Why Don’t They Try Offering Exciting And Absorbing Games Instead?

 

On Tuesday, I spoke to many coders, artists and studio heads who have had games cancelled, staff axed and deals obliterated; several senior developers predicted that the recent savage cuts to staff numbers and game projects will lead to a gaping black hole in the release schedules of many triple-A publishers in late 2026 and 2027. Grand Theft Auto VI was always going to be huge; now it’s looking like the only game in town.

Not for me - that's going to be 'Jurassic World Evolution 3', out on 21st October, and for which I've treated myself to a new gaming laptop! 'Spared no expense' you might say. 😏

An excellent panel discussion entitled Why Cultural Recognition is Crucial to the Future of the Games Industry saw Nick Poole, CEO of the trade body Ukie, welcoming a more positive view of the industry among politicians and policymakers in Westminster. “Three years ago, understanding of games was scant, but just recently there’s been a massive amount of recognition,” he said.

Is this an unqualified good thing? Reader, I say no: 

“Suddenly, politicians are talking to us about the educational reach of games; the power of games for young people as a channel of self-expression; we’ve seen the first games being prescribed on the NHS as a treatment for anxiety and depression – there’s a recognition that the cultural echo of games is far greater than the economic proposition.”

The insidious tentacles of propaganda and wokeism must spread everywhere to bring about the Ptogressives' idea of  future Utopia, and so they set their sights on games: 

On the fears surrounding the use of AI, especially large language models, in game development, Cassia Curran, founder of consulting firm Curran Games Agency, had some positive advice: “The development of AI will mean there’s an abundance of content out there,” she said. “But the way that you can achieve success as a developer will be to lean into the authentic human experience you’ve lived. AI cannot reproduce your feelings or your culture, and these can be reflected in your games. In the era of AI slop, players will be looking for experiences that feel new and deeply human.”

I don’t even want to know the  human experience that the developers of a video game have lived! Why should that matter, anyway? What I’m looking for in a game is; does it work well with few or no bugs? Are the graphics good? Is the subject matter interesting and absorbing?

Lydia Cooke, a PhD researcher specialising in queer game studies, chaired a heartening roundtable discussion entitled Representation in Games: Beyond the Surface. Cooke talked of barriers to representation in mainstream games, where atypical characters are often seen as a commercial risk.

Oh god, make it stop! 

This is not just an industry controlled by CEOs and shareholders, it is a culture and an art form, and it will continue.

It won't continue to sell if games developers keep hiring bloody 'specialists in queer games studies' that's for sure... 

If You Aren't Already 'Uncomfortable' As A Grown Adult Playing This....

...then trust the march of woke practices to swoop in to save you!

Critics have slammed the newest installment of the Dungeons and Dragons rulebook for 'going woke.'

Is it just a PR stunt, though?

In the game's 2024 Player's Handbook, 'races' are now 'species' and some character traits have been separated from biological identity, according to The New York Times. 'A mountain dwarf is no longer inherently brawny and durable, a high elf no longer intelligent and dexterous by definition,' the newspaper explained.

Mustn't forget the snowflakes!  

Wizards of the Coast, the Dungeons and Dragons publisher owned by Hasbro, implemented a trend that allows players to stop the game when they feel uncomfortable.

'The signal shouldn't trigger a debate or a discussion: thank the player for being honest about their needs, set the scene right, and move on,' the book said.

How can a group play a game if one or more of them can stop complying with the rules at any point? It's like playing 'Monopoly' when someone can exempt themselves from paying when they land on a hotel!  

The foreword of the book shared online said the original game excluded and disrespected women as well as and portrayed slavery 'not as a human tragedy but as a commercial transaction.'

The buying and selling of human beings was a commecial transaction. Still is, in some parts of the world where the practice never ended. 

Of course, the snowflakes are ecstatic:

Others have embraced the changes claiming they make the game more inclusive for players. 'What they're trying to do here is put up a signal flare, to not only current players but potential future players, that this game is a safe, inclusive, thoughtful and sensitive approach to fantasy storytelling,'

Ryan Lessard, a writer and frequent Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master told the Times. 'Wanting all your players to be comfortable and have fun is good actually,' one social media user said.

But you don't want that. You don't want those happy with the way the game has been played for years to have fun, simply because you want to dictate what counts as 'fun' in the first place. 

What Has The World Come To?

As I’m away this weekend, a double helping of Matt’s brilliance will have to tide you over. 

To Paraphrase Lydia Grant: "Woke Costs..."

Suspended GB News TV presenter Reverend Calvin Robinson has won an out-of-court settlement from the Royal Academy of Dance after he was sacked from a senior role for opposing a drag queen storytelling session for children.

Mr Robinson, 37, was awarded £8,000 after the RAD removed him from its education sub-committee for protesting against what he believed to be the sexualisation of minors.

"...and right here's where you start paying!"