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i don't intend on returning next year. this gamejam hates myth.

A topic by ErrArachnica created Jun 05, 2019 Views: 355 Replies: 3
Viewing posts 1 to 2
(1 edit)

the judge in charge here doesn't want "hateful" content, even though they're dealing with mythology, and talking about fucked up things cannot be avoided without heavy censorship in certain places. in other words we're supposed to lie about our source material at times

this creative restriction kills any chances of properly covering mythology. you're asking people to not talk about certain parts of what you just asked them to create, which contradicts itself, to be blunt about it

i asked a simple question about my work, and got called a damned nazi for no reason even though the question was a valid one. that was the rudest shit i've ever seen happen in this job.

FUN FACT: if the myth you cover is germanic/norse, this contest, its judge and its participants think you're a nazi if you ask the wrong questions about your field of study

this gamejam doesn't actually want what it asks for, it doesn't deserve the really accurate depictions, and i'm not wasting my time on this gamejam next year. the most i got out of this was wasting a damned half-month, while heavily confused over whether or not i'd get banned by someone, because one person thought i was "hateful" or some undefined shit like that

even vaguely planning towards what this gamejam would want just stops all progress cold so hard, that it takes organization and time to get up and running again. i refuse to self-censor myself, or to censor the lore i cover to protect the sensibilities of a 2-bit contest that hates what it asks for

i don't intend to enter this contest ever again. 1 year was enough to see it was a waste of my damned time. the written record of mythology doesn't care one bit what you do and do not find hateful. grow thicker skin

somewhere out there in a grave thousands of years old, you're making someones corpse spin, by saying their view on reality isnt okay nowadays, and yet you also want to to use the knowledge those people wrote down. shameful. creative vultures. you say an entire people and culture was worthless now, then plunder their writings regardless, then say you're still moral and ethical people. fuck no, you are not ethical

be more professional then this, or perhaps cover something less volatile in your gamejams if you can't take the heat off the content you're asking for


Host (2 edits)

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have a positive experience with the jam. If you had a negative experience with someone in private, I'd appreciate knowing about it, as I don't condone any harrassment between jammers.

At no point here or on Discord did I see other participants accuse you of being a Nazi, and I certainly don't believe that you are one simply from referencing Norse mythology, which many people have an interest in. Other participants explained that some concepts have been appropriated and associated with Nazi ideology and used in specific ways to further that association. There was no assumption that you intended to do this, or that all usage of runes, Norse mythology, or Germanic mythology is associated with this behavior.

You aren't prohibited from using runes or taking inspiration from certain ancient cultures. Norse mythology is not banned. The context in which runes are used now matters, but the inclusion of them is not an automatic ban or point against you. Paganism and Norse study is not wrong, and it's terrible that your field of study has been co-opted in a way that's damaging to you. To my knowledge, at no point did I or anyone associated with this jam ever express that Germanic or Norse myth is unwelcome or that devs working with it should be considered "Nazis."

The content this jam does not welcome is any content which would serve as a vehicle for the developer to include a message or theme like "This ancient civilization was backwards and savage," or content which is created to express sentiments that are against any race, orientation, religion, gender, etc, such as content which contains insults or slurs toward a particular group.

There are a number of difficult, painful subjects covered in mythology worldwide.You're right that sometimes difficult things can't be avoided when discussing mythology. These topics aren't banned. Devs are encouraged to treat such topics seriously and with appropriate care, and it's suggested to warn for things that would commonly upset people, like graphic violence, but there is no requirement of censorship.

I'll be more explicit about what counts as "hateful" content to avoid any confusion in the future. I genuinely appreciate you voicing your concerns, and I understand if you no longer feel comfortable returning, but I'm certain that as far as I was able to see from reviewing the Discord community, nobody suggested that anyone was a Nazi or denigrated Norse or Germanic myth. Again, I'm sorry that this jam was an unpleasant experience for you, but I'm concerned that there may be a misunderstanding here.

stop trying to shut down "hate" and "bigotry". why do you do even need to do that in the first place? what even about your position says so? free speech and truth is king, all else is a lie, and you're practicing some lies

"hate speech" doesn't exist, it's a label used to shut down speech some people don't like. "hate" depends on the viewer and there's always the option to turn off the screen instead (which is why i don't want to come back here)

BY TRYING TO MAKE SURE "HATEFUL CONTENT" DOES NOT GET THROUGH, YOU ARE IMPLICITLY CORRUPTING, DELETING AND CENSORING MYTH, CULTURE AND HISTORY ITSELF. stop doing that. that isn't okay. that isn't right. why should you even deserve to hold the knowledge of mythology, if this is how you treat it? knowledge is valuable, and it was clearly wasted on you.

as they say, "get woke go broke". may the gods of wisdom and knowledge pay back all of your meddling in full, with ignorance and blindness fairly earned.

Host

At this point in time, I'll have to agree to disagree, as allowing "content that promotes or participates in racial intolerance, sexism, hate crimes, hate speech, or intolerance to any group of individuals;" is against itch.io's Terms of Service.