So, whitewashing mods are bad right? Right. So what need for discussion is there? Really why are people still trying to debate this?

WHAT IS THIS? REALLY WHAT IS IT?
bluvixen via tumblr

Game Modding – For Better or For Worse?

The Bioware Community Discussion Group is back this week, and we’ll be tackling the controversial subject of PC mods. Mods have always existed in games in some form or another and have enabled gamers to enjoy the original game in a new light or to get creative and technical by creating new worlds, new characters, and new stories. While inspiring creativity in some, they have not come without controversy, especially in Bioware games. There are mods that allow users to change not only the physical appearance of a character, to the point of changing their ethnicity, but also their sexuality (bisexuality or “bi mods” and “straight mods”) and even parts of the story altogether.

Are these mods truly harmful to others, or is all the controversy much ado about nothing? [ YES THEY ARE HARMFUL, FULL STOP] 

Should game mods have standards? Will those standards impede creativity or be considered censorship? Have mods ruined games and the gaming experience? We will cover these and other questions throughout our discussion [Info redacted so we do not promote this “discussion]

Please join us for what will likely be a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion! And, as always, message me if you have any questions or want to join our humble group! And as always, please like and reblog to help spread the word!

Rebuttal from friend cassandrashipsit on Tumblr:

cassandrashipsit

Ooook. I wasn’t going to comment, but we all know I have ZERO chill when it comes to this issue, so prepare for The Salt.

Fuck… I almost don’t even know where to START with this, it’s just that fucking bad. OK, yeah, here we go, I got this.

I’m going to work my way up from the bottom, so bear with me:

Please join us for what will likely be a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion!

Translation: Please join us while people in positions of privilege play devil’s advocate and debate about whether things like this are harmful to marginalized groups, even though members of those marginalized groups have told us OVER AND OVER that they are!

Are these mods truly harmful to others, or is all the controversy much ado about nothing?

Translation: God, what are all these brown people and gheys all up in arms about? Literally in the reblogs there is an added note saying “ It’s a mod. Just don’t download it. It’s THAT simple. ” That’s right kids! Just don’t download racism, there’s no way it can hurt you if you don’t download it!

The fact that you’re still fucking asking questions like this after being told over and over and OVER again by marginalized groups that YES THESE FUCKING HARM US is just insulting. I’m so glad that we can provide a topic of debate for you with our suffering, woohoo!

And then there’s the image of Vivienne at the beginning (which I’d love to be able to delete from my reblog, but can’t). You’ve chosen an INCREDIBLY fucking racist side by side set of pictures that are upsetting for me as a black woman to look at (and I have to assume will be pretty upsetting for others as well), and you’re now encouraging people to reblog it all over Tumblr in the name of promoting your little event. Well done, you’ve just committed a really unpleasant micro-aggression bordering on plain old fucking aggression.

Tell me, will your chat be moderated? Do you have pre-posted rules regarding appropriate behavior and handling of this topic? Are there members of your community who are PoC (I’m specifically going to go with black in this case considering the picture you chose to use) and LGBTGIA who have specifically been included in this discussion? Is there a goal to this other than couching erasure and racism in pseudo-academic terms? Are you just really clueless about the affect that this kind of thing has on PoC and LGBTQIA people in the community?

Ugh, fandom, why do you have to be so fucking terrible.

cypheroftyr

NO these fucking mods are NOT JUST ADO ABOUT NOTHING. NO NO NO. NO.

Goddamn, we can’t have ONE BLACK WOMAN, ONE? Just … fuck all this shit.

GET OUT OF HERE with this shit. OUT.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.