This thread is about the bolded last parts, but notably is about more than one game, so please don't just read the anecdote and miss the grander discussion and mention of other games deeper in the text. That said - you are welcome to detail the issues of a particular release if it comes up.
I just bought my third copy of Kingdom Come: Deliverance...
I backed it on Kickstarter when it was announced years ago at a level to get me the collector's Edition. I then decided on the eventual launch day that discs are disgusting and sticking to my digital only policy, I bought a PS4 Pro digital copy.
I played the game for dozens of hours, utterly shocked at some of the pleasantness of the realism in the world design.
I hit a game-breaking main quest bug and stopped playing to wait for a fix. Seasons went by and they patched it, but I wasn't ready to go back. And I since have gotten an Xbox One X as well. Lo and behold, the game runs even higher res on X. I add it to my wishlist for later purchase.
I then find out from Resetera last year that the creator of the studio and game is a racist. Ok, disgusting. I feel disappointed and see the game in a differentwhite light. The discussion reminds me of the game's whiteness as I think back, but I don't fall deep into the arguments, I just know the creator is GamerGate hell and move on for a while. After all, I stopped playing anyway.
Fast forward to this week, and a couple new threads about the game are bubbling. One about the enjoyability of the game being high, and another about a video showcasing the patch improvements. I also learn in the latter thread that the game will be discounted on X this week. I largely don't think twice about it and buy the game again on Monday.
I think to myself then, darn. The creator sucks, but maybe like The Witcher 3 which absolutely sucks from its diversity perspective - like seriously sucks - things could go right for a bigger budget follow up project! Like how CyberPunk 2077 aims to be wildly diverse (we will see about those fucking taxi stereotypes though). So I admit, I get some hype from the idea I supported the sequel and it may be forced to do better after the backlash the creator got for his views.
Now we arrive at today, and I get pointed to this great review that very fairly questions the game itself beyond just the creator controversy by Eurogamer writer Robert Purchese: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-20-kingdom-come-deliverance-review
The final few paragraphs bring up an argument that had apparently been had on the internet about why the game itself excluded minorities in its primary threads of story, or rather, almost entirely excludes minorities. Some argued history, but others point out there are many ways they could have told a story that also positively represents minorities - tales of merchants, kings, travelers, recovering soldiers, and more. The possibilities for why you might have seen a minority spend time in Europe at this time are rather endless. And that's just in a historical game! The excuses for accuracy fly out the window when you examine a game with no accuracy to uphold whatsoever like the fantasy of The Witcher 3.
The review rather smartly notes historians actually don't have consensus on what every minority who reached Europe did and for how long, be them noble or otherwise. And the game seems satisfied and romantically gazing at its version of historical fiction without any supporting or starring minorities.
And at this point, I just don't support that intentionally. I couldn't get behind The Elder Scrolls 6 picking to tell a story of a time when say Imperials had yet to have any migrants in their land and so the game was strictly pale imperials. I don't agree with excuses for The Order having werewolves but seeing people online argue only whites make sense as order members. I am replaying Witcher 3 right now and the poor diversity stands out.
And now that I've passed the point of no return, I can't help but feel troubled by my purchase.
Now I'm not saying they should have quotas, main character requirements in all games, or bad stories - I'm saying it's easy to make good diverse ones and you don't need to explain minorities existing in your game. Sure, a game like The Witcher 3 stands out to some of us for a lack of diversity - but live and let live when it comes to individual titles. But there's a trend of when it gets brought up for defenders to explain why you SHOULDN'T have minorities. That shouldn't happen and doesn't hold up. Minorities can exist, though they don't have to, in almost any story. It is actually weird to me to not see minorities nowadays, be them racial, religious, sexual orientation, and more.
TLDR: Some games won't have diversity, but trying to explain it as needing to be that way is poorly thought out. Diversity can exist in just about any story - nobody is asking for quotas or poor writing or shoehorning. Bring on the diversity, don't act like minorities need to be explained to exist in a story or setting, and don't make excuses for lack of diversity - they don't hold water.
In 2019, do you feel as I do about making excuses to exclude minorities as some people do online? Have you bought games from studios you don't want to support, and how did you justify it? Or hell, any games you didn't want to support but bought because it came from a studio you loved?
I just bought my third copy of Kingdom Come: Deliverance...
I backed it on Kickstarter when it was announced years ago at a level to get me the collector's Edition. I then decided on the eventual launch day that discs are disgusting and sticking to my digital only policy, I bought a PS4 Pro digital copy.
I played the game for dozens of hours, utterly shocked at some of the pleasantness of the realism in the world design.
I hit a game-breaking main quest bug and stopped playing to wait for a fix. Seasons went by and they patched it, but I wasn't ready to go back. And I since have gotten an Xbox One X as well. Lo and behold, the game runs even higher res on X. I add it to my wishlist for later purchase.
I then find out from Resetera last year that the creator of the studio and game is a racist. Ok, disgusting. I feel disappointed and see the game in a different
Fast forward to this week, and a couple new threads about the game are bubbling. One about the enjoyability of the game being high, and another about a video showcasing the patch improvements. I also learn in the latter thread that the game will be discounted on X this week. I largely don't think twice about it and buy the game again on Monday.
I think to myself then, darn. The creator sucks, but maybe like The Witcher 3 which absolutely sucks from its diversity perspective - like seriously sucks - things could go right for a bigger budget follow up project! Like how CyberPunk 2077 aims to be wildly diverse (we will see about those fucking taxi stereotypes though). So I admit, I get some hype from the idea I supported the sequel and it may be forced to do better after the backlash the creator got for his views.
Now we arrive at today, and I get pointed to this great review that very fairly questions the game itself beyond just the creator controversy by Eurogamer writer Robert Purchese: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-02-20-kingdom-come-deliverance-review
The final few paragraphs bring up an argument that had apparently been had on the internet about why the game itself excluded minorities in its primary threads of story, or rather, almost entirely excludes minorities. Some argued history, but others point out there are many ways they could have told a story that also positively represents minorities - tales of merchants, kings, travelers, recovering soldiers, and more. The possibilities for why you might have seen a minority spend time in Europe at this time are rather endless. And that's just in a historical game! The excuses for accuracy fly out the window when you examine a game with no accuracy to uphold whatsoever like the fantasy of The Witcher 3.
The review rather smartly notes historians actually don't have consensus on what every minority who reached Europe did and for how long, be them noble or otherwise. And the game seems satisfied and romantically gazing at its version of historical fiction without any supporting or starring minorities.
And at this point, I just don't support that intentionally. I couldn't get behind The Elder Scrolls 6 picking to tell a story of a time when say Imperials had yet to have any migrants in their land and so the game was strictly pale imperials. I don't agree with excuses for The Order having werewolves but seeing people online argue only whites make sense as order members. I am replaying Witcher 3 right now and the poor diversity stands out.
And now that I've passed the point of no return, I can't help but feel troubled by my purchase.
Now I'm not saying they should have quotas, main character requirements in all games, or bad stories - I'm saying it's easy to make good diverse ones and you don't need to explain minorities existing in your game. Sure, a game like The Witcher 3 stands out to some of us for a lack of diversity - but live and let live when it comes to individual titles. But there's a trend of when it gets brought up for defenders to explain why you SHOULDN'T have minorities. That shouldn't happen and doesn't hold up. Minorities can exist, though they don't have to, in almost any story. It is actually weird to me to not see minorities nowadays, be them racial, religious, sexual orientation, and more.
TLDR: Some games won't have diversity, but trying to explain it as needing to be that way is poorly thought out. Diversity can exist in just about any story - nobody is asking for quotas or poor writing or shoehorning. Bring on the diversity, don't act like minorities need to be explained to exist in a story or setting, and don't make excuses for lack of diversity - they don't hold water.
In 2019, do you feel as I do about making excuses to exclude minorities as some people do online? Have you bought games from studios you don't want to support, and how did you justify it? Or hell, any games you didn't want to support but bought because it came from a studio you loved?
