Yes, I know about the very real possibility that we could see America going down the path of hell tomorrow, but I feel like there is something good that I know has happened - about why we are here.
I still think if there is one victory that still endures in my mind, it's the one we had against Sweet Baby Inc. earlier this year. I did wonder if steam was actually going to be pressured into kicking the curator off of steam. And I think it was a wise choice not to, since it would have become another blow to their reputation on top of admitting to people that they don't own their games a month or so ago. Now that these consultancy firms are trying to avoid notice, people are getting more active in looking for games that are written by consultancy firms and funded by government initiatives, spreading the word whenever possible.
And that's not the only good thing that happened. Both famous flops like Concord and Dustborn and lesser ones like Capes have given signs that people seem to understand the problems we are having, even if developers are missing as much as possible. It's even spread to in-development games like Assassin's Creed: We Wuz Samurai, where Ubisoft completely shot themselves in the foot with their buckshot of forced multiculturalism, and the delays show that they aren't having a good time, and it might be the death knell of Ubisoft in the same way that Return: to form (Dragon Age: the Veilguard) might be the end of Bioware despite how much they prop up their sales numbers.
Hell, I think people are getting less and less tolerant of major publishers and developers in general trying to force anything onto them - not just wokeness. Bethesda is stagnating horribly, EA has become even more borderline memetic for their bad displays, Sony killed a profitable game by making people log into PSN for it, the list goes on.
So, at the very least, I have a whitepill: Even if Kamala gets in, she won't be able to save the growing list of AAA flops that deserved it that we have seen this year from financial failure. Joe Biden certainly didn't care and probably couldn't. Even if we are unable to save the USA tonight, we at least have something we are winning. Some may see it as a small comfort in the bigger picture, but I feel that it means that we won't be able to be shut out entirely.
I feel like this is something we might need to talk about.
As you all know, we cannot guarantee that Trump will be sitting in the white house a year from now, as much as that would be a good thing to happen. Some of you might argue whether or not it would actually matter and whatnot (I still see a lot of debate), but I still feel that it would at least have enough of an impact that it would give us hope. (Admittedly, one of my liberal relatives has admitted he no longer thinks it would be the end of the world if Trump wins again).
However, what is scarier is the possibility of Kamala getting in. It might not be the end of the world, but I could easily see her continuing the damage that has been done during Biden's time - and I think that we all agree that there is a good chance the country goes to World War 3 under her.
At the same time, though, we need to remember what we gathered together under. I feel like even with the utterly abysmal state of the vast majority of the video games industry (and other industries) we have managed to do some good, such as exposing Zoe Quinn and her associated cronies, spreading awareness of Sweet Baby Inc, and working against a lot of the garbage in modern AAA titles like Assassin's creed: We Wuz Samurai and Dustborn. However, there is still a lot of shit to be done, as it looks like it will be a while before DEI policies or other bad decisions lead to the death of a major company (well, maybe Ubisoft, but I feel like they could get bought out to survive).
Regardless, in any case, there are some questions that need to be asked:
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How do we survive four to eight years of Kamala, whether next year or a term following that?
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Even if Trump makes it another four years, how do we take advantage of that? I fear even if he tries his best a lot of his best policies might get blocked by house democrats or doormat republicans.
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Regardless of either of the last two questions, how can we ensure that more of the good fight is fought? Are there any more good efforts being done against DEI? Some good lists of consultancy firms like SBI might be a good start, at least.