The Game Ain’t Changed, Just Got More Fierce

*cover photo courtesy of instagram.com/blackkrystel Let me shock you with something you’ve never heard before off the top: For some, the gaming community can be a toxic environment. I won’t pretend that there was a good ole days or that there has ever been a moment since the birth of on-line gaming and connectivity that hasn’t brought some turmoil. But yes, as we become more connected and accessible to each other, the vitriol that can be espoused towards marginalized folks has become very apparent. It’s hard to go a week without a streamer with a million followers using racial slurs or women streamers being spammed with faux reporting to be removed from twitch. LFG (Looking for Group) servers are always perilous because you run an exceptionally high chance of hearing something racist, sexist or homophobic from some dude you have to cooperatively play with. Throw in the fact that punishment seems to only be accompanied by publicity, even if numerous complaints have been lodged before reaching the public eye. I apologize, this isn’t a column about how terrible the gaming community can be (trust me, we have plenty of time for that another day). But its about the folks that see the perilous landscape for marginalized gamers and are determined to cut through the bullshit anyway. This enhanced toxicity has to have a cause and that seems to be the amount of visibility and success that many marginalized gamers are having. One of the strategies for this has been tried and true. When t…