Black Myth: Wukong studio requests influencers not include "feminist propaganda" or Covid-19 references in coverage
This week's launch of Black Myth: Wukong has brought further controversy to the game with the leak of a document sent t…
What is "feminist propaganda" and what would COVID-19 have anything to do with the game? What would either of those have to do with the game? Isn't it based on the legend of the monkey king? Are they afraid they'll make a meme of him spreading COVID to kill his enemies or something?
In the conspiracy theories groups China is a hot topic, and I believe this is them telling influencers (who they give a free copy) to stick to the game instead of talking about the country they happen to live in. And I would assume if people stuck to the game few of these topics would be relevant.
Now if an influencer had an issue with say, allegations misogyny at the studio, I would expect them to -
You would have thought that by now they would have realized that explicitly banning people from talking about a subject is basically a method to guarantee that they do.
It's a Chinese game developer. These are the things they're sensitive to. COVID started in China and I guess feminist is a big fucking red flag for women in China?
Hehe, red flag, China...
It’s a Chinese game developer. These are the things they’re sensitive to. COVID started in China and I guess feminist is a big fucking red flag for women in China?
The Black Myth: Wukong sexism controversy stems from employee reports that developers at Game Science have been making sexist comments for many years, and there’s a suggestion the company doesn’t want women playing its games.
https://dotesports.com/black-myth-wukong/news/black-myth-wukong-developer-controversy-explained
It's Chinese developer so I wouldn't be that surprised that their sexist it just seems to be a very common viewpoint in China.
They obviously know it's unacceptable because they don't want to be brought up on it. But rather than improved they're just going to ban discussion of it or at least try to it won't work of course. We're talking about it after all.
The dev has a storied past^[1] of sexism and misogyny, so this shouldn't come as a surprise. The COVID stuff is amusing but unsurprising considering it's a Chinese studio.
Reading through that made me feel gross. It does seem to be acknowledged by women in China as a cultural issue (as well as globally online).
Sexism is, and continues to be, a global problem. But the difference, as both Zhong and Monica F. pointed out, is that the Chinese government and overall cultural attitudes continue to actively discourage women and their allies from fighting back. There’s no one telling harassers “no.”
This feels like the second round of this going around as the AI articles / lazy sites pick it up.
It's a doc 'sent' to one guy who had 12 followers on medium before this started blowing up. It was edited after it was sent out to be the real marketing email of the company instead of a gmail address. The doc is still owned by that gmail account, which isn't typically how companies operate.
I guess they're getting their viral moment so good for them for generating content?
Funny how quickly free speech drops dead whenever right-wing snowflakes get involved.
I didn't realize they even had freedom of speech in China.
Hahahaha, wow, what a bunch of wet noodles. If you don't want negative discourse, maybe don't be misogynistic. Or don't publish your work in countries where free speech and personal freedoms are more abundant. No one is forcing you to publish here, so please keep your demands in your pants. Pffft, I was really interested in this game, now it's such an easy pass!
Out of curiosity, since I’m out of the loop, what is the misogynistic discourse around the game or studio? Is it based on themes of the books/mythology the game is based on? Or is it some other thing the devs went too far with eastern culture wise?
I read some articles from 2020 that touched on the culture @ Game Science, but it doesn't even really matter. It's just the way they single out stuff that feels really put of touch, pretty (ignorant) boomer attitude. I've only heard the word "feminist propaganda" from folks who are misogynistic, it's not something I associate with caring about inequality. Can you imagine being a woman influencer that got this message? I would think 3 times before partnering up with a party that gave me this dos and don't list.
It's probably something that can be attributed to cultural differences, but that doesn't mean that much to me. You move in a culture, but you are still responsible for you actions and words.
The guidelines are also likely in place to avoid mention of previous reports of misogyny at the studio. Posts from Game Science CEO Féng Jì including sexualised and misogynistic language were reported on in 2020, while IGN also reported on the studio's history with sexism.
Lol, a Streisand effect here.
However, it's clear Game Science, through Hero Games, is keen to control the narrative around Black Myth: Wukong to avoid negative coverage and ensure focus is on the game itself.
Given that this is the first I've heard of this game and I know nothing about the game itself, I feel they've shot themselves in the foot a little, eh?
Nah for a while now, this was highly anticipated within the gaming community. Journalists have covered allegations and controversies but honestly no one really cared. People wanted a good game and they got one. Politics or not, their steam review is 96% at overwhelmingly positive.
I was wondering what "feminist propaganda" was and apparently it's talking about misogyny.
Another forbidden topic seemed to be targeted at criticism of misogyny at Game Science. The company has come under fire for lewd and sexist comments attributed in media reports to its founders as well as recruiting materials from 2015 replete with sexual innuendos. Those original job postings and comments were deleted, and the company has not commented. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/world/asia/chinese-videogame-wukong-censorship.html
But this anti feminism attitude is not limited to this 1 gaming company, but government policy under Xi Jinping's authoritarian rule: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-08/feminism-in-china-internet-crackdown-erase-womens-voices/100165360
Thanks for sharing this. I wasn't going to buy this game,but now I'm convinced I won't. Will wait for empress to turn denuvo intro their bitch.
Oh yeah but then there will be another unhinged controversy.
I guess they've never heard of the Streisand effect in China.
It's probably easier to control that effect over there, not so much on western countries.
Well now I wish I was an influencer so that I could get paid for giving China the middle finger.
excuse me wtf
Pirate the fuck out of this game, got it
I was excited to play this game until I saw this. Now I kinda don't want to play it.
For anyone not clicking thru:
In full, the don'ts are:
- Do NOT insult other influencers or players.
I see this as them wanting influencers to focus on their game, instead of using the game as a platform to wade into these other topics that focus on the country they happen to live in. And this being an election year in the US ,and the Right having spread wild conspiracy theories about China for years now, them not wanting any of that stuff to overshadow their art doesn't seem all that crazy of a take. Basically they are saying they want influencers to talk about the game and to leave politics to /c/politics.
Oh and this is of course only sent to influencers, so just people they are giving the game to for free. The rest of the world (including influencers that buy their own copy) are of course free to do whatever they are legally allowed to in their jurisdiction.
Edit - I just want to add an edit after reading the IGN article someone linked above, that I am not siding with or defending any of the gross things coming from people working at this studio. And I guess this would come down to if people can separate the art from the artist, which I personally struggle with in many instances.
The use of “feminist propaganda” over “misogyny” seems very deliberate.
Fucking pathetic
Are analogies using A.A. Milne characters OK for describing the game?
Oh bother...
Somewhat off topic, but the names of both the publisher and the developer are also used by unrelated tabletop game companies. Hero Games makes the Hero System tabletop RPG, and GameScience (no space, so there's a difference) make dice. It threw me for a loop.
I'm not sure how that's supposed to be relevant to the game and reviews of it anyway?
So we've moved on from no minorities to whatever we can find?
So a video of the game overlaid by a feminist manifesto?
hows is that witch-hunt going?
IGN's hitpiece was very iffy in the first place, with mistranslated "tweets" from one of the devs weibo and all, but by doing these guidelines they gave ammunition to these people, I'm glad the game is doing well at least so hopefully china keeps making good, AAA games that aren't also gacha for once.
Naturally, you're getting downvoted into oblivion for recognizing a hit-piece when you see one.
Edit: downvoted for not wanting to pay attention to stupid controversy about video games? Weird...
It's one thing to live peacefully in ignorance. I get it. it is exhausting keeping track of every shitty thing a company does when it's so much easier at the end of an exhausting 9-5 shift to avoid news and play your games guilt free without thinking about who it's hurting.
It's a completely separate thing to brag that your ignorance somehow makes your way of life superior.
People caring about these issues, and sometimes leading to actions being taken because of that, all makes the gaming industry, or to be hyberbolic; the world a better place.
It's fine to avoid news on controversy and just blindly enjoy games, but don't lie to yourself (and others) by pretending that it is a good thing.
