The pit: Creation and the fall that follows.
As you know, I’ve just gotten done being “in the pit”. Anytime you take a risk to make something certain people may think “you’re laying open your soul” and every flaw in your song, book, or game is a metaphorical or literal “black mark” upon your reputation as a human being!
That’s my biggest problem. The fact you make something and are judged by it even though it’s a work of fiction. Between us I know you didn’t rob your neighbors, cause the genocide of an entire race, or kidnap your best friend’s little sister! Yet there are people out there who will think you want to do these things or perhaps have done these things because it’s in the yarn you are spinning.
Gutterdelve has become my burden. As my first ever game it gets controversy wherever it goes. Admittedly some of the criticism I receive is good. Some of the replies are very insightful. But often enough I feel as if people partaking my game are looking down on me from their hover discus chairs in the sky whilst telling me either I did something “wrong” or that I’m contributing to a misogynistic sexist sub culture hell bent on keeping women down.
I have never claimed to know the minds of women intimately. I’ve been single and celibate most of my life and I don’t have the honor of admitting that because I’m trying to “stay pure”. Offline my social skills are almost nonexistent. To clarify, I can nod at someone and smile at them as they walk by. I can even be nice to the check out personnel at my local grocery store. But if you tried to include me in a group or start a conversation with me you would notice how awkward I truly am. Many of these things I enjoy are not mainstream and the life I’ve lived has not always been “safe” and “pleasant”.
What I can say for certain is the mere thought of hurting a woman or even frightening one makes me upset. I would not wish ill-will even upon my online ex-girlfriends. (All three of them, heh!) Because of this it “hurts” to be called misogynistic and it “hurts” when someone accuses me of objectifying women.
Imagine just for a moment you are a single heterosexual male. In this scenario you have met some wonderful people online and you have one best friend who pretty much sees you everyday in real life. Imagine you are also an artist and your subject matter happens to be “sexy females”. (At least most of the time)
Now consider which of these choices is more feasible than the other!
A. I draw scantily clad sexy women in provocative positions because I see them as objects and they’re only good for sex! By the way, I’m anti choice, anti equality, and I secretly hate women as a collective! Long live the patriarchy, boo yah!
B. I draw sexy females because I’m lonely and still have the biological cravings of a healthy straight male. I believe women should have free will, free choice, and they should be given the same respect they give onto me in turn. If kinky sex is offered I might jump at the opportunity but I’d never initiate sexual relations by force on the basis I do in fact have a conscience! I also possess the rationality to realize the women I draw are not “real people” that can be objectified in the first place!
I don’t know about you, but I feel shackled by all these moral crusader thought police. It’s gotten to the point many us dread saying something over the phobia we might offend someone else. Yet if we cannot express certain things or create certain things is that not censorship?
For those “offended”
If you do not like a movie, song, or game why do you interact with it KNOWING it’ll upset you? Are you stupid or just illiterate? After all, warning labels and disclaimers are put on almost everything these days. You don’t go into GTA 5 expecting it to be Shakespeare or an overly positive representation of humankind in general and you certainly do not go into Dead Or Alive 5 looking for an undercurrent of pro-feminist grandstanding. You might as well stick your hand into the fire under the asinine assumption it will not burn you!
For those interested
After complaints about “random encounters” I devised a new system to eliminate that. You can now get into fights at your leisure. So far the only bug is visible opponents on screen “stand still” when they re-spawn 500 frames later.
I know most of you are tired of updates and revisions but I figured I’d offer this version to people who haven’t played it yet.
Just be sure to heed the warning at the beginning of my game and take it seriously! It goes to some pretty dark places and doesn’t always skimp out on the disturbing details. It’s 100% okay to simply admit “This ain’t my kind of tea, chief! Gonna have to take a rain check!’.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ndzymwnb7nv16fy/Project3.zip
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