Thanks for this, Maddy. It’s stories like yours that will—hopefully—reach some of the folks who don’t understand why representation (and accurate/positive representation) matters so much.

The vast majority of protagonists in video games are straight white dudes. I don’t have to worry about whether or not my race, sex,…

Believe it or not, the Wii versions of Just Dance sell better than the PS4 and XBox versions. 

You should’ve named the captain Ben Wyatt, the Adam Scott that is unmatched at winning games!

There is nothing in the goddamned world like the absolute fragility of folks who occupy majority (race/ethnicity/sex/sexual orientation/religious affiliation) status feeling like they might have to share the pie they’ve previously had 99% of.

Think about this for just a moment: Every time someone screams about “SJWs,”…

“Rape culture” is badly misnamed, but the concept it’s trying to explain does exist. It would be better to name it “objectification and gender-based judgment culture,” but I guess the marketing department wouldn’t like the clumsiness of that phrasing.

Victim shaming is part and parcel of rape culture, “ya goof.” The intimation of “what was she wearing/was she drunk/she was probably flirting” is directly associated with saying women “deserve” assault.

It is that idea that women do things to “provoke” assailants (physical in this particular case, but sexual in many,…

This is absolutely stomach-turning. Any time someone tells me “rape culture” doesn’t exist (and yes, I know, “well, actually” brigade, she wasn’t raped in this instance), I point to shit like this; a woman can be assaulted—in the US, Japan, or anywhere else—and the onus inevitably comes back to her, even if her…

I...wow.

I’m glad some folks are enjoying this game; everyone has their somewhere they want to be, and that somewhere doesn’t work for other folks—and that’s fine. I enjoy a great many things others think are a waste of time.

This whole kerfuffle, though, comes off as one giant kettle of “we coasted way too hard on a…

Gross Gore’s version of events (and what a goddamn handle to have in a story like this) is so specific—and so specifically unlikely, in that it calls for several people to be acting well outside of generally accepted norms in order to support his retelling—that it winds up working against him. It reads as the…

I’ve had this kind of guy at the table before, and I’ve heard stories from friends who LARP about people like this showing up at events. They may have fun, but it will come a the cost of ruining the night for everyone else.

I...

I’m almost at a loss for words here.

Almost.

The idea that women are some kind of mystical creature that require knowledge of the Stygian abyss to understand is a myth that has been perpetuated by men of all types, in all groups, since time immemorial.

A particular subset of gamers, however, have found a way to…

Trivia time: One Piece creator Eichiro Oda is a big soccer fan. When the World Cup came to Japan in 2002, they made a One Piece short film to tie into it, in which Oda cameos as a character with a soccer ball for a head. Here’s the whole thing!

According to other comments there is a Basic mode that removes all the extra stuff. Won’t be long until we see demands of “Basic Mode, Clay Court, 3 Set, Mario only”, akin to “Final Destination, no items, 3 stock, Fox only”

He says he’s doing it for parents and their kids. The fans he’s angered worry that he’s selling out. …

Specifically on Kotaku (and other Kinja sites), “grey” here refers to unapproved commentors whose comments appear faded (or “grey”) by default.

A post that appears in the “pending” state. Newer users or flat out trolls will appear in the “pending” state by default. I am fairly certain this post will appear as a “grey” unless someone else promotes it.

Grey’s are Kinja’s anal probes. Not to be confused with the grey council.

On each site that uses kinja the site needs to follow/approve posters to have their comments appear immediately in black. Those who post “in the greys” are ones that haven’t been approved yet for one reason or another. To see the greys you need…

Unapproved commenters. Their posts are normally greyed out, and you need to use “show pending” to actually see them. It was meant to prevent trolls from taking over. But since they don’t actually approve people anymore, you get some decent people down there making it worth a look.

You’re missing the part that these people do not realize the extent of the systemic sexism. Everything you say makes sense... if you start with the understanding that men in general are more privileged than women. If you don’t, however... or even believe women have it better, any call for equality sounds more like a…