One hundred and twelve hours and many months after I began, I've finally beaten "Xenoblade Chronicles 3". I also just reviewed "Double Dragon II" for PC Engine. The next game on my list is "Diablo Immortal", which I have downloading and installing on my iPhone as I type this. I want to review it before "Diablo IV" comes out, so I can compare the two.
Coded Language
I've already covered "DIE": "diversity", "inclusion", and "equity". In order they mean "no whites" and "no men"; only people who think exactly like me; and Victimhood Olympics-derived outcomes enforced at gunpoint. I could add to that "democracy", which means an authoritarian uniparty system with fake elections, ala the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea". Here, Eric Peters describes another term in the Woke lexicon: "sustainability"-- it's well worth a read.
Gentle Exploration
When I talk to young people, I often encounter woke crusaders. Sometimes for amusement I will gently probe these people's worldviews. Today one of them said that she'd played the "Resident Evil 4 Remake". Very gently, I asked her how much the game was "retconned"-- for example Ashley has had her skirt replaced and was deliberately made uglier. I equated it with the Super Nintendo version of "Wolfenstein 3D" having giant rats instead of dogs, against the will of the game's original creators.
Her reply was shaky and inconsistent: first she said that my comparison wasn't apt because this "RE4 Remake" was just too different of a game, and should be evaluated by itself. Then she shifted her story and said that it was great how the game was adapted to "modern society", and how the "icky" humor was all gone-- "we shouldn't sexualize characters".
Two next questions were on my tongue and ready to fire: What's wrong with sexualizing characters? And, she loved "God of War Ragnarok", I figured Kratos would have driven her crazy then? But having pushed far enough, I dropped the subject: I was already playing with fire. These younger generations don't respond well when their belief system is questioned. You have to be very cautious.
If this value system is still in place when I'm ready to retire in my 50s, I'm going to have a lot of fun letting lose those final few years, when I'm in a "f you" life stage with "f you" money. Even today it's tempting: for example, in a work context my employer would owe me eight full months of severance pay with full benefits if they laid me off. I've never been happy in my career, and would rather go work for the Church full-time somewhere, or maybe even drive truck. But I'm biding my time for now.
From Where Did It Come?
Why do Lefties deliberately uglify video game characters anyway?
My hypothesis is that a long time ago, feminists ran out of theoretically-legitimate things to complain about: they could vote, they had board room positions, they ran banks, and so forth. Rather than just dropping the now-purposeless field, they went off the deep end looking for further grievances. It was just too lucrative and identity-forming to find new, constructive pursuits.
At some point, they decided that to be truly free, they decided they had to be like a caricature of frat boys. To them this meant butch, no makeup, overweight, and hairy. Hence, the SJW aesthetic was born. The patriarchy crushed! But then a new problem emerged: these women hit age thirty and hadn't had children yet. They were so off-putting in character and looks that men treated them as "pump and dump" stations, versus actual long-term commitment material. Their biological clock was running out, and one-by-one they started to panic.
Rather than work on their character, personality, values, or appearance, they took the easy way out: hate men. What do men like in their video games? Titties! So the titties had to go. Revealing outfits! So the revealing outfits had to go. And while they were at it, take any beautiful female face and smack it across the head with an ugly stick-- or give it such a chiseled jaw line you could cut stone with the edges.
As for the male artists in game companies, they played and play along. They themselves are ultra effeminate from a forty-percent drop in average Testosterone from my generation to theirs. On top of that, they are enouraged to self-loathe via brain washing from pre-school on.
Refuge
Thankfully, Japan hasn't yet been wokified. Having finished "The Promised Neverland", my kids and I have shifted to "My Hero Academia", as I mentioned in my previous post. My interpretation is that the series is a metaphor for self-discovery in the real world: everyone has gifts, and people can choose to recognize and improve those unique skills. I had a conversation with my kids about it: "Figure out what your 'super hero powers' are. Then, figure out who you want to be in the future, using those powers. Finally, figure out how to best get there."
One character is half-ice, half-fire-- but refuses to use his fire side due to issues from his past, which I don't want to spoil. I have found him to be relatable. From my father's side I got IQ, logic, and versatility. From my mother's side I got charisma, conversational skills, and the ability to befriend people. I've always lived my life only using my father's side, because I have lots of anxiety in social situations-- but that makes me second-rate, because people who were born to two engineer or two doctor parents are smarter than me.
In other words, I've only been using half of my power-- only half of what makes me who I am.
But now in my forties, I'm slowly-but-finally starting to get over the social anxiety issues. This means rather than suppress my mother-side, I've started to embrace it and use it to my benefit. I think in a few years I will be able to fully wield that "super power" as naturally as I've always done with my intellect. In other words, I will become closer to being self-actualized. The character in this anime series has helped inspire me to that end.
