7/26/2023 0 Comments Paralives survey![]() ![]() I sympathize to an extent with this position, but having spent significant time in tech and games spaces, I believe these problems arise from the same historical conditions that render most art conservative, as well as specific ones owing to the opaqueness of the industry itself. military.) This has led some leftists to believe that the interactive arts as a craft are inherently reactionary and devoid of creative potential. Videogames in particular have their own sordid history of using diversity rhetoric as a way to deflect criticism of unwieldy, increasingly shoddy games produced under highly exploitative conditions, and reflect profoundly disturbing ideological tendencies (sometimes with the help of the arms industry or the U.S. This isn’t to say symbolic representation doesn’t matter, but to fixate on it strips us of the ability to think in terms of collective political power, and cultivate a real political program that fights for material improvements to people’s lived conditions. All actual material concerns and real struggle can then be ironed away in favour of simply trying to optimize the level of participation for marginalized groups, as one would fiddle with a dial. A major way it seeks to accomplish this is by centering symbolic representation of various marginalized identities while also depoliticizing things like technological progress, framing them as inherently good and proof of societal advancement. According to this view, capitalism fundamentally works, only needing a slight tweak here or there to make it more “accessible” to those who are deserving. Liberalism prefers to try to diversify the middle class of the currently existing system, rather than try imagining something that might liberate greater masses of people. The dominant ideological expression of late capitalism is liberalism, or more specifically, neoliberalism. ![]() If the industry’s flagship mainstream titles give us very little to seriously engage with, then why bother digging any deeper? It’s easy to feel like no one really cares about fringe technical arts because, well, most people don’t. This work is voluntary, but can sometimes feel much more fulfilling than my actual profession. My political activity outside of my work consists largely of anti-fascist organizing in my city–that means participating in teach-ins, free food events, as well as protests and counter-demonstrations against the far-right. I’ve worked as a writer and small-time artist and developer for almost a decade, focusing primarily on indie and alternative development communities and agitating in my limited capacity for more of a spotlight on them, their histories, and the labour involved in them. In my own experience occupying the art fringe of the videogame industry–which is admittedly a highly reactionary space–I’ve learned that while there are a lot of young people pouring a lot of energy into their craft, it’s easy to feel lonely and beholden to a lost cause. I know the folks at The Mare’s Nest will now accuse me of being an unrepentant sinner for daring to even consider going back to that “abomination.” I may go back to the Sims 4 at some point. I played Sims 4 for a long time, and enjoyed it, before getting really bored with it, and than going back to the Sims 3. Perhaps it’s not the best game ever, or even the best game in the Sims franchise, but there are far worse games out there. Also I don’t think that the Sims 4 is as bad as some people, including those people who write for The Mare’s Nest so often make it out to be. It doesn’t have to be the greatest thing since slice bread, just decent. If I have to wait until 2024 or 2025, for Paralives, as long as it’s a good game, it will be worth it to me. I am in no way expecting Paralives to come out next year, especially early next year. They don’t have anywhere near the resources that EA has. Yes, maybe the Sims 4 does look better, but graphics aren’t everything and the Paralives Team has made tremendous progress considering that its still an indie developer. ![]()
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