Following on from my last point, I'm afraid to say that at least in its current form, the gaming community isn't a great place to be. The amount of racism, sexism, and homophobia that constantly routs its head in online spaces gamers call home is truly nauseating, with countless incidents in 2015 reaffirming the general toxicity that has managed to embed itself across the various facets of the medium. We saw some absolutely awful racist reactions to the announcement that Mafia III's main protagonist would be of mixed-race at E3 on copious amounts of comments sections, forums and YouTube videos, and then proceeded to see 'political correctness' become the invisible overbearing 'enemy' of the community as well. Said tirades are not difficult to find with just a quick Google search, not that you'd even have to make the effort to open a new tab however, as almost every comments section regarding any issue of intolerance or prejudice is bound to provoke some form of backlash. Complaining about 'political correctness gone mad' - most likely with a slew of sexist comments along with it - is an absolutely unparalleled level of toxicity, and it's ruining gaming for those who just want to enjoy the medium for what it is; an immersive hobby and art form. This isn't a problem intrinsically linked to the gaming industry, as it's been made abundantly clear that all avenues of geek culture possess a clear, consistent element of bigotry that's tainting it for a heck of a lot of people. At least we can take solace in the fact that these mediums are making a concerted effort to tackle these issues, and to that effect bring the people ruining the culture into the 21st century kicking and screaming. Do you feel as though gaming is getting ruined by online toxicity and perpetual bad attitudes? Sound off in the comments below!
Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.
