site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2959 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 26, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Yeah, the gaming industry over the past 10-15 years has been about finding new and more addictive ways to extract more value for less cost. I have my concerns about Hollywood, publishing, and the music industry, but at least there seems to be a sense that they want to create something that people enjoy or see value in, even if they are bad at it. But it's really, really hard to read the ways gaming CEOs and business publications talk about their customers, their products, and their strategies, and not come away with the conclusion that they're just as evil, twisted, and morally bankrupt as a casino operator. Gaming as a business seems fundamentally at-odds with gaming as a hobby or creative endeavor in a way that's not true for other creative industries.

I play video games sometimes, but the oxygen of gaming has been so saturated by multiplayer competitive grindfests and e-"sports" that I find it hard to even identify with gaming any more. Sometimes it feels like it's as unhealthy and toxic today as everyone's dad thought it was in the 90s. And everyone has the kid in their family who's kicked a hole in their wall because they lost an online match.

gaming industry over the past 10-15 years

That’s the market for you, isn’t it? Games are getting commoditized in a way they weren’t before the Internet, before personal computing. A team of 200 outscales a team of 20 outscales 2 guys with an Apple ][, but by commanding so many resources, they are forced to be more conservative. The shareholders demand it!

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats