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So if you aren't a gamer, or don't know any gamers, or never hang around in places where gamers talk, there is a slight possibility you might not have heard of White Wolf's new card game, Pimp: The Backhanding. Obviously it has generated an awful lot of commentary. Those who hate it protest on the grounds that it is racists, sexist and degrading. Those who defend it say, "It's just a game." LJDrama, that turkey vulture that lives off the roadkill of the internet, did a segment on it. My opinion on the game? It's stupid. Seriously seriously stupid. It's a one-punchline joke, and it's not even an original punchline. The game makes a joke out of experiences that real people have had to suffer through. Date-rape. Violence. It's making fun of victims. My first impression when I somebody pointed it out to me was that it had to be a parody. My second thought was that the person who wrote it had played GTA once and thought, "Hey it's got hookers. And you can run over them in your car! That's hilarious! I bet I could write a game about offing hookers!" Except that GTA, whatever you think of the violence and the odious negative stereotypes, also managed to be entertaining. There are legions of comedians who know that you can get away with a whole lot of offensive if you are genuinely funny while you are doing it. And P:TB just isn't funny. My opinon of the controversy: Well, I'm not personally offended, although I can completely get why some people are. I think it's sick and stupid but I just happen to be more the type to roll my eyes and hope that it bombs horribly in sales. However, I have read some of the responses that people have received to their emails to White Wolf. And regardless of whether or not I am offended by the product, I would seriously reconsider giving any of my money to any company who thought that insulting and patronizing potential constumers was a good way to do business. There are some people in the industry of writing and creating games who have LJs and who have offered their two cents on the matter, Cavalorn has collected a list of some of them here. Most of them are way more articulate than I am, and they definitely know the industry better. Actually I have to give a lot of credit to people who work in the industry and will still state their opinions, it's a small job-pool and it says something to be willing to stick your neck out. My opinion on what to do about it: Generating controversy is just generating publicity. If they are creating something as offensive as possible in the hopes that it will get their name back into the public eye, then the last thing you want to do is give them any more time in the spotlight. I did have a friend of mine who works for videogame companies tells me that White Wolf is owned by Wizards of the Coast and suggest that could be used as leverage, but it looks like that's not the case. Too bad. It looks like the only thing to do is - ignore it. And trust that it will sink into obscurity like the piece of crap that it is.
Last Updated February 4 2005 Back to stuff Back to my home page
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