Cblogs of November, 2019: In Defense of Evil

Nearly a month after its release, I finally watched the Joker movie and I am as surprised by the hysterically negative reactions about it as I thought I would be. Frankly, all the articles and essays about how it condones and glorifies riot violence, the incel movement, white supremacy, Antifa hooliganism, and every other qualifier from each side.

My reaction to the film may be different than other's reactions to it, but my assessment is that regardless of how it portrays Evil, it is, in the end, a work to be interpreted, and shouldn't be dismissed or vilified because it is choosing to portray Evil in one form or another.

Evil, unfortunately, exists in abundance in our world. Racism, war, rape, terrorism, sexism, torture, and a hundred different other ways some humans use to dominate over other humans. As long as evil do exist, we shall always see works of “Art” depicting it in its many forms. However, the depiction of evil does not mean an acceptance of it, just as much as the reflection in the mirror of an oversized pimple not meaning its existence is acceptable.

Yet, we are continuously seeing attempts at banning stuff because it does show us real evil in the world. More so in the realm of gaming (As a young medium) than otherwise. Just to pick up a number of controversies in the last two years, we see different groups of people objecting on games showcasing: rape attempts, racism, and the atrocities of war.

This is not unique to gaming though. Every year, we see some parents in the US trying to ban some books from being taught at school because of their depiction of real-life evil. Sometimes, an even more organized attempt tries not to only ban a book, but censor it as well. One of the most famous and enduring attempts at censorship are the attempts to ban Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain from American Literature classes. The reasons argued for banning the book often cite its “racist” attitudes towards African-Americans.

Outside of the obvious factor that an American Literature class would be incomplete without one of its strongest and most enduring book, there are a bunch of realities that critics of the book should realize. First, the fact that is a mirror of a society that just barely started illegalizing slavery, and by that token is a significantly racist society. At that point, the N-word was the standard term used to refer to the African-Americans of the era. Laughably, I have seen arguments for changing each N-word with "African-American", a term that was only invented 80 years after the book. Second, the fact that Huck Finn is a scathing satire of the exact evil it is accused of promoting. The fact that it so barely exposes the racism of its time should be considered a work against evil, rather than promoting it.

Back to games, we have seen many similar controversies in the last year. In Tomb Raider, many felt that the attempted rape scene was “unacceptable”. Yet, the facts on earth suggest that rape is a real threat that faces women in isolated circumstances, and that rape as a weapon of war and degradation is still in vogue now just as much as it was 1000 years ago. In Far Cry 4, despite the main antagonist being modeled on his Asian VA, many were upset at the idea of a “white” evil man abusing ethnic groups. As if “white” evil men have not been abusing ethnic groups for the last 400 years.

There needs to be an understanding of the nature of depicting evil. Showcasing it in its grotesque reality does not mean condoning it, rather the opposite. Attempting to censor it from literature, movies, and games will not make it go away.

Evil exists in abundance in this world, and as long as it does, we shall see reflections of it in the games we play, and the books we read. Those reflections are not a celebration of it, but rather a reminder of the evils we wrought on this world. If in Joker's case, some people think it makes Evil look cool or heroic, then isn't the movie simply a reflection of those people who would think that in the first place?

*- Jonathan Holmes sheds light on Bum-Bo, an indie game developed by the same person responsible for the very popular Binding of Isaac. The unique thing about this blog is that he showcases the game from the point of view of a hardcore (but otherwise casual) fan of Isaac.

*- Man, I love reading Nior's blogs about how gaming developed in Brazil, especially when I see parallels with my own country in the prevalence of bootlegs (but we didn't have many Arcades).

*- I have not played LISA: The Painful RPG, but RileyIsCool writes so well about its strange and disturbing themes that I feel compelled to try it out for myself. This a very good in-depth blog about a game that had a big impact on the writer.

B- This month's Band of Bloggers prompt is presented by LaTerry who is inviting you to write about games that made their "Impact" felt:

• The Talos Principle had a big impact on many players a while back and The Rambling Gamer reminds us why.
• Eggrollbuddy didn't get the latest outrage memo as he writes about his love for Pokemon.
• A big fan of Final Fantasy, Shoggoth2588 writes about how Mystic Quest, a game that is more linked to the Mana series, is what made him a fan of JRPGs.
• In a weird twist, LaTerry writes about a Mana game impacting him just after Shoggoth2588 does the same.

B- Other than Band of Bloggers, the Bloggers Wanted prompt dealing with "Darkness" in videogames is continuing for another month:

• Riley1sCool writes about the assorted villains of F.E.A.R.
• I remember the muted and scared response to The Blair Witch Project which Kclang effectively captures in this blog.

A- If you start thinking about the "morality" of a videogame developer and the "morality" of buying their games, then you are opening a pandora's box about the "morality" of being involved in any shape or form in the capitalist system of today's market. I think Riley1sCool's blog about the difficult decision of supporting Blizzard's games after their recent "capitulation" to China attempts to shed some light on the complexity of the issue. However, know that everything you use has traces of gross human rights violations attached to it. Whether it is petrochemical products in the plastics found everywhere, or fabric being woven by 8-year-old girls in Pakistan. Then, stop to think if that 8-year-old would rather work in that factory and be able to eat and play, or if she and her kin would rather starve as machines replace their labor. Also remember, the protestors in Hong Kong DO NOT have the unanimous support of the Hong Kong people, and their actions have plummeted the economy of the city harming both friends and foes.

A- Acefondu writes about the proposed measures by the Chinese state to curb gaming time for its citizens in classic Orwellian fashion.

A- Michael Arietta writes about the most "important" games in this decade, which I think is an important academic category. However, I think the fact that not a single Nintendo game is in the list or the fact that Grand Theft Auto V is not included renders this list incomplete.

A- Michael is on a roll with a handy blog about controlling your backlog, which may be the single most written-about subject I covered in these recaps.

A- Do we need Indie games to get cheaper? I get where VVerner Herrzawgz is coming from, but it is time and not price that is the most effective barrier against more people buying indie games.

A- The Rambling Gamer wonders about the ability of videogames to contribute to veteran remembrance occasions.

A- Getting ranks in a game can be stressful, and Blazehero writes an honest blog about how to deal with that anxiety.

T- Here some positive Pokemon blogs to cut through all the negativity as Zalno details which are the top 10 new pokemaaans.

S- Shoggoth2588 is back with his monthly gaming blog.

S- RiffRaff also is sharing his gaming journal.

S- Check out the continuation of Osc's game.

S- It looks like Kerrik52 is back with his weekly reviews of past games in his "Traveller in Playtime" series:

• I must confess that I had no idea that a game called Vodoo Vince exists. Apparently, it is a good 3D platformer.
• Then he reviews Tales of Legendia, which he may agree that it is the weakest in the franchise.
• My guess is that no many of you have played Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicle.
• It is only fair that Kerrik52 reviews one of the better Tales games, Tales of the Abyss, after reviewing one of the worst.

S- Lord Spencer continues reviewing the supposed best games of the Sega Saturn system:

• Burning Rangers is a unique game that was beyond the scope of its time but lags due to its technical ambition.
• The top 30-21 games in the Retro Sanctuary list have some quality games, but many of them were Japan only and others did not age very well.

E- The Blonde Bass is inviting you to participate in Dtoid's annual Secret Santa event.

S- SOlman Grundy talks about how gaming became part of how his family bond.

S- He also writes about the Geek stereotype and how that changed with gaming going more into the mainstream.

N- Check out these Mega Man-like games in Steam and itch.io as reported by Yomic.

T- Zero Syndicate asks: What if we stopped adding any more Pokemon?

T- There aren't many slasher-inspired video games, or so Xeo thinks as he writes about an indie game developer who develops such games; Puppet Combo.

T-VVerner Herrzawgz explains why he loves the Dirt Rally series.

T- And then discusses why he likes why he loves Roller Gunner.

T- Death Stranding will have a lot of conflicting views, and OmegaPhattyAcid is taking a positive outlook regarding its story.

T- On the other hand, HoundGuardian thinks that the game's marketing may have had something to do with the divisive reception.

T- Can you even play The Outer Worlds wrong? Check out Zeke Daminara's experience with the game.

T- Even Shoggoth2588 is taking the time to discuss Death Stranding and this player of many games is not at all impressed.

T- If you are interested in joining Zone Wars on Fortnite, then you may want to read SomeNutzGuy's blog about the subject.

T- CorruptAI125 didn't enjoy finishing The Outer Worlds as much as he thought he would, given the incredible opening. I understand that sentiment, but 40 hours of "pure gaming bliss" is nothing to scoff at.

T- Knowing that Resident Evil 3 Remake is a thing, NinjaSpeed is wondering about its vast potential.

R- Check out these reviews by ViableCornXD:

• Based on the divisive reception of Death Stranding, then it makes sense that the first community review is a 7.9.
• Check out this review of Afterparty, a dialogue based adventure game with some dark comedy vibes.
• Apparently, Star Wars: The Fallen Order is quite good.

R- In his review of Pokemon S&S, Blanchimont notes that fans of the series will like it even if it doesn't innovate enough to attracts outsiders.

D- Occultuscmd is asking if his game is too hard or too easy.

D- In an epic (and possibly fruitless) quest, ABowlOfCeareal continues writing some interesting balancing suggestions for the Super Smash Bros. cast:

• Character Suggestions.
• Compilation Blog.

M- PhilsPhindings continues his excellent series where he looks for similarities between famous videogame tunes and other music from different sources:

• I think Final Fantasy VI has the best FF soundtrack specifically because of the number of character themes such as "Cyan's Theme".
• The Baloon Kid series has some good music.
• And then ore Final Fantasy music.
• This blog features some space and folk music.
• In an excellent blog, Phil explores the art of the prelude, with a focus on Final Fantasy's famous tune.
• Oh man, I am excited because after this blog, Mega Man music will be the focus of this series of blogs.
• Check out some Arabic stylings in this latest featured tune from Rudra no Hihou.

L- Chris Hovermale attempts to write some fiction, starting with chapter 1 of his new story.

• Chapter 1.5.
• Chapter 2.

V- SomeNutzGuy wonders which is better from Twitch or Mixer for new streamers.

To celebrate the recap of the entire month, give a hand to the following bloggers:

Topsauced Bloggers:

• Jonathan Holmes
• Nior
• RileyIsCool

Comments of the Week and Band of Bloggers Team of This Month:

• LaTerry

Be Lucky

Blog Count: 62

LOOK WHO CAME:

CblogRecaps   

Boxman214   112

LaTerry   43

Gamemaniac3434   40

Kerrik52   13

Nior   11

OmegaPhattyAcid   2

PhilsPhindings   1