there are no more gamers—only players.”
I would say that the whole anger over “Gamers are Dead” comes back to a fundamental misunderstanding of the point Golding was making.
10. Mike Pearl’s “This Guy’s Embarrassing Relationship Drama is Killing the ‘Gamer’ Identity” August 29 Vice / https://archive.today/L4n6p
Audience: General
This one is a summation of recent events, culminating in an interview with Eron Gjoni.
Instances of “Gamers are Over’: 2 (The title and a quote from Leigh Alexander)
Interesting quotes:
“While interviewing [Gjoni], I liked him as a person. Still, the fallout from his mistake has been like the outbreak of a drama virus, and the symptoms are intense misogyny and general internet discontent.”
“You know the very end of The Lord of the Flies? When that British Navy guy is standing there, looking at the boys screaming and chasing each other, and he scolds them for their bad behavior, and they all look at each other like, Jesus, we killed someone, and the book is just over? That’s the world of video games right now.”
11. Dan Seitz’s “Why #GamerGate is a Lie Gamers Need to Start Telling Themselves” September 2 Uproxx / https://archive.today/waQOe
Audience: General
This is another they can point to about tone. The writer is clearly annoyed with GamerGate and is not afraid to let that show. He recaps what’s been happening and kind of tears apart GG’s basic arguments.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 0 he’s pretty firm in his statement that gamers exist and he’s not particularly fond of them most days.
Interesting quotes:
“As a gamer of twenty-five years, I can assure you that gamers are entitled whiny crybabies, especially when they’re being called mean names. So #GamerGate was born, about how the gaming press was incompetent and rife with ethical problems, and how it was blaming the poor innocent gamer and just making up all this awful stuff about them.”
“But even with that claim intact, it was still too inside-baseball. My story was “Some lady you don’t care about, who made some game you didn’t play, allegedly boned some dude you don’t know, for a good review you didn’t read.” Hell, I wouldn’t read that.”
“It’s just that gamers feel the gaming press should only tell them what they want to hear. Which, weirdly, is usually that a group of gamers have decided to band together and be a big ol’ bunch of jerks to each other. Gamers are strange creatures.”
He is incredibly dismissive of the complaints, “mean” about it, but he acknowledges the existence of gamers so it probably shouldn’t be linked with these articles.
12. Keith Stuart’s “GamerGate: The Community is Eating Itself but There Should be Room for All” September 3 The Guardian / https://archive.today/pMoWr
Audience: General (but in gaming section)
A summation of what’s happened and an explanation of how gaming became more mainstream and how the “true gamer” has reacted.
Instances of “Gamers are Dead”: 1 reference to the fact that people have written articles saying such.
Interesting quotes:
“The self-identifying gamers are largely wrong about the games press. Although ethical breaches no doubt happen, it isn’t a hive of corruption. Games writers aren’t getting rich on backhanders from games publishers; they’re poorly paid, work long hours and largely are in this for passion, not to make a quick buck through sinister channels.”
“In return, games journalists have grown distrustful of self-identifying gamers. The wretched miscreants that swamp Quinn, Sarkeesian and others with vile threats every time they post a video, a story or a tweet, have come to symbolise community. But this isn’t strictly fair. There are lots of gamers who are angered and bewildered by how some game sites cover the industry and its superstars; they feel they have legitimate questions about how games journalism functions. “
“For me, the problem with the gamer community that has aligned around the #gamergate hash tag is that it doesn’t seem to know what it wants or what it fears – or at least, the problem is that what it fears isn’t going to happen. “
“I have found a lot of the actions of self-confessed hardcore gamers horrendous, upsetting and unjustifiable over the past two weeks. I have mocked and criticised the excesses – and I was happy to commission Jenn Frank’s piece on the disgusting excesses of anti-social behaviour in some quarters of the games community. But I have come to understand that the gamers suspicious of the games press cannot be classed together in one homogenous group – just as games journalists cannot. Objectification is never the answer. Which is why #gamergate has become so problematic.”
“Every writer and critic must have the freedom of press; everyone must have the freedom of expression – as long as no one is targeted and harassed in the process. It is possible to disagree without abuse. These are simple ground rules. They are achievable. I entered games writing at a time when journalists and readers were a club, with in-jokes and trust and kinship. Everybody still loves games, right? Let’s concentrate on that.”
There are some other articles that have been linked to this burst, and I have found these using this image.
13. Callie Beusman’s “Misogynistic Trolls Drive Feminist Video Game Critic From Her Home” August 28 4:05pm Jezebel / https://archive.today/2wHNI
Audience: General/Women’s Issues focus
Audience: General Pop Culture?
Audience: Tech fans
Audience: General
pixietalksgamergate 
I’d always took the “gamers are dead” to mean the stereotype of gamers being straight white nerdy guys is over. That the people who play games are very diversified, & the term “gamer”, with it’s stereotypical meaning, doesn’t accurately reflect that. Not one person actually wished death on all gamers, and it’s disingenuous of gamergate to say so. (However, I have had people on twitter tell me they kill feminists for fun/ wish death to all feminists)
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The interesting thing is that for many of us, that stereotype (the one’s used in Hollywood tropes ironically) had long been something gamers joked about or fought to overcome, no one took it seriously.
Then these articles came out, written by people who should understand the dangers of the stereotypical gamer identity, and presented this stereotype as FACT – these pissbabies, white cis, awkward losers (I’m paraphrasing but these labels WERE used) need to leave gaming alone, they don’t “have to be your audience.”
That highlighted something that most gamers had suspected, to be true – gaming journos thought that gamers WERE the stereotype! And it hasn’t stopped since. We’re still all white, cis, male, privileged (despite #NotYourShield), we all hate women, are virgins, throw tantrums, are angry etc.
These articles were proof that games media was hostile to those that consumed games media, not because we are the stereotype but BECAUSE we had thought a natural progression had already occurred where the stereotype was disproved, but our media hadn’t gotten the memo.
To think we’re simply mad because we heard “Gamers are Dead” hur dur derp, anger, is condescending – we understand they’re not trying to “take away our games.” We’re hurt because we’re alienated, we’ve had stereotypes thrust on us since the 80s, and it hasn’t stopped since but we’d hoped that our media (our advocates) were the last people to perpetuate those stereotypes.
We were wrong. This is the result.
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I would tend to agree. I got a lot of blowback from people when I tried to point out these articles telling me that I was some whiny crybaby for questioning why a number of publications would all of the sudden proclaim “Gamers” to be “over” when, as far as I was concerned, gamers have always been a equality-driven, all-inclusive group. I’m not one of those guys. I married a non-gamer woman and work a full-time job. I’m lucky to play one or two AAA titles a year, the rest on-sale Steam games. I’m nowhere close to the target demographic of these articles. I considered myself a normal person who enjoys games before. Now I don’t understand what I am supposed to be. I’ve had ten different people imply what I should be. I just want to play games. With anyone, or everyone. Period.
But anyway, good summary of articles. I had only read a few, and I have to agree on the Arthur Chu article, because this was an example of some of the aforementioned flak I got for supporting some of the talking points raised during GG. It’s one thing for people to respond to me in a civil manner and have a civil exchange of opinions and thoughts about a topic, but it’s another for a lot of these people to just fill my timeline with angry, dismissive, and polarizing language because they expect me to just sit on the side and let everything go. I could, I mean, I wish I could, but as someone who uses the internet to express what I cannot in real life often, who has thoughts and ideas, I found myself being sucked in to this storm no matter what. Most conversations I have with people are great. I’ve talked to two developers who have been nothing but friendly with me despite some differences. Others though, made it impossible for me to want to engage them, because they had nothing but contempt for me. How DARE I go up against female devs and game journos. How DARE I align with a movement of hate and villany, despite my not ever condoning or supporting those actions. It seems to me that the phrase “It takes two to tango” applied over-and-over again in all of this
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That stereotype IS a fact, though. It always has been. Just because a stereotype exists does not mean it applies to everyone in that group – come on, this is basic critical thinking skills we are talking about here. No games journalist has ever believed that all gamers were part of the stereotype. But that stereotype does exist, it is mostly prevalent in the “core” gaming demographic, and it is the demographic that is most likely to behave in that way, that way that proves the stereotype exists as fact, at least in behaviour if not in other ways (looks, living situation, etc).
Basically, the whole GG movement has proved the stereotype. To believe that “your” media is there solely to give you good PR is astoundingly naive at best. The media is there to promote gaming, yes, and it does so by highlighting triumphs and breakthroughs, but it is also there to point out the problematic elements of the culture. GG’s reaction to that latter part is the perpetuation of the “gamer” stereotype.
You yourself may not be one of those stereotypical “gamers”, but by aligning yourself with those who are, you open yourself to those same criticisms.
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@Delta
You aren’t a person calling for the end of “evil feminist agendas” in games? You aren’t spewing hate and lies across the internet? You aren’t perpetuating the stereotype of “gamer”? You play games? Then you are a gamer. You are not a “gamer”, not part of the stereotype, not part of the hate crowd, and not part of the problem. Congratulations.
I can understand being confused about the reasons for the sudden surge in “gamer”-related articles, especially if you don’t follow the hoopla that surrounds anything Anita Sarkeesian does these days. And I agree that people should be more aware that not everyone knows all of the context that led to that surge of articles, so it’s a shame that you didn’t receive more understanding when you questioned it (assuming, of course, that your questioning was sincere confusion).
Unfortunately, gamers have not always been equality-driven, nor all-inclusive. You just have to talk to the 95%+ of women gamers who have experienced behaviour that has encouraged them to run for the hills. Hell, I myself was guilty of thinking women were inferior gamers when I was young. It’s only been in recent years that it has opened up a lot, and even though it is much better today than it was even a decade ago, we still have a long way to go, and “gamers” are the primary obstacle we have to overcome.
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Maybe Kill all Feminists implies the idea of killing the stereotype of the radical feminist and presenting a more egalitarian one. Feminism is diverse, there’s no question the types of people identifying as Feminist have changed. Barak Obama is a feminist. No one person actually wished death on all Feminists. I think it is disingenuous for feminists to say so.
Incidentally, this. https://twitter.com/misterbrilliant/status/517673864734978048
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Your attempt at being clever fails due to lack of basic reading comprehension. It really is incredible how many GG’ers don’t understand what scare quotes signify. If it were Kill All “Feminists”, then you would be making a valid comparison and might actually have a point.
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Oh dear. While I think you (Nick Beard) are right that feminism is diverse, and that the death of the ‘radical feminist’ stereotype would clear a lot of ground for actual helpful dialogue about feminism, have… have you been on Twitter or Reddit or 4Chan during this (or any gender-equality blow-up in the community)? People do wish death to all feminists, sexual assault, harassment until suicide, financial ruin, career destruction, and on and on… I sincerely doubt that “kill all feminists” was exaggerated or taken out of context. I’ve seen boards and Twitter tags where that’s the main topic. It’s not feminists being disingenuous, it’s a direct quote.
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[…] Goodchild posted an analysis of gamers are death news articles by @firehawk32 at (https://pixietalksgamergate.wordpress.com/gamers-are-dead-article-analysis/). The most of these are posted at Aug 28, […]
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[…] The hashtag #Gamergate came into being as a direct result of the Quinnspiracy. Its first user was Adam Baldwin, linking to a video by the internet personality Internet_Aristocrat that detailed the “Five Guys” allegations against Quinn. (While we’re on the subject of people spreading misinformation, the video remains up and uncorrected despite its being debunked months ago) Another hashtag, #NotYourShield, was started by minorities and women who were angered by games journalists – perceived to mostly be white males – “using” allegations of misogyny and harassment to “shield” themselves from legitimate criticism. Both hashtags received a boost in popularity following the release of several articles within a short period of time, around a week after Totilo’s statement, that speculated about the death of the “gamer” identity. By far the least popular was Leigh Alexander’s “Gamers are over” at Gamasutra, which saw her receive significant amounts of harassment and calls for other journalists to denounce her. Many felt insulted that after decades of fighting the mainstream media to defend gamers, people within the gaming community were now attempting to criticise gamers, calling them misogynists or neckbeards. I don’t have time to analyse these articles here, but this is a good breakdown. […]
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[…] embers. There has been much said about the ‘Gamers are Dead’ articles (including a piece of analysis hosted by Jenni.) I think the analysis of these has been a bit mixed, and I think those that say […]
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Lol. There’s a “perception” that gaming journalism is dominated by males, mostly white, ehm tomtom94? Gee, where could that come from? Just look at the names that go along with your collection of “gamers are dead” articles. Check out the list of names connected to GameJournoPros.
Oh, and you really do obsess over that phrase “gamers are dead”, like the number of times that exact phrase is used is any indication of what is in the article. Leigh Alexander’s article got a “0” score, and she wrote one of the harshest articles.
It’s absolutely clear that most of them are talking about “gamers” in general, not as a shorthand to refer to the people trolling ZQ and others is also pretty misleading. It’s clearly not the case, and most of these articles are dedicated to analyzing the whole “gamer identity” and telling us why it’s so terrible and needs to be done away with. And it’s clear that they are blaming “gamers” or “gamergate” in general for what the trolls are doing.
David Ward put it pretty well – these articles were promoting those negative stereotypes about gamers, basically saying that they were true and using that to explain the trolling that feminists have been complaining about. Gaming used to be made up of misfit white male geeks who excluded everyone else because this was our place to get away – and now we were throwing a tantrum because we didn’t like the women trying to play too.
That’s the angle that these article were pushing. They gave an extremely negative, condescending analysis of that “gamer identity”, and then told us that the trolling of some women was due to our wanting to stop this from changing.Video games were our clubhouse, and it was for CIS white males only, and we just couldn’t stand other people trying to join. That was the angle of these articles. It was “gamers”, not a few “bad apples”. Video games were our clubhouse, and it was for CIS white males only, and we just couldn’t stand other people trying to join. That was the angle of these articles.
Cherry picking a few quotes out of context in order to revise history isn’t going to change that, and even there, I think you failed.
Look at quotes like this one: “You know the very end of The Lord of the Flies? When that British Navy guy is standing there, looking at the boys screaming and chasing each other, and he scolds them for their bad behavior, and they all look at each other like, Jesus, we killed someone, and the book is just over? That’s the world of video games right now.”
Sure sounds like it is putting the blame on the gamer identity, and gamers in general. It’s “the world of video games right now”.
You seem to think that GG are really making too much of this kind of thing: “Two groups are at opposite ends of this moment: One side has folded its arms, slumped its shoulders while pouting like an obstinate child that has learned they are getting a little brother or sister but wants to remain the singular focus of his parents’ affection. The other side has opened its arms, unable to contain its love and compassion, because they understand they are no longer alone. This week, the obstinate child threw a temper tantrum, and the industry was stuck in the metaphorical grocery store as everyone was forced to suffer through it together. But unlike a child, the people behind these temper tantrums are hurting others. It’s time to grow up. Let’s not wait until next week to start.”
Yes, and what puts you in the second group, that’s throwing a tantrum and harassing people? Criticize these extremely progressive gaming websites, complain about how one sided they are in pushing a single political agenda, disagree with anything they tell us. It’s us and them. Disagree, criticize, and you’re one of them.
And VRayder, I haven’t come across one person who thought they literally thought that all gamers were literally going to, or should, die.
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Hysteria! Paranoia! The Russians are still harboring nukes! The cold war never ended!
Or maybe it was just that someone wrote an article about their critical viewpoint of the gaming culture most gamers would call “bro gaming” dying and leaving us with just the true gamers — anyone who plays games. And then when people saw that article, they threw in their $0.02. That’s how journalism works. Someone writes something thoughtful, and other journalists cover that, while talking about how they see it too.
But no, it’s definitely the paranoia you spew.
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I love how the one article I saw where they might have a point is not mentioned. Probably because no one but us radical lefties even read Jacobin in the first place…
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/death-to-the-gamer/
Quote: “There are cries from some quarters that this is not representative of gamer culture, that the word “gamer” should be reclaimed as something good. But it was never good. It was never worth saving.”
TLDR for the article: “Gamer” is a vacuous, manufactured identity entirely based on consumerism. There is nothing of value to preserve here.
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Just to make it clear: I agree with Jacobin.
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But that is simply not true. This is like saying Otaku’s do not have a culture. It is likely you would never say that as you cannot identify Otaku culture as being a “problematic white male space”. Since it doesn’t fit into your narrative, it retains its’ status as a genuine culture. Your opinion only serves to show your cultural and political bias.
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[…] fact that they've completely and utterly misread it. (For more analysis of this point, look at the absolutely essential Tumblr blog of Pixie Jenni, an academic who's talked to a great many #GamerGaters to attempt to figure out their goals and […]
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[…] that they’ve completely and utterly misread it. (For more analysis of this point, look at the absolutely essential Tumblr blog of Pixie Jenni, an academic who’s talked to a great many #GamerGaters to attempt to figure out their goals […]
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[…] that they’ve completely and utterly misread it. (For more analysis of this point, look at the absolutely essential Tumblr blog of Pixie Jenni, an academic who’s talked to a great many #GamerGaters to attempt to figure out their goals […]
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Jenni, I appreciate all this work. Great stuff.
I wonder to what extent GamerGaters are familiar with Nietzsche and the controversy over ‘God is dead’. It’s anecdotal but I’ve seen a lot of people taking the articles about the end of gamers extremely literally (i.e. people want to drive gamers out of gaming). I’m sure readers can understand metaphor, so what do you think is driving that?
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A great resource – thanks for pulilng these together.
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