the issue … isn’t just that it’s … horrifically racist and misogynistic, it’s also a terrible game
It’s funny, but it seems like I read this phrase a lot, and not just about games (book series, movies, shows, etc). I can’t think of any other good examples off the top of my head, but it seems that every time an artist takes a really cool or interesting concept and fills it with bigotry, they also fill it with poorly written mechanics, potholes, clunky dialogue…
Sure, there’s media with language that doesn’t age well, but it seems like 9/10, when something is made with blatant hate, there isn’t even an incentive to try to push past or ignore it; the content is garbage with or without the drivel. The initial concept is just good enough to get people to want to give it a shot.
A lot of old stuff is super racist and well made. The Birth of A Nation was revolutionary in film and influenced many future movies despite literally being a movie about how awesome the KKK are. Lovecraft was famously racist as fuck and a lot of his “Eldritch horror” was sort of a metaphor for his fears of “primitive” religions and miscegenation. Even Lord of the Rings has racist elements - JRR Tolkein said in multiple occasions that he based the dwarves on Jews, which is pretty rough to modern readers given that the dwarves are more obsessed with gold and treasure than anything else.
Tolkien’s “inspiration” for Dwarves pulling from Jews is fascinating, as a Jew. I read that his thoughts were that Dwarves were a strong, resilient people who had been displaced from their homeland but maintained a strong attachment to their traditions and their craft. He saw this as a deferential depiction of Jews and was purposely trying to move away from European depictions of Jews as goblin-like monsters. What’s fascinating is how it is still riddled with antisemitic tropes such as the obsession with gold, their “quarrelsome” nature, and also literally making them a different race of short-statured people who lived underground. It speaks to how deeply ingrained antisemitism was (and to an extent, still is) in the European mind while also lightly espousing Zionist ideas in how living in diaspora is somehow less than living in historical Judea.
Even Lord of the Rings has racist elements - JRR Tolkein said in multiple occasions that he based the dwarves on Jews
I don’t doubt this, given the era the man was born, but have you got a source? I tried digging something up, and the only things I can find are that Khuzdul is based on Hebrew, and a lot of letters during and post WWII speaking highly of Jews and poorly of Hitler and the Nazis.
There’s another all-time-worst game called Racial Holy War, which is exactly what you’d assume from the title. And yes, it’s incompetently made to the point where they didn’t include mechanics for ATTACKING.
It’s funny, but it seems like I read this phrase a lot, and not just about games (book series, movies, shows, etc). I can’t think of any other good examples off the top of my head, but it seems that every time an artist takes a really cool or interesting concept and fills it with bigotry, they also fill it with poorly written mechanics, potholes, clunky dialogue…
Sure, there’s media with language that doesn’t age well, but it seems like 9/10, when something is made with blatant hate, there isn’t even an incentive to try to push past or ignore it; the content is garbage with or without the drivel. The initial concept is just good enough to get people to want to give it a shot.
I think that what’s happening here is that
And
This includes racist garbage and weird fetishes, yes, but also any other game whose main selling point is its uniqueness instead of its quality.
A lot of old stuff is super racist and well made. The Birth of A Nation was revolutionary in film and influenced many future movies despite literally being a movie about how awesome the KKK are. Lovecraft was famously racist as fuck and a lot of his “Eldritch horror” was sort of a metaphor for his fears of “primitive” religions and miscegenation. Even Lord of the Rings has racist elements - JRR Tolkein said in multiple occasions that he based the dwarves on Jews, which is pretty rough to modern readers given that the dwarves are more obsessed with gold and treasure than anything else.
Tolkien’s “inspiration” for Dwarves pulling from Jews is fascinating, as a Jew. I read that his thoughts were that Dwarves were a strong, resilient people who had been displaced from their homeland but maintained a strong attachment to their traditions and their craft. He saw this as a deferential depiction of Jews and was purposely trying to move away from European depictions of Jews as goblin-like monsters. What’s fascinating is how it is still riddled with antisemitic tropes such as the obsession with gold, their “quarrelsome” nature, and also literally making them a different race of short-statured people who lived underground. It speaks to how deeply ingrained antisemitism was (and to an extent, still is) in the European mind while also lightly espousing Zionist ideas in how living in diaspora is somehow less than living in historical Judea.
I don’t doubt this, given the era the man was born, but have you got a source? I tried digging something up, and the only things I can find are that Khuzdul is based on Hebrew, and a lot of letters during and post WWII speaking highly of Jews and poorly of Hitler and the Nazis.
deleted by creator
I think you replied to the wrong response
o shit
There’s another all-time-worst game called Racial Holy War, which is exactly what you’d assume from the title. And yes, it’s incompetently made to the point where they didn’t include mechanics for ATTACKING.
Actually, there aren’t any attacking mechanics because Racial Holy War is actually a very pro-peace and pacifist peace of work, didn’tcha know?