Shout out to Ludeon and Tynan.
Hey man, I love your game, and your willingness to engage the community. I also loved Claudia Lo's article, and thought it created a lot of great buzz about Rimworld. I know at least 3 people in my office who will now buy the game because they read the article. This is one of those situations that ONLY SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS have to deal with, people feeling strongly about your art, even if not in the way you intended.
Congrats man, you're a real artist and the controversy makes your game even more popular and buzzworthy. The article takes a few digs at you but clearly the author has played and likes the game a great deal. This is what being successful is all about. In the future I hope you welcome all articles about your game, especially ones that get everyone so excited, and realize that if you were not so successful, nobody would be talking about it! Reality is that the day someone writes a 100% accurate and nice article about your game is the day your sales slump.
Congrats on the game, it's success, and the extra publicity the article brought. May not feel this way now but in the long run it's all good.
The article, and as much many of the commenters there, made me realize RPS is not a site worth visiting anymore. I say that as someone who has used it as his primary gaming news source for years.
The NMS coverage was the first big straw, this was the last. Their editorial and journalistic standards are not terribly high it seems. I'll just get my info from reddit and other forums I suppose.
The article was trash, but it made people like me and many others appreciate what we have with Tynan and his work; and what we stand to lose if we stop supporting him.
What kind of turns me off about RPS is that they have quite low standards for so-called sponsored content. The 'More from the web' section at the end of their articles is even trashier.
I mean I know they've got to make a buck somehow, but every time I see one of these 'More from the web' panels on a site somewhere I roll my eyes and think to myself, 'yep, they're desperate.'
I really didn't care any way. Tell me how it effected sales. If you cared so much why did you not refund the game? The interview part pissed me off. But eh, what you going to do.
True. This game is so good, and has gotten so popular that people with very different world views are playing it, loving it, and critiquing it. So this was bound to happen, because we all have blind spots.
Regardless of the flaws of the article (which Tynan has pointed out), it was still good enough, and true enough, to make Tynan change things, think things, see things. Like the issue with the lack of bisexual men in the game that now Tynan knows could use some fixing if he can get to it.
Also, it seems clear to me that Tynan does not quite understand everything that Claudia Lo is saying; not because he is not trying: they are just coming from different worlds (which is why Claudia also got quite a few things wrong). The assumptions are so different, that the same words are read very differently.
Case in point: Tynan pointed out that it wasn't true that "RimWorld implements gender roles based on unexamined cultural assumptions." To prove Claudia wrong, Tynan then cites the OKCupid statistics, among other sources. But in my undestanding, OkCupid is a dating platform that imposes gender (and I might add, race) roles based on "unexamined cultural assumptions." For example, most of my non-straight friends, non-white friends, don't use okcupid much. Queer people of color tend to try it and then leave it (explaining that would be another thread). But the point is that the fact that Tynan relied on those statistics, actually proves Claudia is onto something, if not mostly right. It's just that the message got lost in translation. So on and so forth.
And, bugs should not be an excuse to deflect a valid critique that brings to light issues with our gender biases as content creators: when Claudia pointed out that "Rebuffing people doesn't cause to a mood decrease for female pawns," Tynan clarified that "I'm not sure if this is true, but if so it's not as intended. If it is true, it's just a bug and it'll get fixed."
But the point Claudia is making is that this little bug is not a standalone problem, but a reflection of a larger framework, like a baseline of beliefs and knowledge that is, ultimately, a bit problematic. To say it's just a bug is like saying police shootings of black civilians in the U.S. are just instances of "mistakes". It deflects the real issue.
To be very honest, I would not be bummed if the relationship system receives no further improvements. But again, I am neither a bisexual man nor a woman. Maybe that is why it doesn't bother me as much. Just food for thought.
Quote from: thetj on November 07, 2016, 03:27:33 AM
To say it's just a bug is like saying police shootings of black civilians in the U.S. are just instances of "mistakes". It deflects the real issue.
You realize most of them are justified, right? or at least have probable cause...tamir rice was tragic, but the parents were equally at fault for letting him have an unmarked bb gun at that hour, pointing at folks...
I think most parents would give an unforgettable ass beating for that kind of behavior being ever done.. I know if I had my kid do that, I would do that, and likely destroy / sell a few things as punishment, possibly humiliate him to his friends to assure this NEVER happens again.
You know, because, better humiliated than shot by a cop.
-------------
Similar to above, the issue ISN'T problematic because men and women ARE different ON average.
Want to know the biggest cause of people thinking women are weaker, less ambitious, and emotional? People SEEING women being weaker, less ambitious and emotional.... it CONFIRMS the stereotype.
Its like, lets say for a moment, that a stereotype about tynan was made for say..getting drunk and posting on ludeon forums with a bunch of typos and calling everyone a jackass (this is very outlandish, I know.).... Do you think this would stick if this never happened? I doubt it. It would need to occur at least a BIT to be seem as a stereotype. Otherwise people would say "what? I've NEVER seen this". But with women, generally they DO flirt less, they ARE weaker, so the stereotype sticks. Where as tynans stereotype in this situation, people would look, and look, and look for examples, and find nothing, thus people would throw out the stereotype. As it was never confirmed.
And thats the issue, if you want to kill a stereotype, kill the fueling examples. Don't be upset that the game has women flirt less, if you want to "fix" this, MAKE women flirt more, I guess.
Or, if you want to insist theres other reasons, you must provide some kind of evidence...
what "article"?
Quote from: mumblemumble on November 07, 2016, 04:32:09 AM
Quote from: thetj on November 07, 2016, 03:27:33 AM
To say it's just a bug is like saying police shootings of black civilians in the U.S. are just instances of "mistakes". It deflects the real issue.
You realize most of them are justified, right?
I wouldn't say its justified to kill people on sight just because they seem a little suspicious. Where I come from (thankfully not the US), the job of the police is to investigate and apprehend people if they are actually doing something illegal, not plainly kill people because there is a very slim chance that you yourself could get harmed (which is always a risk that every policeman should be aware and accepting of when they signed up for the job).
In regards to the actual topic, I do believe that pawns should behave differently, but not (solely, if even) based on their gender. There should be more of a random factor that decides the pawns personality regarding social interactions. Ie. some women might be flirtier than most men, while some men might not be inclined to flirt at all.
Quote from: Lys on November 07, 2016, 07:07:59 AM
I wouldn't say its justified to kill people on sight just because they seem a little suspicious.
In regards to the actual topic, I do believe that pawns should behave differently, but not (solely, if even) based on their gender. There should be more of a random factor that decides the pawns personality regarding social interactions. Ie. some women might be flirtier than most men, while some men might not be inclined to flirt at all.
Unless you want to cite that being the reason in a court case, I feel I can ignore your comment.
Also, you realize these women can TECHNICALLY exist right? rimworld allows it.
Quote from: RawCode on November 07, 2016, 04:57:51 AM
what "article"?
This one: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/02/rimworld-code-analysis/
Quote from: RJ on November 07, 2016, 10:09:51 AM
Quote from: RawCode on November 07, 2016, 04:57:51 AM
what "article"?
This one: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/02/rimworld-code-analysis/
insulted myself just by looking at that "article".
going to implement "no woman" mod for a game.
Quote from: RawCode on November 07, 2016, 10:36:08 AM
Quote from: RJ on November 07, 2016, 10:09:51 AM
Quote from: RawCode on November 07, 2016, 04:57:51 AM
what "article"?
This one: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/02/rimworld-code-analysis/
insulted myself just by looking at that "article".
going to implement "no woman" mod for a game.
Oh cmon, you don't want that, you want the no FEMINISTS mod =P
Wow, what a nasty woman. Talking about the article writer.
It just goes to show, you can get as loony as a Gamergater, coming from the other side of the fence :P .
"Your coarse-grained social simulation of semi- to fully-psychotic freaks wearing human-leather suits while munching on the previous wearers isn't completely realistic. The nerve!"
It's exactly congruent to stereotypical WASP PTA moms getting bent out of shape about whatever book they're trying to ban that moment, without ever having bothered to read it themselves -.-' .
One has to wonder exactly what is going on when RPS has been singing Rimworld's praises since it came out and now this. I didn't recognize the name of the writer, so I guess she's either new or rarely used. I would say the blame lies with the editor, because this article is a complete mismatch with pretty much everything else they've written about Rimworld. Someone should have caught this before it went live.
^I noticed that too. The author of the piece wasn't listed anywhere on the RPS 'about us' page.
Makes me think it was a one time gig that went awry, but I don't follow RPS (or care) enough know for sure.