Developer Mark Kern has created a Change.org petition as part of an attempt to begin “healing the rift in video games”.
His petition, posted as an open letter to sites Kotaku, Polygon and VG24/7, says that the sites are responsible for a rift in the industry that’s come about as a result of GamerGate.
Kern says the sites are essentially making a mountain out of a molehill.
“On Feb. 11, Law and Order SVU aired an episode about video games called ‘Intimidation Game’ that is being called the ‘Reefer Madness’ of our times,” Kern wrote. “It was a relentless and histrionic parade of slander against video games and gamers. It has helped set back the public image of the video games by years if not decades. It made absolutely nobody happy in the gaming industry and it made serious issues like women in gaming a sensationalist joke rather than a topic worthy of the public’s support and discussion.
“This result, this episode, shown to millions of non-gamers worldwide is the inevitable result of months of gaming press coverage on the rift between gamers that currently plagues our hobby. A rift that the gaming press are accountable for conflagrating through a slew of articles that only served to fan the flames, celebrate the hate on both sides, magnify the rift and sensationalize the issue. There is a term for this, called yellow journalism, and it has started wars before. It has no place in a gaming press that is supposed to support our industry and gamers in particular, of all walks.”
Kern believes the sites he’s listed are the ones that can begin the healing process.
“You are our first line of defense when our industry and our hobby is attacked by a mass media and our own law-makers bent on either trivializing or demonizing our past-time, or worse, legislating it out of existence. You were there for us when Jack Thompson attempted to shut us down. You were there for us when we won 1st Amendment protection for video games in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. We want you to be there for us now,” he said.
Kern originally addressed the open letter to just Kotaku and Polygon, but a recent piece by Patrick Garratt of VG24/7, directly addressing Kern’s petition, has lead to the developer to include that site as well. In his piece, Garratt says Kern doesn’t provide any specifics; according to Kern, Garratt won’t give him the chance to elaborate.
“I’ve added VG247.com to the petition because of their refusal to allow reasonable, moderate discourse about this petition to heal gaming after publishing a piece warning people not to sign it,” Kern said.
Garratt’s piece also alleges developers like Ken Levine — who’s also backed Kern’s petition — Cliff Blezinski and Ted Price simply don’t understand modern games journalism, or at the very least, pile on against sites like VG24/7 because they’ve fallen out of favour.
People, as per usual on the internet, seem to be on opposing sides of this debate, with the hashtag #LetMarkSpeak being used to articulate polarised feelings.
Kern’s petition currently has 2,445 signatures at the time of writing. He’s aiming for 5,000 total.
This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.
