babark: I'm confused as to why you think gog owes you (or the game authors) an explanation as to why they rejected a game, and why you think it isn't a "valid reason". It is simply a reason you don't personally know. As for the game in question, two dozen very valid reasons were suggested by other users, any one of which could have been applied as the reason to reject that game.
Also pretty funny that you think all those great video games aren't intentionally inherently political. You think existing in a fantasy land means games aren't political? You think that not being realistic means games aren't political? Games have been political since the beginning, you're just noticing now, because you don't like their trend to openness.
Missile Command (first game that came to mind) came out almost 40 years ago, but has had lots of ports and copies (I think it was even packaged with one of the windows). It's a very simple game where you have to fire at and destroy missiles trying to hit your cities. But the gameplay, progression, and implicit plot tells a highly political story of the inevitable destruction of a nuclear armed world through nuclear holocaust.
What a filthy SJW the developer was!
Deus Ex, which you mentioned, deals with very real political themes including government distrust (conspiracy theories) and globalism.
Filthy SJW!
Monkey Island developer Ron Gilbert specifically stated he wanted to move away from boring tired tropes involving the dude rescuing the lady in video games, resulting in Elaine, who doesn't need anyone to rescue her (and would've gotten free herself if the hero of the game didn't interfere).
FILTHY SJW!
Mass Effect: Andromeda is not political according to your definition, because it is a "what if" scenario too. Can a game only be political if they try to "replicate the real world to its fullest"? I don't get it.
I'm not sure you've clearly laid out in your head what games are political, what games are political but that's ok, and what games are eeeeevil! Right now it simply seems to be "These games make me uncomfortable, thus they're baaaad!"
Not him but I will reply a bit:
1. They don't owe us an explanation, you are correct, but not giving one just makes it seem like they could care less about the concerns of some of those who helped this site/store get off the ground from day one. To me this is a bad PR move.
Also yes any reason could've been used to reject the game that user was mentioning, but when a pattern starts to emerge of controversial games(with non-pc subject matter in them or as the core gameplay/story) and those made by controversial devs being rejected over and over it starts to prove that some bias/agenda is leaking into the curation system.
2. Games can be political but trying to inject Real World politics/beliefs to try to push them on those playing is a big nono in my book...to me that is propaganda/brainwashing....and as it is mainly kids/young people playing them I have a bit of an axe to grind against such practices.
3. That game was nothing compared to the modern stuff being pushed and you know it.
Also you are not using the term S*W correctly.
4. Again this game is more than bit political but it allowed then player to make up their mind as to what to believe.....it didn't force you to pick one side over another.
Also(again) NOT S*W.
5. Monkey Island didn't say you were a bad white man/etc or chastise you for having such thoughts about women, though.
6. Bingo on the games we/others are against.....if a game pushes one stance/belief system as good and makes you follow it in-game or keeps pounding it into your head as the right one(and features massive amounts of IRL politics) then YES that game is political in a BAD way.
7. The guy/gal is free to believe as they will....how does them doing so harm you? And why belittle them for holding a belief you don't agree with so much?
babark: dgnfly said he wants his games without politics. I pointed out that almost no game is without politics, and how very often the great games are great BECAUSE of them having politics. He was given several examples before my post, and tried putting forward the case that those games don't count, because...I'm not sure- they're fantasy, or they only take part of the real world, or they aren't fanfiction. I'm not sure what his reasoning was.
Maybe you could TRY to understand their POV a bit and you'd see what they mean? Just a thought.
dgnfly: It does if your Development team is based on race and gender and not skill. It's simply the after effect of trying to push a political narrative. So you would say you'd be able to get a good quality game if you hire women who write fan-fiction and women that have zero skill in animation and a racist dev that bitches about white people 24/7? In the old day's people got picked on skill now they just need one of the token criteria and they hired. there is a reason now there are hiring quotas instead of just hiring on the skill it simply another part of trying to paly Social justice cause we need everything to be on par or else there is discrimination and that's now how the gaming world looks at things. there is a reason
Do you think the same result would happen if you actually hired on skill? There is a reason Anthem was a failure also it's cause all those devs were transferred to work on anthem later on.
krakataul: ME Andromeda Devolopment Lead Team:
Project Leadership: Aaryn Flynn, Yanick Roy. Creative Director: Mac Walters, Producers: Fabrice Condominas, Michael Gamble, Fernando Melo, Lead Designer: Ian Frazier, Art Director: Joel MacMillan, Tech. Director: Harold Chaput; Lead Programmer: Julien Adriano…
Character Artists, Character Animators, Environment Artists, In Game Animators, Technical Animators, UI Artists, Visual Effect Artists Leads: Herbert Lowis, Tim Golem, Scotty Brown, Carl Boulay, Sylvain Côté, Éric Bellefeuille, Ryan Rosanky…
If anything, number of women involved in leading positions was really small...
You are forgetting there are MALE feminists too.
dgnfly: Your forgetting that EA also pushes the market with diversity hence why Battlefield V had to have fictional real battles where handicapped women fight in real-world war 2 battle scenes or main campaign stories get genderswapped from real events. There is a reason EA constantly donates during E3 it's to virtue signal that they are inclusive...
Mafwek: Or more likely "pushes" with diversity because there is a market for it.
Virtue Signaling is done to pander to that market......but most of the ones who get outraged never wanted ti play the game in the first place.
LootHunter: Was it? Was it successful
due to it's "political correctness" or
despite it and due to popular gameplay based to Team Fortress 2?
Mafwek: Perhaps both berk? Political correctness doesn't matter here, diversity is the factor.
You are an absolute moron if you think I am sprouting SJW narrative.
Gaming isn't limited to nerds/gamers anymore, so you are going to market it to anybody you can. Diversity? Nothing but good marketing to appeal to the wider audience. Power of "nationalism". Hardcore gamers aren't economically viable anymore (if Battlefield fans can be called hardcore gamers).
If the market starts to appeal more to the mass of casuals who want more fortnite/anthem/overwatch clones and mobile crap I am outta the main AAA scene.