Yes, I have played Bethesda games for decades, going all the way back to Elder Scrolls 1: Arena.

Yes, I play Elder Scrolls Online even to this day, though I am now reconsidering that.

That does not and should not have any consequence whatsoever when it comes to my, or anyone else's, opinion when it comes to how fucked up Bethesda/Zenimax are as corporations, and the corporate ownership at Microsoft for that matter.

My interest in Starfield has diminished significantly and the hype wave is already putting me off. Yes, it's only one individual's story and not the first from the company, but I'm not reddit-logo enough to LARP as a perfect logical machine that only does perfectly Rational(tm) calculations regarding whether I should care about something or not.

I expect Hexbear to have a lot of "let people enjoy things" discourse about Starfield in the upcoming weeks and months, and a lot of it will ride on the "everyone does these bad things in game development" thought terminating cliche that primarily serves as a palate cleanser so the consumer can avoid feeling as much guilt or disgust for what they're now consuming.

Fuck that.

And fuck that corporate empire.

  • UlyssesT [he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    1 year ago

    At least that's an ideologically consistent horrible reason. Still disgusting, of course.

    My prior experience in discussions of worker abuse/trauma while working with the Mortal Kombat franchise, the "Multiversus" corporate octopus memberberry dispensing machine, and other game issues has left me prepared for some mix of salad-bar-picked kind-of-leftist arguments to justify buying the product and stamping out any bad feelings about worker abuse, psychologically manipulative monetization grifts, or other issues under whatever convenient pretenses.

    • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      My prior experience in discussions of worker abuse/trauma while working with the Mortal Kombat franchise, the "Multiversus" corporate octopus memberberry dispensing machine, and other game issues has left me prepared for some mix of salad-bar-picked kind-of-leftist arguments to justify buying the product and stamping out any bad feelings about worker abuse, psychologically manipulative monetization grifts, or other issues under whatever convenient pretenses.

      Yeah that's annoying when people just go that hard into defending their treats.

      • UlyssesT [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        when people just go that hard into defending their treats

        Yeah, some go hard, such as when an established user with significant post history told me to (CW: gore, suicide)

        spoiler

        slit my own throat and die because I insisted that Mortal Kombat's artists weren't coddled or privileged or otherwise unworthy to report the psychological harm they experienced after being forced to experience emotionally traumatic slaughterhouse/snuff footage to make the treat that much more bazinga for the consumer in order to keep their jobs.

          • UlyssesT [he/him]
            hexagon
            ·
            1 year ago

            It was based on the belief that Mortal Kombat artists could easily "take their talent elsewhere" and therefore it was cool and good to obligate them to watch psychologically traumatic videos to feed the hogs with greater authenticity. When I refused to budge that worker abuse was worker abuse, that's where the frothingfash came out, and immediately after that, crybully whining about how I was uncivil because I refused to acknowledge his oh so very wise point that the artists were supposedly so coddled and pampered that they could easily find work anywhere else but chose to stay.

            I used to enjoy Mortal Kombat when the fatalities were silly and over the top and even campy. When it became "realistic" hog feeding I lost all interest.

              • UlyssesT [he/him]
                hexagon
                ·
                1 year ago

                They still post regularly and frankly I wonder why they weren't banned after that. Even their avatar is freeze-gamer associated in the worst way, so that checks out too.