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.
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.
, and hopefully also on my colony, before my colonists eat them! Yum, rib-eye or t-bone steak for dinner.
