How the LGBTQ+ Agenda, Forced Inclusivity and Woke Culture Ruined Gaming.

Fair warning, this article is not for unicorns, sensitive artists, and the feint of heart.

If you’re an avid gamer for over 20 + years like myself, you’ve probably noticed something in recent years – and believe me, I know how cliché this sounds – that games aren’t what they used to be. Sure, there are some absolute bangers, don’t get me wrong, but the majority of would-be AAA titles are… well, absolute trash. There is no denying that games aren’t really connecting with gamers anymore. But why is that?

Some people argue that, generally, there aren’t original ideas anymore. Others quote a myriad of gameplay-related issues, like the gameplay isn’t dynamic enough, or flashy enough, or any other major “issue” associated with player engagement. Others quote the lack of character depth as a major issue – in other words, players fail to connect with the characters introduced in said game, which leads to a boring lackluster experience that often leaves players disappointed.

But to me, all of the above-mentioned issues are just scratching the surface – they are symptoms of a larger issue – politics and social agendas. Throughout my life, I’ve always been against the inclusion of modern-world problems in video games, and for good reason. Any political and social agendas have no place in any entertainment industry, especially video games. They were always meant to be an escape from reality and its social and political complexities.

Nowadays, however, every major studio seems to be pushing a political view or a social agenda, to the point where entire franchises fail because of terrible corporate decisions, unnecessary LGBTQ+ character inclusion, and abhorrent woke culture practices like cultural appropriation on a massive scale, which in the case of one of the titles we’re about to discuss, is a clear example of structural racism.

Before you start calling me names, or accuse me of being a Nazi out of spite, think about the most recent examples of the above-mentioned failures – Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Both these titles are supposed to be AAA games. They were advertised as such. Every single gaming media: news websites, youtube channels, TV adds, you name it – they covered and hyped up those games. At some point I couldn’t go online without being spammed by a youtube video, or an article about those two titles.

And yet, despite all of that, they both came crashing down before they even released. Why is that? Well, while the reasons vary wildly between the two titles, they share one common denominator – the prominent feature of leftist, “woke” agendas and ideas.

How a Misgendering Tutorial Loses You Players: Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Let’s start with the “fresher” example of the two – Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the character known as Taash – a non-binary Qunari dragon hunter. Reading this, some of you might be asking me: “Why are you emphasizing on the fact Tassh is non-binary? What’s wrong with being non-binary?”

Nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, there are several problems with that:

1. How necessary is it to put a modern gender identity issue in a fantasy game?
2. Did we really need an in-game scolding/tutorial on how to feel bad about not understanding what a non-binary person is?
3. Couldn’t the developers and writers find a more elegant way of presenting such a character to a wider audience?
4. Why was Taash’s personality made like that of an unhinged toddler?

The above-mentioned points highlight one of the many reasons why this game failed, but perhaps (at least in my humble opinion) are the most prominent ones. Video games are meant for us to escape to a reality in which modern problems rarely matter, where we don’t have to worry about who we might or might not offend with our words. We don’t need the feeling of being pressured into forcefully accepting something we either aren’t familiar with, or don’t care to be familiar with (as harsh as this sounds). By forcing a sensitive topic, or agenda, onto someone, the likely outcome is either bewilderment, negativity, or plain annoyance. Gamers, and people in general, don’t like to be forcefully spoon-fed agendas and ideas.

As previously mentioned, the other unexpectedly bad surprise was stumbling upon such a modern-day issue in the first place. It’s very unexpected, blunt, uninspired and just plain bad. As someone who has studied (and briefly lectured) fantasy literature at an academic level, I know that when such an issue needs to be presented in any fantasy media, it must be handled with care and due diligence, as to not insult the reader/viewer and throw the audience off the product. Again, in the case of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, this was very poorly done. The issue with gender identity is basically thrown at the player out of the blue without any regard as to what they may feel about the subject, breaking any immersion that they may have had.

Then there is the topic of the character of Taash. Instead of being a strong, confident character that cares not for the opinions of others, they are a whining, complaining child that expect the world around them to simply accept who they are just because they say so. Unfortunately, in reality, this doesn’t work that way, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard would have you believe that people don’t lash back when you force ideologies they don’t agree with onto them. This is a prime example of toxic behavior and forced acceptance. Something people have been increasingly fed up with, which led to major backlash towards the game.

 All of the above has largely contributed to the fail of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which could all have been avoided by having considerate writers that presented an issue with care and player consideration. Notice how previous Dragon Age titles have had LGBTQ+ representation without a single issue by the majority of a playerbase. The issue here is that Taash is a character being used to push a leftist agenda onto players, and expecting them to simply accept it and move on. Unfortunately, this has backfired. It would seem that people don’t like their intelligence being insulted and would much rather enjoy a relaxing product that doesn’t force them to deal with an uncomfortable issue that is generally brought up by the most toxic of people.

How Historical Inaccuracies and Cultural Appropriation Angers an Entire Nation: Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

Ubisoft has amassed quite the list of failures as of late. In the case of their latest Assassin’s Creed game – Shadows, it might quite literally be the final nail in the coffin for the game publisher.

The game is set to follow the story of a highly popular, but highly controversial figure – that of Yasuke, the famous African man in service to Japan’s “great unifier”, the warlord Oda Nobunaga. Throughout the years, the figure of Yasuke has captured the minds of gamers and japanophiles alike, and many were asking for a game centered around the enigmatic figure. Ubisoft saw a golden opportunity and took the challenge to heart, announcing Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The game immediately gained a huge following and was primed for success, advertised as the next big thing.

But the more details were revealed, the more issues started piling up. The game was heavily criticized for its historical inaccuracies over the person that was Yasuke, as well as his stature within the Japanese society. Firstly, the samurai status of Yasuke is highly disputed by prominent historical sources, despite what Wikipedia would have you believe (who, funnily enough, have changed their stance on the matter). While Yasuke was, in fact, given a position in Nobunaga’s inner circle, a rare honor for a non-Japanese person, that does not actually make him a samurai. One would have to be born into this class and underwent rigorous training from a young age, which Yasuke simply did not do. Some people argue against this by the fact that Nobunaga did grant him a sword, indicating samurai status – it’s highly probable that it was honorary.

Most western media, either backed up by liberal financing or corporate agendas, supported the idea of a strong black samurai protagonist and forced it down everyone’s throats on every communication possible. But there was only one problem – the Japanese people.

Japan has always been a land of mystery and wonder. A large part of that mysticism is due to its inaccessibility. In a historical sense, Japan has never been inclusive, especially to foreign agendas. The times that this did happen were… let’s just say “not great”. Despite the changing, the Japanese people kept their honor, roots and pride in their history. It’s exactly this historical pride that made them take issue with Assassin’s Creed: Shadows’ interpretation of Yasuke (among other things). Most Japanese fans called out the game for its cultural appropriation and historical inaccuracies – and they have been very vocal about it tool.

But there was another issue – the LGBTQ+ agenda. At one point, Ubisoft revealed that both protagonists – Yasuke and Naoe, can be LGBTQ+. As you can imagine, this news not met with enthusiasm by the Japanese people, which drew even more issues for the game. In the end, the negativity got so bad it reached the Japanese NHK Party representative Satoshi Hamada, who was quick to warn Ubisoft that the matter could be brought before Japan’s legislative body – the Japanese Diet – due to ethical and moral concerns, as well as altering the country’s history, culture and architecture. Long story short – Japan wanted nothing to do with the game and felt that it does not represent their country and values in any way.

This blow was severe for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, which lead to an unexpected delay in production – a likely ploy by Ubisoft to try and save the failing product. The publisher further announced future games will follow a four-year plan to help develop a more quality product. However, it is highly unlikely it will save the game, or the Company, as rumors for their imminent bankrupcy have already started to circulate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a shame that such a beloved franchise goes down in flames, and a publisher along with it, but perhaps if those leftist “progressive” ideas were turned down a notch, things would be a little different.

All in all, it comes down to this: nowadays, it’s mandatory that some person of color or gender is unnecessarily forced into every product and media, and it has reached a point where people are starting to notice and react. It’s high time game studios, publishers, and mainstream media start to smarten up about certain matters and start opening their eyes. No one is against differences when they are properly included into a game. Whenever good writing is involved, whenever developers care for well written and engaging characters, then no one would even bat an eye. Inclusivity for the sake of inclusivity is bad. Diversity for the sake of diversity is bad. Stop writing and producing political messages dressed as video games, start making actual video games. And that, folks, is my message.