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The "inclusion" and "sensitivity" changes for GURPS 4th Edition Revised could have been made silently.
They could have just gone through and eliminated the so-called offensive references without making an announcement they were making sensitivity changes.
They virtue signaled.
I'm part of a weird, in between, where I'm OK with not offending people, even fringe folks, but am getting sick and tired of the announcements that they are making changes to be less offensive...
While missing that the announcement is what's offending me.
I know, "straight white male, who cares if you're offended?"
My wallet cares.
What really pisses me off is that SJGames used to be the different gaming company.
They stood up against The Man and didn't do things like everyone else.
And here they are, in lockstep with all the other game publishers.
I kinda feared this when the theater kids took over gaming after Critical Role started their show.
In hindsight, that almost guaranteed we'd get a more "Hollywood Safe" crowd, or at least the companies would aim at this much smaller and more vocal market.
It was their market share to keep.
I'm gonna just keep playing with my version of the game with the racially insensitive references.
They don't bother me.
My four main worlds are an alternate WW2 with magic and LITERAL Nazis, an alternate history where magic became real after Trinity, an alternate history where WW3 started in 1997 and a conversion of Traveller.
All have bigots in them. All of them don't care about the sensitivities of the groups being oppressed by the bad guys.
Nazis murdered people by the, literal, box car.
Racism and bigotry is a core part of Funny New Guys!
The Soviets don't love their children too in Twilight: 2000.
Traveller is so casually racist that there's hundreds of intelligent species that are called "minor races."
The move to inclusivity and sensitivity is a move away from dramatic conflict.
Without such conflict, the story is stale and boring.
I gave up on SJG a long time ago because they'd gotten PC. I had a big fat 6th Edition Car Wars box still in shrinkwrap on my shelf until I just simply put it in an "orphan game" pile at a local gaming con. They just can't stick to games, can they?
ReplyDeleteI was on their Kickstarter email list for Car Wars 6e. I was a long time player and after seeing what it was becoming, I didn't even bother. I don't want a card game to go with my tactical game.
DeleteI am going to continue to use and play GURPS 4e, but they're done getting my money. Their decision to go all pdf all the time means that copies of anything "must have" will be out there.
Not that I expect there to be anything "must have". I don't think I've gone outside the Basic Set, High Tech and Magic for a while. Plus some smaller supplements like SEALs in Vietnam and Funny New Guys.
Continuing to use the old stuff while being all "offensive" to them... Priceless.
The really sad thing is how much respect Mr Punch just burned with this.
The official SJG reply to the outcry over their Illuminator article on the Dobbs decision convinced me that their worldview is incompatible with mine. They see offending me or making me uncomfortable as a positive thing. I don't see why I should give my money or attention to support them.
ReplyDeleteAt the time I cut ties, their forums had already chased off anyone remotely interested in anything other than the groggiest of grogs picking the tiniest of nits in the rules and virtue signaling. I can't imagine it has gotten better since.
My choice was to go to another game, but if I decided to stick with GURPS I certainly could play for the rest of my life with all the stuff I currently own. They won't miss me. GURPS has been undead for a long time, kept animated by the money from Munchkin and various other card games. GURPS itself doesn't have much of an audience and I would be shocked if the line turned a profit.
As for bringing in politics, I want escapism from the real world. I deal with plenty of crap in real life and don't want to bring in any with me. Racism should be between elves and dwarves.
Daosus