(cache)When did the "activist" game developer mindset start?

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They Live, We Sleep!

27 Jun @ 8:01am

When did the "activist" game developer mindset start?

Most strange phenomena can be pinned down to a single date or title, such as the first game to feature a turrent section, or the first game to feature quick-time events (I'm glad those two features are gone). So, what was the first game where the developers had a "activist" mindset, where they didn't care about their customers at all and actively fought against them brazenly. When did this terrible, narcissistic mindset start, and what's the first game to be plagued by it?

I can pinpoint such a mindset with movies, with Ghostbusters 2016. That was the first movie I saw where the director, the actors, and even the studio funding it actively went against the customers and fought against them so openly. It was pretty weird, which made it satisfying when the movie flopped and it sequel was cancelled.

But what about games? What was the first game to be plagued with the "activist" mindset that ruined it?

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Showing 136-150 of 1,223 comments

D. Flame

29 Jun @ 3:59am

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:
Originally posted by Crashed:
Maybe not if I was in your little community, but you'd have to elaborate your opinions.
That's the main issue with conspiracies. It's always "inside info" or "you know". And they never elaborate

Also why they can't actually prove ♥♥♥♥. You need real things for proofs.

That's the thing with sea lioning, they always ask questions who's answers are common knowledge, public knowledge, or have already been explained to them. Then when you refuse to play along, they pretend to be the victor/victim:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning

And not only has it been explained repeatedly, with multiple examples provided on these forums, it was also explained and demonstrated in this very thread.

#136

Tito Shivan

29 Jun @ 4:18am

Kind of funny to see these two posts minutes away

Originally posted by D. Flame:
Funny how you always say BS like this, but never once cite any sources for these claims.

Originally posted by D. Flame:
That's the thing with sea lioning, they always ask questions who's answers are common knowledge, public knowledge, or have already been explained to them.

But to answer your question:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_representation_in_video_games

#137

D. Flame

29 Jun @ 4:23am

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Kind of funny to see these two posts minutes away
Originally posted by D. Flame:
Funny how you always say BS like this, but never once cite any sources for these claims.
Originally posted by D. Flame:
That's the thing with sea lioning, they always ask questions who's answers are common knowledge, public knowledge, or have already been explained to them.

But to answer your question:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_representation_in_video_games

1.) This isnt something you ever cited before, least of all in this thread.

2.) Wikipedia is already an iffy source for controversial topics since anyone can edit it.

Plus...

3.) This is from your own cited page:

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Gender representation in video games" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR
(October 2024)

This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints.
Please help improve it by adding information on neglected viewpoints. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page.
(July 2025)

#138

Tito Shivan

29 Jun @ 4:33am

Originally posted by D. Flame:
That's the thing with sea lioning, they always ask questions who's answers are common knowledge, public knowledge, or have already been explained to them. Then when you refuse to play along, they pretend to be the victor/victim:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning

And not only has it been explained repeatedly, with multiple examples provided on these forums, it was also explained and demonstrated in this very thread.

It was you the one to cite wikipedia first.

#139

D. Flame

29 Jun @ 4:36am

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
That's the thing with sea lioning, they always ask questions who's answers are common knowledge, public knowledge, or have already been explained to them. Then when you refuse to play along, they pretend to be the victor/victim:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning

And not only has it been explained repeatedly, with multiple examples provided on these forums, it was also explained and demonstrated in this very thread.
It was you the one to cite wikipedia first.

I cited a definition, not an article about controversial topic, an article with various issues pointed out by Wikipedia itself.

Last edited by D. Flame; 29 Jun @ 4:53am

#140

The nameless Gamer

29 Jun @ 4:51am

Originally posted by Underprivileged White Male:
Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Also way more sexism and gender and racial stereotypes.

Amen. Was so much better. A healthy dose of sexism and racism almost always makes for better stories. You know because the majority of all living humans are either sexist, racist, or both. Excluding that from a story makes it instantly makes it require far too much suspension of disbelieve.

Also the humans were the good guys in Starship troopers. Anyone who wants aliens to live over citizens is a psychopath. It's just like those weirdos who values trees, and turtles and ♥♥♥♥ more than humans. Just wrong in the head.

Disparaging human beings over petty reasons is never correct. Be it sex or skin colour.

#141

Tito Shivan

29 Jun @ 5:39am

Originally posted by D. Flame:
I cited a definition, not an article about controversial topic, an article with various issues pointed out by Wikipedia itself.

Is there somewhere a list of 'controversial topics' so next time I save myself the hassle of linking wikipedia and put another source instead?

Last edited by Tito Shivan; 29 Jun @ 5:40am

#142

zaphodikus

29 Jun @ 5:43am

Originally posted by Start_Running:
Originally posted by They Live, We Sleep!:
Most strange phenomena can be pinned down to a single date or title, such as the first game to feature a turrent section, or the first game to feature quick-time events (I'm glad those two features are gone). So, what was the first game where the developers had a "activist" mindset, where they didn't care about their customers at all and actively fought against them brazenly. When did this terrible, narcissistic mindset start, and what's the first game to be plagued by it?

I can pinpoint such a mindset with movies, with Ghostbusters 2016. That was the first movie I saw where the director, the actors, and even the studio funding it actively went against the customers and fought against them so openly. It was pretty weird, which made it satisfying when the movie flopped and it sequel was cancelled.

But what about games? What was the first game to be plagued with the "activist" mindset that ruined it?
In movies that activist mindset has been a thing since.. well the 60's.
In video games, I'd say since the 80's .

This isn't new m8.

Agree. I also find it hard to define an exact start point. But it was definitely pre 2000.

Although as someone who played pong on a Motorola CPU with 2 plastic jar lids for analog controllers and a co-axial wire plugged into the monochrome TV input, I'm completely missing the activism angle in pong. It would have been early 1980's and I would have been unable to detect an activist even if one bit me.

Even now I'm not grasping any activism in Pong.

Last edited by zaphodikus; 29 Jun @ 5:46am

#143

D. Flame

29 Jun @ 5:52am

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Originally posted by D. Flame:
I cited a definition, not an article about controversial topic, an article with various issues pointed out by Wikipedia itself.
Is there somewhere a list of 'controversial topics' so next time I save myself the hassle of linking wikipedia and put another source instead?

When the article you cite lists several issues with this being one of them:

"This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints.
Please help improve it by adding information on neglected viewpoints. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page.
(July 2025)"

Then that is a pretty good indicator.

#144

Start_Running

29 Jun @ 6:53am

Originally posted by zaphodikus:
Originally posted by Start_Running:
In movies that activist mindset has been a thing since.. well the 60's.
In video games, I'd say since the 80's .

This isn't new m8.
Agree. I also find it hard to define an exact start point. But it was definitely pre 2000.

Although as someone who played pong on a Motorola CPU with 2 plastic jar lids for analog controllers and a co-axial wire plugged into the monochrome TV input, I'm completely missing the activism angle in pong. It would have been early 1980's and I would have been unable to detect an activist even if one bit me.

Even now I'm not grasping any activism in Pong.

Well yeah. POng.
But Missle Command did have a political message behind it. The developer and basicallyconfirmed the game is a commentary on the futility of nuclear war.

#145

Skankhunt42

29 Jun @ 7:06am

OP should seek help, if he can afford it.

#146

zaphodikus

29 Jun @ 9:29am

I have to agree on missile command, although by that logic you could drop entire genres into the activism bucket. For example Monopoly was invented in 1904 as a response to the Prosperity Monopolism culture of the day. So computer games are trumped by boardgames at an impossible to beat date.

But yeah have to agree Missile Command would qualify, although it might not be as obvious as other games are.

#147