What do you think about the whole gamergate issue?
There are definitely some kinda shady issues that come with video game journalism - there was a whole thing in 2012, Doritogate, that stirred up a bunch of controversy. There have been watchdogs on blogs for years calling out bad/lazy writing, not the "games journalism" threads on any number of forums.
Gamergate is interested in literally none of those things. Every single element I've seen, from the violent extremists to the so-called moderates, it really just there to complain about progressive politics in video game writing. Beyond the fact that it's a nasty smokescreen for an entirely different type of movement - one which wouldn't gain nearly so much support otherwise, I think - plus the practice of trolling search terms on Twitter and starting up random arguments in order to dominate the conversation is a nasty one. And this isn't getting up to the rape/death threats and its misogynistic roots that have painted it as a hate movement. And while I earnestly believe Gaters when they say they don't condone them (even though they continue to associate with it for reasons that are clear to no one but themselves), otherwise they have little real goals other than complaining very loudly that, say, someone found Bayonetta to be a little pandering.
It's also the antithesis to what they say they're asking for. Good journalism (and criticism) means that, every once in awhile, you're going to read something you don't agree with, and maybe you should either learn from a different perspective or walk away, instead of spawning a gigantically embarrassing movement to try to shut it up.
Gamergate is interested in literally none of those things. Every single element I've seen, from the violent extremists to the so-called moderates, it really just there to complain about progressive politics in video game writing. Beyond the fact that it's a nasty smokescreen for an entirely different type of movement - one which wouldn't gain nearly so much support otherwise, I think - plus the practice of trolling search terms on Twitter and starting up random arguments in order to dominate the conversation is a nasty one. And this isn't getting up to the rape/death threats and its misogynistic roots that have painted it as a hate movement. And while I earnestly believe Gaters when they say they don't condone them (even though they continue to associate with it for reasons that are clear to no one but themselves), otherwise they have little real goals other than complaining very loudly that, say, someone found Bayonetta to be a little pandering.
It's also the antithesis to what they say they're asking for. Good journalism (and criticism) means that, every once in awhile, you're going to read something you don't agree with, and maybe you should either learn from a different perspective or walk away, instead of spawning a gigantically embarrassing movement to try to shut it up.
