Playtonic, you made it political

Well this is just a sad controversy that benefits nobody. Jontron was apparently set to voice act in Playtonic's upcoming game, Yooka-laylee. It was a perfect fit, a youtube famous fan being cast in the successor of one of his favorite games. Most of his fans were fans, and so everything seemed good, and someone even made a humorous video based on the idea. Only, there's a problem: Jontron has come under fire from the typical over-reaction in outrage culture. Now I think some of what he said was a little weird, and I'm not here to tell you what to think on that, except what should be common sense that it's certainly a bit absurd to assume he's a white nationalist (he's a child of Iranian legal immigration), or to headline him in such a light as some have. While this has been the case for a few days, only recently has Playtonic decided they were done being happy with good innocent PR near the launch of their game, and decided to issue a statement that separated them from Jontron. Here's the statement, borrowed from a site that actually knows how to do appropriate headlines.

"JonTron is a talented video presenter who we were initially, two years ago, happy to include as a voice contributor in our game. However, in light of his recent personal viewpoints we have made the decision to remove JonTron's inclusion in the game via a forthcoming content update. We would like to make absolutely clear that we do not endorse or support JonTron's personal viewpoints and that, as an external fan contributor, he does not represent Playtonic in any capacity. Playtonic is a studio that celebrates diversity in all forms and strives to make games that everyone can enjoy. As such, we deeply regret any implied association that could make players feel anything but 100% comfortable in our game worlds, or distract from the incredible goodwill and love shown by our fans and Kickstarter backers."

By contrast, this is how you do a hit piece. Fuck you, polygon

So before I get too deep into this, I knew I would kind of have to cover both sides at some point. In the middle of looking up bits to link, pictures, and research, I found another opinion article I think is worth a read for that, even if worthy of some criticism in itself. This is one of Jim Sterling's better political articles, because even though he does fall into his usual trap of over-assuming and bipartisan blame, not to mention glosses over the wrath of yellow journalism, he's still making a great and bold point that needs to be said. Jontron is the first event in this equation, and likewise Playtonic has every right to do what they did. I even love the small note about freedom of speech, because the SJW reactionary squad sure does love to drag "censor" and freedom of speech concepts through the mud, just as much as the regressive left crowd does for terminology like "nazi" and "racist". It's all true here, because the fact is Jontron got political first. He went and made his way onto subjects of this content, and consequences can happen. Still, I'm a game driven blog, and I feel that's also what Jim fails to remember. In the end, it shouldn't be about what Richard Gears, or an internet celebrity says, but rather the quality of the game and what they say. It's a selfish consumer perspective and bias, but I'll take that stance in this moment, and I'll confess I'm sad by this news. As far as I see it, they're the ones who caused a division when they actually went in to patch an actor (and possibly character and achievement) out of the game after it was already burned into the discs that are shipping out. That's way more divisive than "he said something I don't like"... on some stream you had to go and look for far from his normal recognized content, which was clearly marked for political discussion.

Here's the thing companies fail to realize when they try and make a statement by removing the guy... they actually made a statement. A lot of times, the intention was to remove themselves from their comments or views, and make a point to virtue signal how tolerant and loving they are. This never actually happens based on just a person's views, but rather if their views are actually being heard loud enough. An outspoken racist behind Mass Effect didn't have the same sort of audience or controversy as Jontron did, so he kept his job until he moved on to indie projects. The guys at Ubisoft just start every Assassins Creed game with a little disclaimer about their diverse team, and it's never questions how many of the thousands of any single game on what they actually believe. Truth be told, I wouldn't be shocked if at least one bigot or person who could be perceived as a bigot, was on that team somewhere. They do fine, because they never make a fuss or kick a guy off over it that makes news. A&E made a heated discussion when they tried to fight one of the Duck Dynasty members for their views, which was otherwise restricted to a disconnected interview. Moments where companies actually speak up in politics, actually cause divisions, is a big red flag where politics start. What has been for years, an innocent call back to 3D platforming, and welcomed pages of tributes and colorful nostalgia, is now drenched in the shouting arena of the culture war. Heck, I'll even confess whenever I cover this stuff, I've also dipped my toe in that water. ...but I'm not trying to sell you a product.

Can't we just... have this again?

What's even more hypocritical and discerning, is the reported handling of the backlash. The forums were lit up with all sorts of chaos on this issue, because like I said, you brought the poltics into your game. Not Jontron, the developers. I didn't even know he was in it until this happened, then I'll admit my curiousity drove me to the forums to get more info, and it was all on fire from other people who had met there to... speak less rationally of it. Be it the SJW defense force that think Playtonic somehow stopped racism, or the SJW reactionary guys who think "cuck" is somehow a clever insult that advances a conversation, the forums were littered with it. So what how does the team and publisher handle it? Bans! Discussions, requests for refunds, and more were banned until fairly recently. And good on them for changing their tune, but still that's some real bullshit that it happened to begin with. As some have started making a fairly good point on, it's funny how difficult and unsure the refund policy is. For a team that wanted to make a stand against a supposedly problematic individual, they have no issue taking money from his fans and supporters, and hanging onto it. Virtue signaling is a bit of a stupid and loose term I've come to learn in recent time, but moments like this are a clear example of it in a negative light.

The funny thing is, while I am personally disappointed on this occurrence, I'm not standing on some high hilltop telling you not to buy their game. That's a decision for you to make, and I still stand by the morals I've stated a few times before (quote from the subject of boycotting tombraider):

"I've stated before, and stand by the idea that a corporate's awful doings are only bad enough to kill the game for me if they directly stand in the way of my enjoyment. When you boil it down, its basic capitalism. Give me a product that is worth the money, and I will pay for it if its enticing enough."

I'm disappointed Playtonic did this, but I'm not like them. I can separate quality from my politics, unlike Playtonic. I can buy a game regardless if someone attached with it, is of a philosophy I can't align myself with. You have to be able to separate the art from the artists, otherwise you can find any number of good reasons to hate it or love it much more than it's worth. However, know that not everybody has my principles and morals. If people are truly taking the steps, and risking bans, to demand refunds... well, you see the results. You know you goofed. For a team that loves diversity, you sure know how to isolate within the act of making that exact statement. You made this political Playtonic. Jontron was just a mere cameo for fans, not a representation of you or your values, nor a political statement. Welp, you essentially told fans off by removing that good gesture and parading it around as a good thing. So now, they're telling you off, and I'll just sit by on the sidelines and watch this all play out. You've done nothing good for your light-hearted nostalgic adventure in this move. All that colorful fan art, the excitement in each and every level and character reveal, the gameplay, the testing, the successful kickstarters, it was all going so well. You were even good and set to move to the switch as it came out. Now all that is misplaced, because you had to step in the political ring, and your game is only being brought up now for the shitstorm you've opened up. Jontron's problems were that of his own, until you picked up the spotlight yourself. So you want some of his attention, I'll do you a favor, and end this on one of his Gifs. It has an important message to others that are thinking of doing this same kind of thing: