Is the Gaming Community to Blame?
The ongoing debacle about Blizzard Entertainment naturally raises the question as to what part the gaming community has contributed to this sorry state of affairs. There is a school of thought that gamers who blithely accept the status quo and never speak out about sexism, racism and casual misogyny within the games they play, the companies that create them and the wider community are part of the problem. They are effectively "facilitators" and are "complicit" with the perpetuation of these problems. Logically speaking, such observations are correct in a notional capacity. However, the reality of the situation is far more complex and nuanced. For example there are vast swathes of gamers who do not follow any associated news and therefore will be oblivious to the iniquities of Blizzard Entertainment. The same way as they are ignorant of the business practises of their car manufacturer or telecoms provider.
Many gamers play the games they enjoy as a means to decompress from the pressure of modern life and to recharge their emotional batteries. A few hours spent playing an MMO or MOBA is a way to forget, for a while at least, about global warming, political shenanigans and the like. Therefore some players are not really disposed toward having to parse their gaming activities for its social and moral rectitude. It’s something we all do to a greater or lesser degree. Cognitive dissonance is virtually the average person's default position. We like cheap clothes but we don’t like to think we are actively participating in the exploitation of labour in developing countries. We voraciously consume factory farmed meat, yet we purposely distance ourselves from the realities of its production. Save the planet? Absolutely, I’m onboard for that. As long as I can still have my cheap flights. This is how people work and why some gamers want to stay below the parapet and off the radar.
There is an inherent duality in being part of the gaming community. There are times when we as gamers may feel proud to identify as such. And then there are other occasions when we look upon the actions and decorum of certain quarters with a sense of shame. In the past the common refrain you’d hear regarding racism, sexism and other forms of marginalisation would be “this is not representative of our community”. Sadly, post “Gamergate”, it is now very much representative of a sizable part of the community and cannot be easily dismissed as fringe malcontents and freelance trolls. I believe that the game community, just like social and political discourse, is pretty much split down the middle upon clear partisan lines. Exactly the same fault lines appear in most social groups and they are usually based around equality and access to power. The divide is between those who have the advantage and wish to maintain it for their benefit and those who wish to level the playing field.
Video games may well be far more inclusion nowadays but that is only a fairly recent development. Furthermore, such change has not been driven by a strong sense of morality but more by a financial imperative. But if you look at the way video games were created and marketed thirty plus years ago, it was very different. Hence a generation of boys grew up believing that games were very much their exclusive province. That combined with other cultural assumptions about gender roles, employment and social hierarchies certainly helps explain where we find ourselves today. Furthermore, because we live in a more socially conscious world it is now harder to try and remain neutral regarding who to address issues such as that currently blighting Blizzard Entertainment. Yet because of the clear divide in all opinions now there isn’t necessarily a consensus, although I do think there is often a clear “right” answer. And so the gaming community becomes a battlefield. Just another in the ongoing culture war.
So when the question is mooted as to whether the players are culpable to any degree for the ongoing Blizzard Entertainment debacle or indeed the wider failings of the gaming community, I no longer think we say it’s a gray area. As players, or more accurately consumers, we support in large numbers all of the practises and policies that we also continuously complain about. Microtransactions, live services, hype culture, pre-orders etc. We also enable those who we revere by treating them like rock gods. If you tell someone that they’re special and can do no wrong, don’t be surprised when they go along with it, at the expense of others. And then there’s the little, yet important things that we can sometimes let slide. Such as when someone spouts vile crap in world chat. Don’t just block them or quit that specific channel. Call them out or file a report on them. Remember “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” as Edmund Burke succinctly stated.
Now you may argue that you personally don’t buy pre-orders, spend money on in-game purchases and that you eschew “bro” gaming culture. Good for you. But I think that we’ve reached the point where just not adding another stool to the ever growing lake of faecal matter isn’t the get out of jail card that it used to be. The status quo is demonstrably bad for many people and we cannot just leave it as it is. My biggest concern about the current situation with Blizzard is that the company will offer up some sacrificial lambs, mouth some vague commitments to change and simply try to ride out the storm, only to return to “business as usual” within the shortest time possible. So I believe it is time for everyone who finds the situation unacceptable to make their voice heard. You don’t have to man the barricades. Simply writing a blog post, saying something in your live stream or uninstalling battle.net sends a message. If we want our community back then we have to roll up our sleeves and pitch in.
