We HAVE to Address the Elephant in the Room

[@justinm4497]

Yasuke, greatest assassin ever, took out an entire gaming company.

[@CrextComic]

You're quite the assassin yourself, you almost killed me from lack of breathing (laughing too much), and you're not even in poke distance!

[@johncrichton8876]

Because an Assasin in the middle east with an Arab name can be white, but if a black dude was a retainer not a samurai it's woke. Also George Washington was a Templar with magic powers. And viking assassins. Viking assassins. Viking assassins. 😂

[@corvancook4249]

​@@johncrichton8876 dude, in every other assassins creed game you play someone of the race/nationality of where the game takes place. The fact you're trying to defend them suddenly breaking that tradition when it comes to the japanese assassin creed game shows you don't understand the series. Are you one of the Investors of ubisoft? Because you seem like you'd be a perfect fit.

[@R2D6_10]

​@johncrichton8876 Thank Alexander the Great.

[@everilliem3292]

Say what you want, but AC shadows actually looks solid.

[@laurafryer6321]

@AsmonTV I enjoyed your review! Your comments about the team were spot on. Even if they agree with his viewpoints, they had no say in whether or not those ideas were made public. Now that they are public, it puts their game and potentially the team at risk. I appreciate your support! Thank you!

[@Raven3557]

Thank you for your video, it's refreshing to see common sense

[@akkizura]

Thanks for the video !

[@josephskinner8030]

Loved your video. I subscribed after watching it. Also, thank you for all you have done! We appreciate all your work!

[@frankfly1368]

Subbed

[@iliilliliiliilliliiliillil9137]

Thanks Laura! Have a good day

[@kamrankazemifar]

She kind of nailed it. The shareholders didn’t like that. But the shareholders aren’t the target audience.

[@Ozzystrayroo]

They aren't, but they are the higher ups preferred customer these days. AAA gaming publisher publish game to please stockholder and stakeholder, the number sales from customer is the side mission. they are also will always has gamerbase that does not asking question and just consume the next product

[@Heruxanakxlonte]

true

[@gamezonereactions8388]

The agenda to push social engineering through propaganda has failed.

[@Thund3rstone]

Of course they are the target audience. Shareholders are the most important target audience for any company listed at the stock exchange. Yes, the customer target audience is absolutely important but if you think shareholders are not important, you really need to brush up on your economic knowledge. Or stick with jobs not in any way connected to stock listed companies. Otherwise you might be in for some nasty surprises. So yes, you need the backing of your CEO, when risks with shareholders need to be managed. What she did.

[@T57Custodian]

The shareholders will remember that.

[@BobbyHiII]

Theres only division in the gaming community because a small minority of people want to completely ruin video games with their cringe ideology.

[@OkieDokieSmokie]

It’s literally their stated goal

[@Underworlddream]

True, I remember when gamer used to unit against enemy of their industry. Now they fight against each other.

[@PedroAugusto-kk3jg]

It has nothing to do with ideology, it has to do with greed, companies set the price high so they can pay shareholders, an iPhone costs less than 300 dollars to produce and is sold for more than a thousand, because a large part of the total value is paid to the shareholders. It works like a tax that everyone pays to the rich. Like Robin Hood in reverse

[@aeolussvichi7680]

It’s not just that, it’s also the profit driven development that works against the community as bad as the politics.

[@skysix5733]

See, and I even might align with some of their beliefs…..but they actively work to make me hate their characters, developers, and studios whose ideology they want to advance.

[@Pers0n97]

I love Laura Fryer. She is a real one, a true professional from the era where the industry was still lead by professionals.

[@moodwalker4149]

Why she bad tho?

[@cooliostarstache5474]

​@@moodwalker4149 🤨

[@moodwalker4149]

@@cooliostarstache5474baddie

[@PeferG17]

She speaks like a professional and clearly understand the industry. This about how well constructed and logical her points are vs some of the unhinged people we've seen in the industry lately like that art director at Obsidian

[@juvenileygo]

Wait she isn't an AI?

[@bsavagestudios]

Budweiser should just sell beer, Jaguar should just sell cars, and game developers should just develop games. If you want to get involved in politics go be a politician.

[@Sethir]

But they can't and know they would fail in politics, so they will do it elsewhere

[@aBrownAmerican]

And Here you are having political opinion in a comment section

[@Emanance]

Every generation since millennials has become more atheist over time. People want to belong to a group and politics in the US has replaced what was once religious dogma with ideological dogma.

[@bsavagestudios]

@@aBrownAmerican What about my opinion was political? Please explain.

[@bigfutus]

Yeah and you should stop thinking and just consume product

[@mandalore41]

This woman is proof that women in gaming isn't the problem, it's activist in gaming that are the problem

[@jonathanr9619]

This!! Absolutely!

[@thisbubblygoodness7611]

Agreed, Whoever thinks that women are just automatically the problem needs to get their heads examined, you can’t control who buys and plays games, but you can call out when there’s blatant ideologies being forced down our throats, you don’t need to be a woman to do that, as we’ve all seen

[@chiquita683]

Its a bit weird this woman is trying to woman-xplain gaming to us. She clearly never even played games. What is her WoW rank?

[@DavidLymanjr]

She's is also the part of the problem her never ending need to baby everything and toxic empathy is worse then anything

[@SilversTaurus]

Well majority of them are so

[@ZYNeel]

My mom was upset because the school I went to made me turn my shirt inside out because it said hell on it. It was a Nike shirt too. It said run like hell. She called to principal and complained about free speech. The principal said it was an obscenity, and my mom told him it's literally in the bible, we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird and she also pointed out we were reading a book that discusses rape, and if we were old enough to comprehend that then the word hell shouldn't be offensive enough to warrant the response. They didn't ban the book, and they never made me turn my shirt inside out again. Good ole 1996.

[@Fickets]

Back in high school they made my friend change his shirt because it had swords on it. The funny part is that the shirt was a spoof of the Oakland Raiders logo. This was ~2013.

[@headkicked]

Ok, but the words that are allowed in a book are set to a different standard than dress code, so arguing that the r word is in a book is not a good argument when you know you wouldn't let your kid wear a shirt that said "rape" on it. However, I agree that "hell" is a weird place to draw the line for dress code. I experienced something similar back when I was in HS in the 90's. I had a Rage Against the Machine shirt that depicted nuns carrying guns. I was told to cover it up or go home and change clothes.

[@aosabi]

at my school we had gang members who were allowed to wear their gang insignia that was plan as day. blue shirt that says "13rown Pride" the 13 in reference to la eme, the mexican mafia. the surenos. so, I had a friend who came to shirt with a custom printed shirt that just said "white pride". he made it about 20 minutes into the day before he was expelled from that school...

[@MokuTom]

did you mean 1984...

[@meritbrevity]

Complaining about having to turn your shirt inside out. Poor baby

[@AlexanderMartinez-kd7cz]

TLDR, the PR and HR departments have always been ass.

[@kevinpankanin6222]

Useless

[@phantomtec]

"they" or "those people" don't even know what GG actually means. Good gaming ya'll. Peace BTW Asmon's chance to shine here, as the Lady Fryer be much to classy. So,...Zack your up!!!

[@genevievec.8002]

So true. I've never even seen an HR company effectively do what they are supposed to. Seems like HR comes in 2 varieties: completely useless or hardcore. They either do nothing to prevent even the most toxic of environments or they enforce their rules aggressively, creating a sterile environment. Both suck.

[@BlueBD]

@@genevievec.8002 Depends on who you are friends with. Friends with HR, you get the Hardcore. If your not you get the rod.

[@adzuadzu1748]

Always, not just in game development.

[@Randhrick]

I've been saying this for more than 15 years now: Gaming has gotten way too popular. It's now used to push people's agendas and twisted personal views and ideals. Now, most games are made without love and a soul, and the ones that are, well, are easily noticed, and we still talk about them years after their release.

[@Toshiboyai]

So true, as a 31 year old Man who was an antisocial weirdo in middle school , I miss the old fantasy games with big booba demon bitches and masculine bloody warriors fucking up demons , hardcore authentic fantasy rpg gaming that I used to escape reality. Now we have tourists thinking dragon age veilguard is GOTY

[@itsreallyhardtospell]

@@Toshiboyai wait you didnt want reality in your fantasy game? oooo theyre gonna call you the b word lol

[@maskettaman1488]

Gatekeeping is a good thing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise

[@Jaded_Jester]

They figured it out. The gaming industry is more lucrative than the movie industry.

[@vcrbetamax]

Actually most games *are* made with love and soul. Indie produces more than triple A. Most means majority.

[@Rockstar-bq5fm]

Laura Fryer is a great listen, really intelligent woman who’s seen it all

[@DanielTuck-uh4jd]

She may know exactly what she’s talking about, but listening to her for even 40 seconds is extremely painful and difficult

[@RuijsNL]

Totally agree!

[@Judeko]

21:40 "Pronouns belong in fantasy games because they are you know....fantasy." Absolute gold of a comment. lol

[@colinsmith9023]

Fatality.

[@medgrip87]

Rewind to hear again lol

[@colinsmith9023]

@@Judeko one might even say, an asmongold of a comment ;-)

[@fortant691]

Cerifiable Linus Hard R moment

[@HWY.Bandoe]

Ban him lmao

[@thui8398]

2015: making fun of average gamer size 2024: making fun of average developer size

[@WideData-ec3wi]

when you laugh at them, you can call them "woke game developer", stop just saying "game developer", you make it sound like you are looking down on all game dev. Including elden ring developers.

[@gamezonereactions8388]

The social experiment has failed.

[@TubeEamo]

Her talking about execs asking for *soft language* awakened old anger in me. "Don't say kill enemies, say take out targets." It's that disengenous corpo PR speak that just pollutes our language at every turn now.

[@Bassalicious]

inb4 they start launching media hate campaigns at gamers again saying that shooter games foster real world violence..

[@genevievec.8002]

It's not even just corpo. First time I ever learned about dehumanizing people by changing terminology was regarding world war 2 and the tactics of governments to use language that would dehumanize enemy troops so their troops would more easily be able to kill them. Soft language that sanitizes everything, as George Carlin would say.

[@judechauhan6715]

If you type her name in on google the top result is a reddit post of people saying she's become a 'grifter' lol. Then they resort to personal attacks and say "no wonder she is a 'former' producer" as if she's not happily retired after releasing one of the very successful game series' for xbox. Do they know why the thing they are trying to destroy is so big in the first place?

[@BulletSponge71436]

Typical left... The "far" kind. And Reddit is full of them.

[@alarioderpp_control000aa9]

Reddit's been a hellhole even consistently for the past 5 years... Not suprised they always gather there to just assault ppl

[@JujuStreame]

i thought for a second it was going to be a rant about Iron fist

[@Mrlaneck]

I wish. He's such a stupid, easy character. I play Mantis, so he's pretty easy to deal with 8/10 times, but he's still a nuisance.

[@shirouemiya737]

​@@Mrlaneck Iron fist be having a great day then boom. Sleep, freeze, web, exile, stun...

[@bleekeat4964]

Same, he’s my main character…I was hoping it wouldn’t be a rant that got him nerfed. The carrying I do on him is unreal 😂

[@BeardedMugiwara]

​@@bleekeat4964 He won't get nerfed he's low tier

[@Korksbebig]

@@Mrlaneck Mantis is also easy and many claim her to be obnoxious so it's all perspective, all of the characters have some BS but are rather enjoyable and easily dealt with when you play a counter or strat around the pick. How most of these games go anyway lmao, I actually mantis mainly too.

[@catalyst1051]

People need to realize that these people do not view their opinions or views as political. They view them as morally right, as part of a greater, more morally upstanding culture. They feel morally justified in their behavior and support each other in their echo chamber. Those that share the same world-view and culture will support them. A secondary, dual culture is trying to form in the world that is at odds with what we want. What we see as a flawed, hypocritical, irrational mindset is the normal to them, and we are the irrational, hypocritical, flawed culture that they are trying to replace. They genuinely believe that they are the morally right, and more popular view. And the only reason they are not successful is because of a hateful, bigoted, group of a loud minority. They GENUINELY believe this stuff, because they keep telling each other that its true in their echo chamber.

[@CityGamer1337]

Beautifully put, I came to this realization in college. These people genuinely don’t have the ability to go on 3rd, 4th, or 5th order thinking of cause and effect.

[@partyharry7585]

I don't these people will ever take off their sonichu medallion.

[@mattvoelker241]

Its like was said in another video. They've banned everyone who disagrees with them in their spaces, so those people no longer exist; They've been purged from reality. Then they walk outside and find out not only is that person not gone, but there are about 50k more of them just walking around not caring about not being allowed in X or Y space. Because there are other places to have fun, places where you're welcome. Places where two people will call eachother slurs, laugh about it and say "same time tomorrow?" because at the end of the day, its a random person on the internet, and they're just words.

[@whenpigsfly8178]

Not for the first time, of course. They have to be resisted, just like Asmon said in this video. They will try to destroy you if you don't take the initiative.

[@genevievec.8002]

Completely agree. I always find it interesting how people see these things and can't understand. I've seen it the opposite way too, where people would be frustrated that a religious (anti-gay) person wouldn't go to a gay friend's wedding to be supportive even if they disagreed. But from the religious person's perspective, they are encouraging their friend to pursue a lifestyle that could lead them to hell. It's like finding out a friend does heroin and saying you'll support them even if you won't do it yourself. Most people might believe the religious person in that example is extreme or irrational, but it's consistent with their beliefs and expecting them to consider their viewpoint irrational requires they change the baseline of their beliefs. Same with the far left people who believe the personal is political and that every action you take is a direct reflection of your morality and that only one viewpoint on any given topic is moral. You can't ask them to remove that from videogames when their ideology requires that it apply to everything. The ideology itself would have to change or they'd have to remove themselves from that ideology.

[@dg8568]

"Over a tweet?" No. It's over someone who intentionally alienates the audience of the product he's supposed to be pushing. You don't hire someone who will negatively affect your business.

[@tompapps7810]

I’m a doctor, and it’s common for there to be multiple people involved in making a decision for a patients treatment, often time there are disagreements. I assure you though, once the final decision is made (usually by the highest ranking member of the staff) every doctor/nurse falls in line with the treatment. If someone who disagreed went rogue like these game developers it would kill the patient most likely, which is exactly what usually happens to the game…it kills it

[@ZomboidMania]

Thanks for what you do, there's a lot of shitty patients but y'all are appreciated

[@itsreallyhardtospell]

the kicker that always gets me in we had the most diverse characters and stories before they decided to make things more "diverse"

[@tkps]

It was millenials onward egged on by far left do gooders always existing in academia who caused it. Millenials were the first gen. raised without institutionalised discrimination. So believed in a version of their own creation that didn't exist. Some have a need for activism while others believe & regurgitate 'headlines'. They thought they were inventing an already existing wheel. Fortunately they went so far in such a short time contrary to society they've come unstuck. A failed experiment we maybe had to go through to reset.

[@darianstarfrog]

Exactly! 😂

[@glorioustigereye]

I’m glad you found her. She is very experienced and knowledgeable on the game industry.

[@xxskizzumxx]

Who is she? I thought she was smashJT's wife because she has the same hexagons on her wall

[@omensoffate]

@@xxskizzumxxmore like side piece

[@cube2fox]

She was a manager at Microsoft handling gaming projects.

[@libantube-on8kw]

​@@omensoffate Y'all are so childish lmao

[@mtmadigan82]

I'm not an elephant, I'm big-boned.

[@Boppingmeat]

Big bones don’t jiggle when you run

[@94DEATHSOUL94]

​@@BoppingmeatThey are really flexible bones :(

[@Malxer]

Ok Cartman

[@CiscoRo]

So a Mammoth.

[@lorenzomerlos]

@@Boppingmeatit’s an optical illusion, like how you wag a spoon to make it look bendy.

[@agentorange7602]

"Stop curating everything for the most annoying, least honest, stupidest person there and just ignore them." - Best critique of the state of the creative industry of 2024

[@yewknight]

The crux of it is investor capital became more valuable than sales numbers. This gave a few people control over the industry instead of the consumers.

[@chicoazteca]

and they all are pursuing the same model, and prices, they are not competing, basically fixing but dunno if there's a term for this

[@BlakeElliott35]

This is the best take on this issue I’ve read all year

[@chief.w]

@@chicoazteca Its anti trust. But the foundation of US i believe its freedom of speech and opinion. That is why Identity Politics get overblown so much, so people get used to calling all of this shitty things to move the market. It can happen naturally but the buzz/exposure its not natural at all.

[@CoperliteConsumer]

Bingo

[@BMN667]

Wonderfully stated, probably one of the Top 3 contributing factors in the decline of the gaming industry

[@DVZ000]

I loved the 90s. The 80s were pretty good, too. The early 00s weren't too bad. The closer we got to 2010 and beyond, the worse things got.

[@ssjwes572]

I have the same thoughts on this. 2010-2012 jumped the shark

[@Web720]

​@@ssjwes572 When the Mayan Calender ended at 2012, iirc it meant a new era. This is it, 2012 was the last year of normalcy.

[@competetodefeat4610]

I might even go back a bit earlier than 2010 on the getting worse bit. One of the things I miss the most is the big box era, the 80's had some of the best packaging of all time. When you got home with Ultima III you opened the box and had a lore book, manual, command reference card/spell chart, a cloth map, metal medallion. Oh and... the box itself for the artwork. Now you get... a download.

[@Cinema-skin]

I thought this was an Iron Fist video.

[@kross8471]

Editor knows what will get people to click ;)

[@GastNdorf]

Yeah I thought it would be about China's censorship or something like that because there was a clip like that earlier

[@homelander2243]

Spread the news. The higher your FPS in game the more DPS you do, NetEase isn’t fixing it either.

[@SuperLifestream]

As a New Zealander. Please leave us off maps. We don't need to advertise that we exist. Please don't travel here it's not a good place to live

[@wereowl9369]

Hello fellow kiwi. I support your statement.

[@PassportAdam]

I move tomorrow

[@TaniaRavenYT]

Lord of the Rings. Ty New Zealand

[@markpalmerton6625]

True......

[@Tharros95]

The people who take offense at cultural appropriation, are also the same people who demand cultural representation in media, which is a blatant contradiction. "Don't you dare use my culture in your art because it is sacred, but at the same time if you don't represent my culture in your art, you are marginalizing us".

[@XrandomnessX]

Both of which don't play games

[@oliverman6168]

Hypocrisy made paramount when Satan rules this 🌍

[@synchacker25]

Pseudo-doublethink is at the core of their worldview, opinion shaping, and decision making. Its pretty much the only thing they are consistent with; their contradictions and solipsism.

[@Yasviele]

Not quite true, not the "my culture" part at least, most of them aren't from the culture they are claiming to defend (and barely know about) they just feel a sense of superiority claiming to defends groups they feel pity about, doing more damage than good in the process "If we don't help those poor souls, they will never have a chance!"

[@MrJesuisOMG]

No, just do it right. Don't make a caricature. Make your research before you are going to put some cultural representation. Do not put the symbol of death in a culture, as something to be worshipped, do not stereotype them as 'tribal' people just because they have some paganism, do not make them look like sub-humans in comparison to the 'white savior man'. More then often people do not do culture right because they are ignorant of such cultures. That's just what it is.

[@vickerykennison1335]

Most people come to games as a retreat and escape from the bullshit of everyday life. The last thing we want is to see the same shit in our games.

[@synthds3897]

Excellent video. What I find refreshing about her was I left the video not knowing what her personal opinions on the culture war are. Just very professional and objective based observance

[@vcrbetamax]

The fact she didn’t tell you, tells you her politics. It means she’s not part of the faction that HAS to bring it up.

[@Ravenbones]

@@vcrbetamax Or she is just professional and objective.

[@BulletSponge71436]

@@Ravenbones objective is being against "pronounce" and other nonsense.

[@vcrbetamax]

@@Ravenbones My point still stands. There isn’t just two political factions. However one of them HAS to virtue signal. It’s part of their religion.

[@SaltyShaun]

She's smart to not get involved.

[@CraigClark-zb2ep]

Dragon age developers were not trying to make a good video game they made an animated lecture about their woke agenda

[@theblackknight101]

It was more likely a group therapy session/exercise for the team involved.

[@Toshiboyai]

I like this woman, bring back gamer girls like this

[@GastNdorf]

Hagsmaxxing 👀

[@JamieWoods00746]

"gamer girl" only cringe lords use terms like this

[@WesMordine]

She was even sorta bookwormishly pretty back in the day

[@genevievec.8002]

I know plenty of gamer girls, and most of them lean towards this mentality, including myself. It's not gamer girls that are the problem, it's all these woke corporate gaming company leaders.

[@ercanoguzyldrm4499]

She is actually one of the founders of XBOX and was the lead designer of XBOX gaming studios. Means she worked during the golden era of gaming

[@FrawgfithAmblose]

I love how at the end of the video she puts Swen Vincke's great speech at the Game Awards because she's a veteran game dev and everything he said in that speech was the mindset of studios who made all the legendary games we love, no greedy monetization or throwing in forced modern messages (that repulse the players away from just wanting to escape into the game and away from the real world for a bit), just pure love and passion for gaming and the player's enjoyment was always the top priority of the devs of the most fun and amazing games of all time. She then shows the amazingly brilliant and extremely fun AstroBot win of GOTY because it completely embodies that message fully, devoid of greediness (the devs even put a full awesome Christmas level and speedrun challenge levels out for free) and just nothing but sheer, unmitigated passion and love of games with the player's enjoyment being the absolute number one priority was poured into AstroBot by its developers. A breath of very fresh air and a literal joy to play from start to finish and that is why she shows reverence for it in the end of the video because she recognizes that the great quality of AstroBot is what we need a lot more of in games today and far far less forced messaging and greedy monetization systems while the enjoyment of the game itself is a distant afterthought .

[@emiami458]

Completely agree

[@hudysonsestari8228]

tldr

[@qubeh1203]

she's an executive. she may be against the wokeness in gaming, but she's still a suit, not a developer. she just sees which way the wind is blowing.

[@oCMSo]

@@qubeh1203she did dev work too

[@ComicsAreEscapism]

@@qubeh1203 A producer has A LOT of say when a game is made. Like A TON.

[@the7blargs]

Really weird that middle aged men go on Twitter and throw shade at each other like high school girls

[@stinkfinga4918]

Really weird kids expect humans to morph into sophistication after a certain age. Heads up, who you are now isn't gonna magically change over time. You're you. You're gonna be having the same behaviors and thought processes for the rest of your life. You can make some changes in habits and things, but you're always gonna be the same person. We don't 'grow up' we just get old.

[@the7blargs]

@stinkfinga4918 im pretty sure you can mature to not be like these devs

[@happilyisolated]

​​@@the7blargsIt's possible, but it requires the desire to improve and be a better person. A majority don't understand what that entails or what that means as demonstrated by their behavior. Actions speak louder than words, and they are shouting at the top of their lungs.

[@NunyaBiznezz-q2v]

We live in a feminized society that has criminalized every masculine way of resolving conflicts.

[@Katniss0000]

Stow feed people also grow up.

[@SilverSidedSquirrel]

Gatekeep HARDER

[@elriano1]

In every aspect of life, not just games. If things used to be good and changes have made these things worse, we're under no obligation to pretend anymore. Someone speaking truth and common-sense will always be on the right side of history.

[@SM-oc4rc]

Please let me know if you can see my comment

[@Sethir]

No I dont see your comment @SM-oc4rc

[@elriano1]

@@SM-oc4rc Can see this one but no others from you. The censorship on KZbin is crazy - you can't say anything on here.

[@AntiRiku]

​@@SM-oc4rc YT is a shit show

[@poinstaar7029]

I don’t feel sorry for anyone who works at Obsidian. Not one person, or spokesperson for Obsidian has come out and condemned his statements, or said “these are not the values of our company,” or anything like that. Tells me that the studio agrees with him

[@ZomboidMania]

I wouldn't necessarily go to that conclusion, a lot of the time simply not acknowledging something makes it go away, they'd only respond if it got a big enough outcry

[@Makkle4000]

Feels like a college course lecture with your homie Zackrawr making side comments right next to you

[@Ken-wf8fo]

Oreigaru!! Love ur profile thingy!

[@headkicked]

Parasocial behavior.

[@fingersfelder]

asmons fans don't attend college

[@ssjwes572]

@@headkicked is it though or could it be someone with a strong imagination? They could also be on drugs, legal or otherwise.

[@simonknibbs5867]

27:16 "over a tweet is crazy". You have to understand that by speaking from the developers official account they represent their entire team and game brand. Just like an actor who posts personal opinions when part of a multi-million dollar movie, it carries a high risk.

[@ImagineWagonss]

She is one of those super rare developers that speak so intelligently and actually know what they are talking about.

[@haraldbredsdorff2699]

We now have division? Then what changed? Because the gamers are the same as back then. Oh, right, we got woke gaming industry. They changed. And now they blame us.

[@shrandis]

I find it ironic how a video about addressing the elephant in the room does not actually address the elephant in the room.

[@Underworlddream]

I see it as basically they are Still blind to what the problem is, if you are trying to claim something else is the "elephant in the room" rather then the obvious then that mean you still don't know or won't admit what the problem.

[@David-k1z]

Yup spot on the industry got invaded by social activists who hate that the predominantly straight male audience didn't change with them.

[@MasterJack2]

Posting about your job on social media when you are not the owner or paid to do it should be enough to get you fired everytime, even if it has a positive effect.

[@bathtub_marmot]

I disagree w/ Zack- in my experience these people always fail up. It’s usually the people who call out the BS who get blacklisted.

[@ZomboidMania]

Can't agree with this, I don't think someone should get fired for saying "I like working at Target because they give us a coupon for free clothing at the end of every month" or something like that, most of the time it's innocent enough

[@Wolta]

"Pronouns belong in fantasy games, because they are, you know, fantasy." - beavisfu, you a real one.

[@Zvezda31]

The Irony lol

[@mentalstatement]

If the media was saying a game was racist, sexist, homophobic… I would go out the next day and buy it 😎

[@SonofSol1]

I dont feel sorry for the devs tbh, most of them swing that way and want that stuff in the games anyway, their job should be at risk because they made the game

[@vulkeg]

The Elephant in the room is Daw from Concord.

[@Sorain1]

Implying Daw would fit in the room. I doubt that.

[@vulkeg]

@Sorain1 shit you're right.

[@p8triotmode]

seeing the comments about her when the video started was crazy. Most people have no idea until later in the video that she is responsible for helping develop some of the coolest games

[@echomjp]

People are far more likely to dismiss a game for the mere idea that it might have messaging or such they disagree with nowadays, than they were 15 years ago. But a lot of that is because games 15 years ago were still clearly made targeting gamers and what we wanted, and weren't poisoned by cultural issues to a negative extent. Sure - you had cultural messaging and history and such in games before, but it felt more authentic and the games were good enough many people didn't care.

[@KingSword-f8y]

Laura Fryer it’s an OG of the industry with great insight

[@Greatestnesss]

Certain people want to make the world gay. Theyve realized how influential games are and want to use it as one of their many tools...

[@vddxr7240]

🧃

[@Katniss0000]

So they can keep using their lotion like diddy.

[@Deathclaw.By.Design]

Fallout 1 and 2 were so good

[@Therealcarolinaguy]

FO3 was God Tier

[@daveuerk4030]

Dood... Some of my best memories. 1 and 2 were great.

[@bazilisek502]

@@Therealcarolinaguy 18 side quests and god help you if you reach level above 18 yea... god tier shit

[@Deathclaw.By.Design]

​@@Therealcarolinaguy That was my first Fallout ! Yes I really loved it, I played it on a 12 inch old school box tv, such good memories!

[@CoperliteConsumer]

Theater kids and smolhats are the problem

[@lbuada7723]

Embracer Group is from Saudi Arabia.

[@sirgreedy88]

@@lbuada7723 irrelevant.

[@DanLocke-u7x]

Rosie O’Donnell does not need to be addressed

[@xxskizzumxx]

Yeah, I try not to acknowledge people that talk to squirrels all day

[@id2k.]

@@DanLocke-u7x she basically IS an address at this point

[@VanWinger]

There was a Professor at my JC who taught the Civil War from the perspective of the Southern Secession. His argument was based on a verbatim understanding of the Constitution of the United States; wherein the 'more perfect union' is a callback to the Articles of Confederation, which was never repealed and replaced with a Constitution but expanded upon. The Articles of Confederation is/was the prevailing precedent and foundation upon which the Constitution is to be understood. Also, there are several States, North and South, whose signature and approval of the Constitution was only because there were granted escape clauses, meaning the Secession from Union under the Constitution was legally justified, and the States of the Confederacy were in defense of the Articles of Confederation un-usurped by withdrawal from the Constitution under the escape clause. They defended against the aggression of a tyrannical centralized Union with no legal casus belli.

[@Aaron-x1x5f]

Sounds like you had an excellent professor.

[@angeldariobahenafarina55]

A verbatim understanding does not reflect the motives of the actors of the time, stop washing history, the south wanted to keep slaves, they went to war to defend their "economy"

[@stinkfinga4918]

Confederates were the last true Americans, and the union army was almost half migrants from other countries. Even the majority of natives sided with confederates to resist the expansion of federal government. Whatever the American dream was, it was very short lived. Its all a hollywood screenplay now.

[@sagelink2]

D&D was also considered the Devil's Board game back in the day.

[@wbeytel]

Absolutely, we had a D&D group in high school. One of the teachers saw us continuing our campaign at school during an off period and reported us to the principal. Fortunately the principal was a really fair, stand-up guy so he insisted to hear our side as well before he would make a decision. So we explained what D&D pen and paper role-playing was and showed him the reference books as well as a few rounds. Afterwards he deadpanned "So, when does the satanistic things start?" We knew then that we were fine and had a good laugh about it. Best principal I've ever had.

[@DevMeloy]

There is no division, the average gamer just doesn't like newer games. It is our human right now to purchase products we dislike. Large entertainment companies started hiring based on characteristics rather than skill, this is just the end result. Indie titles are created by passionate, talented ppl... That is the future of gaming (and Nintendo)

[@Kelticknott]

She did say who the toxic manager was destroying moral... I wonder if she is subtly implying it is Matt Hanson Rewind to 18:30 "Good thing social media wasn't around back then" look what appears to have happened as at Obsidian

[@eltyGG]

they can't keep getting away with this

[@askel6498]

Looking at sales numbers and layoffs...I'd say they aren't getting away with it lol

[@whocares9033]

The people making the decisions aren't the ones being laid off And even if they are let go, they have severance packages

[@clone3_7]

@@askel6498 You still do not get it, its not about the money, its about the message. It is propaganda to get to you, no matter how much companies they have to bankrupt for it. Especially entertainment. Entertainment can crash, it will never hurt the income of the rich, who are using it to influence us!

[@askel6498]

@@clone3_7 Yeah, but the message is failing as well. I feel like the harder they push the more people hate them...which is quite natural for humans if you really think about it. It's the whole "the pendelum is swining in the opposite direction" thing.

[@FlCl3000]

people show up and think the thing they don’t like should change so they like it And then wonder why the original audience doesn’t like it

[@iseeyounoobs]

There are different surveys for this, but generally 10-20% of employees are actively working against the best interests of the employer. As in, they aren't simply disengaged, they are intentionally trying to sabotage some aspect of the company goal. It's crazy that so many people can get away with it.

[@RaifSeverence]

Because most of them people will intiate lawsuits and claim sexism, racism, etc, it they're fired

[@Bassalicious]

I'm a bit stunned by how on-point, yet still respectful she delivered that talk. Hats off, Laura Fryer, you've got yourself a new subscriber!

[@Evanz111]

When he says he’ll be right back but he ends the video :’(

[@younger544]

People keep showing the clip of the BG3 guys speech as if it was a turning point in the industry and things are going to turn around now. The thing is, all these developers THINK they are already doing what he is saying. They fully believe they are 100% in the right not only business wise but also morally.

[@jacklarsen4]

Why didnt people push back when colleges turned into activist bootcamps? Was inevitable that they would graduate, enter the workforce, and spread their tendrils of ‘progress’.

[@stinkfinga4918]

'Why didn't people resist' is a pretty common thing among different societies collapsing. The reason is because people are complacent and comfortable. If I've got it pretty good, why would I care if you're doing something awful? That's for the next generation to figure out, I got bills to pay and a new toy to save up for.

[@Katniss0000]

Lol. Most freedom we are experiencing today is because of those people. Those protest because games are minority. We have bigger problems in the world like climate change.

[@mesaplayer9636]

16:07 i would write something back like "I see everything". He didn't think she would find it because it was hidden. Or maybe i would change the text to be visible, highlight it to kae it obvious i found it, and send it back. Then if it happens again i just talk to HR if i wanted them to stop, this is different than not sending a happy face or sending an explanation mark.

[@ACOG_batteries]

We need some of those family values these days

[@AS-fu1kd]

2000-2008 is forever in our hearts.

[@toolittletoolate]

10:20 Think about it like the Torigate from the nuclear attacks. Totempoles where used to by some tribes to record their histories since they where nomads it was their only means of keeping written records and why we have no long lasting real history of natives beyond how they used to divy up the land and a few rituals. You can't decide because the cultural significance isn't meaningful enough to you that it doesn't matter. Just like using the torigate that is remnant of a nuclear attack is in bad taste and you can understand why it's disrespectful and shouldn't be done, you should be able to understand why cultural staple points for a culture that was almost geocided out of existence should be given a little bit more care and respect then to use as props in a videogame. It isn't to say a game about it can't be made it's just that it's something that should be navigated more carefully and respectfully, and the developer here was able to realize that so they turned it down.

[@MegaLynx182]

Well said

[@OrdoMallius]

There is no division in gamers were are the most united group on the planet. And we value skill and effort we don't give a DAMN who you are or what you are. Pure meritocracy and that's why they want to sow discord. Our values are a complete opposite of what the current world values are.

[@xrip75]

preach!

[@the_grass_trainer]

Lol play any games online with a mic? Not sure we're so united

[@OrdoMallius]

@@the_grass_trainer That's just natural banter. Happens everywhere. Sports, war you name it. Telling gamers not to yell at each other while trying to kill eachother ingame is like telling an athlete he cant get pissed on the field or tell a football fan he's not allowed to express joy or frustration and be quiet and orderly in his seat. It's just unreasonable

[@sirgreedy88]

The division is just hidden for the sake of mutual benefit. Some nog on my team? I'm not saying anything cuz i still want to win and i won't have to deal with him after the match.

[@the_grass_trainer]

i think we're united as a group in the fact that, yes, we game, but there are MANY divisions within the community as seen by Asmon's videos.

[@roufas7595]

I am glad this guy came out and went nuts, I want nothing to do with a game made by a company that allows these kind of people be even remotely allowed to taint their product so it is money saved, it shows how much they care about their creation. I feel that if this keeps happening and companies keep failing they will eventually keep the nutjobs out or die in natural selection.

[@lindalily69]

As a 40 year old female gamer I want what everyone else wants... just a good and fun game with attractive or funny characters without any modern propaganda bull$hit. Like Duke Nukem and old COD games.

[@benjaminboyle7329]

90's censorship and pearl clutching is the same Modern day censorship and pearl clutching. Its just different religions doing the messaging.

[@Toshiboyai]

I prefer 90s pearl clutching because at least they just published hardcore games and censored the title, not the game itself lol

[@supremecaffeine2633]

90s pearl clutcher were never this influential or destructive.

[@xxskizzumxx]

Yeah but in the 90s they just had to put a M sticker on it and it was good to go

[@mastersmurfify]

@@supremecaffeine2633 because 90s pearl clutchers were outside the industry

[@Fenrir-t6i]

Best idea to mess with both sides on the Pronoun problem. Let them choose their name, pronouns and Bodyspecifications. But if the NPC likes you, he will only refer to you with the last title you earned, or the one you select, like Dragonslayer/ Royal Embesary/ Hero/ ... . But if the NPC dislikes you he will call you acording to the body specifics. With a small body, wimp. With a tall body, goliat. With a fett body, Bolder. .... And a Neutral NPC will make a monolog about discrepancys. Like The blacksmith calls you over, you are small but have the hero title (still human race): "Hy hero, your sward is finished. (you come over and sees you the first time) Oh since when can a dworf be a hero in a human sociaty." Answer Option 1: " I am a human" reply. "Oh i didnt know they make you in this size. (laughter)" Answer Option 2: "I am still a human child." replay " Oh, yeah seams right. Why send an adult, if you can send children. they can be endlessly reproduced. And homans are so horny they reproduce even with other species. (laughter)"

[@herfrey4809]

nah music is the same, can't find a single song today that doesn't push toxic relationships down your throat

[@jaybomb5022]

Listen to a different genre then. Plenty music not pushing anything. Especially country, just a bunch of love songs 😂

[@nerdicusdorkum2923]

Thank god my autist ass has such a hard time with lyrics. I just listen to video game sound tracks and enjoy myself.

[@luckluca8982]

Just listen to break-up songs. There are way more of those

[@paradigm_sh1ft]

This is why I mainly listen to prog rock and metal. It's CLEARLY about the music.

[@Tilt_TM]

He said music is different because musicians have always been pushing a message.

[@lickablepickle8550]

Getting a gotcha advertisement with techtone in it while watching an asmingold video is crazy.

[@SlackerMagician]

Trump was elected to kick the elephant out of the room

[@austinteed3248]

9:37 Thomas Was Alone Is a side scrolling platformer, where you play as a small "vertical block" -"tower-eske" character. While the other characters may be shorter, different shaped, or now wide

[@icebby7308]

When it comes to media with the exception of music maybe, the idea of appealing to the broadest audience is generally a bad idea. The best movies and video games appeal to a target audience and usually find footing with said audience. Action movies and shooter games were intended for a younger male audience in the first place. The idea of reducing the experience the target audience is expecting in order to appeal to the most people instead of the target audience is usually never good

[@RetireandGo]

Absolutely true about the coworker that’s unpredictable and dangerous. You have to get them out fast. It has to happen

[@UnkommonSense-z5e]

If any of you are surprised to hear this about xbox....you clearly aren't old enough to remember the games Rareware made before Microsoft bought them, and the games they made afterwards....

[@luster5497]

If they care more about getting Elon angry than making the game, it’s going to suck. They clearly don’t care about the game, just the politic they can pass

[@riggze]

I loved the part where you paused it every 5 seconds when she was trying to make a point

[@janitor8884]

Well Asmon does have the best opinions, the most life experience, and the most knowledge about everything.

[@nyx2903]

Regarding Avowed: The only reason why people were hyped for Avowed once was The Outer Worlds having left a good impression by many. However, most people who played this game played it out of spite for Fallout 76 being such a letdown. The Outer Worlds was closer to the known Fallout formular than Fallout 76, that was all. Personally I did not think The Outer Worlds was anything special though. The gameplay felt off (like Avowed!), the graphics looked odd, animations were bad and the gunplay was along the worst I have seen in any shooter since like 2005 or so. I don't think a developer who puts out games like this can afford being attached to such a controversy at all. They probably should have just played at safe by creating a game for regular people but no, they created a game for the journos and then one of their bravest and smartest decided to escalate a controversy that had already started with his social media comment. Personally I doubt that studio will have a good time once the games release is here.

[@bigratkiller1]

My line in the sand is any trace of that rancid ideology in a game. I won't buy anything no matter how good it's supposed to be if there's even a hint of a pronoun or troon flag or feminism etc. I have enough games that I haven't even played yet to easily last me until I die. I'm willing to bet i'm gonna outlast most of these games studios that are trying to force their "message"

[@mrman2415]

Same here. I'd rather just replay games from the 90s and early 2000s than buy things that contain that nonsense.

[@KookoCraft]

I can understand a trans flag but not an agenda

[@HDGaminTutorials]

If the game is good I don't care about that all that stuff has been in games you probably like it was just done with people with an actual iq and it was woven in in such ways you never even noticed

[@theblackknight101]

@@HDGaminTutorials these stories about modern politics only become an issue when they stick out like a sore thumb, like you said.. the npcs become mouthpieces for the devs behind them, giving speeches and sermons on how to treat people.. and they always make sure to prevent players from killing these npcs.. they know how annoying they sound.😂

[@TearTheRoof0ff]

7:10 So it wasn't considered OK to "shoot down some people" in a realistic (for the time) aerial dogfighting game but it was considered OK to have sunk an entire nation into the Pacific in a game that used an otherwise accurate portrayal of Earth's world map. That's pretty funny.

[@icntsywhtiwnt2]

She says it. The reward for making a good game was you got to make another and make a decent living. Now the corpos got ahold of it, that aint the case.

[@thedarkwolf25]

I do feel bad for some of the devs, but let's not act like he was the only one with that mindset. We've seen the leaked slack messages of a bunch of other people that were cheering him on and rooting for him, and the company never came out to contradict or make any kind of statement after the backlash. There might be a small handful of devs there that haven't drunk the koolaid, and I feel bad for them when they lose their jobs, as for the rest, I'll enjoy their cries of misery when they lose their jobs knowing that they did it to themselves, and cheered as it happened.

[@SkoomaLove]

If Obsidian fired Matt do you think avowed could possibly be saved

[@BrowniesGoHam]

This woman is a gem and is the reason we even had the Lancer added into Gears Of War when Microsoft didn't want it in the game.

[@ParkournPrankster]

So asmon funny you mention that. There was this new game called 'Antonblast' and essentially it's - Wario - Cow and Chicken - Beavis and Butthead - Sonic So in other words a game FOCUSED on having fun and being simple. As well as making jokes at the expense of other characters.

[@AverageJoe483]

Dude , this sounds amazing .

[@GutsOfRivia]

Its not a divsion within the community its an invasion of people who don't play games but wanna use it as a vessel for ideology.

[@jaggedbrain]

pronouns should be in fantasy games because they're fantasy LMAO

[@caldex1557]

Only in the fantasy of "special" kind of people who think it's real.

[@SaltyShaun]

I get mad at my kids when they knock over their drink

[@selfconfessedcynic]

This lady seems fantastic - hope you react to more of her stuff

[@Andrew-ew3uv]

OMG SHE SAID THE KAMALA LINE "What can be unburdened by what has been"

[@brycestoll]

Modern social issues do not belong in games unless they take place in modern times(reflecting real life). And even then it can't just be shoehorned in for no reason other than the delusional director said so.

[@reynardtv1]

Luara Fryer and Roberta Williams are the 2 women that should have a much larger spotlight in gaming, Two of the biggest players in gaming from the 80,90,00 up to 10's.

[@mjdf122]

Good - 1980s 1990s 2000s Bad - 2010s 2020s

[@acemax1124]

💯 🔥✌️

[@AstralLaVista]

2020-2030 the ugly

[@AverageJoe483]

@@AstralLaVista😂 yep

[@TheSchoolyD]

Sad thing is, that Avowed art director will find another job. The industry is full of these people, supporting each other and until they are all rooted out they will stay there.

[@stevengilley5107]

When entertainment became a platform everything went to shit

[@stinkfinga4918]

Uh... it literally always was... ever since hollowood was created, its a brainwashing industry to manufacture culture and it succeeds every time. Counter cultures and oppositions die off and become depicted entirely differently to rewrite history, and future generations just eat the slop and continue on as if it were truth. This isn't new. Its been going on for over a century.

[@tboon9399]

The 90s were a golden age of PC gaming. So many interesting titles... developers werent afraid of taking risk...