Blockbuster argument film-culture moved beyond decades ago. For a film critic, it’s jarring to see gaming deciding to re-fight the Arthouse v.
This would be one of those “time travel” moments I was talking about. It goes without saying that many of those most vociferously attacking this woman (in the interest of full disclosure: I do not know this person outside of social-media interaction, but we share a handful of personal acquaintances) had her in their sights long before this nonsense began, as the presence of her game on Steam had already allegedly made her a target of those who resent the praise heaped onto “art games” (especially those with a political theme – see also: Gone Home) by video game critics. For those not keeping track: The ex-partner of an indie game developer (I’d rather not fuel the fire by mentioning names here, you can learn what you need to from the multiple links throughout) posted a lengthy description of her alleged infidelities during their relationship to the web, where it was seized upon by some as the launching-point for what became a massive, coordinated campaign of abuse, sexual harassment and threats. That’s certainly the sense I got watching what turned out to be the beginning of games journalism most-recent debacle. Not so much in the vein of “Aw, that takes me back,” but rather “Wait… they think _ is a huge deal? What decade is this!?” Being familiar with the evolution of the film/entertainment press, I find myself experiencing whiplash watching the younger medium of games journalism experience many of the same growing pains. I’ve mentioned this before, but the nature of my job – a film critic working for an outlet devoted predominantly to video games – is sometimes a surreal experience (especially since I’m also a gamer). Film journalism has already traveled the exact same path games journalism is heading down now.
It’s not the end of journalism as we know it.
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