Gaming can’t fix its abuse problem one person at a time
Gaming can’t fix its abuse problem one person at a time
Gaming can’t fix its abuse problem one person at a time
Megan Farokhmanesh
June 30, 2020
Summary
Only a system that enables abuse can allow so many offenders to flourish across the industry.
So many of the video games on the market have an unseen feature in the trauma of those who made them.
Loud victims have historically faced blacklisting or retaliation after speaking up, and the game industry is no different.
For each person made visible for bad behavior, they are only the tip of an iceberg sailing through the industry.
It is a long-established reality of game industry culture, one that cannot be solved by plucking out a few harmful figures every few months.
Hand-wringing has no place in this conversation The task before the industry is one it's needed to tackle for years: reforming its culture on a massive scale.
As more dangerous men are outed, it is impossible to ignore how many held powerful positions within games.
If companies want to fix their problems with sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault, they have to examine their relationship to alcohol-driven events, in-house policies for reporting, and the structure of their teams.
The game industry can no longer say it didn't know, or its more tiresome counterpart, that it isn't surprised.
Reference
Farokhmanesh, M. (2020, June 30). Gaming can't fix its abuse problem one person at a time. Retrieved July 04, 2020, from https://www.theverge.com/21307560/gaming-abuse-harassment-systemic-ubisoft-chris-avellone