I'll start things off.

This is old shit, but if you remember when Gamergate was at its height, a lot of them complained about "walking simulators," games like Gone Home, Dear Esther, etc. with very little in the way of typical gameplay mechanics like challenges that have to be overcome through skill or failure states. Gamergate dipshits seized on a white-hot, psychopathic hatred of these games, spinning the lack of skill required into bizarre conspiracy theories about game journalists promoting these as a plot by non-gamers to pave the way for the infiltration of gaming by "anti-gamers." Also because a lot of these games are about minorities, who of course GG assholes considered by default to not be "real gamers."

The thing is, I don't like walking simulators either. I've only played a few, but the only one I even kind of enjoyed was The Beginner's Guide (and even then, I don't think I would've missed out on much if I'd watched a longplay instead). The medium is the message, as the old saying goes, and the ability to engage through interaction with the mechanics is what sets games apart from other media. Walking simulators (and visual novels, but that's a different gripe) don't take advantage of this in a way that gets me invested. To me, a walking simulator feels like the equivalent of a movie that consists solely of a guy sitting in a chair and reading a story out loud.

The difference between me and a GG dipshit, of course, is that my dislike of the genre doesn't hinge on ridiculous conspiracy theories or hatred of minorities, and also that rather than wage some crusade to kick walking sims out of the gaming club, I just don't play them. In any case, though, the association is strong enough that it's something I tend to avoid bringing up.

  • Pseudoplatanus22 [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    I ride motorcycles and play metal music, two communities full to the brim with reactionary boomers and zoomer/millennial libs and conservatives.

    Edit: oh yeah, I also like lifting weights and martial arts, which are full of many of the same people. I feel like it's hard to hang around in hyper masculine spaces and be a leftist.

    • chlooooooooooooo [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      i feel like metal has a relatively decent proportion of comrades tho? plenty of chuds and libs too, but that's expected

      • Pseudoplatanus22 [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Hmmmmmmm in my experience it depends on what subgenre you're into. You'd be hard pressed to find many leftists listening to boomer metal, but I grew up on it and still listen to it, so there must be some more.

        Crossover genres like hardcore and grindcore maybe, because punk is way more openly left wing (though not entirely). Maybe Desert/ Stoner too, but at this point I'm just guessing.

        • chlooooooooooooo [she/her]
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          edit-2
          2 years ago

          gf (who is a nu metal fan) says that nu metal has a decent number of leftists, industrial too

          • Pseudoplatanus22 [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            That doesn't surprise me, actually. I was going to say nü metal because of the subject matter, like Left Behind by Slipknot is about a break-up as far as I can tell, whereas Agent Orange by Sodom is about... Agent orange, I guess? IDRK, I can't decipher the lyrics