Fake Gamers And Their "DEI" Obsession (The Jimquisition)

[@SageRuffin]

Man, that Monster Hunter part... I'm part of a few related subs on Reddit and when word got out that Wilds would allow all characters to be able to wear all armors, pretty much the entire sub erupted in delight (metaphorically, of course). This was a thing many of us were hoping for _literally for years._ Speaking for myself here, I can finally dress my huntress in a tube top and baggy pants and not wait until the 4th or 5th update out of 5 to do so! The male hunters can finally get their Astolfo cosplays on and I'm fucking here for it! Because we all know we're here for the same thing: hunting monsters and, to quote Max0r, wanting to know what their foreskin looks like on our mantlepieces. Some fuckass tried to say this was a bad precedent for Capcom and I calmly brought up the original Dragon's Dogma, which allowed all characters to wear all armors and originally released back in 20-goddamn-12. They quickly deleted their comment after that.

[@DMDarren]

The fact that people were somehow seriously upset over the game doubling the customisation options for your character would be downright hilarious if it wasn’t sad

[@TheOblivionMan]

Hell, Dragon's Dogma had a bit where being able to wear any armour actually allowed male player characters to Gerudo Link their way in to a diplomatic way past an outpost of all-women bandits.

[@aWinterCrow]

I remember starting world with a female character and actually ending up paying for a swap to male cause I could not stomach the dumbass bikini armor designs of some sets, this could not be better news

[@FelisImpurrator]

They're still in denial about the copious trans themes literally all over Elden Ring, too...

[@viktormon]

It's been so refreshing to be able to go into discussions about MonHun Wilds without getting the worst opinions in the world thrown in your face. Thank you, MonHun community!

[@TheEpicTone]

Phoenix shouting about Dragon Age off screen while Steph just sits there with a drink is how I imagine my fiancé looks when I go off on tangents.

[@AB-fh9zh]

Outranting Steph is an impressive achievement though.

[@ArDeeMee]

Actual soulmates. ❤️

[@Crocogator]

Pretty much me kicking and screaming about kingdom hearts in the car. They're trapped with me.

[@benedictrogers1478]

@@TheEpicTone my girlfriend has smiled and nodded through many a rant on Warhammer 40,000...

[@slasher4267]

What did Pheonix actually say I couldn't make it out or is that the joke and im being dumb

[@lovelycrimeboy8368]

Give your spouse the mic, as a lifelong bioware fan, I can confirm they are right. I could listen to them all day. Also if Bioware crashes, it won't be because woke, it'll be because Electronic Arts is a parasite of creativity.

[@DirtyTimmy69]

i think the joke is referring to Sterling suffering for weeks the same way my husband has been exposed to me constantly ranting lol

[@adami9769]

"Oh they're angry at Concord" ...well they won't be angry for long

[@Nerdiness1985]

WHo is angry? Most of us just find it hilarious. We didn't know this hilarity would ensue . And cancelled within 10 days. must be a record of some sort.

[@peteshap1]

i woulda called an ambulance for that burn, but the game isn't even worth the electricity to keep it on life support

[@ArtThingies]

@@Nerdiness1985 I hear it was Liz Truss's favourite game.

[@Czarwren]

Jimboy is very much a fake gamer only covering game with a far left lens

[@adami9769]

@@Czarwren are you out here defending Concord? With transphobia? C'mon man, get a job

[@Sonichero151]

The most important part of this entire video Steph, was your husband showcasing what real gamers and fans ACTUALLY will bitch and ramble about. Not "forced diversity", not DEI, none of that culture war shit, but inconsistencies with lore and setting that contradicts previously established canon.

[@blindio466]

im not into dragon age myself(it's fine, ive gotten the games via bundles or giveways and had a bit of play and just not my jam), the passion for a series though i recgonise that talk from me anytime i talk about fallout(im one of the rare beasts that pissed around in DOS for my first experience of the wasteland yet still enjoys 4)

[@supergluehotty]

Anybody really have a gripe about new emotions in inside job. WTF. THERE ARE 4 LITTLE GUYS IN OUR HEADS.

[@lucasLSD]

​@@blindio466I'm not an old fan like you, but I only like 4 because I can mod it to play London.

[@JJokerMoreau]

Man, you actually all believe you're right, don't you? Even when Jim Sterling getting MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of views back in the 2016s, you STILL think your group are the "real" gamers and that the anti DEI are some "loud minority". It's actually embarrassing. Enjoy your 40k~80ks viewership.

[@awakeandwatching953]

hahaha so real gamers are now a tiny minority of the paying gaming public? interesting take.. it cant be because most of the public are averse to intersectional Marxism and spot it easily when its being so overtly shoe horned in to media.. "is it me thats vastly out of touch with the general public? no its those damn bigoted gamers"

[@esbenm6544]

Remember when CRT were the scary three letters? It feels like just yesterday but it might as well have been 100 years ago with how little it matters now.

[@COYSMike]

Yeah. Those monitors weighed a ton

[@evanchismark3092]

​@@COYSMikelol. Glad to not be the only one who was asking what people had against cathode ray tubes lately.

[@g.f.martianshipyards9328]

My money is on CSR becoming the next three scare letters. Also, based profile pic.

[@SaraphDarklaw]

I honestly forgot about the CRT pitchforks.

[@henryfleischer404]

@@COYSMike I've got a broken one, and I can't open it up to fix it because I value my life. The tube's fine, I think the caps are going bad.

[@TheFireHawkDelta]

Upon seeing the cut from a whiny comment about Morrigan being ugly to a screenshot of Morrigan being in fact very hot I once again have to wonder if straight men actually like women.

[@ManOutofTime913]

Their only idea of what makes a woman attractive comes from horny media. Clearly they aren't self-proclaimed subs or simps either.

[@TitaniaBird]

I fear their reaction to Mai Shiranui's new outfit in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Personally, as a woman who's gay as fuck, both Mai and Morrigan are hotter now. (And also classic Mai is an alt costume, apparently.)

[@maxpower2480]

They certainly are all closet something. It's hard to become that damaged if you feel comfortable in your own skin...

[@TallDarknGruesome]

There's a statistic out there about how much of homophobia is driven by closeted homosexuality, but I can't remember if it's 30% or more than that.

[@StarStarbreez]

@@TitaniaBird frank west got the same attack in dead rising remake i saw a guy playing 30 mins of the game and he even said frank looks very good hes more akin to his age plus you got the og frank skin anyway if you wanna switch back but that caused massive crying -.-

[@nullpoint3346]

Angry at Concord? They've been laughing at how badly it flopped.

[@GallowglassVT]

Seeing them constantly trying to evolve their buzzwords, even though anyone with passing media literacy can see it a mile off, would be linguistically interesting if it wasn’t so laughable.

[@TheAxeLordOfFire]

Man, at this point, the term 'DEI' should really be just called out as a dogwhistle for slurs. Even beyond the topic of this video, I've seen it apply to a truly RIDICULOUS number of things like that one article from the New York Post calling Kamala Harris the "DEI rep," which is just beyond gross and hypocritical given the orange tub of lard the media has been obsessed with. I've also seen it be what was called to characters like Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, a _real_ historical black samurai, that has people screeching about it for what or calling him "woke" or "DEI" or shit like that... fuck's sake, just call people slurs you cowards, it'd be a lot more straightforward and honest with yourself. Nobody's existence should be a crime for the skin they're born with or what gender they are, yet these fucking clowns sure as shit seem happy to do so. For that reason, to me, there's a very simple way to measure morality objectively: "does this hurt another person? If it does, is there a rational reason for it?" The key to being a good person is to help others and try to avoid causing as much harm to another person as possible. If somebody has to be hurt for a good reason (say, hurting one to save 1000), then it's understandable, but it should never be justified as _necessary,_ because that would never be the case for the one who was hurt to save a 1000. Never rationalize it as a good thing, accept what you've done and learn to be better. And mind you, this is in cases where the logical decision saves more people than not. Where it's _justified._ So much suffering is completely unjustifiable yet we assume it for granted as how the world always worked when it never had to be this way. The second the lives and humanity of other living things are secondary to your beliefs on how the world "should work" to stomp those in opposition out, you are lost. You can do hard men actions for whatever reason, but it will _never_ wash away the pain that inflicted on another person. And yet, these people consider the cruelty is what makes them heroes, like they're the good guys for taking it out on people weaker than them, despite crying and whining when it's inflicted onto _them._ And then they wonder why conservatives and fascists are consistently portrayed as villains in media...

[@hazukichanx408]

Yes, by the time we've analytically disassembled their current terminology and the motivations behind it, they have to come up with new terminology just to keep dog-whistling at their fellow bigots and bigotry-curious persons drifting into their orbit... because it just won't do to go around saying "Yes I'm racist, I have a problem with all diversity, what's wrong with that?" They wouldn't get any suckers, then. So the word-factory churns on at the speed of an academic trying to justify a useless position he occupies...

[@wesleythomas7125]

I agree. Watching them woke corpo's scramble to rebrand "DEI" to something normal people won't recognize is the hight of comedy.

[@SergeantLuke]

I think it’s their way of convincing themselves that the things they take issue with are actually new, instead of just new synonyms for “liberalism”.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

PC>SJW>Woke>DEI...

[@SkyFellowship]

Often go back to the likes of Red Dwarf. Adore the show, but thinking about bit, Holly deciding one day to be a woman just cause they felt like it before going back to being a man because they again felt like it (Obviously IRL it was due to commitments so the actor got recast then the original returned, but in show, pretty fucking sure she says when asked why she's a woman now "I dunnno, just felt like it"). Would be considered woke and forcing Transgender ideology into the show. Having the main character be black which Lister is and 50% of the shows main cast be black because Holly and Rimmer are white whereas Lister and Cat are black, would be forced diversity. They even have gender neutral species like Camille. This is a beloved show that's almost 40 years old and being made now, it would be hated on for being woke. It's honestly fucking hilarious and proves so much just how much of this is fake BS outrage fuelled by right wing influencers.

[@RDOlivaw]

Also really worth noting that RD literally dropped an episode (the original S3 opener, “DAD”) from production because the team realised that it was FLABBERGASTINGLY misogynist. Like. They Got It!!!

[@greenhowie]

Also, Danny John Jules (the guy who played Cat) was literally the voice of Gex in the late 90s. Nobody cared that he suddenly changed accents between games because the VO was entertaining and fit the game well. Can you imagine the uproar if a popular game series did that now?

[@MrYago-xd7um]

To be fair anything written well enough an american pastor would call it demonic is woke.

[@nozhki-busha]

Red Dwarf was and remains a show ahead of its time. We still have regular Red Dwarf nights at the bar I built here and the show still holds up decades later.

[@Gnarfendorf]

Well, nobody in their right mind would have issues with a well written character who just happens to change gender or be "woke" in any other shape or form. Its when you reduce a character to their sexuality or a single character trait and they have nothing else going for them where i draw the line personally. Those are boring stereotypes that add nothing of value to whatever they are injected into.

[@ultrapotatomode3222]

I think what gets me the most about this argument is that the problem has always been bad writing and greedy corporations. I have never met or seen anybody who had a problem with Hades. But hey, easier to blow that dog whistle than address the actual issue.

[@adderous]

You're lucky then, there's a whole bunch of people who were real mad about Aphrodite being "too masculine" because she... had cheekbones and her arms weren't noodles.

[@canedust]

Exactly. First time I even heard this latest whiny buzzword was YongYea giving a detailed breakdown of why Live Service #4817 collapsed after a few months Every 2nd comment: lolomgbiased why u no mention the DEI?!!

[@ultrapotatomode3222]

@@adderous I'm starting to think these people are closeted, with how they see men everywhere they go

[@DivineNaruto]

Except you can literally see these videos often. Its easy for you to ignore and pretend its a dogwhistle when it doesnt affect you.

[@bilowik123]

These people are desperate for easy Ws to make them feel better about themselves, it's easier to tear apart a game that is genuinely bad with bad faith arguments relating to culture wars than it is to tear apart a game that is genuinely good with those same bad faith arguments.

[@Jilluminum]

I have to say this kinda stuff is finally really starting to get to me. I literally cant look at any social media about games or movies or anything pop culture without a hundred comments about alt right culture war nonsense. I almost want to just back out of nerd shit entirely and let them have it

[@CasualFox12495]

Y'all remember when Graham Linehan went on a rant trying to support Joanne and accidentally misnamed Ron Weasley as "Ralph"?

[@jamesrule1338]

Good times.

[@Chatrbuug]

Ralph Ferretly is one of my favorite Herry Poughter characters

[@Whitecroc]

And the joke made its way into Pottergame, a parody game that was released only weeks later.

[@jacobgober3875]

@@Chatrbuug I'm partial to Giuseppe Stromboli, myself

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

@@jacobgober3875 Enrico Vasari

[@FTZPLTC]

Fandom appropriation is exactly the right word for it. These guys will pose as The Real Fans of literally *any* IP that has a new installment making a few headlines, and rock up with the same old talking points every time. That's how you have something as absurd as people complaining about Star Trek or Doctor Who "going woke" after 50+ years each.

[@mdstevens0612]

Ian Danskin of Innuendo Studios made a vid about this. It's easier to corrupt an existing fandom than to convince reasonable folks of an unreasonable opinion. Infiltrate, disseminate hate, and when the last person who disagrees leaves the space because it's too toxic, integrate the rest.

[@lexecomplexe4083]

Like Star Trek wasn't literally a socialist dream embracing diversity. And people still blame Roddenberry for when it falls short like the execs weren't the ones breathing down his neck for every little thing he fought to include. Star wars, while many of its expanded works are woke, the movies aren't, aren't always. Lemme explain: Star Wars does embrace diversity and comradery often, but when it comes to the films, they are always edited down in countries like China to completely omit even the tiniest bit of queer representation. Like, literally just two women who kiss, very briefly, in the BACKGROUND, was edited out for China. Its why we never see queer characters in live action star wars, ever, and when we do, its the tiniest sliver which also gets edited away anywhere Disney is afraid they'd lose money in. Star wars = not that woke. Doctor Who: we got queer characters all over, we got a timelord who changes both sex and gender every regeneration (but, oh wait, we won't actually show that on screen.. 😢), we got lots of bisexual tension and a few gay men here and there. Thats about as far as I've seen them go though. And doctor who still has a lot of very transphobic and homophobic fans. Racist ones even who were so angry the new doctor was black.

[@odstarmor557]

They pretty much act like a cancer

[@One.Zero.One101]

Conservative Watchdogs intently watching pop culture looking for something to complain about is the latest profitable grift right now. Actually it's not new, before the internet there were letter-writing campaigns, but today lots of people are making a living out of it. It's all over KZbin and the algorithm recommends it to me all the time even though I don't watch those channels.

[@FTZPLTC]

@@lexecomplexe4083 - Real Trek fans blame Rick Berman.

[@kaylinhendrich4673]

The Game Tourists is a good word for these folks. Boring, trite, repetitive non-criticism, vanilla tastes in character design, and a weird fascination with puritanical-nudity. At this point it’s just white noise from a consumer’s perspective. Just like one-star google reviews in all honesty.

[@kaylinhendrich4673]

Also, your husband has _PHENOMENAL_ opinions on Dragon Age! 12/10, definite keeper

[@MrYago-xd7um]

They also love to walk towards and point at random mundane objects with glee as if one coat of paint was a secret few could notice.

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

Except the tourists are the ones complaining about things in IPs that noone has a problem with generations. (Like sexy characters and insisting they need to be "more realistic")

[@bleakautomaton4808]

Again, it is funny to just add the crying baby Mario sound over their so-called criticisms. Very funny.

[@TeleportRush]

@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer I honestly can't remember the last time someone complained in English about a character in a video game being sexy

[@qwinlyn]

21:26 I was not expecting a Placid Plastic Duck call out Wait until they unlock the rainbow duck. That’ll blow their minds 😂😂

[@SavageGreywolf]

Wait, are you telling me that Black Sun Wukong _isn't_ full of non-white characters, non-Christian real world religious imagery and themes, and possibly even a person performing a gender role they weren't assigned at birth? Because I was under the impression this was an adaptation of Journey To The West, and it definitely has all that stuff

[@Macrochenia]

Yes, but the Gamers(tm) would have to actually play the game to learn any of that.

[@cwolf201]

you forgot the current internet theme on the death battle repost of Sun Wukong vs Hercules. "Tell me it's goku vs hercules without telling me it's goku vs hercules". and the same saying that hating on those who point out Journey to The West was a 16th century novel

[@pianoguy222]

Remember that time some dudes got pregnant and Wukong had to run off and get magic abortion water? Good times, good times.

[@zxbc1]

One of the popular targets for these people in this case was the Screen Rant review. I read Journey to the West many times as a child (I'm Chinese), I happen to know that Screen Rant's complaint that the game features too few female characters happens to be a legitimate criticism, because the book is full of colorful and well portrayed female characters both as guardians/allies and as villains and monsters. And guess what? The game received many complaints about its bosses being bland. If they were actually willing to portray more of the book's female characters, maybe that wouldn't be an issue. I guess all that "sticking it to the feminists" stuff the devs wanted to pull ended up making their game worse. Good karma.

[@xcwarrior]

This simply strengthens my arguement they are mostly bots, in this case Chinese bots. Of course "they" are not going to bash games with Chinese people in it.

[@natebookout811]

It's ironic to take a Chinese game that is a very serious adaptation of an ancient Buddhist parable about enlightenment, and call it "anti-woke". The role of Sun Wukong in the novel, Journey to the West, is to represent the instinct to want to destroy your enemies, which he's regularly kept from by his companion, the monk he's escorting who believes in a more peaceful way. Black Myth is not that same story, it's about a different monkey some time afterwards, but these themes are still important. The developers have said they're interested in looking more closely at the lives and stories of the villains from the novel. So in a way, the developers are the monk who look with a sympathetic gaze, and we're the monkey, who are following him. Seeing your enemies with empathy is one of the most "woke" messages there are.

[@jovewolf]

It's especially funny because several adaptations of Journey to the West have Sun Wukong/Son Goku's monk keeper be female - Enslaved in the PS360 era had Trip be a woman, the PS1 Tactical RPG Saiyuki by Koei on the PS1 let you select whether you wanted the monk to be male or female, and in Koei-Tecmo's later Warriors Orochi series canonized the female version of the monk. Heck even in Dragonball (the original), which is a very, very loose adaptation of Journey to the West at the start, you can consider Bulma to be Goku's 'monk keeper'.

[@natebookout811]

@@jovewolf and Kagome in Inuyasha

[@FelisImpurrator]

Also, the game itself is literally just "woke". I have played through every single story element of the game. It's very emphatically about rebelling against unjust and bigoted hierarchies and authority... You know, LIKE THE ORIGINAL STORY. And in this case it directly frames many of the conflicts as being caused by systemic racism - the Celestial Court believes different "types" of beings like humans and yaoguai inherently have different value and that some are destined to be lesser than others, only deserving of being subjugated by those above them. That and most of the female characters' stories are about rebelling against their prescribed roles or seriously reckoning with the ways in which they've been wronged by men. This isn't even the first time anti-wokes have pretended to champion a game with an unironically progressive narrative. Stellar Blade's developers are basically undercover feminists and always have been, even when they released Goddess of Victory Nikke.

[@FelisImpurrator]

​@@jovewolfAlso, Sun Wukong is implicitly portrayed as fully asexual in the original novel, and technically doesn't have an actual sex, being born from a literal stone. He's referred to as "he" just because Chinese doesn't really do gender neutral pronouns, but technically is as nonconforming to gender as he is to literally any social convention or norm. His whole thing is about fighting oppression and unjust hierarchies in all forms. Wokest mythological figure ever next to, I don't know, Loki. And that's not even a reach.

[@exceedcharge1]

@@natebookout811 Im glad someone else picked up the journey to the west similarities

[@SilortheBlade]

Reminds me about Xmen 97. All the usual bigots were upset that the xmen had gone "woke" (which shows they know nothing about the comic or original show), then the show comes out and it is one of the best things ever made, and suddenly not a peep from them. IT's almost like a good piece of media is good, because it is good, and the diversity of the cast doesn't change that fact.

[@luketfer]

Remember these people are the same people that complained Star Trek had "gone woke" because Picard was bad. You know the first American TV series to include an interracial kiss, that had a post scarcity utopia without capitalism as its main theme. Star Trek has always been woke, it was woke before that word even existed. You had them crowing about the Mario movie and it came out and was a massive success and...oh look suddenly nothing...

[@Kenzirs]

This was BG3 in a nutshell. You shoulda seen the reaction when they added the non binary option in early access.

[@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm]

@@luketfer Actually, for both SMB: Movie and ST:SNW, they claimed that they were conservative because people liked them and starred white guys in the leads. This was after months of bashing them for being "woke".

[@DaviddeBergerac]

​@@Kenzirsor when Gamers found out you could be they/them in Starfield.

[@luketfer]

@@DaviddeBergerac To be fair that actually led to them ostrasizing one of their own. Az aka Heelvsbabyface's reaction to it became so much of a meme that *everyone* was taking the piss out of him for it. He basically became a joke and thus the alt-right pretty much just abandoned him and labeled him as 'cringe'. It's the same with Shadiversity and the infamous 'Peach wearing pants is woke!' complaint he had. Despite Peach just wearing her Mario Kart 8 biker outfit that was, at the time, 10 years old and Nintendo have had her wear since and was included as a reference. Thus outting himself as a 'fake gamer tourist'. So he got laughed at *hard* and they did to Shadiversity what they did to Az, basically abandoned him and labeled him as 'cringe'.

[@DragonNexus]

God the irony of that guy complaining about "why are we still trying to be woke in 2024" and then bringing up Ghostbusters 2016. Again. Because they can't let that go. Its been 8 years, move the hell on!

[@louisbeauvais4303]

Why do people think Transwomen can get pregnant when we all know they can't. But people keep pushing that lie!

[@SpaceDinosaur93]

No kidding. There have been two whole ass Ghostbusters movies to release since then.

[@ElectricGears]

Also, it's entirely possible to enjoy a game/media even if you aren't the "target audience".

[@Luci-pz8xx]

The woke categories have been doing it for 30 years.

[@HauntakuTV]

I certainly enjoyed a bunch of superhero fighting games when I was younger even though I'm not interested in Marvel/DC stuff.

[@originalscreenname44]

I been Black for 42 years and had to play plenty of games helmed by white male buzzcuts with guns for most of that time without a single complaint. These people have the weakest minds on Earth.

[@Ramsey276one]

Peripheral Demographic *It even has a name*

[@stanknight9159]

But impossible to force yourself to like a game that you don't like. And just cause one makes a game doesn't equal it being any good.

[@algi1]

"Forced" how? The artist forcing it into the art? Everything in art is forced into it by the artist. Nothing is natural about art. It's a human activity, all art is designed.

[@anonimo6603]

In the sense that while you as an artist are giving yourself to your work a third party comes along and says, “Look, we don't like the way you have represented x and please add two y.” for ideological reasons. Kind of like if a priest comes and says, “We don't like the way you're representing our church. Shooting inside the walls of the lord? Oh God, no. It gives a bad message and remember: only unbelievers have to lose blood.”

[@Hawkatana]

@@anonimo6603 Ah yes, an artist having a belief system is "forced" apparently.

[@anglerfish4161]

I thought these guys were all for artists doing whatever they want! Oh wait, *checks notes* that only counts when it's sexist white bread content.

[@anonimo6603]

@@Hawkatana Please, I understand that I use a translator and so maybe my comment is not crystal clear, but try to understand what I wrote.

[@ikaemos]

They think there's a diversity mafia going around and blackmailing developers by withholding coverage and writing hit-pieces. And they do it to extort millions of dollars from terrified game developers. Basically, they think the Pronouns are literally racketeering massive multi-billion-dollar game publishers, twisting their arm so they can't put out "real" games any more. Yes, believing this is soap-garglingly weird.

[@recycledMilk]

i literally saw a twitter comment saying somethign along the lines of "i love black myth wuKong because there is zero political stuff in there" and the person had a FF7 avatar... like at this point im just confused what these people wanna play 😭

[@MrYago-xd7um]

You're assuming they have played either game. Best not to.

[@FelisImpurrator]

Ironically, Black Myth Wukong is very explicit about its criticisms of authoritarianism, racism, and the social expectations imposed upon women.

[@darkthunder301]

not sure if it's *that* complex: their world is tiny and they refuse to explore and expand their horizons

[@Ramsey276one]

I guess you can button mash through the dialogue and story sequences XD YEEZUS I played the original... Just WOW

[@youmukonpaku3168]

@@darkthunder301 yeah but if their world includes enough of the game where you START THE GAME with ecoterrorism, portrayed as morally correct and 100% justified even with collateral harm to innocent life, that they've made their profile picture reflect that, you start having questions, yknow?

[@TheStupendium]

12:45 - Augustus Sinclair - Bioshock 2.

[@phoenixtoothill]

Omg, Bioshock? I didn’t know you liked that. Song when??

[@mrromanow3123]

Im a big Dragon Age fan since Origins and seeing these tourists who never cared about the franchise pretending to be fans complaining about wokeness and DEI is funny. You can have gay and lesbian romances since Origins released in 2009. They say crap that's simply not true like DA Origins was turn based. It never was! All you can do is stop the game and give orders. It never played like Baldurs Gate 3. If you actually played the game for more than a few minutes you would know.

[@tyrus1235]

They really are tourists, aren't they? And even their complaints regarding Veilguard are hollow. "Ugly female companions", like what? All the women in the main party there look absolutely gorgeous! Also the talk about Morrigan becoming ugly... Absurd - she looks stunning in her new look. Even people saying she looks older are bewildering to me - to me she looks just like she always did!

[@anonimo6603]

Yet I as a fan of origins and a homosexual feel this atmosphere. Fan who would even download mods to have more immersive erotic scenes. Just as many complain about it in so many products that target homosexuality, as all of a sudden aesthetically ugly characters start being inserted. (Colored hair, overweight, and etc...) So less strawman arguments, please.

[@christopherschneider2968]

This is super infuriating for me. Origins was the last Bioware game that i truly enjoyed. They also tend to leave out the negative potrayal of : Racism against the elves, the dwarven caste system, religion and cults.

[@witecatj6007]

Dragon Age ALWAYS had a cast that included LGBTQ+ characters. One if the writers of the original 3 games was gay and made some great and nuanced characters people still love, like Dorian and Iron Bull. My fiancée absolutely adores this game, so hearing Sterling's better half go on a rant about it was hilarious and a common occurance with mine.

[@anonimo6603]

@@witecatj6007 Can one avoid associating homosexuals with “LGBTQ+”? Not all homosexuals like that categorization.

[@BinkSayres]

I find it funny that the only thing I want to comment about is Gori: Cuddly Carnage. It looks like a Tony Hawk skater watched too much Happy Tree Friends and decided to make that it's new identity. It's just looks gorgeous.

[@TheOblivionMan]

Kind of says a lot about the state of "media commentators" that I can't immediately identify who Grundle Bumpsworth is because I can think of about a half-dozen candidates just off the top of my head that whole thing would be perfectly in-character for, and I genuinely don't care enough to find out.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Grundle is the Fusion/Megazord in the meme.

[@IianaDRK]

Likely Grummz the Tool

[@autobotstarscream765]

@IianaDRK So who's Grundle's Mother?

[@CoolMagmar]

I'm betting is that brazillian dude that said multiple times he doesn't waste his time playing games when he is called out when saying something stupid like is always, my fav was when he learned that the 40k Warhammer had the miniature painting side and he rambled it was wokes destroying macho hobbies by forcing dudes to put makeup on dolls... And the Gamers (TM) are always following his words like they matter in any way shape or form

[@cannolibros]

Your comment readings were exquisite.

[@merleia997]

I saw someone ask why there were no white male companions in Veilguard. And... right there. There's two. I swear they aren't looking on purpose.

[@Empyrrean]

They'll tearfully insist that devs shouldn't go through a checklist of ethnic backgrounds for their character line-ups, then lose their shit when they don't see a white character in there.

[@Chatrbuug]

In that case, sounds like they literally haven't looked and are just following what someone said

[@Shades14]

They're so blinded by outrage.

[@idontevenknow9758]

I’m gonna assume they just follow a person online who tells them what’s there and they never bother to look it up themselves.

[@MrYago-xd7um]

Counting is woke.

[@pandacidalmaniac2439]

I saw a steam comment on the page for Hades 2 where the Gamer tm was asking if it was woke because they saw a guy in a wheelchair with prosthetic legs. It was Hephaustus, the Greek god of the forge well known as being portrayed as "lame". It made me wonder if the Gamer tm had ever played enough of the game to find Patroclus or if they just thought he and Achiles were really good buddies.

[@Bloodglas]

it's always telling when they need to ask if a game is woke or not. they don't actually know what counts as woke and need other people to tell them what to think so they don't get mistaken as being on 'the wrong side' or whatever.

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

Or having Thanatos be the most tsundere bitch ever at them XD

[@Levitz9]

Greek Mythology, famously known for its purely-heterosexual characters. Like Achilles and Patroclus, who were just "good friends".

[@pandacidalmaniac2439]

@@Bloodglas it's like the worst kind of hive mind

[@pandacidalmaniac2439]

@@Levitz9 I know right and thats not even thinking about the Thanatos love line, but the way they were speaking its like they'd played the first game, which does have a degree of "DEI" as they'd call it, but didn't notice. Its baffling.

[@Lowkeh]

For me, DEI is always gonna mean _"Divide Et Impera"._ (Latin for divide and conquer/rule) Thank you, Rome 2 Total War™ modding community, for creating the DEI overhaul mod. You made that trainwreck of a game playable.

[@Amadourrr]

Goated mod

[@SnakeMan448]

That opening rant about how open bigots are more "respectable" than weasely liars who try to disguise their bigotry touches on a decades old issue progressive movements come up against: fence sitters and so-called moderates, who drag their feet about being intolerant towards bigotry and make excuses.

[@brendenhawley2225]

Martian Luther king had a unkind word about moderates.

[@stuartmorgan3654]

So do they just not expect morrigan to age? She's human. She's went from young adult witch of the wilds flying the nest to raising a god child to pre-pubescence and now there's another time skip. She's got to be in her mid to late 30's by now. Also are they really that angry that she's wearing slightly less revealing clothing? It's still something I'd expect to see goth lasses on a night out in Newcastle wearing circa mid 2000's. Does this logic also apply to the male romance options? No, oh right... Feels like a post from r/arethestraightsokay. Anonymous PUD #5. Wait, wait, wait, wait... Did they just use the "current year" argument?

[@arturoaguilar6002]

Yep! It seems "current year" isn't a -SJW- -woke- DEI argument anymore.

[@Whitecroc]

One thing I find very funny about this entire DEI-as-a-slur thing is that, from everything I've heard, real-life DEI departments are woefully ineffective and largely ignored. They're just underfunded departments who are what David Graeber call "box-tickers", something for company leadership to point to in order to show they are in compliance with some obligation or other, and they are always the first to be let go when it's time to downsize. Adding diverse characters to any kind of media has always been something that has been *opposed* by the ones calling the shots; what we're seeing is simply people putting in stuff they wanted to put in all along. It terrifies a certain type of people that white, male supremacy is being fought back against.

[@CamiloFHSC]

Much like HR departments, which gamers believe will hang any white male member of the dev team on command, when in reality its more like "Mr. Game director, we heard you like stripping your pants and rubbing yourself on the intern, could you, maybe, perhaps, consider not doing that...?" "NO". "Ok, we did all we could; transfer the intern to another department, maybe that'll keep them from complaining again..."

[@MrYago-xd7um]

Do note there is no venn diagram but a single circle of freedom wagons against DEI and being asked to watch a 14min sensitivity training video after getting handsy & stalking.

[@Diinytro]

@@Jabarri74 How are they related to DEI?

[@TheShadowivan]

It's just a PR thing

[@dominiccourtois4415]

@@TheShadowivan I see it more as a marketing thing.

[@DarthMandalorianLothbrok]

Black Myth Wukong is one of the best games I’ve played in a long time! I genuinely feel like you’d really like it! If you haven’t played it yet, treat yourself to playing it, even if just for an hour or so to try it out. You won’t regret it

[@FTZPLTC]

My favourite is when people use "bad writing" as the reason why there needs to be less diversity, as if saying that there's a conflict between the two isn't just bigotry with barely one extra step.

[@SpoopySquid]

"Okay so why was the writing bad?" "Because it had women and marginalised people in it"

[@hazukichanx408]

@@SpoopySquid "That seventeenth guy on the marine team could _just as easily_ also have been a generic white guy! And why shouldn't he? We're not nearly overrepresented enough, and that's a fact!" -Some entitled generic white guy, and his thousands of like-minded generic white guy pals

[@FTZPLTC]

@@PixelPigEntertainment - That's the thing though: there are plenty of horribly written games that don't have much diversity to blame it on.

[@FTZPLTC]

@@hazukichanx408 - It is pretty funny that they're actually the ones demanding tokenism.

[@Yajarobi69]

I think its because many shows/games that are poorly written tend to have similarities. If you say X show is badly written but then talk about what it does have. "well it has a diverse cast of characters", it gives the impression writers focused on diversity rather than a well written product. If a product is good people will come. The people who "truly hate diversity" are the minority. The masses don't care if someone is a girl or gay or whatever, just be entertaining.

[@surnimistwalker8388]

WOW, Clearly they did not play the original Dragon Age. My gawd there was a whole lot of LGBTQ representation in the original Dragon Age.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Clearly the franchise's mistake was not doubling down hard enough with the sequels.

[@LuriTV]

Maybe they were just terrified that Sera wasn't swooning over their manliest manly man character to ever man and instead got pegged by Iron Bull

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

They got called out for their homophobic bullshit by Zevran and never recovered

[@changingform250]

They obviously didn't play the same game I did. I'm straight, but my avatars banged their way through all possibilities, to the detriment of party cohesion, as both female and male.

[@surnimistwalker8388]

@@magicrainbowkitties1023 LOL, I was gonna bring up our beloved Bisexual unabashed flirt Zevran, but I figured someone one :P. He wasn't my favorite. That was reserved for Leliana.

[@Great_Evil_King_Stan]

Man, as a Monster Hunter fan I love the new game having the ability to switch the gender of your armor, and every fan I've talked to so far is so hype for being allowed to have DOUBLE THE CHOICES for their fashion (made lovingly from the parts of your favorite Creatures). women can wear pants now! men can show their buff thighs! my buddy can finally have the Vaal Hazak hood that he's been wanting to wear for years but couldn't because it was female-only This video is honestly so correct in that I can't see anyone who's played any game in the series to its end thinking "what, DOUBLE THE CHOICES FOR MY LAYERED ARMOR??? how DARE THEY!" and yet this is apparently an opinion that people on Internet ™have because they're just endlessly looking for something to be mad at or whatever

[@lucasLSD]

Men can finally wear the proper nargacuga armor too, that got covered up in World

[@TheOldDieHard]

I'm here since Division 1 and like it here😂. So I will stay here, no matter where this channel will go. Hold up the great work. Thanks for all your wonderful videos upto now and in future 😊

[@Gamer1990100]

Yet there's very little rage about microtransactions DRM broken launches jacked up prices constant season passes, etc

[@ExtremeWreck]

Because that's capitalism & these guys are willing to protect such capitalism.

[@Baytuh]

Every time i see someone use these words i just block.

[@mariatelos]

The fact that they find Old School Runescape "woke" is hilarious to me. Have you seen their community?

[@tyrus1235]

Probably because it's going to get way more inclusive with the newest update. Your character's gender is now independent from their physical appearance and "female" body types can have beards too. It's pretty cool and the sort of thing all devs should think about when designing their character creation tools.

[@DaviddeBergerac]

There's a lot of classic games that in retrospect the shithead gamers would call woke, but will conveniently ignore in one way or another when it's a game they like.

[@TurbopropPuppy]

@@tyrus1235 i wish more games would just let you design your appearance as you like and then just pick pronouns independently hell, give us custom pronoun entry fields, who gives a shit

[@FTZPLTC]

​@@tyrus1235 - If it's getting a new update, that's probably why they're cueing up their rage. Anything that's likely to make headlines, the outrage sphere will find a way to be angry about it, so they can piggyback off the attention and grow their audience. They very rarely get outraged about anything obscure.

[@cookies23z]

Honestly the best one, some people would put in what they genuinely want, and some people who would find it entertaining will put fuck/head or something like that and have a laugh Tbf, modern "gamers"TM would be appalled that they have to type in he/him/his or whatever because their brains are deficient on a metaphysical level

[@fazed8897]

Your husband going off about dragon age hits so hard as a dragon age fan That game has always been so gay idk how they managed to miss it most romanceble male characters in my mind make it pretty damn clear

[@jameselric1910]

Still thinking about how obsessively "The Gamers TM" were talking about Stellar Blade and showing videos of the main character's ass and going on about it being anti-woke, yet for a decent time one of the few people in the world to actually complete the game 100 percent with a platinum trophy was a Trans gamer (The Sphere Hunter). Like if you needed any proof that "The Gamers TM" are just posers then here it is.

[@tiraXpyrrha]

Wait, Suzie's trans? Huh, the more you know.

[@FelisImpurrator]

​@@tiraXpyrrhaI thought the same thing, lmao.

[@FelisImpurrator]

@OP: That's not even mentioning the fact that the devs of Stellar Blade are basically crypto-feminists whose entire schtick with Nikke is selling feminist narratives in the notoriously misogynistic environment of South Korea by disguising it with busty coomer bait. I mean, and they probably just also like big tiddy gfs - something I'm sure the lesbian population of South Korea appreciates.

[@rudeboyjohn3483]

I did not know that. Nifty

[@ExtremeWreck]

OOHHHHHHHHH THE IRONY

[@Peasham]

I like how all DEI departments in studios (and otherwise) actually do is enable the company to keep being racist but just make sure they aren't sued for it. Like, they don't actually do anything positive or progressive, their function is the opposite of that, yet still the people that should cheer on such a function being filled (not that it's a good thing to cheer on, obviously) hate it because it has "diversity" and "inclusion" in its name.

[@FTZPLTC]

That was always the joke about "political correctness", wasn't it - that it gave racists a list of words to avoid so that they could carry on being racist without it being obvious enough for white people to notice.

[@LermaBean]

They seem to short circuit at the notion of these things because it's the things that they're programed to despise.

[@Peasham]

@@LermaBean It's true

[@xan42O]

HR be like:

[@GrahamChapman]

It's almost like corporate-mandated DEI is intentionally designed to undermine progressive leftist values by making diversity and inclusion seem like issues or something. It's better for free market capitalism and corporatism if they can mistreat people with zero regards for morals or ethics and can ignore the agenda to build a better tomorrow.

[@Suzaku4489]

Anytime I see those "Is this game woke?" threads in Steam, I just answer 'yes' regardless. If a game being "un-woke" is the only way for you to enjoy it, then I'm afraid you can no longer play any games. And that was your decision. You have decided that you are no longer allowed to have fun.

[@for-lc6rj]

I saw that for Farming Simulator & warned everyone that there are mods where you can chose pink as a color option for your vehicles... woke af !!!!!!

[@JamesP44]

Well look at Wukong, the devs didn't care about ticking diversity boxes or any other bs boxes like most game devs today, no stupid politics involved or pushing ridiculous self obsessed agendas, they simply focused on the game and the story. That's it and look how good it is and how successful it is. No pressure but of course out of the woodwork you get self obsessed feminists who call themselves game journalists and other self obsessed children who criticise the game, give it negative reviews just because they're aren't enough characters of their own gender. Not enough females so they cry because the world doesn't revolve around their little world you know. Me me me. I'm all for diversity and inclusion but not forced but rather done organically. Making the game right should come first whether it ends up being diverse enough or not so be it or the game is too diverse, so be it as long as passion into the game is all that matters and zero politics and agendas played no part.

[@zorastin]

All these comments are so dumb and so dishonest. We don't care if a game has a woman,black person or gay person. What we don't like is lame as fuck writing that 9 times out of ten accompanies the said DEI Inclusion it's so lame and so boring..just give us good writing and good games back..there is so much dishonesty and cope in both Steph's video and the comment section. Male gamers which does make up the overwhelming majority of gamers, console and pc. The vast majority are just sick of being told of in games and media..video games are an escape and most people's lives are hard. Shame to see Steph put out such an out of touch video.

[@kanjonojigoku8644]

​@@zorastin1. gamers call games woke and dei even if it has good writing and gameplay, look at Hades, new Lara croft games, horizon zero, last of us etc. They don't care they're just mad it's gay. 2. Games aren't an escape only for you, they're also an escape for women, minorities and gay people, they want a game where they can see themselves as heroes and friends and allies, not villains like in the past, complaining about their inclusion is just bigoted....

[@for-lc6rj]

@@kanjonojigoku8644 zorastin wants a safespace... what a snowflake.....

[@EmperorKagato]

I think the mere fact that Baldur's Gate 3 winning last years game awards and Hogwarts not being nominated has broken so many people's brains they think that diversity is just a fad and not a necessity.

[@archmagusofevil]

Them: I can't believe they put the gays into Dragon Age My playthrough of the very first Dragon Age game: Female warden has romance with Leliana

[@aimeeg4809]

My first DA game was II (I went back and played Origins and Awakening afterwards, don't worry) and romancing Isabella as a female Hawke was the final nail in the coffin of realising I'm bi 😂

[@bayouboigaming]

The whole "Morrigan is ugly" quote reminds me of how people reacted when Nicole in the Dead Space Remake actually looked like her age (~40). I think the exact words I saw were somewhere along the lines of "she used to be breedable"... fuck's sake.

[@belias360]

"Women are not supposed to age in video games?" Did they forget she had her mother in multiple games, not to mention other prominent older characters, like Wynne? "Woke" devs aren't the issue. It has always been the fault of devs who think it's fine for male characters to have a literally infinite age range, while prominent female characters are only ever allowed to be like, 12-30, and 30 is rare.

[@FractalShoggoth]

The Morrigan aged comment reads like parody to me, but it's hard to tell anymore. :/

[@christiandauz3742]

Genshin Impact somewhat solved this by having immortal characters Ganyu is over two thousand years old

[@CaptainZlex]

They’re not outrage tourists because they choose to have many lives, but because they choose to have none.

[@TheDelinear]

That claim was just wild. I also got into gaming for the opportunity to experience many lives, and I do that by immersing myself in as many diverse worlds as possible. What's the point living a thousand lives if they're all basically the same as your real life with some changes to the set-dressing?

[@wudly9195]

Customers expressing how they don’t want something in the products they buy 😮 how dare they . Why does it bother you so much ??

[@Slann88]

@@wudly9195cry more

[@spinosaurusstriker]

​@@Slann88Bro the only one crying is jim making a half an hour video about it.

[@Slann88]

@@spinosaurusstriker cry more salt shaker. Your boy tears are delicious

[@barleysixseventwo6665]

“Mortality is woke” Sounds like something a Necron would say before stepping into the de-soulifier

[@Nintentheheartless]

A simple rewording of the classic, eternal wisdom: "Remember son, dying is gay."

[@washboard7793]

Tbh I’m surprised they play a game with “black” in the title…

[@Poever]

“White Ops 6” wouldn’t catch on

[@GibusWearingMann]

I'm surprised they play a game that appears to be about Asians!

[@micheljavert5923]

It’s even more suspect, given how aggressively they dislike China and Chinese culture.

[@FelisImpurrator]

​@@micheljavert5923They can't decide whether China is evil scary bad or a bastion of anti-woke conservative values or something. It's hilarious. Same people will screech about Epic Games Store being spyware or something.

[@LON009]

Now I wonder which sold better, Pokemon Black or White?

[@Myrea_Rend]

Oh thank God (for You), I was starting to worry something had happened to you when your video didn't show up this morning!

[@Timmzy27]

I'm bored of the people who spout "Blah blah blah, WOKE! Blah blah blah Forced Diverity, Blah blah blah", if everything is woke... then nothing is woke. quit your yapping and just either play the game, or don't.

[@whitewall2253]

When people ask if a game is DEI i just tell them it is. I dont actually check, i just lie to them and say it is so they dont play the game.

[@DionPanday]

You should do the same for Assasins creed shadows and Dragon age veilguard

[@Barrobroadcastmaster]

That doesn't sound like it actually happens.

[@clintriggen3554]

@@Barrobroadcastmaster I mean there are entire Steam forums that do this thing or something very similar.

[@Barrobroadcastmaster]

@@clintriggen3554 Yeah but some person just asking a friend "Yo dude, does this have DEI in it?" doesn't sound real. The Steam forum, that's a good thing, helps people know what they're getting into.

[@rajamicitrenti1374]

Dragon Age is a franchise where the very first game had 4 romance options: hetero male, hetero female, bi/pan male, and bi/pan female. It's been queer from the beginning.

[@MrYago-xd7um]

Also some of the NPC quest givers weren't binary.

[@nuclearalchemy9220]

In Dragon Age 2 you had to pay extra for the heterosexual companion!

[@eileen1020]

The first game also has a DLC companion who says, and I quote, "I have no gender"

[@ConnorLonergan]

@@eileen1020 Which one was that? I genuinly do not know becuase my mind goes to The Lost Prince DLC from DA2 but I know that is not who you mean

[@rajamicitrenti1374]

@@ConnorLonergan Pretty sure they are talking about Shale.

[@cliftonchurch6039]

The wild thing is that all of this media that is unentertaining is because the white male CEO's who don't have access to LGBTQIA or black community members are making decisions to make these communities happy, and are therefore missing the mark with everyone. That along with "everything for everyone" game design makes bad entertainment for nobody. I don't believe the absurdity of their claims that the DEI focus is the issue, but the fact that the C-suite doesn't listen to their DEI hires about what these niche gaming communities want from their games.

[@keiyakins]

holy fuck if morrigan is ugly there, gazing upon me must be like peeking into the ark of the covenant

[@carlpotter1926]

That tune at 24:50? It was by Eurythmics, not Erasure. Probably not the most pressing issue presented in the video but, God dammit, it's the one that made my teeth itch by the sheer inescapable NEED to correct it. And now I have....mmm, like sliding into a warm bath. Great vid BTW x

[@the4thviewer28]

Spent 10 minutes looking through posts to make sure anyone else had mentioned this so I think it’s a fairly pressing issue

[@snackplaylove]

Same. I suspect deliberately done. JSS better not be dissing Andy & Vince…

[@carlpotter1926]

@@snackplaylove Nah, I think he's a pretty big fan of Erasure. Let's be honest, dissing Vince Clark(e)? Is basically dissing the entirety of 80's synth music, cos that dude was EVERYWHERE. And I reckon JSS is quite into Clarke's Canon (not a euphemism)

[@RoonMian]

@@carlpotter1926 Considering that they used to use Chains of Love as their go to for "content claim deadlock" it's obvious they love Erasure and just had a brain fart. Happens to the best of us.

[@benburke3015]

I saw a tweet where someone described Black Myth Wukong as an "adult dark souls" and calling it "this generation's Ocarina of Time", so even when champions of the game aren't ranting about pronouns or whatever, they're still talking about the game with the weirdest hot takes.

[@DragonNexus]

That one was so bizarre I had to check AI didn't write it.

[@LckeStudios]

me sipping my orange juice and wearing my little propeller beanie in Anor Londo:

[@clintriggen3554]

@@LckeStudios NOOOOO LITTLE JIM JIM!! THE ARCHERS!!!!

[@stefanradebach2889]

Ah yes because "Dark Souls" CLEARLY was a game aimed with children in mind.

[@MarcusTrinnias]

Regarding the whole Nudity thing: I... actually find people in skimpy clothing to be, a lot of times, more attractive than outright nudity? Something something imagination, something? Edit: ALSO YO NOT COOL, THE CACODEMON DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE LINKED TO ONLINE CHOWDERHEADS. Leave my precious squishy cyclops ball alone! :(

[@Copperkaiju]

Clothing also expresses personality while accentuating the curvy bits. 😉

[@crestren5996]

Its the rule of "Less is more". Mithra from Xenoblade 2 showed less skin in her Smash debut and everyone loved it and found her hotter there.

[@Mike_Oxlong07]

I mean as long as it appeals to you oh arbiter of videogame nudity it must be the way it was ordained to be

[@DragonNexus]

Ive seen it so often these days. People rocking up to complain about something the series has always had. I remember around March time we had something like 5 controversies in a month. Stellar Blade was one, and Hades 2 was another, but I honestly forget the others because they barely lasted a week. Complaining about all this stuff while showing their ass that they know nothing about the thing they're talking about And I hit that revelation. And I realised there's no point arguing. Because gaming isn't their hobby, arguing culture war bullshit is their hobby. They soon get bored of one problem and move on to the next.

[@kent5627]

Whoever chose to include a screenshot of Sean Astin and David Jason playing Two Flower and Rincewind, respectively, in the hit 2008 fantasy-comedy TV movie _Terry Pratchett’s Colour of Magic_ , starring Stephen Marcus and Nigel Planer, adapted from Terry Pratchett’s hit 1983 and 1986 fantasy-comedy Discworld novels _Colour of Magic_ and _The Light Fantastic_ , respectively, deserves a kiss on the mouth, from me, right now.

[@ADukesJustice]

"Create original diverse characters, don't race swap" *Devs create original diverse characters* "This game is woke!"

[@scatz4569]

Devs make shit game rooted in minority ideology instead of entertaining product "this games woke!" FTFY

[@superspecky4eyes]

Have you seen the character designs in Concord though? They manage to be over designed and bland at the same time. Awful.

[@theblackbaron4119]

If the characters look like a Tumblr OC from a 14 year old overweight child. Then maybe you failed design class.

[@MagnitudePerson]

@@superspecky4eyes Ah, so thats the new excuse for your hate. I see

[@MagnitudePerson]

@@theblackbaron4119 Ever seen weird ass animes before? Designs get really weird... And weird isn't really a bad thing either

[@jamesvance1367]

Steph posts videos and I'm here. It's as simple as that.

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

We are a simple folk.

[@cursedseagullgames]

There is something weirdly nice just hearing your hubby going off about the state of games. I know it's a bit, but that's a rant I wanna get popcorn and listen to the rest to. There's something just satisfying about hearing someone being right when they rant. Far as wukong goes, I only ever heard that it was an invisible wall hell with as many as there are blocking obvious paths, but that's about it.

[@gamewrit0058]

"Fandom Appropriators" is definitely a more accurate term Stephanie. Well played, Commander. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤

[@gamewrit0058]

24:00 " . . . the pack hunters pretend that they're gamers."

[@morninggoblins]

To accuse a DRAGON AGE game of alienating it's core audience by having LGBTQIA characters is unhinged. Also your husband and I are in the same boat, I am more excited than I should be for the new game

[@legion999]

The core audience would be alienated if the game DIDNT have LGBT characters

[@treasureedison548]

Its not to late to delete this what how this ages poorly

[@morninggoblins]

@@treasureedison548 my partner is a Mass Effect fan AND a Jade Empire fan, I know the risks

[@morthasa]

Thank you for explaining what the acronym DEI ostensibly stands for. It's been immediately associated so closely with complaints by the very worst humanity has to offer that it felt demeaning to Google it.

[@Ramsey276one]

Can't blame you

[@Glasgowliam]

The funniest one I saw recently: There was a video of where part of the fuselage fell off a plane during the flight. I simply commented "I hope everyone is ok and I hope the airline will face penalties for the negligence that led to this." The "gamer" in question then replies: "For god sake, no one died, and the plane landed safely. Stop being so damn woke!" So apparently it's now "woke" to expect my plane not to fall apart in mid-air while I'm on it.

[@DionPanday]

Apperantly you’re a gamer now if you’re replying to someone

[@Glasgowliam]

@@DionPanday well, the guy's profile pic was from Stellar Blade, and his feed was full of rants about "the woke left ruining games". So, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

[@DionPanday]

@@Glasgowliam If it looks like a man and talks like a man. Oof not very progressive of you is it?

[@DionPanday]

@@Glasgowliam if it looks like a man and talks like a man right?

[@lifesymbiont5769]

I was once called a "snowflake" for criticizing someone who said a lot of anti-Semitic slurs. yea. it's sad.

[@Antireality]

Is it wrong that I'm annoyed that nothing I've worked on is on the DEIDetected list?

[@ThatMetalheadMan]

10:45 if thats how Morrigan is gonna look, I am on board. She looks hotter than ever to me. Especially if still accompanied by the perfect voice of Claudia Black. I would riot if its not.

[@nopantzownz2347]

Yeah, I looked it up before she came on screen in the video and I am baffled.

[@onlywithbuts1781]

"Woke mean no buy" they actually sound like ogres. " Me no like game, me complain, ogre mad! "

[@autobotstarscream765]

Nah, ogres are like onions, they have layers, whereas these guys are one-note like zombies.

[@stanknight9159]

Everyone: This game is boring and dull You: You just hate it cause it is DEI. No one when scrolling through games cares about DEI. They care about a good game worth their time. Developers job to create one and market it. A bad game is a bad game... You want a DEI game to succeed -- Then actually buy it and support it yourself. Until then I am sure the studio appreciates you cheering it on, with words lol.

[@tilervonbiscuitbrown4393]

@@stanknight9159 get outta here you clever ogre you

[@scatz4569]

Lol shit games are shit, DEI or not. It's irrelevant when the game sucks...

[@joa1401]

@@stanknight9159what does DEI mean, in this context? like actually, what’s the difference between a DEI game and a non-DEI game? what’s the distinction? Is it just the presence of a character who isn’t straight? is it when the ratio of non-white people to white people exceeds a certain amount? is a game having a narrative that dares to look at what it is like to live as someone outside the majority? is Half Life 2 DEI? think about it: it’s got a mixed race female companion, who is portrayed as a smart, independent tomboy who can handle herself. she wears very sensible, unrevealing clothing (in fact, the developers originally envisioned her in a skintight jumpsuit with the zipper halfway down but later decided against it). all of the other female characters are fully clothed, very plain looking, and seem to be a variety of ethnicities. the female rebels are equally capable as the male rebels and do the same dangerous, physically demanding tasks. you’ve got diversity, equity and inclusion here. is Half Life 2 woke? should we boycott this game from 2004, for forcing diversity on us? i don’t feel any particular way about a game being ‘DEI’ because that label, when used as a pejorative, seems to be utterly arbitrary. a term that may as well mean ‘the game developers seem to care about players who aren’t me! help, i’m being replaced!’. you’re not being replaced, you’re just not the centre of the entire universe.

[@savantGK3]

"They play games at other people" is such a perfect way to describe these people. Very well written piece, as always Steph.

[@lizb7271]

5:49 Dragon Age has a long history of erasing straight people. I played Origins and it turned me into a trans lesbian. Will this assault on straight men never end?

[@simplesimonhadapie]

My playstation three disc came out and ate my willy

[@michimatsch5862]

Do you still have the disc? I could use that. That waiting list is looking rather long...

[@lizb7271]

@@michimatsch5862 Lol, no, I played it on Steam when I was in university. Unfortunately, Dragon Age just encouraged me to be on a waiting list. I have been waiting since August 2019 and haven't had a first appointment yet.

[@antoniusweezel876]

A little microdrama in the roguelike space literally just happened recently over this, soulash 2 developer went whacky after someone politely asked them to add same sex marriage to the marriage system and started comparing queer people to nazis and posting polish nationalism for... some reason.

[@Gulyus]

Nationalist parties are rising in eastern Europe, particularly Germany and Poland. And by that I mean "Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party" if you catch my drift, political descendants of the WWII party.

[@MrYago-xd7um]

Honestly wouldn't surprise me if he went off cause that nets more tourist sales.

[@Ramsey276one]

Everyone overreacting in Current Year, it seems ABOUT ANYTHING...

[@davidmurray3542]

Oh, that's depressing... I quite enjoyed that game.

[@legion999]

So a pseudo-fascist calls past nazi victims nazis? No self-awareness

[@Katy133]

The "fandom appropriation" term reminds me of a moment where I saw a bunch of KZbin recommendations for videos of people complaining that the main character of Solar Opposites (Korvo) was replaced by voice actor Dan Stevens (after the previous VA was fired after allegations that he was doing harm to the workplace). These KZbinrs were complaining that the new voice make Korvo British instead of American and that it "ruined" his character. As a member of the Solar Opposites fandom, I called nonsense on this. Throughout the series, Korvo is the alien in the family that likes Brit stereotypes (drinking tea/drinks out of a tea mug), wanted to go the London for a family vacation, likes American actors who play British characters (John Lithgow) despite being the alien that took longest to climatise to human pop culture, and whenever he hides behind a door and tries to pretend to be another person tries to put on a British accent. Another fan pointed out that Korvo is canonically a coloniser, as his original mission was to take over and terraform the Earth. Another fan described it as Korvo secretly "having a British soul". The Dan Stevens recast felt like a natural progression of his character and even had an in-universe explanation (his throat got injured and his vocal chords needed to be replaced through sci-fi tech). This makes me believe that these people complaining about it were just upset that a creator had faced consequences for allegedly making the workplace more difficult and unsafe for the artists, instead of letting him do whatever and keeping the status quo.

[@itsStephJM]

god i just saw this comment and its so true! i saw people bitching about Korvo’s new voice, and after watching it myself it made so much sense.

[@lukemccann8930]

It's weird they don't remember that Morrigan dressed the way she did to take advantage of the pathetic predictability of weak willed men...

[@GM_MorganV]

Complaining about forced diversity is just forced adversity.

[@anonimo6603]

So is complaining about discrimination a form of discrimination? :|

[@MediaMushroom]

@@anonimo6603 your logic doesn't follow, they said 'complaining about position X is taking position Y' and you asked if 'complaining about position A is taking position A'.

[@xehP]

@@anonimo6603 smartest "ally"

[@anonimo6603]

@@MediaMushroom Maybe I am wrong, but I interpret “complaining about forced diversity” as adversity.

[@cumibakar10]

Fabricating other cultures' ancient history with forced "diversity" and race swapping and other woke nonsense is CULTURAL INVASION. This video wants to pretend it's just "fake gamers" and "right wingers" but look at games rejecting forced woke SBI consulting (Wukong, First Descendant, 10 million players in 3 days) vs woke games (Dustborn & Concord with 70 players and 2000 players respectively 😂😂). NOBODY wants woke games pushing your political agenda down their throats!

[@JoeCool7835]

The only time I have a problem with characters from marginalized communities (in any form of media) is when the marginalized status is either the character's only identifiable trait or it's the only thing anyone talks about. I'm talking the token black, token Asian, token gay, etc. Reducing characters to that is not only offensive to those communities, one-dimensional characters are just boring.

[@belias360]

And that's actually totally legit, since many people from those same communities were the first to call that out. Unfortunately, that's not what the anti-woke brigade means.

[@albert2006xp]

Unfortunately even if you think you're making a sane point there, it's best to drop it before the anti-woke cockroaches try to hide behind it. A lot of them love to legitimize and make their bigotry more presentable by trying to make it about points like that. They'll use it regardless if that applies to that character or not just to make their points more presentable to normal people that might be influenced to take that first step.

[@UberNoodle]

Have you considered that whether you think it is tokenistic could also just be your projection onto it? Some reflection could help here.

[@gabagandalfoftheweed]

@@UberNoodle Maybe take into account that "checking enough boxes" makes you eligible for subsidiaries in countries like Canada and Norway. Corpos don't decide to represent marginalized people out of the goodness of their hearts or because those underrepresented people are such a huge untapped market. They can get free money just for "promoting diversity"

[@Peasham]

You say that, yet I've never actually been given a modern example of something like that.

[@saintrocketIX]

I watched some dope rail on Concord about their "DEI character design" earlier. They also complained that some of the devs were former Bungie devs, and was bothered by their support for LGBTQIA+ and Ukraine. The whole time I'm thinking, "the entire game is a trainwreck, and THIS is what you're whining about?"

[@Arrakiz666]

Right? Like, do that think that if Concord looked like Call of Duty but was otherwise functionally identical, that it would have been successful??

[@albert2006xp]

It's so funny how they dug that game out of the trash and try to make it relevant. As if any of them care about it for anything but to try to use it for their own grift.

[@stanknight9159]

Concord had maybe 85 people playing it? Worse than Gollum lol. So how well exactly did "DEI" work out for them. Make a product people want then they will buy it. DEI is code for hiring shallow people who produce shallow and lazy products cause they have no real talent; But will complain when it fails cause it was obviously due to DEI not because the game sucks. I don't need to give money to every game and it is on them to make one that I want to play.

[@Arrakiz666]

@@stanknight9159 Beautifully missed the point, never change, tourists. With those numbers, do you really think this unhinged notion of “DEI” was the problem?

[@stanknight9159]

@@Arrakiz666 Absolutely. Cause a company then is forced to hire based on sex, race and diversity instead of having talent. So then they develop a product that is trash. No one can say the game is trash and people are expected to pretend cause these people cannot handle their emotions and 'worked hard' on it. So that product and the company fail cause people buy quality and not crap, just cause it was worked on by a human being. When you are competing with 1000 other games then you might want to hire people who have skill and not just cause they have purple hair.

[@RXdash78]

I mean they have been trying to do this with every major release. They tried to claim Space marine 2 was going to be bad because it was written by a trans woman. Then it rocked everyone's tits off and now they are trying to take credit. The dragon age thing is funny because EVERY TIME they try to explain away their bigotry it reveals they know nothing about dragon age. "Where are the white men?" Game is set in northern thedas which is based on the mediterranean. Most of the POC from the games have come from the region. ""Why are there top scars in a setting with magic" because anything that could change your body like that would be blood magic which is SUPER illegal. Also anyone from a nation outside tevinter would not have had access to easy magic since most mages were cloistered in the circles. "Why can't they just use a potion?" Not how potions work in dragon age. Hell in the first two games they didn't even heal wounds. They were more like energy drinks. You have a whole seperate item to close wounds and set broken bones. They keep trying to apply generic fantasy rules to dragon age to explain away why some progressive element or another doesn't work and here keeps being mountains of lore epxlaining otherwise going back to 2009.

[@charlieni645]

Morrigan still looks fuckijg great, also she's 40 by now

[@janpesek4862]

Wukong is good game. Steam forums are flooded with stupid shit posts about woke or DEI topics. It is very clear people posting those topics have not played the game, they just copy & paste same stupid shit in each popular game forums.

[@maninthemists2299]

They're basically farming Steam points from the clown reactions they're hoping for.

[@fuwayuu]

wukong might be a good game but the devs are awful. literally said they didn't want women to play the game.

[@AgentofChaos315]

Reminder that out of the 5 romance options in Dragon Age II, 4 of them were bisexual and the 5th was a DLC companion DA has always been gay

[@armelior4610]

To be fair people are often PC-sexual in Bioware games rather than gay or bi... but at least that way everyone is happy right ? (not alt) Right ?

[@koshetz]

​@@armelior4610 no they are bisexual, stop being biphobic.

[@Ammy-q4w]

@@armelior4610 The term is bisexual. Playersexual is a biphobic term. Do not use it; it makes you look like a bigot.

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

And even then Sebastian wants an entirely sexless marriage, and will break up with Hawke if she doesn't honor that. It's a religious celibacy thing for him, but especially these days where acephobia is so rampant, that is definitely a kind of queer relationship.

[@Macaulyn_97]

12:39 You're so perfect for this.

[@nightSean]

*Black person in a game simply existing * The "Gamers tm" : "UGH I'm tired of all this WOKENESS"

[@TheAxeLordOfFire]

They want to say the N-word, they just know they can't because they'd get rightfully beaten up for it. Bigots don't just want to be cruel to others, they want to be rewarded for it.

[@cumibakar10]

Fabricating other cultures' ancient history to insert black people and other woke garbage is cultural invasion.

[@CteCrassus]

Well, there are two races: White and Political.

[@hazukichanx408]

I know, right? How dare these people be alive and have the amount of melanin in their skin that they do! It makes me so maaaad! Oh I just want to go and cry in a corner about how terribly woke this world is, because _that's_ what everyone needs to be upset about. Not it rapidly turning into a global oven that is in many places literally _on fire,_ or anything. Or the fact we still let the pricks who are doing that to the world run everything, because of bits of paper and a set of rules _they_ regularly break.

[@mrromanow3123]

@@nightSean Exactly! Anything besides white is instantly woke now I guess

[@SquipperPines]

Don't forget that Bioware gave us the first canon queer Star Wars character in Knights of the Old Republic. They've been "woke" since day one.

[@chloetherainbowqueen3025]

Juhani for the win!🎉

[@KatzDawn]

was that canon? I thought lucasarts made them dummy that out of the release or something

[@SquipperPines]

@@KatzDawn i think early versions let male characters also romance Juhani due to a glitch, but girls could always romance her. Also her relationship with her female jedi master was pretty explicitly romantic

[@autobotstarscream765]

​@@KatzDawnNo, the dummies at Disney dummied the whole game out of canon later on. 🤦‍♂️

[@buzzbeeaker2592]

Glad to see you covering this topic.

[@thadandyman]

I just wanted to say the "outrage chorus" dialogue around the Acolyte cancellation, Concord flopping, and how "forced DEI" has become the big dog whistle for racist/ sexist/ homophobic slander, has been quite tiring the past few weeks. Watching your video was a nice recharge and reminder that others find them ridiculous, so thanks for this video. :) Much appreciated.

[@Maddness101]

Mass Effect Andromeda has an even more minor character that was trans too, as always the ‘solution’ to this being ‘forced’ was to remove the mention of them being trans, not to expand the characters role.

[@shadram_nz]

I don't understand the Dragon Age outrage, I've been gay-sexing my way through Dragon Age games since Origins in 2009...

[@omnipenne9101]

It's like they never even played/finished the first game.

[@ArtThingies]

Didn't BioWare have one of the first on-screen lesbian kisses in mainstream gaming? Or.... they did KotOR, right?

[@kyleshape8645]

They're mad that they keep losing. It's barely disguised contempt. L after L after L they took IRL because they are too rotten to be liked by people outside of a carefully cultivated on-line conservative hug box. No games, no bitches. All they can do is mald.

[@DmonHiro]

Dustborn and Concord failed miserably, but not because of "woke". Why is that so hard to grasp?

[@Gulyus]

Because they don't *actually* think that, they just want a bullet for their culture war. They can't find any of their own, so they need to manufacture it...

[@albert2006xp]

Because they're not looking to grasp it, they're digging in the trash for bad games that are also "woke" to try to use them to justify "cleansing" the industry of minorities. Basically threatening devs like "see what happens if you have minorities in your games, see? don't you do that or else!". They completely ignore any successful progressive games of course because those don't help the grift.

[@MrYago-xd7um]

Cause blaming game mechanics and rich men in leadership positions takes effort. -for them-

[@albert2006xp]

Because grasping it isn't the point, the point is to use them to try to convince developers to "cleanse" the gaming industry of diversity. They are just rummaging through the gaming failures looking for anything they can use.

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

You talk as if being identity obessed and being good at creating are entirely separate traits.

[@Macrochenia]

Anyone complaining that a Dragon Age game is going "woke" is only proving that they've never played a Bioware title since 1999.

[@FiendMatadorSlayerOfNoobs]

This also applies to Larian games. Weirdos saying Larian was 'forced' to be "woke" and meanwhile I play Dragon Commander from 2013 and legalize gay marriage. And that's just from a decade ago.

[@shmekelfreckles8157]

@@Macrochenia there was no DEI in 1999 so nothing to complain about

[@Macrochenia]

@@shmekelfreckles8157 In the 90s it was called "affirmative action" or "political correctness" and there was just as much complaining about it as there is now. The difference is that 1999 was the last time that Bioware released a game that wasn't "woke" or "DEI" or "politically correct."

[@shmekelfreckles8157]

@@Macrochenia what political correctness have to do with Bioware games? Videogames never had to deal with this. And yes, of course political correctness was cancer. Another reason to fight it’s new form even harder.

[@brittanybecker170]

Dragon Age had same sex marriage/sex for decades. Like, I just asked my spouse when they remembered that starting and its been before we were married and its been 15 years this Oct.

[@nicolekrueger6429]

I've been in the Veilguard steam forums since its announcement and it is. so. bad over there. So many threads complaining about black elves, or asian elves, or old guys, or the trans game director, or the pansexual companions, or just the color purple.

[@legion999]

Now they hate old white guys too? Also why do these assume elves can only be white? Have they never played Warcraft? Or seen a drow?

[@desertmammoth3159]

To be fair purple is a weak chinned colour.

[@chizzicle]

The most bizarre steam curator page I found one time was this one where the guy just ranked games good or bad based on if they are pushing "DEI agenda" and it didn't even matter if the game was released yet, if any games from the devs in the past had elements this person considered forced diversity, then this upcoming game, which me occasionally only had no info beyond title and genre, was deemed bad, waste of money, because DEI.

[@aBeerFromHere7994]

15:01 It has all 7 kinds of the pronouns. Demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, interrogative pronouns, relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns. And the scaries of them all: Personal pronouns

[@Oneiroclast]

That gives me an idea: a game with "pronouns: on/off" in the settings as bait for capital-G Gamers, but if press, does what says, dialogue becomes like.

[@youmukonpaku3168]

@@Oneiroclast as a tabletop game author I'm seriously tempted to go find and replace one of my works to make the Pronoun Free Edition following this rule, and see if we still get called woke. They might completely miss the communist setting without it.

[@grammarmaid]

This comment wins the Grammar Maid Comment of the Unspecified Time Period Award. Congratulations!

[@ApostleOfZeus199]

​@@OneiroclastRight and are any of the Gamers in the room with you now? Hahaha. Sorry to break it to you, but gamers decide what the industry wants/needs, not tourists.

[@Ixiah27]

@@ApostleOfZeus199 Then i guess they want Palworld, Wu Kong, Armored Core VI and not trash like Concord or Dustborn. I hope Game Dev hear that message loud and clear.

[@ChristopherHallett]

22:50 is that a Blahaj wrapped in razor wire?!? Fuck I love pro wrasslin'.

[@Bearyboo87]

I watched some of the stuff from gamescon and was momentarily delighteded to find that In the upcoming monster hunter male and female outfits wont be gender locked, kinda weird they ever were. Then came the crushing realisation that I'm again going to have to argue with idiots over something that shouldn't even affect them.