Support NeoGAF

[Ammogeddon]

Yes it has.

 

[Eimran]

No.

It’s all about implementation, not concept.

It’d be dumb to pass over a game, simply because it has political content in it.

If a game does it badly though, then I won’t buy it.

I sold Spider-man 2 because it was fucking boring, in large part due to poor implementation of political and social messaging. But it was the boring part that was important.

There's a significant difference between having political content in it or a political agenda.

Metal Gear Solid is my favorite franchise and certainly has politics in it but this is solely to enhance the story.

Battlefield 1 had a disabled female soldier fighting the front line and said it was historically accurate. When objecting, they told the fans to "educate themselves" GTFO.

Bottom line: if it's in the game with the purpose of influencing the gamers political/social mindset it should not be in it. Period.

 

[Zathalus]

Of course not, I'm going to judge a game on its own merits. This forced outrage culture war can go fuck itself.

 

[Schmendrick]

yep, unfortunately it has gotten to the point where I´ll look for political propaganda before buying a game, and if I find any I´ll not be spending a dime.
Entertainment products should be for entertainment and not try to feed political views to the player.
Anything with SBI or consorts involved I won`t even look at.

The issue with this is that the anti-woke is getting to the same crazy-heights as the woke faction, it is getting increasingly harder to just get neutral information..

 

[user friendly]

If the gameplay is on point I’m in no matter what. If anything its like watching a bad movie, I can get over it if its fun. Spiderman 2 story was shit but it plays so good I couldn’t care less.

 

[nani17]

No I think sweetbaby inc are doing an amazing job. We need more companies like them fixing our games and making them better for everyone.

Ok I typed what you wanted please put down the gun Kim

 

[LectureMaster]

The problem is not DEI per SE, but the hypocritical companies fucking shoehorn those into the games in most despicable way just to make them look good on ESG score.

Like Activision having the whole inclusive system where minor races score 5 and white score 1. You really think those companies care about DEI? They are only here for money.

 

[Maddoxswe]

Absolutely, even sold my ps5 (again) because of the amount of woke game releasing there ( damn you insomniac )

 

[ThatPolishGuy]

I'm not gonna pass on all titles but it has definitely affected my buying decisions for single player games.

No day one for me, wait for reviews, wait for users opinions especially. Now that users have made vids about consulting groups I expect reviews interms of "how woke is it".

Spider-man 2 felt worse than Spider-man 1 in terms of writing, same with God of War: Ragnarok- pacing was weird.

Jumping between characters and unnecessary gameplay bits like painting graffiti gameplay with deaf girl bits or Mary Jane one shot gun kill while Spidey has to do x30 combo to kill one enemy.

Well that's weak writing plus bad balance choices and bad gameplay segments/design choices for me.

GoW:R also felt chaotic with pacing issues, jumping between characters. Didn't mind Angerboda though.

And other publishers are much much worse. Espacially with GAAS crap.

Currently enjoying Rise of The Ronin very much.

So I guess Asian devs and Slavic games feel more natural to me.

Cyberpunk had diverse cast and Idris Elba, I bet it's doable to make a diverse game with grounded characters without checking boxes and consulting groups/firms. My two cents.

And if those firms hate gamers and games are weak and something will feel forced. And reviews are bad from regular gamers. They certainly won't get any money from me.

 

[Gandih42]

Not at all. If anything, I find it refreshing when games have the balls to give their opinions on politics, society, ethics, etc. In the same way that not every game needs to be political, not every game needs to be unpolitical.

As for "woke agenda" infiltrating games and making them worse, I don't really see it. The major publishers race to appeal to as many people as possible is making games more homogeneous, more safe and for the most part, worse. The worst part of that may be the flattening of the ideas these games may have had (be they gameplay, narrative, artistic, potitical, etc.). In my opinion.

And the "woke" politics of these companies don't go further than trying to appear "woke" to their audiences, as long as it seems like the more profitable option. Better representation of minorities is great in the sense it may improve our collective understanding of each other, in some small minisicule way. But I doubt any of these companies care about actual systemic changes that could meaningfully be described as progressive.

 

[nemiroff]

I don't see why something so meaningless should affect my passion for video games.

Wait, when did attempts at gaining control of and censoring the industry become meaningless. Politics have always more or less affected the arts, and increasingly so these days, in this case - Even if you like the changes it still affects it.

Or do you also think that christian conservatives' attempt at censoring the industry during the 80's and 90's didn't affect anyone?

But let's be clear: Having political themes in games is fine, and avoiding those games is of course fine. Politically controlling the industry and the art on the whole outside the common law is not fine.


Edit: Reading some of the posts in this thread it's clear that some people don't understand how to f.ex. differentiate between telling political stories vs making political agendas as a focus. I don't understand why people discuss this without at least having the basics under control.

 

[Shut0wen]

Main reason why ive never touched the last of us 2, just seems incredibly unrealistic but lets be honest there isnt thay many games id say were woke other then the last of us 2 and the saints row reboot

 

[Bartski]

No, I'm mostly oblivious to it. As opposed to being affected by a game being shit, which does correlate with SBI involvement so it's impossible to ignore

 

[Acidjuice]

No, I truly dont understand people who claim they wont buy a game because of the way a protagonist looks. I look at gameplay first, then I look at art and story elements because the gameplay is what will ultimately immerse me.
A bad story is gonna happen eventually, I thought RDR2 had a terrible story that was full of holes, but theres so much more game than just the story that I wouldve missed out had I not played it.

Games have had these same "agendas" for decades upon decades and it seems only once the issue became popular online that people started to care.

 

[Ma-Yuan]

I basically avoid nearly all western developed games and Japan developed and retro games are my refuge

 

[Fart Knight]

I got crew motor fest.. I did know it has baby inc in it. The character creation is complete cancer. There are no normal hairstyles.

I think it was the Crew 2 where you can't pick a white male lol. Fuck that forced dei shit

 

[Kacho]

Absolutely.

 

[Fredrik]

Games have had these same "agendas" for decades upon decades

Any examples on agendas pushed decades ago?

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Indirectly.

Political agendas lead to bad games and I don't buy bad games.

Likewise, I don't watch any Disney movies, since they are all crap. Whatever is DEI-infected, I avoid.

 

[Jaybe]

I sold my PS5 after Concord’s announcement. A big Sony financed new studio launching a massive roster shooter with pronouns and no white men, validated further by their character design lead’s views. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back after Spider-man 2, the Insomniac DEI leak, Isomniac’s Wolverine Director’s anti-white Twitter schnenigans. Sony’s Western studios are awash in these politics and Xbox also has a high-up strategy for the same bunk that strongly encourages developers to use DEI consultants in their development. I’ve moved to PC and will consider independents, Japan-based developers, and Western ones like Warhorse (Kingdom Come Deliverance 2) and Moon Studios (No Rest for The Wicked) for gaming option. I’ll consider a Switch 2 when it comes out.

 

[mdkirby]

It had not previously. But the last 12 months it’s become so hamfisted and detrimental to good story telling (i also mostly play single player narrative games, which are most subjected to this stuff) that I will be more cautious with new releases and likely to wait for heavy sales.

Case in point will be the next insomniac games. Pre Spider-Man 2 I would have bought at full price. Now, I can’t trust them to not have insufferably bad writing that negatively impacts the enjoyment of the game. So I’ll wait.

It’s different with a naturally woke game, ie not forced, which you find with some indie narrative games. Where the very founding of the studio is woke, it’s more natural, and doesn’t feel as forced, and you kinda know what you’re getting into from the start. They also usually cost £20-30, not £70+

I am honestly getting a bit bored of playing as female characters. It seems to be at least 80% of the games I play now. Like I don’t mind it, and I know it’s what female or POC gamers have have to contend with for decades, but it’s now very very rare (except for games with multiple protagonists or customs) that I feel represented (as a white male). There’s still “some” but they are rare, one or two a year. Again, I know it’s the types of games I play, narrative adventure/action adventures etc. but still, pretty much everything shown at the xbox showcase that I was interested in (of which there were many) was female main characters . Despite what some may want, white males are still 80% of the audience, but we’re increasingly not represented, and when we are developers seem to get hit pieces written about them for lacking diversity, which just hasn’t been the case for years now.

 

[Hot5pur]

No, I don't necessarily see it as a negative sometimes, diversity and exposing people to stuff that makes them uncomfortable can have its benefits. However, some issues are controversial to me, like the West's obsession with protecting Islamist ideology - if a game openly supports that toxicity, or any religious ideology for that matter, I would likely not support.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

France and Japan will save us from America.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Of course it does. But it's not as easy as working through a list of checkboxes. For example, I played and enjoyed TLOU2. I don't buy a lot of other games because I know forced DEI/ESG bs is in there. It's the same for film and books, too. Games are no exception.

 

[Guilty_AI]

It certainly contributes to the final decision against buying it.

 

[GHound]

Brother I avoid western pseudo intellectual politibabble like a satanist avoids church.

 

[Rudius]

Yes, absolutely. I'm moving more and more away from current year games because of this, playing my PS5 less and less in favor of old emulated games.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I buy games that are good, and it happens that most of these woke games aren't good. So it all kind of works itself out. Gamers play games, not political ideologies

 

[zokie]

my good $ , depends on which publisher/dev that the baby is involved with

when i got a ps5slim or ps5pro I will still buy spider-man 2 as the programmers and staff have really done the game very well in my preference

i am not buying the remake of a horror game as i do not like the modern changes , thus i am very happy with the horror game's HD collection on last gen console

bottom line : its the consumer's $ , they can choose their rights and not to listen to new social media 'influenceners'

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

No. Couldn't give two shits as long as the game is good.

What's also funny, is that this thread is mostly anti-Woke drivel, because nobody is complaining about Helldivers 2 taking the piss with US/NATO geopolitics.

Edit:

And for the record, I'm tired of Woke. But I'm also getting tired of "anti-Woke".

I've never, in all my anti woke years, saw someone link NATO with wokeness.

 

[Mithos]

Yes, but I still might buy Horizon Forbidden West eventually (if/when I pickup a PS5/Pro)

 

[consoul]

Hasn't affected my purchases at all. If the game looks good I'll play it.

I'm not gonna pass on a good game just because it's got some gay characters or a fully clothed woman in it.

Gameplay > everything else.

 

[IDKFA]

Lol.

It's crazy that we're even having this conversation. I remember a time when games weren't stuffed with political views from the developers, or at least weren't so on the nose.

Take me back to early 00s please.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

If you mean something like Spider-Man 2 where you see gay characters on a 10 minute side mission, one piece of paper about planned parenthood, etc...no. No issues from here.

If you mean "political agendas" like we've seen in all western videogames where america = good / everyone = bad, like Call of Duty games, most grounded FPS, stuff like Metal Gear Solid, etc...also no.

 

[IAmRei]

Yes, big yes. Save money a lot for better games. And i'm tired with political forced games. I just want good games, i dont care and dont like to be preached for forced sexuality or races or feminazies.

 

[Boralf]

No

 

[FingerBang]

I have been very critical of everything woke, but I can't think of a single case in which I was excited for a game but didn't buy it or stopped playing because of woke writing. Most of the time, it's just something to scoff at.

Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us Part II, Alan Wake II, and God of War Ragnarok have some marginal elements that do not affect the experience. Overall, I respect diversity as an ideal and believe that people should have the freedom to make a story about a gay transgender albino or a school of non-binary dinosaurs. It's mildly irritating to see random insertions of political agendas in all these products because it smells like a corporation trying to tick boxes.

Also, realistically, being on that side is now the standard, and refusing to adapt is dangerous for many companies. Speaking up is also still dangerous. So I'm not going to buy a game because their blue-haired agender social media manager said that men have periods.

 

[Moridianae]

I still play, but I definitely notice where things are taking a turn.

It's when it's just big "look at me" energy with no real significance othee than that..it gets really annoying.

 

[AteBitWolf]

Absolutely. Vote with your wallet.

 

[samoilaaa]

no not at all

 

[Just_one]

i could care less about political BS , enjoy things for what they are , its a videogame , plain and simple

 

[Clintizzle]

I haven't stopped buying games as protest but am certainly starting to get less and less enthusiastic about future games. Games are becoming too much about how things are in real life and less about fantasy and alternative realities where one can go to escape.

GG to the dev teams in Asia and parts of Europe who still have creativity and fun at the forefront of their design.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Also, realistically, being on that side is now the standard, and refusing to adapt is dangerous for many companies. Speaking up is also still dangerous.

I don't understand this line of thought. The only danger for a company should be that consumers don't buy their products. They should fear US, not some obscure superpower that pulls the strings of western societies.

What does "adapt" even mean?? Wokeness will be extinct by the end of this century, it's crazy to suggest this will last forever, since it's unnatural and everything unnatural ends up dying.

 

[killatopak]

to a certain extent. A good game is a good game and political bickering wouldn't hold me back from having a good time.

Subpar or average games on the other hand would just be wasting my time. The pros does not outweigh the cons.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Maybe? Games like Elden Ring or Monster Hunter: Rise had that dumb stuff about picking your body type instead of a gender, but that didn't took any of my enjoyment from the game.

Thing is, most other games that are infested by this kind of shit are either linear walkie-talkie borefests (TLOU2) or just plain and simple bad games (Saint's Row). I'm not touching those games by default, but for sure the political stuff isn't helping either.

 

[Griffon]

Yes.

Sick of this woke shit.

 

[FunkMiller]

There's a significant difference between having political content in it or a political agenda.

Metal Gear Solid is my favorite franchise and certainly has politics in it but this is solely to enhance the story.

Battlefield 1 had a disabled female soldier fighting the front line and said it was historically accurate. When objecting, they told the fans to "educate themselves" GTFO.

Bottom line: if it's in the game with the purpose of influencing the gamers political/social mindset it should not be in it. Period.

Well, no. Kojima is clearly and obviously making a political statement and commentary in those games. He just does in such a way that it doesn't get in the way of the story being told. But he is absolutely trying to influence the mindset of the gamers who are playing his games.

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ojima-interview-metal-gear-solid-phantom-pain

It’s a diplomatic answer, but Ground Zeroes is not an especially diplomatic video game. Its incarcerated terror suspects kneel in wire cages, bound at the hands and feet with blinding sacks over their heads. As you hoist them on to Snake’s shoulder and sprint to the evacuation helicopter, some break down in tears either through fear or relief. It’s grimly political. “[Guantanamo] was definitely something that I made decision to address in the game,” Kojima says. “Hollywood continues to present the US army as being the good guys, always defeating the aliens or foreigners. I am trying to shift that focus. These movies might not be the only way to view current affairs. I am trying to present an alternate view in these games.”

Kojima is a socialist, and would be considered woke by many.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Absolutely. I've also unsubscribed to Disney this month as enough is enough.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I've never, in all my anti woke years, saw someone link NATO with wokeness.

I didn't link NATO to Wokeness.

Was refering to politics in games.

 

[Kataploom]

Spiderman 1 because 2 is way too overblown with that shit and I don't like continuity getting broken so I rather not even start with the franchise... I was holding up for a while and we thinking on getting it any time during next sale after 2 came out but it would feel wrong now