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Flood Of Game Developers Sign Open Letter Against Sexism and Harassment

This article is more than 9 years old.

It's been a rough time to like video games. Without going into too much detail on the flood of hatred that's been swirling around the industry on social media, suffice it to say that a small, vocal minority have been doing all they can to make life hell for those who write and make video games in general, and the women among them specifically. For anyone involved with what I consider the most exciting sector of the arts and entertainment world, it's been disheartening to see words like "gamer" hijacked by the most vile and reactionary among us.

Indie game designer Andreas Zecher has posted an open letter in an effort to give members of the game industry a chance to show their support for harassment victims, and so far he's seen a sizable response from all corners of the business. The letter reads:

"We believe that everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened. It is the diversity of our community that allows games to flourish.

If you see threats of violence or harm in comments on Steam, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter , Facebook or reddit, please take a minute to report them on the respective sites."

Of course, an open letter is easy to sign, and the problems with the video game industry go much deeper than a few dangerous cranks on social media. Before we can credibly show support for diversity in the gaming industry, we must first actually display some of it, both in the very real world of a video game development studio, and in the imaginary, but still vitally important, worlds that they create. I hope there's some navel gazing going on at the bigger development houses, because it can't feel good to see some of the people who are in your corner.

The industry and the culture surround it are at an inflection point -- or more accurately, they could be at an inflection point. More people are playing more different games than ever before, and as Leigh Alexander would argue, the people who used to have sole ownership over the word "gamer" are lashing out against humanity because their identity has been threatened. The gaming industry is changing, whether those people like it or not, but it's up to those who criticize and make games to initiate true, active change and show the cranks that their worldview is not shared. An open letter is nice -- let's see more.