I cannot call myself an extreme gamer but from time to time I do like to play video games, whether it be online games or mainstream video games I get enjoyment from it. With that being said the games that I like to play are either racing car games or violent games. What I get enjoyment out of the violent games is not the actual killings or extreme graphics but rather how the game play is played out. When it comes to games online I like similar game choices and thinking back I can only hope I never ran across a white nationalist game but there is the possibility I may have. This might sound bad to say but I hope I ran across a white nationalist game because then I can say I overlooked the whole ideologies of the game. If I did play a game that is racially motivated I can say I am still the same person I was before I played the game!
Having looked into this topic I think its safe to say that yes online games that a racially motivated are very prevalent they are typically deeply hidden in online gaming websites if the site even wants to hoist the game. I went through many popular gaming sites and went through hundreds of pages of game titles and description looking for something that might sound racially motivated or might spark the interest of a white nationalist. After looking through four major sites I only found one game that sparked my interest and once clicking on that game I got an error message referring me to the policy of the website saying the game had been taken down due to its violation of site policies. This made me happy to see but at the same time it also made some of my previous statements in past blogs faulty. The statements that I have made are that online sites do not monitor the games and if they do they do not really enforce the rules that govern it. It is only one of the many sites that I have looked at for games that have taken down a game for violations of its policies so I cannot completely either reject or accept my statements but it is a good sight to see. If it has happened once it hopefully has happened on other sites for other games.
I hope you enjoyed my research into the video game communities and how some games are created and played for white nationalist ideologies. I have one more post that is the most interesting. If you are reading this one please read the next.
Have you played Grand Theft Auto, out of curiosity? I personally have never played it, it's not my kind of game (even though I'm a big video game nerd). I've heard that you can do some pretty messed up stuff in it and I wonder how white nationalists would play the game. From my understanding, most of the games feature a white man as the main character and the basis of gameplay is his goal to gain power through violence. What kinds of things does this say about our society, since ultimately it is society that shapes the kind of media we consume and create? If this kind of game were not likely to sell and capture people's interest, we wouldn't have different versions of the game. What does following a white man's rise to power through violence say for the white nationalist movement?
ReplyDeleteI have played Grand Theft Auto in the past, I want to say I played it and followed the game play instructions. Where as many WN have played it just to kill minorities, get drugs, and have sex with prostitutes. Yes I would agree some of the things that are in this game can be considered messed up but I dont think the intention of the game makers was for a WN to get the copy of this game and use it as a motivation of just killing and not following the game play. Yes you are correct the main character is black and i think this game does a very bad job on shaping our society and making it ok for a white man to go on a violent streak just to gain power. I think the rise to power through violence says a lot of the WN movement. It shows that even though a game is being played in the larger context it is more than just a game it can be seen as reality by some.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that regular gaming sites keep a good watch on what types of games that they are distributing to the public. Do you think that most sites have a good grasp on this or do you believe it is more difficult to search specifically for these types of games? Also, have you found any gaming sites that are specifically for white nationalists? I feel like in the world that we live in it is hard to hide all inappropriate games from the public, but overall with your gaming experience, would you say that these games would be difficult for people to find and access?
ReplyDelete