Summary of Key Points
This article begins with the issue of "players' dissatisfaction due to a male protagonist being suddenly introduced in a female-oriented game" and reveals a hidden industry logic: the so-called "breakthrough theories," "diversity theories," and "community inclusiveness theories" that have become popular among male gamers in the past few years are essentially "shields" created by the industry to avoid the sensitive topic of gender conflicts. These theories, originally used as temporary solutions by industry insiders to handle disputes, have been taken seriously by new entrants and turned into dogmatic forms of "political correctness," which have then been applied to female-oriented games (Type B games), leading to the current conflict. This is a result of the accumulated momentum from previous gender struggles, which has returned to its origin in an unexpected way.
1. Those High-Sounding Theories Are Actually Tools to Avoid Problems
The three theories mentioned in the article—breakthrough, diversity, and community inclusiveness—sound noble, but their real purpose is not to improve the quality of games; rather, they are used to avoid a difficult question: Why are male players, who make up the core audience, being neglected?
- Breakthrough Theory: The idea that male gamers should attract female users to expand the game's audience stems from the fact that their opinions are ignored. This is masked as a need to "attract new players."
- Diversity Theory: The inclusion of characters with average looks, larger body types, or even male characters is not about truly pursuing aesthetic diversity but rather about avoiding accusations of discrimination or narrow-mindedness.
- Community Inclusiveness Theory: Players are told they can simply stop playing if they don't like something, which is a way to prevent opposition from leading to gender conflicts and potential trouble for the industry.
These theories act as a "cover" to hide the sensitive issue of gender differences, allowing industry insiders to avoid confronting the problem head-on.
2. Why No One Dares to Expose These Theories? Fear of Triggering Gender Controversies
The article points out that many game developers and bloggers are aware these theories are flawed. A company that ignores its core audience to please a minority of users goes against market principles. However, they dare not speak the truth for several reasons:
- Gender conflicts are currently a central issue of our time, and making a mistake could lead to intense online backlash, as seen with events surrounding games like Genshin Impact and Yan Yun Shiu Shi Shen this year.
- They cannot answer the question of why female players' opinions seem more important. This is not a problem that the gaming industry can resolve; even experienced lawyers and bloggers avoid it, let alone ordinary employees.
Therefore, they use these theories as shields, repeating them despite their doubts to prevent trouble.
3. Masks Become Beliefs: From Temporary Solutions to Dogmatism
Over time, these theories have become part of "political correctness" and are taken seriously by new entrants:
- Veteran Developers: They know these are just excuses but continue to use them to reduce conflicts.
- New Game Designers: Especially female designers (many hired for their salaries and not necessarily interested in gaming) see these theories being adopted by industry leaders and top games like Genshin Impact and assume they represent the "correct approach," adopting them without question.
- The Result: They truly believe that games need to break through boundaries and be aesthetically diverse, applying these dogmas to their work while forgetting the basic business logic of serving their core audience.
4. Type B Games Are Also Affected: The Misapplication of "Political Correctness"
The game "Love and Space" is designed for female players, but its designers adopted theories from male-oriented games:
- The sudden introduction of a male protagonist was meant to attract male players.
- Non-traditional, attractive characters were created to promote diversity in aesthetics.
- When players expressed dissatisfaction, they were told, "If you don't like it, you can just stop playing; don't disrupt the community."
This completely goes against the needs of female players, who play games to interact with handsome CEOs. Using theories from male-oriented games has led to player anger.
5. A Lesson: The Momentum of Struggles Can Return Against You
The article concludes by highlighting that struggles do not go unnoticed; their outcomes just emerge in unexpected ways. In the past few years, feminist bloggers have promoted diversity to attract male players, while developers have repeated these theories to avoid conflicts. When new designers adopted them for female-oriented games, female players also experienced being ignored. This shows that the momentum of any struggle eventually affects everyone. Even if you think you are outside the conflict, you are actually part of it. Once existing consensus is shattered, a new one (even if wrong) will shape the industry and everyone's behavior.
In summary, this article uses the example of "Love and Space" to reveal the complete chain of events: using theories to avoid problems, these theories becoming part of political correctness, then being dogmatically applied by new developers, ultimately harming the very games they are trying to improve. It explains why game designers make seemingly absurd decisions—they are not just foolish but are influenced by a misguided form of "political correctness."