Tuesday, May 24, 2016

No, It's Not For Everyone

It sounds nice, doesn't it? "Gaming is for everyone!"

And that first time shooting up heroin is fantastic too, as all the addict testimonies proclaim, but there are consequences that can't be avoided. Changing your medium--gaming, comics, etc.--to attract and retain an audience greater than what it historically acquired requires that you make changes that drive away that audience, which means that you either stop your self-destructive behaviors or you turn hostile to the audience you rely upon to stay afloat.

We see what happens when you turn your coat and commit treason upon that audience: you go down like the Hindenberg. Nonetheless, the band plays on despite the ground coming fast and the fire coming faster, so it's only a question of how they die: consumed by flames or crushed by impact.

This cry for "representation" deliberately ignores something that even we who are part of the scene sometimes forget: it's not for everyone. Gaming demands that you Git Gud. Science Fiction demands that you entertain big ideas as you explore their implications (Yes, even for the adventure stories.). The STEM fields demand that you step up and prove that you can master the knowledge and principles that drive their work. In every case, you must conform to it, and not it to you.

These are Challenges of Initiation, and not everyone passes them. Some try and fail; they are not able. Some try, fail, and succeed later; they were not ready the first time. Some never try; they are unwilling. Failure to pass the initiation is not a bad thing.

What is bad is demanding that they let you in anyway, and then demand that they change things to suit you. Lying about it under the guise of "equality" and "representation" is no justification; it's just another layer of theft by doubling-down on the swindle you're pulling. Now that we who've passed the test, put in the work, and mastered the thing are on to your game we'll see this put down- and you criminals with it.

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