I gotta be honest with everyone. I’m tired. Tired of the discourse. Tired of the negativity. Tired of the ragebait and engagement farming. Tired of the bad-faith arguments. I’m tired of it all. The online gaming space is no stranger to any of these things, and I’ve always hated them, but it’s gotten to the point that I’m genuinely over all of it.
Why are we talking about this? Last week, Windows Central’s Jez Corden wrote a great op-ed talking about the state of online gaming discourse, which sparked some discussion amongst gamers, creators, and industry personalities. Shortly after, Spawn on Me creator Kahlief Adams posed a question on Twitter to those of us in the games space about our thoughts and feelings on the rise in negative discourse online, which got me thinking some more about my place in all this. Now ordinarily, I try to avoid “drama.” In my opinion, engaging in it is never worth the time or energy since much of it can be seen as silly and inconsequential. So, you may be asking, “Why give validity to something you feel doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things?”
Because as much as I hate drama and engaging with the negative discourse machine, whether it’s about gaming or any other topic, I’ve always prided myself on being a levelheaded voice of reason. Sometimes conversations can, and should, be had (even if only once) for the sake of adding my own perspective to it, all in the hopes that it contributes something positive to the space. So, since I have the time, we’re gonna talk about it. And I promise, I’m gonna try not to be too negative and dismissive, or come off as if I’m talking down to people given my feelings on the matter. However, I’m also not gonna shy away from how I truly feel about all this to avoid hurting feelings. Sorry, not sorry.
To answer the question posed by Jez’s article, yes, gaming discourse is more negative than ever before. This isn’t a shocking revelation to anyone who’s moderately online (god help those of us who are chronically online), and as he discusses in his piece, there are various reasons for it. Online algorithms on platforms such as Twitter and YouTube strongly encourage users and creators to post content that’ll get them a lot of views and engagement, and nothing garners more of either of those than something rooted in negativity. Combine that with a litany of reasons (real or imagined) to be upset with the gaming industry, and you practically have yourself an infinite money cheat code that you can activate at, quite literally, any point in time.
Because of this, there have been far too many instances of major internet discourse than I can possibly remember off the top of my head. Marvel’s Wolverine has been taking heat for its perceived extreme linearity. Grand Theft Auto VI has people raging over its release strategy, lack of marketing, and gameplay leaks that reveal it looks like yet another Grand Theft Auto game. PlayStation has been under fire for over a month after Sony announced plans to end physical media for games in 2028. Mixtape had the discourse machine firing on all cylinders because it dared to earn rave reviews from multiple outlets. Horizon Hunters Gathering received plenty of hate from people who want Horizon 3 and not a stylized live-service co-op game. People were upset with Xbox for not removing the logos for other platforms during its Xbox Games Showcase in June. God of War: Laufey was the subject of much ire because, as the next mainline entry in the God of War franchise, it stars a woman and not Kratos. Those are just the topics that I could immediately think of from this year, but I’m sure there are others, and I can definitely recall some from years past.
Now, to be clear, there are valid conversations to be had about some of these topics if you parse through the negativity. You could have a real conversation about linear game design in modern AAA games and how it could be improved. We could talk about the worries and fears of an all-digital future in the console space. We could discuss the potential ramifications on the industry, both good and bad, if a massive AAA game from one of its leading and most influential developers failed. We could have a real conversation about the content of a game, its intent, and how well it achieves that goal. I know those smart and insightful conversations are happening in certain parts of the internet amongst people using their platforms responsibly, and I applaud the people having them. The thing is, the good-faith conversations with actual substance aren’t the ones being pushed to the forefront on social media.
Instead, we’re left with people making bad-faith arguments and comparisons about the design of single-player action-adventure games because it fits a certain agenda. We’re stuck dealing with grifters perpetuating regressive culture war talking points because it’s easy money to call a game “woke” and pin any possible failings on the fact that you play as a woman in a game (extra points if the woman in question is Black, has their hair dyed, or doesn’t fit the unrealistic beauty standards of their detractors). We have to contend with people ignoring nuance and using their voices irresponsibly by either peddling misinformation in an attempt to stand up to corporations, or by having an “us vs them” mentality, thus pushing away anyone who may be sympathetic to their cause. We’re forced to have conversations about games being industry plants as we relitigate review scores being bought for the umpteenth time. And if you voice an opinion that’s different from any of those who share these regressive views, then you’re instantly met with vitriol and get dogpiled by people who just want to be angry.
To everyone who fuels and perpetuates this negativity online, I ask one simple question: why?
Why are you the way that you are? Why do you do the things that you do? Genuinely, other than attention or money, what do you gain from this? You may believe that you’re making a difference and fighting the good fight for Gamers™ around the world, but you’re wrong. You haven’t made the gaming industry a better place. You haven’t made the online gaming space a better one. You haven’t contributed anything of substance to the field. You aren’t representative of the real world. By making every little thing a fight for “the soul of gaming,” all that you’ve done is look ridiculous like the townspeople in South Park and add more mindless noise to the already frustratingly loud town square that is social media. I know it’s gotta be exhausting to engage with the firestorms you create on a regular basis because it’s utterly exhausting to listen to.
Which brings me to the question that Kahlief posed. Has the current state of gaming content changed the way I view my own work? Yes and no. Online gaming discourse has never been sunshine and rainbows; however, in the 10 years that I’ve been making content, I’ve always stood firm in the belief that I would only make stuff that I was proud of, share my honest, true opinions on any subject, and come at things from a rational and constructive perspective, regardless of whether the most online of us all are raising hell on Twitter or Reddit. I’d like to think that I’ve held myself to that standard and, in doing so, have put something positive back into the space, be that on YouTube, Twitter, Bluesky, or anywhere else.
But over the past three years of me making solo content on YouTube, I’ve had moments where I had to weigh whether a topic was worth making a video on because I knew it would get a bunch of negative attention. When Concord developer Firewalk Studios was shut down, I made a video lamenting its closure and the unprecedented failure of the team’s debut title. That video received a lot of dislikes for a small channel like mine, and the conversation in the comments wasn’t great either (outside of one discussion I had).
Ever since then, I’ve gone back and forth on certain subjects to decide whether the resulting negativity would be worth my time and energy. Sometimes the answer is yes, such as when I made a video discussing the reveal of Horizon: Hunters Gathering. Other times, the answer is no, as it was when I opted not to make videos talking about Highguard or Mixtape when those games were in the hot seat earlier this year. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about those topics, because believe me, I did. In a year where I’m already struggling to find the time or energy to make videos about the topics I would like to, I just knew that it was going to be the Firewalk video all over again, and decided it wasn’t worth it. I opted to protect my peace, so to speak, by simply posting a few tweets about the discourse and leaving it at that.
Although I hate drama and am fine with the fact that I prioritized myself over participating in discourse, I hate that I did that. I hate that instead of feeling passionate enough to make a video and using my actual voice to try and push even the tiniest bit of positivity into the space when it could’ve been used, I chose to shy away from the conversation, due in part to the Firewalk video. The response to that video is only one side of the coin, though. The other side is that being inundated with this kind of discourse all day, every day, is mentally exhausting. After a long day at work that’s already mentally taxing, and coming across such negativity online throughout the day, my desire to make any sort of video discussing anything in the gaming space winds up being pretty low.
I dread what the next couple of months of discourse will look like with all the major releases that are on the horizon, since nowadays, just about every single major release is the nexus point for at least a week’s worth of annoying conversations. The next month alone will see the release of A Plague Tale: Legacy, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Marvel’s Wolverine, Control: Resonant, and Silent Hill: Townfall. I bet at least half of those will generate some kind of ridiculous conversation that people latch onto. God help us all when GTA VI releases in November. Rockstar might as well be giving us the gaming equivalent of nuclear codes with all the nonsensical discourse that’ll happen in its wake. Just the thought of it has me wanting to go off the grid for a month so I can avoid the blast radius.
I realize that everything I’m saying sounds very defeatist, almost as if I’m giving up on trying to be a positive voice in the gaming space. Let me be clear when I say that’s not what’s happening here. This is me being honest about my perspective on online gaming discussions and laying my frustrations bare because it’s been on my mind for a bit, and I had to get it off my chest. Perhaps you feel the same way, and seeing me talk about it allows you to feel seen in some way, shape, or form. As much as the state of gaming discourse has beaten me down and leaves me drained, it’s also highlighted the importance of smart, positive, constructive voices in the space, no matter how big or small they are. If I were to tap out, it’d just be seen as a win by those who have made the space what it is today. And honestly, screw those people. I refuse to let them get a win.
The conversations being had online aren’t the same ones being had in the real world, so although I don’t have it in me to offer my perspective in every instance, removing my voice from the space entirely would be doing a disservice not just to myself, but to those who are tapped in and the casual observer who isn’t. I’m just tired, y’all. I’m tired of the bullshit. I’m tired of the fighting. I’m tired of the arguing. I’m tired of it all.
TheComfySpot 