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May 4, 2014 - Sargon of Akkad - Carl Benjamin
12:53
GDC 2014 - Dredging up some irrelevant trash
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Here tonight to present this year's Ambassador of the Year award is Neil Druckmann, creative director and writer on The Last of Us.
The Ambassador Award honors an individual who has helped the game industry advance to a better place.
Well, that rules Anita Sarkeesian out, thank God.
Anita Sarkeesian's work has done just that.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
A feminist and a media critic, Anita is a fan of popular culture.
I'm sure she is, but if there's one thing we know, it's that she's not a fan of video games.
It's a soundtrack of one song, except I'm doing video games.
So that's not exactly a fandom.
I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
And she believes that it is one of the ways in which we learn about ourselves and the world around us.
And that part of being a fan is to celebrate characters, stories, and programs that we love while simultaneously being critical of the myths and representations that media can perpetuate.
But remember that it's both possible and even necessary to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.
Did Anita Sarkeesian write this for you, mate?
Because it fucking sounds like she did.
Anita saw an opportunity to create, in her words, a space where feminism was easy to engage with in an accessible way.
What is the definition of this feminism?
Because it seems to be different for every fucking person.
While still in grad school earning her master's in social and political thought from York University, this education of the feminist is decidedly unfeminist in character.
We shall see presently what she can do.
She created Feminist Frequency, a video web series that explores the representation of women in pop culture narratives.
Oh, I remember it was a good source of comedy for a lot of people because it was so obviously incorrect in so many ways.
It was written with such unbelievable bias and so many unfounded or just plain wrong assumptions that you can't take it seriously.
Her early videos focused on popular film, TV shows, and even advertising, focusing on deconstructing stereotypes, patterns and tropes associated with women.
See what I mean about that bias?
Only for women.
As if women exist in a vacuum and absolutely nothing men do affects them.
And so there's no point analyzing the situation from the male perspective.
Because if you don't do that, you'll only get the female perspective and that'll only give you half the story.
If you do it from both sides, then you'll get the full story.
She only needs to analyze things about women because she wants to get half the story.
She doesn't want to get the whole story.
Because if she got the whole story, it might ruin her attempt at crafting a victim narrative.
On May 17th, 2012, she opened a Kickstarter campaign to create tropes versus women in video games.
Of course she did.
You can't expect someone who doesn't play games to own any games or know anything about the games she's going to talk about.
I'm doing video games.
So that's not exactly a fandom.
I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
I don't want to go around shooting people and ripping off their heads and it's just gross.
So.
What a stereotypically girly response to violent video games, Anita.
That's not very feminist.
Boy things, they're gross.
Give me red lipstick and hoopy earrings any day.
A series that would cover the tropes within our own industry.
She asked for a modest $6,000, which was easily funded within 24 hours.
If I recall correctly, there was a chain post that went around all the Call of Duty modern warfare gears of war forums about how these stereotypes are harmful to women.
And it was those fans particularly who got there in the first 24 hours and really raised all that money.
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter also triggered a rather large online intimidation and harassment campaign aimed directly at her.
Her social media outlets were attacked with varying degrees of hateful and misogynistic comments, imagery, and even threats.
I'm sure they were actually misogynistic.
And it was absolutely nothing to do with something Anita was trying to do, which is ruin someone's hobby.
And before some retarded social justice warrior gets on this video and says, we're not going to ruin the hobby.
We just want it to be inclusive.
Hang on a second.
Stop you there.
The entire purpose of gaming is exclusivity.
All of it.
The purpose of games.
The purpose of games is to provide a winner and a loser.
Do you understand?
It is a competition.
It is specifically designed to discriminate between those with skill and those without.
And there is glory in attaining one and shame in being consigned to the other.
That is the purpose of competition in video games.
Instead of ignoring the attacks, she documented and made them public, exposing the kind of vile internet behavior that is often directed to women and all too often dismissed.
Oh my goodness.
Has she seen a doctor?
Because I think she might have post-traumatic stress disorder.
The attacks brought further attention to the Kickstarter and backers came to its support in droves.
It's so good of people to take Anita on her word.
By the end of its run, the Kickstarter netted roughly $159,000 from 7,000 backers.
Wow, so after subtracting $6,000, she's got $153,000 left.
I wonder why she didn't put that money to use making a video game.
I'm not a fan of video games.
Anita has since become a spokesperson for the dangers of online harassment and gave a TED talk that has close to half a million views.
Deception by a Mission.
It was a TEDx talk and not a TED talk.
Her story has been covered in publications like the New York Times and The Guardian.
After months of research and work, the first video of Tropes vs. Women was released on March 7th, 2013.
Yes, and she's been working at the blistering pace of one video every three months.
It has garnered over 1.8 million views.
Game reviews and editorials constantly reference her work when discussing the treatment of women in games.
Many developers now have a greater understanding of character tropes and the shortcomings they can lead to.
Well, this has yet to be proven in any meaningful way, but on the assumption that that is true, Anita Sarkeesian is not the right person to do it.
She is a fraud.
She is a con artist.
She is someone who has demonstrated her inability to be objective about the situation.
And...
I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
I'm sure it is possible to find a feminist who is also a gamer.
It doesn't have to be Anita Sarkeesian.
It doesn't have to be someone who takes the most extreme position either.
Because one thing that this whole thing, this whole issue, this whole drama, is not taking into account are the feelings of the people who made the gaming industry what it is.
That is the problem, I think, fundamentally, is that people like, holy shit, they're going to ruin my hobby.
They don't even care that they're going to ruin my hobby because they are so fucking selfish, they can only think of themselves.
I know for me, Anita's work was highly influential in my approach to writing for The Last of Us, greatly improving its story.
With the amount of harassment she still receives on a daily basis, including some today, I've often wondered why she doesn't press the block button.
Why keep doing this?
You already told us why.
$159,000.
And having discussed games with her on several occasions now, the answer became abundantly clear.
She loves video games.
Except I'm doing video games.
So that's not exactly a fandom.
I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
No, we have clearly established that she does not.
She's so passionate about them that she feels they're worth fighting for.
It is my honor to present the Game Developers Ambassador Award to Anita Sarkeesian.
I'm incredibly surprised to be receiving this award.
Yeah, me too.
I would have thought that they would have given this award to someone with an interest in the industry beyond financial.
And super honored.
This is the first time the GDC Ambassador Award has been given to a woman.
And maybe next time it can be given to a woman gamer.
So in light of that.
In light of that, I'd first like to thank all the women who have been diligently working to create positive change in the gaming industry.
You've all been such a huge inspiration to me.
Positive is always accompanied by negative.
I'm sure by now we're all familiar with the mantra that video games are just fun entertainment, so don't take them so seriously.
Unless you don't play video games and you're not interested in getting fun or entertainment out of them.
Obviously games can be fun.
Yeah, thanks for that, David Attenborough.
And are often entertaining, but they are much, much more than that.
Like many of you in this room, I do take games very seriously.
Do you?
Because it kind of sounds like...
I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
My Tropes vs. Women in Video Games project was born out of a desire to do exactly that, to take gaming seriously.
Well, I wouldn't expect a killjoy to get the idea that it's actually meant to be fun.
Seriously, as an art form with an almost limitless potential to tell immersive stories.
Seriously, as the fastest-growing form of mass media entertainment.
Seriously, as a medium with a massive cultural and social impact on people's lives all around the world.
Or it could just be something you do for fun when you get back from work.
And of course, seriously as a medium that has demonstrated an unfortunate pattern of representing women in less than positive ways over the years.
How dare they represent women as anything other than flawless angels?
The gaming industry's influence in our society is enormous.
It seems that society's influence on the game industry is far greater.
I think in very few cases, life actually does imitate art.
I think most times art imitates life.
And as game developers, you're in the position to push the medium forward.
You can disrupt the formula, break the mold, and challenge the status quo.
If this game developer conference has anything to go by, then it seems that the status quo is that everywhere must be inclusive of women.
You can leave behind the old regressive sexist representations and instead create interactive experiences that portray women as capable, complex, and inspirational.
Because this describes every woman ever born.
This challenge is both an incredible opportunity and a serious responsibility.
I know that many of you are ready and willing to step up to take that challenge.
But not you, Anita.
I'm guessing it's because it'd be hard work.
And as a feminist, you don't like hard work.
And make gaming a more inclusive space for people of all genders.
You know what?
I honestly think you're going to drive the majority of players away by alienating them because this was a space for them.
This is what they came here for.
And you're making it so it's about something that's not the game.
And so the rot has set in.
And I think little by little people are going to leave until you're left with this moribund industry that is withering on the vine.
And somewhere else these players will congregate and they will create a new space that is more tailored for their needs.
And it will grow in popularity because there are still a lot of men who feel this way.
And it will grow and grow and suddenly it'll be a billion dollar industry and you'll look at it and go, well that's not very inclusive.
Why aren't we allowed over there?
And suddenly you'll be going over there demanding to be let in and the rot will set into this again and you will just keep chasing them Anita.
Like you probably chased the boys in the schoolyard and they put up a sign saying no girls allowed and you like well that's not fair, why shouldn't I be allowed into your clubhouse?
Oh fucking go make your own.
These people don't want to play with you.
It's not the end of the world because as you said I'm not a fan of video games.
I actually had to learn a lot about video games in the process of making this.
Thank you so much for this.
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