And it keeps going. It's actually like that in any fandom, no matter the size. However, one can say that there are groups within these fandoms. I like to classify them as follows: the outsiders, the lovers, and the fans.
The Outsiders: Those who sit on the outskirts and look in. They tend to keep their opinions on subjects within the fandom to a minimum but will often showcase their love when it is brought up in conversation.
The Lovers: The ones that love every aspect of the fandom. Mainly those that wright fanfiction and/or draw fanart. A few items in their room are from the show, such as posters, jewelry, apparel, appliances, etc. Maybe a tattoo? They aren't in the closet about their love for the work. I feel cosplayers would also be included in this group, but that can vary.
The (super) Fans: Now I bet you feel this one would be similar to the lovers of the fandom. Sorry, but that's not the case. I feel fans are the worst of a fandom. They eat, sleep, and shit their favorite show/game/etc.. They honestly live it. It's like you took the lover group and gave them cocaine. If their opinion isn't considered canon or even believed, they will throw a temper tantrum.
A great example is my experience as a Bioware fan. Well, lover in the above case. I love Mass Effect, and eventually got into Dragon Age last year. The thing is I would consider myself also an outsider. I've seen people get pissy about their not being more gay/bi characters in the game. Let me pull back for a bit. In both games you take on the role of a customizable (or default) character. You can be Male or Female and have the option to romance one of the many characters in the game. Sounds fun, right? Well it is. You get sucked into this world and fall in love with these gorgeous characters that Bioware has created. I have about 8 characters made in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Anyway, some of the characters swing one way or keep their options open. In the first games it seemed to be more about having a female or male only option and then a bisexual character. In Dragon Age 2, all characters were bisexual besides one, who was a female only dlc. The only problem was that I didn't really feel the need to replay the game. I could just have multiple saves in which my same character ended up with the romance choices. Which is sad, as personally I would love to replay it. Not saying I wouldn't. These games have multiple decisions that need to be made that shape your gameplay. However, with the Dragon Age Keep, I'm able to change these decisions with a single click.
I'm getting a bit off topic now.
Both these games are playable on PC, which opens up to the lovely add ons called mods. Ah yes. Want to run around naked? mods. Want dragons to be Thomas the Tank Engine? mods. Want your non-caucasian characters to have whiter skin? mods.
What? Why would you want to change your characters skin? The same reason why there are mods to make the male party members butt's jiggle. People want to. Of course, you can still get these mods and those in the fandom tend to just ignore the fact that they exist. However, once a mod came out for Inquisition to make a female character roman-cable for a female protagonist, the fandom went wild. People sent threats to the creator and those that supported the mod. How horrible of someone to do such a thing! Eventually the creator deleted the mod and their tumblr blog. That didn't stop some from posting it for those that missed out. But why couldn't the fandom just ignore it if they didn't like it? People like to ruin fun for others.
Then there were those that actually hounded the game's lead writer, David Gaider, about why a male character wasn't available for males. They believed he had a thing with the gay character because of one scene in which they play chess. That makes total sense. The writer left it vague with a simple "because we didn't feel it fit his character" or something along the lines. That didn't go well with those who were all for having him gay. People kept attacking the employees for a further explanation. Saying that it's simple to change the sexual orientation of a character. Then that led to attacking others in the fandom for not liking the idea... The list of things the fandom bicker about goes on.
What I learned from these moments is that if you don't like something one side of the fandom is doing, ignore it. Don't push your opinions onto others who think the opposite. I stay quiet about the things I don't like in the fandom unless it's something that actually deals with the story. I could care less if someone hates the game. I got a few friends into series. However, I also advise people to actually play the whole series. That's the only time i've forced my opinion onto another, and they didn't take it. There were other things I advised them about when they were getting their PS4, but I still hound them about playing the series instead of the latest game just because the graphics and (concept) art looks amazing. Especially since it's a game based on choices you made in the previous 2 installments.
No comments:
Post a Comment