The start of a revolution
Feb 28, 2008 Author: aktrez | Filed under: Girl Talk, Mature Content, News
Last night, I had an eye opening experience. I was sitting at a dinner table with two high power gentlemen who were looking from the outside, in to the gaming community for the first time. Their perspective on who “we” are and what “we” are was mind boggling. Take a few minutes to watch this video, and really think, about my experience and how we can all make a difference!.
Yes, I know this is long but I had a LOT to say. This was taped during a live broadcast on Justin.tv with over 70 viewers in the room. My goal is that everyone who watches this goes out and makes a positive change within our community.
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41 Responses for "The start of a revolution"
It was my first Aktrez broadcast and it was awesome. A lot of great (and positive) ideas during the broadcast!
This was an awesome broadcast and I fell in love with everything Aktrez had to say. You have some awesome ideas Aktrez!
-But that negative part of the community is a minority and that’s all the media focuses on. Look at you. You’ve never acted that way. HBO(Bungie fansite) will defend it’s members if a troll comes in and tries that. Very rarely will conversations on there resort to that kind of idiocy. Why don’t people like this, that actually represent gaming the right way, not get the attention?
-You and your chainsaw. Ready for Gears 2?
-Oh and let me know when you’ll play Halo 3 again.
-Speaking of playing together. LAN? Yeah Becky you should get yourself back to San Pedro.
-Sorry I wasn’t there for the broadcast I was sleeping. Damn fever!
It’s not that minor. It’s not the media focusing on it… these are normal people. This is why it’s important that we show EVERYONE that gaming is positive and that we should spread a positive message to all who game.
j41m3z: it’s actually NOT a minority. If anything… Becky is the minority. I can’t watch the vid right now cuz I’m going to work, but I have a good idea what it’s about (seeing as how i was with you and we were talking about it last night. lol) and hopefully Becky can make a change in the community for the better
Hey Aktrez… I’m ready to start the revolution! HECK YEAH! ;D
Great video Becky! It’s exactly like what we have been talking about and hopefully we’ll be able to make a difference.
=) I was there
I agree. Something must about the BS that is making the gaming culture look bad. I hope your message sinks in to everyone who hears it. Viva la Revolucion!
As for the charity. I’m glad you participating in that. My group and I visited a childen’s hospital and played some Nintendo Wii with the kids day before Valentine’s Day. Keep us posted on how it goes!
Why people gotta hate! I love you and your ideas Becky! ^_^ Sorry for not posting too much lately; I’ve been supa sick.
I’m better now,
This was great discussing earlier. Even if only a few people make a difference, it’s worth it.
More great insight from Becky.
Oh, I know THAT feeling Kannaya! Just getting over the plague myself!
It is embarrassing. I agree with you 100% We complain. Oh this industry never grows up. We’re never taken seriously. Video Games are seen as something for Children. Well if we stopped acting like imature children and acted like mature adults. The world would start taking us more seriously.
What we have in this culture is adults mixing with kids and teens. Who of course can be imature. This behavior is contagious to some adults and effects how some adults act in this industry.
It’s been said before. The Internet has given everyone a voice. We’ve become a culture of complainers, mean spirited, bitter and jealous assholes. Just remember the world is watching.
Please don’t forget to DIGG this. http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgirlsentertainmentnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D198&title=Aktrez%3A+The+start+of+a+revolution
I hated the discussion…I really did. Not becasue of Becky, not becasue of the comments, but the fact that it even has to be made. I cant beleive we are in a time where people think it to be ok to post anything they want about someone else with no recourse. The hate mails, the nasty comments, anything just filled with hate. It is disgusting. I have read articles, blogs that I have had a strong disagreement with but I dont leave nasty comments. I may disagree with a topic or information within a topic but that isnt the platform for me to call someone names, dispariage them or there family. There is no time or place for that. There is no form of communication where that should be acceptable. At some point in time people started viewing this as an acceptable form of expression. It would be disgusting to do it in person but atleast you are facing the person you are smearing, and you actually have the balls per say to say it to someones face. People hide behind this thing we call the interent, with there negativity, there hate, there lack of character, and they must really lack self confidence if they have to resort to cutting someone down. Honestly no topic frustrates me more than the topic of haters, negativity, and just plain rudeness, because as long as the internet is text and not spoken word people will say whatever they want, however they want. They are the ultimate form of an attnetion whore. Its look at me I can call someone a name and they cant do anything about it ha ha ha. Very mature.
Sorry to vent here, I love Becky, I love the women here at GEN, and you guys are so positive that is why I come to this site, it is refreshing, and I think there needs to be more positive people like the girls who contribute to this site. We cant cure all the hate in the gaming community but we can definitely lead the way with class, respect and overall the willingness to have fun. I don’t think people should be nice because Jack Thompson has negative views on gaming ,I think people should treat others how they would like to be treated, and that is with respect, and just plain decency.
That is all much love to the women of GEN, I will support you guys as long as you are here to be supported
Way to go Aktrez!
It was very well said!
thanks for chatting with me before your rant and the revolution started becky. it made my day so much better =].
Positivity FTW!
TW, one thing you are doing wrong is that you are still allowing words like hate in your vocabulary! You need to turn that around. Instead of concentrating on “HATE” concentrate on the good.
You believe things need to change. Don’t hate that they need to change be positive that a change will come. That’s what I’m saying here. It’s so important that we make a lifestyle change.
Just like dieting, there are things we need to give up (like certain thoughts and words) and things that we need to change on a daily basis in order for this to work!
Thank you guys ALL for your outcrying of support. I am really happy that so many of you understand where I am coming from and have pledged to help make a change.
I’m with you, Becky!
A-frickin’-MEN to the rant!
Becky, I dont hate the need for change, I embrace it. I just hate that things have even come to this. There was a time where each subculture rallied together. Comic book fans, gamers, sports fans all shared there common bond. Now days there is a lot of hate within subcultures. Gamers fight with other gamers, etc etc. We are in agreement that a change is necessary, but it still disgusts me that people have such negativity and hate in there hearts that they are willing to and happy to cut someone down who they dont know, will probably never meet, yet based on there appearance or just making things up can cut someone to pieces just by typing a few little words on the keyboard. There is no accountability.
You have a lot of good things to say, as well as some great ideas. But you also have a lot to work on if you plan on being effective. First and foremost you cannot make a 30 minute rant. You need to pick message points, and keep highlighting those message points throughout a 5 minute video, MAX. You will find people will respond a lot better. I forget some of the great ideas you came up with in the beginning by the end .
Second, the gaming culture has become significant in size. As with any culture, with size the ratio of rude and idiotic people rises as well. It’s not something you can control. What you can control is how you treat those people and make sure they feel as isolated as possible. As many rude people on XboX Live (or PSN), i have found just as many that welcome me. The people who make me mad and rain on my parade are the ones who fuel me.
The gaming culture has changed a lot in the past 10 years, expect it to change just as much in the next 10
Nikko
I made an account just so I could post this. :] It seems like a pretty cool site though, so when I get done writing this I’ll see what else is on here.
Anyway, Aktrez, first off let me say that you are a great person from what I have heard of you/gotten from your blogs and communication with the community, not to mention your involvement with Video Games Live. However, I do have to dissent with you a bit.
You did make valid points. There is a lot of negativity in the gaming community, but then everywhere you go you’re going to run into negativity. This world obviously isn’t Nirvana, and realistically, it won’t ever be that way - not completely. World peace is a dream for a reason. It’s great to think about, and to work toward, but realistically it seems very far off.
No matter what, you are always going to have those who against what you stand for. That is just the way things are. Not to say your idea isn’t a great one, but even if you DO create a new, “positive” community, there is no doubt that you will get the same kind of negative comments, blogs, and feelings that surface anywhere else. You simply cannot stop people from feeling that way. As sad as it is, we get angry. We get envious. And it’s not just the gaming industry/community. It’s everywhere.
I notice that in the end of your video, you mentioned Pwned.com, a place I have been hanging out regularly because of the AWESOME community. I would like to say first off that it is not primarily focused on FPS games OR negativity. Yes, I have written a blog that I got a lot of flak about, but those were my personal feelings. They did not reflect everyone else’s on the website. I am not aware of any other big issues going on from the site, though. I only know that what I wrote got a lot of attention because I was voicing my frustration at being an outsider in the industry. Then, after receiving the umpteenth comment offering sound advice and great criticism, I wrote a response blog to everyone. I have learned a lot since that blog. Did I go about expressing myself the proper way? That’s up for debate. Regardless, writing it has lead me to make many new friends who are willing to help me out and truly listen to my concerns as well as offer priceless advice about how to get started.
Let it be said that Pwned has been nothing but supportive save for the occasional troll or person with no life who likes to come in and rile everyone up. Again, that’s everywhere. If you were to go and hang out there with all of us you’d quickly see that there is a genuine feeling of fellowship between the regular users and we certainly do welcome new members. You should see the way we all react when the site goes down. It’s become our gamer Myspace. Have you personally spent any time there or did you just assume all we talk about is how ugly people are, how FPS games are AWESOME, and how much we hate what everyone else loves? I don’t mean to sound totally evil, but for someone with your influence to speak badly of a fledgling community that has GREAT potential, it sort of saddens me. I know many of the girls, if not all, at GameGirl have profiles there and I have spoken to them on several occasions. They’re awesome. Have you tried it out for yourself?
Furthermore, aside from the great community, we have fantastic mods who are genuinely concerned with making it a place that all of us can speak our minds (within reason of course), and we all truly do want to have peace within our little “family” of sorts.
I’m all for everyone getting along, but please don’t knock something until you’ve tried it. Also, I would like to agree with Nikko in that having a 30 minute video sort of turned me off to hearing you out all the way. For those of us who were not in the discussion, questions that were asked in a list format would have clarified a few things. Or that might be just me. :]
Anyway, keep doing what you’re doing, you have a lot of power and a persuasive stance, I’m sure you’ll bring a lot of positive change to the community. Come join us at Pwned and give us a chance, eh?
BECKY FOR PRESIDENT
You are a smart cookie becky
Let’s all work on becky’s idea and change the world and create a new nice gaming community.
I wil ltry and work on the logo and when G4 calls becky for a job she can promote her ideas and get people to follow her lead and pay it forward
(also i am working on getting you a big daddy)
I responded to this first on MySpace in Becky’s video message, but to recap what I said then…
Coming in from a slightly ageist perspective, I have always experienced the situation that the younger generations -in general- are very jaded. People like me, in their 30’s or older, LOVE most of everything that comes out because we appreciate the high quality of it all. We also remember what it was like when we were growing up… the stuff we had was really terrible compared to the stuff nowadays… but we absolutely loved it!
I don’t know where the jadedness comes from, and certainly there are a few people here and there in their teens and 20’s who aren’t jaded about entertainment- gaming in particular- but for the most part, I agree with Becky that there’s a terrible level of negativity going on when in fact there’s no reason for it.
Winning a game does not make you superior to another person. Having all the achievements unlocked for a game on XBox Live means squat (other than you have free time!) What some of the younglings out there seem to have forgotten is that games are about having fun.
If you don’t agree with me that the younger generations are jaded- I submit this to you: Growing up, I never once used the phrase or heard anyone else use the phrase “that sucks”. Only in the past 8-10 years have I routinely heard that phrase used, and now it is used for almost every single movie, game or other media concept that is released.
Why is that? I truly don’t know.
Live4Love and Love4OneAnother. Words to live by!
The whole world ain’t sunshine and puppy dogs kiddo but i can certianly understand where you are coming from. I respect your passion for the goodness.
Reclaimer, I think you misunderstood what I was saying about pwned, and also, maybe I worded it wrong.
Not against the SITE at all. I don’t think I said it was ONLY FPS but if I did that was just the jist I got from it while there. The way it’s portrayed seems heavily FPS. I also stated that a lot of the crap talk that was posted about this was posted there. That’s how I even found out about it. So, in MY experience (and I did say that) what I had gotten from it was negative. Now, I never said it was a bad site at ALL and I also never said anything about the site in general. Just the first vibe that I got. I also said that I needed to check it out more. So, I’m sorry if that offended you but I was simply answering honestly to a question asked.
IN regard to the length of the video: Like I stated at the beginning, this was happening during a live broadcast. I didn’t just make a video and throw it up. Someone actually highlighted this part of the broadcast and highlighted the entire 30min. I’m not sure how to even make it shorter without editing the crap out of it. This isn’t some kind of formal message. This is me coming up with a revolution on the spot and trying to get more people involved. Again, not something planned or something rehearsed. Just a live event that had a good highlight.
Hope that clears up the negative points and I also want to thank everyone for their support thus far! Sorry if what I said offended. Only talking from my own experience and nothing more!
No ill will at ALL. I was just venting and if anything came out poorly, it was probably just me getting caught up in the moment on a live cast.
People who are concerned about this really need to grow up; it’s extremely childish and pointless. Asking people to suddenly change from malicious back stabbing, to holding hands and dancing around kittens, is ridiculous. There are far more important things in life to worry about. Life isn’t suppose to be fair and asking 10 girls that want to become G4 presenters to join forces and pat one another on the back is a joke.
Also, on another note: If you wanted to apply for the G4 position in the first place, you should apply to G4, not on a website that depends on getting users to sign up so that they can gain revenue from advertising. This isn’t highschool, if anything, you’ve just hampered your chances at the position by using this stupid site.
Ah, okay then, well, thanks for writing back. Maybe you should come check it out sometime? :]
Just signed up Reclaimer and posted my first blog.
BrianJK, that attitude is exactly what we are trying to change. There is no need for negativity like that. None. Having a bad attitude about something that is FUN and saying ” the way things are will never change ” is just wrong.
I’m not stupid. I know not everyone will change. That being said, if I can start a flow of positive thinking and get people really taking a good look at how they act, even if it’s only one or two, then I have done something good.
Sounds like we’ve been living in the Mushroom Kingdom all along. My bad, I didn’t get the memo.
Brian stop being 12..Pay attention. You don’t have to pat anyone on the back, but you don’t have to smear them either. What purpose does cutting someone down serve you? Nothing is the answer.
Total, if you read my post, you’ll see I’m not directly attacking Becky, I said “People” who are actually getting their pants in a twist over this need to grow up. If you feel that you fall into that category, then it’s directed at you.
My main point and reason for posting was to say that this topic needs some perspective. There are much bigger issues to be concerned about, rather than a few bitching girls who write slanderous poems about one another.
It really amazes me that people are actually shocked by this behaviour. Have people really lived that much of a sheltered life?
I see your point Brian, but I have always hated the fact that people can sit behind a keyboard and anonymously tear someone to part with no consequences. Saying nasty things face to face is awful as well, but at least you are facing your attacker, and Id be willing to bet said attacker who was throwing down nasty word after nasty word behind there keyboard, is the same person that turtles up when confronted with said people. Lets use Becky as an example and say some hateful posters at IGN. Not everyone, because there are nice people so we will limit it too those dead set on saying hurtful things either to garner a response such as “lol that was awesome” or things of that nature. So lets use those two factors. Becky posts on IGN..Followed by flame after flame after flame, criticizing her from everything down to her appearance, her website, her hobbies you name it. Now lets put the same factors in an environment such as Comic Con, or what not I bet that same poster who was full of hate behind a keyboard, walks up to Becky and shly syas Hi.
Again no accountability. You are right Brian this is nothing new, but frankly it annoys the hell out of me, that there is such negativity and people just cant sit back and enjoy things for what they are.
Wow! I listened to this while IWas working and I wanted to go hell yah! out loud but I didn’t lol. Seriously though why is it that contest brought out the worst in some of the contestants. That is just plain childish. I mean when I entered a contest like this awhile back I did the wrong thing cus I thought someone was photoshoping there picture when infact they hired a profesional photographer and she made her own costume.
I apologized to that contestant and after that whol miss understanding her and I are friends. Sometimes things like that ctyrun out for the best like my situation. As for some it doesn’t, they say that girls are the more likely to do the things that some of these girls just did on the g4 contest. It just shows you there absolute true colors.
Actively listening and typing here, but want to respond as I go… so sorry if this bit doesn’t flow right.
As for the girl bitching thing on the G4 stuff (I know this is old news and it’s over..but..to respond) I feel like a lot of the issues there were AGE. A lot of the girls were right around 20. Not to say it’s acceptable, but, I wasn’t surprised that there were so many arguements with that crowd.
As far as the “attention whore” and slutty pictures, again, I fell like it’s an age thing. I’m almost 26, and, I’m not gonna lie, from 18-22, I dressed different, etc. Also, myspace wasn’t around, but had it been, I probably would have posted slutty pictures too.
As related to gaming, IMO, the pictures all made up and gaming are just retarded. If you’re going to take a gaming picture, at least BE gaming, not just sitting pretty holding a controller.
Girls bitch about getting inappropriate attention, and yet they’re posting near porn pictures with gaming paraphernalia. Talk about sending a mixed message much?
I really like your bit about pro versus recreational. Obviously there are a billion hobbies, sports, and interests that there are recreation & pro, a 12 year old soccer player is a soccer player, David Beckam is a soccer player. Needless to say, there’s a bit of skill different. As there is in EVERY hobby, sport, etc. The whole Noob thing, it’s hazing, it happens in a lot of things. I do agree that girls get more of it especially in gaming, and that does need to change.
I totally feel you on the FPS. I love watching my boyfriend pay COD4, but I can’t play for shit. I’m lucky to get a kill or two, but mostly I just die a lot. Which, I don’t mind.. but it would still be nice to be good. It’s hard since a lot (most) of the online gaming are FPS games.
I’m on youre “I’m gonna start a revolution” part. I love your passion about this. However, I don’t think what your saying really makes sense here. Maybe it’s just cause I wasn’t in the chat room though. Did you just say “y’all”? Girl, you’re from Maine & New York, put that y’all away :p
I guess, what you’re saying, is, well impossible. There is conflict in everything, whether it’s sexism, racism, religionism etc. Unfortunately, the world isn’t a happy place, and the online gaming community isn’t going to be an exception to it. It brings millions of people from all sorts of backrounds etc. no one is ever going to get along with everyone.
Sorry about the negativity in there, maybe I need to move to California.
Okay, well I think your wrapping up. It was really nice to see you “in person” and not just blogging etc. You have a totally different personality than I would have thought! (In a good way)
Peace Love & Video Games!
Aktrez - Totally loved it! And totally agree. I felt like all the thoughts I was having was being put into words that I couldn’t find. Thanks!
Brian - I think you don’t see it as a problem like we do because you’re on the other side. I think it’s mostly the problems between women gamers and the views of women gamers. You might feel it’s unecessary because it’s unecessary to you.
@TotalWreckage - I was interested in your initial post saying you hated and explaining each point. I agree with mos of what you said. I have stayed away from online gaming because when I first started, all peoplewere about was fast and furious no holds barred gaming with the testosterone levels so damn high. The comments can be avoided…sometimes but you are right that people hide in plain sight.
@everyone I propose something that people may oppose but I feel that it will help to push us once again in a better (not right or wrong) direction. Create legislature and laws that make the anonymous user a part of history. Two words my friends…PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Does it have to be a law? No, but within our community, if we stop worrying about how a user may react on the negative side and focus on the positive sides, such as good manners, resepect, support, openness and the ability to offer your skills, then the users that want to play will will want to and have to change their ways…or at least respect that we are people. Get the big companies to hear us as a whole and do something about obnxious users/people. Banned for a week, month, etc…
I would almost welcome more info requested by a site that would protect my right not to be harrassed every five seconds and know that maybe not the other players but the admins know exactly who I am and will do something about my bad behavior. Baby steps.
If people know they can be, note I said can and not should be, held accountable then people will learn very fast that free speech is allowed but harrassment is not! If you break down the immature and basically rude comments, you get levels of harassment. Do I harass friends and people I know? Yes. Do we understand the joking nature and respect the person we are talking to? Yes. Personal responsibility would help us all.
Small example…I played BF2 for way to long and found that depending on where or rather which server I could find people that actually resepected me and did things about those obnoxious players. I mean sometimes no one did anything but most times, you get someone doing or acting stupidly and they were booted. Plain and simple.
btw, I am Sean and Aktrez…nice rant, we all have to do it.
Start a Revolution!…
Becky “Aktrez” Young made a serious point when it comes to the need to eliminate the negative stigma that seems to plague Video Game culture. As a supporter of Entertainment Software, I agree that the general public still has that opinion t…
A few thoughts from a complete noob (I’m another who signed up just to post this!):
To BrianJK: Please don’t take this as a personal attack–You have the right to your opinions, and I actually agree with you when you say that there are more important things to worry about than the G4 contest. However, if I may, a question to clarify your opinion: What do you think are more important issues? You never stated any. I can imagine more than a few–the presidential election, the current economic woes, wars in the Middle East and Darfur and (maybe soon) S. America…all certainly bigger than an online popularity contest.
But if I look a little deeper, I think Ms. Young might be addressing something on the same level as those big issues. In her rant I hear more than a woman who’s angry about a G4 poll or even the state of gaming. Although she’s directly addressing her community–gamers–I hear her saying that we all need to wake up to the alarming erosion of common decency and respect. More than that, do what we can to reverse it. Those are incredibly important topics, and if we can reclaim a simple respect for others, a lot of big problems would become smaller.
Of course, a few people watching this video and posting “You Go Aktrez!!” won’t bring world peace and have everyone singing Kum Ba Ya. Sure, we don’t live in a mushroom kingdom with happy stardust and kindness fairies. But should that keep Ms. Young from saying “This is wrong, here are my ideas for making things better”? Yes, it’s hard to get people to act respectfully. Because of that, should we not even try? Most anything that’s worth anything requires work and effort, we all know that. I want to get better at bass guitar. Yeah, it’s hard. So should I just quit? How much more significant is getting people to live with simple decency?
“Better to light one candle than curse the darkness.” Simple and cliche, but still, I kind of agree. No one is a cipher in this world. We’re either making things better–or we’re making things worse. By keeping quiet in the face of problems I give approval–tacit, yes, but still approval–to the existence of those problems. Kudos to Ms. Young for targeting a problem in her immediate range and challenging people to do better. For what it’s worth, I’m in.
I would just like to take this time to say, “Welcome to the internet”. If you really believe this behavior is limited to the video gaming community, you really need to start looking around more. I assure you negativity runs rampant on the internet in general. It’s just the nature of many sad people out there. I can honestly say that I’ve never had any kind of negative reaction from non-gamers with regard to some kind of “negative stigma” that’s supposedly specific to the gaming community, since you’ll often find far worse in places like YouTube, etc.
It’s commendable that you would take steps to revert negative behavior within the gaming community, but I’m afraid that it would end up being a situation where you’ll be tackling a larger issue with human nature itself.
This isn’t to insinuate that nothing should be done, though. But the most one can really do effectively is watch their own actions, and lead by example wherever they may be participating. Because in the end this is an internet epidemic, not a gaming specific one.
Nonetheless, I do encourage your desire to advocate this stance within the gaming community, and wish you the best.
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