In an extended feature, Stephen Totilo of Kotaku reports that some supporters of gay rights are choosing to not purchase the critically acclaimed XBLA game, Shadow Complex, due to the involvement of celebrated science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card who has opposed homosexual equal rights for decades.
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In a phone interview this week, Wong told me: "I decided I could not in good conscience support a product of a person whose views I find abhorrent and knowingly give him money. In my everyday life I probably give enough money unknowingly to bigots or at least to people whose personal and political views I find distasteful."
Card was not the main creator of Shadow Complex. He did not conceive it nor code it. His name has been used in the game's promotion by its developers and publisher, Microsoft, to trade both on the renown for his classic novel, Ender's Game, as well his 2006 book, Empire, which was based on the same fiction as Shadow Complex: a Right-Wing-vs.-Left-Wing future American civil war crafted by members of the new game's development studio, Chair Entertainment.
I think we can all imagine political views that would be repugnant enough that we would not do business with those people or even people who choose to do business with those people. For example, I would not buy Shadow Complex if it was written by a KKK grandwizard or the president of NAMBLA. However, I have long been a fan of Card's work and despite being a supporter of gay rights, I purchased Shadow Complex. Does this show a lack of strength in my convictions or tolerance of those whose beliefs I find repugnant?
Well, if you knew it was made by a supporter of anti-gay rights and you purchased it anyways, I think it shows you have more respect towards your own feelings against pedophiles and white racists than opposers of gay rights.
You, specifically, Bean19, not anyone else of course.
Well, considering that the only relationship to Card that this game has is existing in the same fictional universe as his fiction, I really don't see the issue.
Why is it that everyone likes to create these cosmetic, fake issues where none really exist?
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It is all ridiculous, out of all the people that make video games, some of them undoubtably harbor racist attitudes or have some sexual deviant behavior.
To be completely honest, I bought Shadow Complex before I realized Card was involved so the personal moral dilemma posited was one I faced after the deed was done. I'm not sure how I would have chosen had I read this story before playing the awesome demo.
Had I know, it is very likely I would have never even tried the demo. Metroid was fun, but it isn't perfectly in my wheelhouse, so I may have given this a pass. The demo was so entertaining that I bought it on impulse.
Now that I know how good the game is, I WOULD definitely have a problem deciding to not purchase it simply because a talented bigot wrote the story. He's also a bigot whose work I have loved. As a young kid, I remember my brother devouring Ender's Game in about two days and this intrigued me. This was the first "adult" book (in size more than subject matter) I read at abut the age of 8 and it was my favorite book for many years after that. So it is difficult for me to boycott Card's work more than it would be for me to boycott the work of some other bigot.
Thank god for internet anonymity. My gay sister would probably be hurt by the fact that I am obviously capable of compromising my principles on this issue.
Why is it that everyone likes to create these cosmetic, fake issues where none really exist?
How is this issue cosmetic? Card is receiving money as the result of our purchases. I'm putting my money into the pocket of an outspoken bigot that actively works to deny rights to gays.
I do understand that there are a lot of other people working on this game, and that Card may only be receiving a small amount, but would you feel okay about giving David Duke (an infamous politician with ties to the KKK) even a dollar of your money?
The answer is probably somewhere in the middle and I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here because I think there is an argument to be made that buying Shadow Complex while being a supporter of gay rights is not that big of a deal, but it certainly is not a "cosmetic issue".
people are so PC as if by purchasing the game its saying i dont support gay rights, im pretty sure thats not what the game is about so Card's believes in something buying something he is involved with does not make those beliefs yours...its a non issue until someone made it one with this article
people are so PC as if by purchasing the game its saying i dont support gay rights, im pretty sure thats not what the game is about so Card's believes in something buying something he is involved with does not make those beliefs yours...its a non issue until someone made it one with this article
I am going to disagree with you, while I see where you are coming from, and likely agree in other areas, automatically reducing ones reaction to purchasing this game into a simplistic take of being overly-PC is a tad brash. I have not purchased this game because I did not enjoy the demo at all. I also thoroughly enjoyed Enders Game, even if it was a bit didactic. I can completely understand why a serious supporter of gay rights would be put off by having Card's name attached.
I fully support gay rights and I really loved the Ender's Game books, kinda hard to reconcile
myself with Card being a douche Does he passively hate on gays or like Stephanie Meyer does he funnel money into anti-gay political groups? I'm kinda just hearing about this aspect of Card myself and I want to know more if anyone can elaborate.
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It is all ridiculous, out of all the people that make video games, some of them undoubtably harbor racist attitudes or have some sexual deviant behavior.
I don't care or even think about it.
The difference isn't that Card "harbors" certain feelings. He actively campaigns against gay rights. He uses his money to support the opposition, as well.
Obviously, even your friends hold certain views counter to your own (they'd be boring people otherwise). The issue is how strongly they impose those views on others that cause people to react.
Not to go too far down this road, but since the discussion directly involves it...
It is widely known that Proposal 8 in California would have likely failed if not due to massive advertising and campaigning by the LDS church supporting it.
Mormons adhere very strictly to tithing. The millions that it took to fund that campaign came from financially successful Mormons like Mrs. Meyers and Mr. Card.
My own feelings on the topic are difficult to pin down, as I am a big fan of some of Card's work as well, and feel some of his books are the perfect anti-theses to his personal views. It's truly a bizarre situation.
To be honest I don't really think about it when making purchases, but that is just indefensible apathy on my part. Kudos to those with the conviction to adhere to their moral positions.
I fully support gay rights and I really loved the Ender's Game books, kinda hard to reconcile
myself with Card being a douche Does he passively hate on gays or like Stephanie Meyer does he funnel money into anti-gay political groups? I'm kinda just hearing about this aspect of Card myself and I want to know more if anyone can elaborate.
He basically outlines the Mormon's policy towards homosexuality. They view it as perverse behavior that they counsel teenagers to not engage in (pervasive throughout this article is the idea that homosexuality may be genetically predisposed but is ultimately a choice), but eventually react harshly towards in adults by excommunicating and shunning homosexuals from the communities and families that they were born in.
I just finished reading the article Card wrote that I posted. Truly disgusting how Card tries to arouse sympathy for Mormons who lost friends because of their support for Prop. 8, and tries to conflate that with if Prop 8. had failed.
Card, if Prop. 8 had failed, Mormonism would still be legal. That is the difference, you fucking douche.
Marriage between a Mormon and Catholic is also theologically improper. Somehow I don't think Card would be so quick to defend a law outlawing that "redefinition of marriage". This whole discussion is a dancing about of terms and ignoring inconveniences.
Buddhists marrying Protestants is against strict Biblical law, but we don't have laws outlawing that. Divorce is also clearly indefensible, yet that isn't illegal. Single-parent households are not "traditional families". "Traditional families" like my mother's where she was abused by her step-father, or my father's where he was abused by his alcoholic father were not conducive to a child's development.
Yet, we conveniently ignore all that as the mundane, while banging the drums of outrage when a man who is in love with another man wants to share the level of commitment and legal rights as any other loving couple have access to.
Anthing you buy is bound to be made by someone who has at least one view you disagree with.
I agree, but it isn't necessarily so directly traceable to funding something you disagree with. Although you make an interesting point.
EvAv and Will Wright supported Bush. Where does this road take us? No where good I think. Maybe it is best to detach our consumer driven actions from the beliefs of the creators. Maybe it is foolish to do that. I don't really know.
I took the time to check Card's actual opinions and basically he is getting slammed because he opposes gay marriage. I don't recall reading anything remotely homophobic in any of his books, and if we are going to start boycotting games because of someone takes a political opinion that is shared by the majority of Americans then there wont be many games left.
If anything this is harmful to the gay community because they appear to be the intolerant ones. By (understandably) trying to get payback against the religious groups that have often been the most bigoted, they also attack the majority of Americans who consider themselves both pro- gay rights and religious.
Card's outspoken and active message of hate has really destroyed any appreciation I may have held for his work. Even though the actual written words or story of Ender's Game (my favorite of his) haven't changed, I can no longer read it without thinking what he has chosen to represent. For me his works have been tainted.
I feel like it's not an issue of personal politics, it's an issue of hate. He preaches a message deliberately attacking and infringing upon the rights of millions of people who have done absolutely nothing except demand rights equal to those of any other citizen. I will not support him in any way in the future.
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Originally Posted by Virtuoso
Are you honestly saying that you didnt know sensationalism equals more traffic equals more profit from advertisers?
Do you breathe on your own or do you have a machine handle that for you?
Anthing you buy is bound to be made by someone who has at least one view you disagree with.
This is true. What is different with Card as opposed to someone simply being an authoritarian where I'm a libertarian is that he actively campaigns against gay rights. He is a large player rather than simply someone on the opposing side of the political spectrum.
If we are going to start boycotting games because of someone takes a political opinion that is shared by the majority of Americans then there wont be many games left.
The majority of Americans supported segregation before it was opposed too. Would you buy a game from someone who was a confirmed racist who actively supported racist campaigns to deny rights to people who are not white?
Your point of view reveals that you are among those who would deny rights to homosexuals. I'm not trying to change your opinion here. I'm trying to illustrate to you that this is not a "non-issue" to those of us who believe that denying rights to homosexuals is bigotry.
Does he passively hate on gays or like Stephanie Meyer does he funnel money into anti-gay political groups? I'm kinda just hearing about this aspect of Card myself and I want to know more if anyone can elaborate.
