In defense of Arkh... or not.

In defense of Arkh… or not.

^ Agreed 100%. Today, Tim Schaefer raised more than $1,000,000 to independently develop a game. Their Kickstarter page didn’t have a design document or a list of the programmers they’d already hired or any of the high-level stuff people are demanding from Arkh. They have some concept art and an idea of the gameplay. And they have more than a million bucks to develop it from there.

Obviously, there are differences between Arkh and Tim Schaefer. He has his own video game production company. He’s made games before. But I don’t see any of the people who are sooooooo concerned about The Arkh Project complaining that he hasn’t formally presented a fleshed-out design document.

One person accused the people behind the Arkh Project (which does not include me, I have nothing to do with it) of basically committing extortion by asking for money without having more stuff in place. That is so unbelievable to me. And so narrow-minded as to why people donate to things like this in the first place.

What’s the worst case scenario for Arkh at this point? That the game won’t get made? OK, but here’s what donors already get:

Beautiful concept art

Knowing that they’re helping to promote the idea that POC and queer people deserve to be featured in games

Fighting the idea that only mega-corporations can create entertainment

I think a lot of people have issues with Riley and with the fact that Arkh is explicitly trying to hire POC and queer people. To which I say: STFU. Sit down and let them try. If we kill it now with nitpicking, the people who’ve already donated will definitely never see a return on their investment. Let Arkh be great. If you have constructive criticism of their process, great, let them know! And if you don’t, shut the fuck up.

-Jess

N/B: For the record: I don’t make unfounded assertions. Each bold is a link. Often, every word is a link. I highly recommend checking them out, as they substantiate the claims set forth in this response.

Today, Tim Schaefer raised more than $1,000,000 to independently develop a game. Their Kickstarter page didn’t have a design document…

Tim Schaefer also has his own studio and has made games before, thus demonstrating that he’s good for the money. Riley, the lead voice behind the Arkh Project, has a history of failed projects like this

It’s like what would happen if someone with a proven history of successful entrepreneurial ventures went to a bank to ask for a start-up loan, as compared to some random off the street trying to do the same thing. It’s a matter of history, and frankly, Riley doesn’t have a very good one when it comes to following through.

One person accused the people behind the Arkh Project of basically committing extortion by asking for money without having more stuff in place

They would be incorrect. Extortion is trying to force money from someone, and that isn’t what Riley’s doing. Generally. What they are doing is conning people into giving them money with little guarantee that they’ll see any returns on the investment. As you can see, Riley has a history of doing things like that

So basically what we have now is a game developer with no experience, no history of launching successful games, who has a history of scamming people out of money with schemes like these. That doesn’t exactly bode well.

OK, but here’s what donors already get:
-Beautiful concept art

Except for the fact that they really don’t get anything original.

And the fact that the Japanese character, Haruka, is wearing a Chinese dress.

And the fact that Romero, the trans* Shaman-esque character, has a character design ripped from Shakira:

Not to mention, for touting themselves as a PoC inclusive project, they certainly go out of their way to make Romero a Magical Native stereotype.

Also, for a project that has turned down Caucasian allies in the past, they certainly don’t mind hiring a Caucasian concept-artist. Is it so hard to find a queer or PoC concept artist?

I think a lot of people have issues with Riley

Probably for good reason, truth be told. They’re kind of racist, ableist and bigoted.
Also, they use rape metaphors to describe non-rape stuff, which kind of makes them a hypocrite.

If we kill it now with nitpicking, the people who’ve already donated will definitely never see a return on their investment

No, that’s not how things get accomplished. Really, it’s not. Critique is necessary. It’s healthy. If everything is above-board, there’s no harm in critique. But pointing out issues in

Game design
Stereotyping of characters
Really wonky back-stories
- Because Haruka is basically Ain’s slave, which means that Haruka has no free will and is basically obligated at pain of death to serve Ain but it’ll be okay because they fall in lurrrve afterwards
- Wait, what d’you mean that all the pairings fall along the Masc/Fem dynamic—why are there no Masc/Masc or Fem/Fem pairings and why was Haruka originally intended to be a dude thus rendering the primary pairing both terribly non-consensual and heterosexual
Shoddy record keeping and accountability, as provided by screencaps of prior flawed projects

is not ‘trying to shut the project down’. It’s making people aware of the fact that the project they’re funding is helmed by someone who has a history of failed projects/dismissive and appropriative behaviour, and that the project has a couple major flaws, not least that the progressive representation isn’t really as progressive as all that.

I’m all for a game featuring queer/PoC characters. I just don’t think that Arkh, under Riley’s command, is that game.

(Source: face-down-asgard-up)