Basically, they want to change the name because they think people both outside and inside the industry will take them more seriously. I doubt it was for puritanical reasons, these people have no sense of shame. If they did, they wouldn't be game journalists
And the stories of sheer cringe that I've experienced or heard have made me laugh, but equally made me shudder: A developer having to cite Gamasutra in front of government representatives to obtain funding; a teacher awkwardly telling new design students to check out this article on Gamasutra; a game industry reporter spelling out Gamasutra for an inquisitive Indian-American middle-schooler, pencil and notepad in hand. (That last example was of me.) On a more serious note, reporting on rampant industry sexism when our brand clings to a late-90s "LOL SEX" connotation is beyond the pale.
Did you ever look at Gamasutra's name and think "LOL SEX"?
Did does this strike you as "Beyond the pale"?
This isn't about being taken seriously - they've been taken seriously for years. They're a major games industry publication. This is about a bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing pretending they're pious, chaste little nuns.
Their name was always cringe and I'm perfectly fine with them changing it to be more professional. It's a Reddit-tier sex joke. It's neither beyond the pale nor le spoopy harassment name, but it is immature.
What disappoints me is that they had to throw in some completely unnecessary white knighting. Disappoints, but does not surprise.
Sutras are an an ancient genre of (mostly) indian literature that are essentially educational texts - instructional manuals on all manner of things. They're self-help books. They're guides on all manner of topics.
The Kama Sutra, the most well known Sutra in the English-speaking world, is a self-help guide on how to manage your love life covering everything from how to develop your social skills, how to attract and keep a lover, to, yes, sexual positions.
To boil 'Gamasutra' down to a 'sex joke' is to completely fucking ignore what a sutra is like only the most culturally ignorant westerner could.
You really think were making a 'sex joke' and not thinking 'our site is about making games, the kama sutra is considered expert opinions about making love. If we call it gamasutra, people will think that we have expert opinions about making games'?
At the time the Kama Sutra was known pretty universally as "the sex positions book". Here's a small insight into the attitude toward that book in the late 90s-early 2000s. Check out the descriptions. "The classic love-making manual". "Sexual gratification remains fundamental". "Illustrates all 64 sexual postures". "The ancient art of seduction". I don't know how they view it in India, but Americans knew it for exactly one thing.
I don't discount the possibility of them making an at the time obscure reference to loving games or whatever, but that would be like calling your site "The Family Guy" and expecting people to interpret that as a statement that you're a guy writing about family life. You have to know your audience and how they'll interpret things. So either they were making a sex joke or were making an extraordinarily poorly thought out reference to Indian culture.
Oh, you're a game developer? What have you made?
"No, no, we're Game Developer (TM). We tell other people how they should make games."
They’re developing Critical Game Theory.
Basically, they want to change the name because they think people both outside and inside the industry will take them more seriously. I doubt it was for puritanical reasons, these people have no sense of shame. If they did, they wouldn't be game journalists
How much of the article did you read?
Did you ever look at Gamasutra's name and think "LOL SEX"? Did does this strike you as "Beyond the pale"?
This isn't about being taken seriously - they've been taken seriously for years. They're a major games industry publication. This is about a bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing pretending they're pious, chaste little nuns.
Little Islamo-leftist SJW Rami Ismail knows the deal; https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1429839011691089925
Which is not surprising, because after some searches, it looks like Rami Ismail's tweets may in fact be the genesis of this change;
https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1336948892907270144
The thread is full of performative tales of students feeling creeped out by the name 'gamasutra':
https://twitter.com/tha_rami/status/1336868254892044293
Their name was always cringe and I'm perfectly fine with them changing it to be more professional. It's a Reddit-tier sex joke. It's neither beyond the pale nor le spoopy harassment name, but it is immature.
What disappoints me is that they had to throw in some completely unnecessary white knighting. Disappoints, but does not surprise.
...It's not a 'sex joke'.
Sutras are an an ancient genre of (mostly) indian literature that are essentially educational texts - instructional manuals on all manner of things. They're self-help books. They're guides on all manner of topics.
The Kama Sutra, the most well known Sutra in the English-speaking world, is a self-help guide on how to manage your love life covering everything from how to develop your social skills, how to attract and keep a lover, to, yes, sexual positions.
To boil 'Gamasutra' down to a 'sex joke' is to completely fucking ignore what a sutra is like only the most culturally ignorant westerner could.
Yes, and I'm sure the ancient genre of sutra is exactly what a bunch of American gamers in the 90s had in mind when they named their site.
You really think were making a 'sex joke' and not thinking 'our site is about making games, the kama sutra is considered expert opinions about making love. If we call it gamasutra, people will think that we have expert opinions about making games'?
At the time the Kama Sutra was known pretty universally as "the sex positions book". Here's a small insight into the attitude toward that book in the late 90s-early 2000s. Check out the descriptions. "The classic love-making manual". "Sexual gratification remains fundamental". "Illustrates all 64 sexual postures". "The ancient art of seduction". I don't know how they view it in India, but Americans knew it for exactly one thing.
I don't discount the possibility of them making an at the time obscure reference to loving games or whatever, but that would be like calling your site "The Family Guy" and expecting people to interpret that as a statement that you're a guy writing about family life. You have to know your audience and how they'll interpret things. So either they were making a sex joke or were making an extraordinarily poorly thought out reference to Indian culture.
"Game Developer" is cringe too, tho
archive
The new site is hideous. https://archive.ph/DWjGO
Imagine showing up at E3 with a Game Developer polo...
I kinda want one.
It escaped my notice, too, because I ignore shitty gaming sites like Gamasutra.
Remember when Games Journalists hated the right wing puritan push against games and entertainment ?
Horse shoe theory is real I guess.
was it, or were they just lefties false flagging?
There was no false flag about Jack Thompson, guy was a literal idiot, still is.
They hated the "right wing" part, not the "puritan" part
Well as someone who hated the puritan part, and couldn't give a fuck about the right wing part, I can say I feel left behind.
gamasutra has had zero credibility since that fat drunk whore, if not before she vomited out that article that spawned gg.
With you and me, yes.
With the industry of cuckolds and communists, it's still just as important as ever.