The people behind video games are taking a stand against those they believe are hurting the gaming community.
A letter asking the gaming community to end the harassment of others has been posted to Medium.com and has received over 2,000 signatures from game developers, from both indie studios and big companies.
The letter reads:
"We believe that everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened. It is the diversity of our community that allows games to flourish.
If you see threats of violence or harm in comments on Steam, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook or reddit, please take a minute to report them on the respective sites.
If you see hateful, harassing speech, take a public stand against it and make the gaming community a more enjoyable space to be in.
Thank you"
The effort was organized by Andreas Zecher, a game designer from indie developer Spaces of Play, best known for the mobile games Spirits and Mr. Bounce.
This letter from the game development community was brought on by the waves of online harassment of two figures: Anita Sarkeesian, a culture critic whose latest video in her "Tropes vs. Women" series was posted on August 25 and drew the ire of some gamers. She recently fled her home when she received threats against her and her family.
Besides Sarkeesian, the other woman who has been attacked online is indie developer Zoe Quinn, creator of text game Depression Quest, based on a negative perception of her since an ex-boyfriend posted an article online about how she cheated on him, including with game journalists. Indie developer Phil Fish, the creator of Fez, was also attacked online after defending Quinn.
Some have said this harassment should be labeled terrorism. The online attacks include more than just posting terrible comments. These figures have experience "doxing" attacks, where personal documents of the people are stolen via computer hacking and then posted online. There have also been threats of violence.
You can read the names and company affiliations of those that have signed the petition on the Medium.com site.
