As a parent, student, and professional in higher ed, I game on a budget - whether that be budgeting my time or money. I came to gaming late in life by playing alongside my son for "quality time." I was both impressed and alarmed by what I saw. Games are sometimes interactive movies, sometimes intricate and brilliant novels come to life, and sometimes just time-wasting fun. And, then, some games are just failures. But they are also a fantasy real largely overwhelmed with imagery that presumes young, white, hetero males as the audience. I find this unfortunate, and I believe the playing field (pun intended) needs to adjust for the many other individuals who are already a part of the gaming community, and I think it is partially my responsibility as a gamer to say "I want to see the diversity of this community better represented." So, I am interested in gaming as entertainment, but also as a form of social commentary. To me, issues of gender/race/class/and power permeate not just the games themselves, but the discourse surrounding games. When I write about games, I write them with these things in mind.
Also, I'm not really concerned if someone is angry when I express my opinion about their beloved game, company, or franchise. Be a grown up and accept that others do not think like you, and they don't need to in order to validate your feelings.
Although valid arguments abound out there, I'm more of a FeministFrequency than an Awesome Atheist kind of guy.
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