MECO6925 Assignment 2 – Online Proposal for News Feature

To the editors at Junkee, 

I am proposing a news commentary article outlining the influence the current alt-right movement has affected the gaming sphere and how it has created a recession in critical reception, due to the assimilation of far-right radicalisation in response to recent movements to include a more politically correct and diverse community (Lindvall, 2018). 

Because Junkee’s focus lies in offering unique perspectives on things that the company, and by extension the audience, cares about deeply; I believe my article would align with their mantra of adding to the conversation instead of the noise as it is offering a more opinion-based dissection of the current state of video game reception and its connection to a currently dangerous movement. 

Unfortunately, the alt-right pipeline has undeniably squirmed its way into the space in troves, due to the key influences of red-pill aesthetics being intertwined with some key figures in gaming, notably for their high amounts of influence and controversies surrounding their current beliefs. I am arguing that this movement ignores the real problems of both the gaming industry and the current political landscape, by only adding more fuel to the fire and enabling a toxic environment that doesn’t reflect the benefits and communities of gaming. 

I believe a commentary feature is the most viable way of communicating this story as a more opinionated and more informal dissection of these particular issues will ensure that there is more exploration and discussion of this in the general news space. Furthermore, the cultural relevance within family homes is especially prominent today given the current trends leading to recent coverage, including the viral limited series ‘adolescence’ and the recent controversy surrounding ‘no mercy’, an adult game endorsing sexual assault which children could access before it was taken down. 

Currently, prominent figures in gaming are weaponizing the agenda of the alt-right to criticise games for their current day policies, notably the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) departments. A figure that exemplifies this is billionaire Elon Musk, an influential figure in the current alt-right movement due to his connections to the political sphere and his ownership of social media site X. His comments on DEI led to a highly controversial promotion run for the video game “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” which centres around the fabled Black samurai, Yusuke and a female Shinobi, Naoe.

There are also popular streamers including that of popular streamer Asmongold, who has critiqued many games for including female protagonists. The irony of these respective comments is that there is an inherent focus on the aesthetics rather than any gameplay elements. Therefore, in reality, these are simply projections of red-pilled misogynistic ideologies polluting the general judgement and critical thinking skills of their audience. 

I also want to ensure that there is balance in the commentary by providing some solutions, potentially interviewing Backpocket; a crowdfunded video game variety channel which is heavily ingrained within the Australian video game community. Interviewing them could include how they’re engaging with a community to create a more positive and collaborative environment, whilst still providing balanced news. 

Word Count (not including References): 505

References:

Lindvall, E. (2018). ” They’re coming for our games”: A study of far-right social mobilization in the gaming community.