Woke Gaming — A Discussion
Edited by Kishonna L. Grey and David L. Leonard, Woke Gaming: Digital Challenges to Oppression and Social Justice focuses on challenging games and gaming culture to be better. We live in an age where it seems like games are only going to become bigger and bigger. Students are receiving actual college scholarships for esports. Teams are getting sponsorships from large companies and are getting airtime on networks like ESPN. If we do not engage in the conversations that this book highlights, we will fail to curb the toxicity that is prevalent throughout gaming culture. White, heteronormaitve ideas will continue to dominate game narratives and culture. And that is something, for the sake of people of color and other oppressed communities, we cannot allow.
I want to encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself either from here or from your local library. We’re only discussing a couple of the chapters for the sake of length and because I want yall to read it and form your own conclusions about the works. The scholarship in it really is fascinating to read. Also, what follows is my take on the chapters and the research they share. I encourage you to respond with comments or questions covered in this piece!
The Post-Feminist Politics of the “Everyone Can Make Games Movement”
Dr. Stephanie Orme authored the chapter titled The Post-Feminist Politics of the “Everyone Can Make Games Movement.” It focuses on the idea that this movement fails to account for the racism and sexism evident in the game industry. She begins the chapter by mentioning the effects of Gamergate (read more about it here and here) and how that helped shape and solidify “gamer culture” as we know it today. She notes that without widespread, systemic change the ideal that anyone can make games won’t ever fully be realized. Despite the fact that women account for 44% of gamer, 75% of the industry workforce identifies as male (according to Orme). This is a very significant demographic gap that influence the way that developer studios exist.Orme discusses that one of the practices that hinders diversity in game dev studios is referred to as “crunch time.” This is the time that game developers have historically taken at the end of a development cycle to work extreme overtime (sometimes up to 90 hours a week) to finish producing the game. As you can probably imagine, this can be prohibitive to potential developers who are responsible for a family. Since the typical studio is populated by one group of people, in this discussion single, white, males, there isn’t anyone to call out the fact that this schedule is prohibitive to others who may have different lifestyles. If there’s any lack of diversity in a studio or culture, then they will never be pushed to change and do better for all of their players as opposed to only the “standard” young, straight, white, male gamer demographic.
So, while everyone can make games, that doesn’t mean that all the paths are the same to become a game developer. Another thing that Orme notes when citing Grey (2014) is that racial minorities can also be linguistically profiled in online settings and in hiring practices. This can make it even more difficult for racial minorities to break into game developer careers. It’s important for our larger culture that we continue to push for game dev studios to become more diverse and intentionally inclusive because the games that people play have a hand in writing our societal narrative. To not shift towards inclusive and equitable practices in game development is to continue on a path that normalizes stereotypes of people of color and of women. We have to break out of the pattern where white males are seen as the only savior type and women and people of color are simply there to motivate the hero.
Curate Your Culture: A Call for Social Justice-Oriented Game Development and Community Management
Dr. Amanda C. Cote’s chapter “Curate Your Culture” stood out to me because of her discussion on how game dev studios and communities participate in creating the culture around their game and actual studios. At the beginning of the chapter, she cites Leigh Alexander to set the stage, “… you’re responsible for what spawns in the vacuum.”
This quote calls out those who attempt to throw up their hands and absolve themselves of responsibility for what happens when they neglect to moderate their communities. However, as Alexander noted, what’s created in the vacuum of our inaction is still on us. We have to claim responsibility for the spaces and communities that we create, especially when our communities have the chance to cause harm to people. The focus of Cote’s chapter is exploring the ways that gamers use coping strategies online while also focusing on how game devs and community managers can begin to implement systems to ensure that people can play online safely. Currently, targeted harassment of women and people of color is mostly shrugged off as “part of playing the game online,” as if it should be accepted by affected communities and individuals. This attitude can, and has, spilled into our larger society as it encourages the mindset that those dealing with harassment are overreacting or taking a situation too seriously.
Cote found that female gamers have developed five core strategies to evade or respond to harassment
Avoid online entirely
Play only with their friends
Hide their gender
Use skill and experience as a psychological shield
Fight fire with fire and kill/harass players in retaliation
As a woman of color, these are definitely practices that I’ve employed in my own experience. Although the online game that I play most frequently, Splatoon 2, doesn’t have voice chat, I’ve also spent some time playing both Fortnite and Overwatch. On those games, I have voice chat turned off for my teammates unless I’m playing with friends. I’ve no desire to bring that potential toxicity into my life. However, not using voice chat can put my team at a disadvantage because I can’t do callouts to let them know where opponents are. That’s why I appreciate the pinging system in games like Fortnite and Apex; it offers a non-chat option for letting your teammates know what’s around you.
In the research Cote did, there was only one company that she noted which created a system that made players feel safer. Companies are still much more likely to prioritize the “needs” and wants of the “majority,” even though the vocal majority seems determined to be toxic. Cote’s suggestions are for studios and community managers to work with targeted communities in creating systems to maintain safe spaces where people can enjoy the games that have been published. It has me wondering, given the acknowledgment of the shifting demographic of gamers, if we will see more of these systems being created.
Reflection
This book was a really important one for me. It was my introduction to academic writing about the spaces that I enjoy. Dr. Kishonna L. Gray and Dr. David J Leonard edited a book that helped me put data and research behind what I and my friends have experienced online.
In the wake of recent discussions and revelations that have come out about the gaming industry, it’s become more and more apparent to me that we need to continue to pay attention to and have conversations about the scholarship around gaming culture. Orme discussed why this can be difficult in her chapter. There’s already a culture in the gaming community that makes it hard for voices calling for inclusivity and justice to gain tangible traction. Cote wrote much of the same when she acknowledged the culture of telling people targeted by trolls that they’re being overly sensitive. This is how it’s in 2020, and we’re still having to argue that characters in games were, and are, created with racial stereotypes in mind, and how that makes it easier to ingrain those stereotypes in the world outside of video games.
I care about this because all people should have the chance to play online and not have to worry that they’ll be called a slur or threatened. I’m lucky that I’m a part of Brown Girl Gamer Code, and we’ve made our own space to come together to play and talk about games and just be ourselves. A lot of people aren’t so lucky. It’s also seeming to become more common for trolls to be active in people of color’s content, particularly Black content creators. I’ve had friends who’ve had to deal with racists comments and threats that do no bear repeating. It’s exhausting.
I dream of gaming culture becoming a community that doesn’t tolerate any type of hate speech. Most of the time, I wonder if we’ll ever get there. I have hope because of communities like Brown Girl Gamer Code, Black Girl Gamers, and We Need Diverse Games. These are just a few spaces, but I’m glad to follow the work they do. I hope they continue to gain support and traction.
We are all part of building the future together. I hope that we create one that encourages and embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and doesn’t allow hate speech and harassment. I look forward to creating that with yall.
