With so many folks here struggling to engage in cultural criticism regarding more in-your-face issues like race and gender, it's not at all surprising to me how this forum that is probably made up mostly of white Americans and Europeans can't even begin to fathom post-colonial perspectives in video games.
Waypoint, its community, and even me personally think Monster Hunter: World is one of the best games that came out in 2018, but that doesn't mean we don't get to critique one of the central themes it clearly communicates, intentionally or not, through its narrative and mechanics.
Also, yes, fucking LOL at believing the games industry and the culture it fosters at large isn't right-leaning.
It's neoliberal at best, with the biggest companies spewing PR speak for diversity and inclusivity all the while having exploitative, abusive working conditions and churning out game after game fulfilling power fantasies and fetishizing militarism and conquest. There's also the rare AAA game limply suggesting "maybe we're the bad guys too!" but FUCK YEAH THE GAMEPLAY FEELS GOOD.
It's only recently that the mainstream gaming press has become more outspoken against the toxicity of ~gamers~ and the corporations that allow such hate to breed for profit as well as the hell those very corporations put their workers through.
When white men don't dominate positions of power in the industry, when women and queer and colored folk feel safe and welcome in more companies and official communities, when we aren't getting news about labor exploitation every other week, when studio leads stop glamorizing "passion" to excuse crunch and no work-life balance for the people under them, when socio-political criticism doesn't get greeted by defensiveness and cynicism, when more publishers, dev studios, and media outlets actively denounce abhorrent actions and beliefs of hate groups and specific personalities and other companies without fear of alienating certain audiences, when the majority of video game narratives and mechanics don't reinforce individualistic empowerment and imposing order via force, maybe then we can agree that the gaming industry isn't right-leaning.
There are definitely creatives and communities that are passionate about games and lean left, but they are dwarfed by the institutions and fans that are all for the status quo.
Today, we should just lament the fact that Waypoint, one of the few bastions for honest-to-god left-leaning criticism in games, has fallen victim to corporate restructuring, and that Natalie Watson, the one and only Joyous Gamer, will no longer be part of the crew. Waypoint wasn't perfect, highlighted by their mishandling of trans issues with their content back in late 2017/early 2018, but they acknowledged their mistakes and have done better about it, as exemplified by their Savepoint charity streams for Trans Lifeline that has raised over $200k. I sincerely hope Austin and co. manage to keep to their mission of examining why we play games within this new structure. The latest pod has me optimistic, and I trust Austin, Patrick, Danielle, Rob, and Cado to stay the course.
