GYGO: I’m Tired of Writing About Mass Shootings

Hello, and welcome to GYGO! I’m Kael, your local news gremlin, and I’ve just finished scrounging round the net for all sorts of interesting articles. Some advanced warning, however, this post discusses the recent shootings in Christchurch, and if you’d like to avoid reading about them I completely understand.

Magic: The Gathering’s Competitive Scene is Making Moves to be More Inclusive…

But there are many roadblocks ahead. At last year’s Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix, Jess Estephan became the first woman to take home the trophy. In response, a vocal minority of Magic players took to the internet to harass her for everything from the veracity of her win to her appearance. She attributed this to being the first woman in the room, so to speak.

As Magic attempts to break into the esports market, their lack of diversity is facing increased scrutiny. Elaine Chase, their vice president of esports, promised Kotaku that increasing female participation in their tournaments is a top priority. She goes on to say that it is difficult to promote women specifically without drawing negative attention. This was a sentiment echoed by players interviewed by Kotaku.

For every toxic thread in the community, however, there are organizations like Play It Forward, who try to increase the presence of women and nonbinary folk at Magic events. They offer a reward pot specifically for marginalized genders and raise awareness of the hidden barriers faced by those who aren’t cis men.

Again, We Need to Do Something About Mass Shootings

This past week there were mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch, NZ. It was an act of terrorism by a white supremacist. The perpetrator chose to livestream his actions, and to publish a manifesto, ostensibly to radicalize possible copycats.

The man promoted PewDiePie’s YouTube channel moments before the shootings. He mentioned Fortnite and Spyro the Dragon in his manifesto, along with memes many of us have seen around the likes of Tumblr and Twitter. As others pointed out, they were references designed to pull people into a community close enough to mainstream gaming that the references are indistinguishable on the surface.

Don’t stand for racism in your gaming groups, especially for the sake of the youngest and most vulnerable to radicalization. If you have the means, the families and victims of the Christchurch shootings could almost certainly use some help paying for medical, transportation, and other costs associated with the tragedy. The New Zealand Islamic Info Centre is collecting donations to that effect.

Dwarf Fortress Makes a Comeback

Dwarf Fortress was recently released on Itch.io and Steam, with a complete graphical overhaul. For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s a nitty-gritty (and difficult) base building game that almost always ends in utter chaos.

It’s been maintained by a small team of two for 17 years now, and along the way has revealed some wild bugs. Chief among them for creator Tarn Adams is that the immaterial nature of god causes the game to crash under certain circumstances. That and the drunken cats.

For those who love extensive wikis and micromanaging digital construction projects, it’s the creme de la creme. For those who value their time and grip on reality, it’s at least fun to read about.

In Other News

• Monster Prom’s new DLC brings 2 new characters (read our review of Monster Prom)
• A retrospective of EverQuest in academia
• Games wouldn’t be what they are today without Neopets
• Cosplay makes people steal, maybe
• Google+ has been a cornerstone of the RPG community, and it will be missed
• The PlayStation classic has been cracked, and apparently, it’s super easy 
• Heart Machine announces Solar Ash Kingdom, their followup to Hyper Light Drifter 
• New Overwatch hero, Baptiste, hit the servers yesterday
• Valve to use chart-based “anomalous review activity” detection to filter review bombs from review scores
• Ninja raked in a cool million streaming Apex Legends for EA 
• Danny DeVito tested for Detective Pikachu, and it was hilarious 
• BAFTA Game’s nominations for the Game Beyond category are out:

Kael Langdon

A genderless eldritch beast bound to mortal flesh. Interests include games, gardening, magical realism, and the complete restructuring of America’s political and economic systems. Frequently orders too much food at restaurants. Tweets @unnnez.