Hey, folks. SinSynn here.
*awkward pause*
So, uhh…
*ahem*
How’s it goin’?
Yeah, it’s been a minute.
Er…maybe several.
But let us not cast disparaging werds, talkin’ ’bout who disappeared on who…I’ve been on break, see?
Yeah…break.
*shifty Xenos stalk-mounted ocular orbs shift nervously about*
Anywho…
I kinda quit the minigaming scene for a bit. I can’t really claim it was a ‘refresh and recharge’ thing, either, but we’ll discuss these things another time.
I’m here now, and it’s time fer riffin.’
Let’s get started.
I thought I’d mark my return to the House with something personal to me, since Gaming, in its multitudinous forms, has been part of my life FOR. EV. ER.
Like, forever.
And that’s ‘Gaming,’ wif a capital G.
Yes, that makes me a ‘Gamer.’
My hobby of choice is as diverse as the imaginations that build it, that help it to continuously evolve and ermahgerd, it’s amazing. And fun. And a thousand other adjectives- most positive, some not so much, but whatever. I accept that not everything on dis Earf is gonna be to my liking.
However, there are people out there who, when things aren’t to their liking, insist that those things be changed to accommodate them, or that those things are therefore horrible.
Like THIS GUY.
That article is about ‘Gender Representation In 40K.’
It’s a couple of days old.
-_-
Go on, drink it in, and then click below and we’ll start to discuss this.
…
Ah, it’s good to be back.
*I’ll join you inna minnite. Busy naow*
So…
That article was stoopid, amirite?
If you bothered to actually read it, which I mostly did, it turned out to be nothing more than an angry rant by a butthurt Sisters player who clearly never heard of proxy models and really wants a new printed Codex.
No more of that free online crap fer him, gosh darnit. He wants da full hardcover treatment.
Well Gawd Bless ya, Mister Sister Player Guy, you go on wif yer bad selfie.
But, uh…wait.
What’s all this about then?
“AUTHOR’S NOTE: For the purposes of this article, unless otherwise stated, we are assuming that every model’s gender lines up with their sexual characteristics.”
0_o
Errr…look.
I dunno what kinda Transphobic nonsense is being perpetuated here, but we don’t live in a world wif a binary view of sexuality any more, Mister Sister Player Guy, and these sorta presumptions should come wif some kinda Trigger Warning or somesuch.
Like, I dunno, a lil’ Author’s Note or…something…
…
Oh, wait.
Hmph. Well waddayaknow?
I gotta little ahead of myself with the riffing there. Like I was, oh I dunno, riffin’ ’bout sumpthin’ I really had no idea about.
Aaaaaaaaaand this was a common feature of the vast majority of complaints leveled against ‘Gaming,’ for the longest time. As Gamers, we were content to sit back and sorta chuckle as ridiculous accusations such as ‘Dungeons and Dragons encourages Devil Worship,’ and ‘Doom makes people go and shoot up schools’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto makes gamers rape women,’ and meow meow meow, yadda yadda yadda, were proven false by accredited research an’ whatnot.
Despite increased focus on Video Games for the last ten years or so, articles like the one I linked continue to appear in mainstream media. Boardgames and minigames are poised for a period of renaissance, I believe. One look at the whole section they now have devoted to them in the Midtown Manhattan Barnes & Noble stores I frequent has me hoping our favorite industry can continue to capitalize on current trends…
*Build me a 15mm ground-based miniature warfare game, wif…kewl lil’ At-At’s an’ tiny stands of Stormtroopers an’ whatnot. Do it naow. I command it!*
…But hey, my fave franchises, from Fallout (Fallout 4 whoot!) to Mad Max (how awesome was the last Mad Max movie, huh?), have been handled pretty adeptly, I think. And hey, how ’bout dem Horus Heresy novels, huh?
Yes I’ve continued to read HH Novels in my absence. And I’m sorry ’bout the whole Age of Sigmar thingy. I am. But we’ll discuss all this and more another time.
Stay on target, SinSynn. Stay on target.
*ahem*
Anyway, in the past, attacks upon gaming have been initiated by…I dunno what to call them…
Monsters of our own making, maybe?
The thing is, when you create something and present it to the world, the world is gonna have something to say about it. Opinions will be formed and voiced, and the creators would be wise to be prepared for criticism prior to praise. And when one creates something along the lines of Grand Theft Auto, welp, one should really, really be prepared…
The Gaming Industry has never been ready for media attention. Not never.
Beyond loosing things like Doom and Grand Theft Auto and Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball upon the world, the folks that created these things have never been prepared to defend them. Traditionally, things like Dungeons & Dragons have just been dumped in society’s collective laps, with the creators having no idea that they were about to set off a storm of nonsense that nine times out of ten results in the creation becoming far more popular than anyone ever imagined.
*Celebrity endorsements might help*
And for the longest time, it all worked out.
The Monsters We Created, by loosing the D&D’s an’ Dooms an’ GTA’s upon the world- folks like Jack Thompson, Leagues of ‘Concerned Parents/Citizens/Whatever,’ and the random pointy-fingered religious types, enjoyed their moment in the sun but ultimately had all their ‘theories,’ or were themselves, shot down. Quiet laughably, in some cases.
Jack Thompson was disbarred, by way of a fer instance.
Eventually, actual research into these accusations would be funded, the truth would out and be quietly swept away. Sadly, the truth never sees as many views and clicks as sensationalist nonsense. Such is the way of things.
But hey, at least Jack Thompson was a real Lawyer, with a real degree.
The folks currently attacking Gaming, in all its multitudinous forms (cuz that’s totally a fun werd), like Mister Sister Player Guy Over Here, aren’t. As you already know, Mister Sister Player Guy is actually a…wait for it…a Gamer.
Sigh.
To my great sadness, the vast majority of attacks upon Gaming are being generated from within the Gaming subculture itself, by folks who identify themselves as ‘Social Justice Warriors.’
Like Mister Sister Player Guy over here, who uses his claim of belonging to the Gaming Community to whine about GW not manufacturing female Imperial Guard troopies. Cuz we haven’t heard this one before.
However, the modern ‘Concerned Parents/Citizens/Whatever’ folks have a platform their predecessors never did:
The Internet.
Games Workshop, of course, refuses to acknowledge that the outside world exists, as they have done since like, forever, and it’s left for us Gamers to defend our hobby against the slurs of Mister Sister Player Guy Over Here and his ilk…Except it’s too late. It’s already too late.
The vast majority of ‘the Normals’ (that is, folks who aren’t Gamers) who read something like Mister Sister Player Guy Over Here wrote will fall in line with his way of thinking, cuz his attack is cleverly cloaked in ‘Social Justice.’
‘Ermahgerd, women are being discriminated against in 40k!’
I mean, it’s easy for us to laugh, cuz we see the butthurt, frustrated Sisters Player behind the facade, but what happens when other Social Justice Types grab this flag and run with it? When folks who have no idea what 40k is start writing letters en mass to Games Workshop? Social Justice Types don’t do research, they don’t have degrees in anything. They’re just offended by stuff, so that stuff hasta go away, or change to fit their worldview. Their biggest technique is shaming the offender using political correctness, not logic and reason.
The same fools who would trade away Free Speech for ‘Safe Spaces’ and ‘Trigger Warnings’ want to inject their politics into Games now. The folks who want to ‘Ban Words,’ cuz those words might upset someone…
*Did you know that if your entire leadership campaign can be thrown off by a single word of criticism, you prolly weren’t leadership material in the first place?*
…Yeah, those folks…
So now, instead of Outsiders who ultimately make themselves look foolish attacking our thing, it’s the Insiders doing it, and ultimately they’re capable of inflicting damage on levels heretofore unseen. The thing is, they actually believe they’e doing a good thing. Something right. Something that needs to be done, for the good of all.
A common misconception that virtually all Humans are guilty of is assuming everyone everywhere thinks like they do. Shares the same morals and values, interests and concerns.
And if they don’t…
Well if they don’t they’re ‘part of the problem.’
I’ve spent the last…however long it’s been since I’ve written a post here at the House…getting back into video games, and OhMyGawd have I had my fill of Social Justice Types attacking that medium. It’s totally out of control. I found it hysterical that I had the Mister Sister Player Guy Over Here (yes- that is his official name now) article forwarded to me on the very day I decide to return to The House- some kinda crazy Karmic Coincidence there, fer sure.
THIS IS WHY Gaming is so important to me.
Cuz it’s my barometer for Humans and their stoopidity.
When the stoopidity OUT THERE starts to infest my nice, warm, safe Gaming Bubble, which I have inhabited for quite some time, then it’s time for me to once again start the riffin.’
That’s why I’m here.
Dear Social Justice Types,
‘Social Justice’ is not Justice.
It’s merely the virtual equivalent of a lynch mob, using Social Media instead of pitchforks and torches.
No one is asking you your opinion on things that you have no involvement with.
Since you have such a hard time accepting Sexual Dimorphism as being like, an actual thing, I kinda have a hard time believing anything you pretend to be invested in is legitimate. I think you’re just parroting stuff you Liked and Shared on FaceBook.
*An example of Sexual Dimorphism. Y’know- that thing that happens in nature that makes males and females of any given species DIFFERENT, and therefore biologically designed, and naturally inclined, to do different things during their lifetimes. I know it drives a lot of people NUTS that Males of many species are physically stronger than Females, but when looked at objectively it makes sense when manufacturing Space Marines to fight a never-ending-war, no?*
Yes, I’m a guy, I’m Caucasian, and I’m a Gamer.
I know that, to some, that immediately qualifies me for all sorts of ‘privilege,’ but I assure you that during my two years of being homeless, and years of adjusting to what it means to be a ‘productive citizen,’ I have yet to benefit from any ‘privileges.’
I kinda doubt they exist.
I also take umbrage to hypocrisy when I see it. Fer instance, I won’t defend Free Speech on one hand, and insist that folks with opinions I don’t like be silenced, or that they don’t have a right to those opinions.
Words should never be banned to spare anyone’s ‘feelings.’
I would ask you to turn your gaze elsewhere- to someplace where there’s genuine injustice, maybe?
Please don’t impose yourself into my Hobby, and start being offended by everything.
Fer the love of Gawd, here’s some cold, hard facts:
Men are bigger and stronger than women, and don’t get pregnant. So they make better Space Marines.
And ProTip: Space Marines aren’t real.
Get over it. Move on.
Lolz.
Until next time, folks- Have a very Xenos day!
…and exit with catchphrase!
…I gotta werk on something, I dunno…
- Sin Synn
Authors Notes:
So hey.
Yeah, I’m back.
I haz laptop naow, and despite many trials and tribulations I’m sure I’ll be complaining about soon, I haz returned.
So nyah.
Sorry fer the…lack of editing wif da pics an’ whatnot. I’m new to this interface thingy but I’ll get the hang of it eventually.
Also- I hafta get another SinSynn email address. My Hotmail address and I had a lil’…passwerd issue, and friggin’ Microsoft kept wanting phone numbers and backup passwords and they changed the whole thing to Outlook and…
-_-
So I gotta get a GMail address or sumpthin.’
Stoopid…Microsoft. Killin’ my oldest, most spam-free email.
All my tentacle hentai went there…
Sigh.
I’ll be updating my Twitter an’ stuff as I get to it, I swearz.
To everyone that pestered me, dragged me into lengthy discussions on FaceBook of all things…an’ whatnot…
I hate youse guys.
-_-
Well, now you’ve done it.
Mwahahahahahaha
*evil Xenos laughter*
Oh, speaking of:
‘Grats an’ big ups to Von and Hark, who haz a new addition, in da form of a lil’ kitteh cat.
Hysterically, Von is currently strip mining Can I Haz Cheezeburger for kitteh memes to plaster all over FaceBook. Oh Gawd it’s funny.
See ya’s next week!
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