Evil Hat Productions Doubles Down on Insulting Critics of ‘Fate of Cthulu’ Role-Playing Game
After responding to criticism of their use of of H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos in their new Fate of Cthulhu role-playing game by calling critics “edgelords and apologists” and adamantly telling them to “f*** off,” representatives of Evil Hat Productions have continued to insult any detractors.
Following the initial backlash to Fate of Cthulu’s use of Lovecraft’s creations while decrying him as a racist, discussions surrounding the game began to taper off before being reignited at the beginning of February after Evil Hat Productions drew attention to how “there are no sanity rules in Fate of Cthulu,” with players who encounter Lovecraftian-horrors instead gaining new powers instead of losing their mind to madness, in a patronizing attempt to be respectful to players with “mental illness.”
There are no sanity rules in Fate of Cthulhu. We don’t require anyone to play or perform mental illness.
(If you choose to, we have guidance on how to do it respectfully.)
Instead your PC gains Corruption, a potent, alluring slice of the Elder Gods’ power.https://t.co/v0F853zsM0 pic.twitter.com/13tLqmE3wR— Evil Hat Productions (@EvilHatOfficial) January 30, 2020
As more people began to level criticism at them, Evil Hat Productions responded to the new wave of criticism by incorrectly presenting critics as being “mad we called out HP Lovecraft for the racist and anti-semite that he was” and stating that “you can play in your corner of the sandbox and we can play in ours.”
If you’re just finding this post and wondering what the vitriol is all about, mostly it’s a brigade of 46-follower accounts run by people who are mad we called out HP Lovecraft for the racist and anti-semite he was.
If that’s where you get your gaming advice, this ain’t for you.
— Evil Hat Productions (@EvilHatOfficial) February 3, 2020
And if you think Fate of Cthulhu doesn’t sound like “traditional Lovecraftian horror” you’re right. That territory is well-trodden and amply covered by other games.
The advantage of a shared universe is: you can play in your corner of the sandbox and we can play in ours.— Evil Hat Productions (@EvilHatOfficial) February 3, 2020
Fate of Cthulhu designer Fred Hicks offered up his thoughts on the backlash on his personal Twitter page, once again misframing the criticism as people complaining about “politics in my games,” while calling critics “misinformed/ignorant subhuman garbage.” He also responded to individuals who took issue with their use of Lovecraft’s name solely as a marketing tool describing their argument as “obvious idiocy.”
“I don’t want politics in my games.”
No, what you want is an absence of discomfort and a restoration of the status quo of comfort offered by your privileges.
That is, itself, a political stance, and representative of the politics that have been in games for decades.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
I assure you, for the folks who lack your privileges, your discomfort is a minor event vs the vast ocean of daily “discomfort” they swim in.
If you have a problem with us making an effort to minimize their much more significant discomfort when it comes to our games… bye!
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Relatedly – the Century Club from SOTC (2006) is a social justice organization, in 2010’s the Dresden Files RPG’s fictional author Billy openly wrestles with how women are portrayed in the art. We’ve often not gone as far as we could or should, but our politics have been there. pic.twitter.com/UgUhgKoGV4
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Ultimately if you’re JUST NOW getting upset about politics in Evil Hat’s games:
1) You aren’t a fan of Evil Hat and you’re just jumping on the outrage bandwagon, ya lemming.
2) You’ve recently tried our games and don’t like the politics we’ve always had.
3) You’re 10yrs late.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Of course if you’re really that outraged about us admitting to the existence of HPL’s racism, it just does not reflect well on you. Near as I can tell:
– You like racism and want it in games, or
– You like not having to think about racism, which I have to tell you, supports it.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
This is where some misinformed/ignorant subhuman will bust into the mentions and say angry things about how dare we make something based on HPL’s mythos if we don’t like his racism.
They won’t say it quite like that, but it’s what they mean.
Fuck that obvious idiocy.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
They’ll also get absolutely apoplectic (“coward!”) when I block them, as though I owe them any of my local oxygen.
I do not.
They do not support what I believe in.
They do not support ($/other) my company.
They have no value in my world.
So I prune my garden of such weeds.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Hicks then attempted to justify his use of Lovecraft’s work under the concept of “enlightened self interest” and stated that “we wanted to do something with Cthulhu because Cthulhu sells” and he believed his decision constituted an “ethical stance.”
It’s pretty clear some folks don’t know what enlightened self interest is, or are deliberately ignoring that, in a capitalist society, it’s the best thing to pursue if you also want to do the right thing while still being able to afford running a company.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Yes, we wanted to do something with Cthulhu because Cthulhu sells. That’s not us playing anybody. Just because we wanted to do that thing, it’s not therefore true that we could not then want to do anything else at the same time, like directly calling out HPL’s documented facts.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
Ragers are super focused on One True Wayism, whether or not they realize it.
Life is compromise, folks.
Deal with it.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
And ultimately their argument is that if you pursue business you’re not allowed to pursue ethical stances.
I reject their premise.
— deadly fredly (@fredhicks) February 3, 2020
This conversation was later joined by Fate-system designer Rob Donoghue, calling critics “lickspittles” and “shitheels” while accusing them of having “a larger toxic effect on hobby discussions of business.”
Realized this morning that while I can mostly laugh off the yahoos who are indignant that Evil Hat has the temerity to both have opinions and make money (because they’re preposterous), these lickspittles actually do have a larger toxic effect on hobby discussions of business.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
That is, these are the personification of the voice that tells us we should not be paying authors and other contributors what they’re worth, and that it’s somehow unfair of us to account for economics when determining pricing.
They’re wrong but they amplify our doubts.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
We do, after all, make games. And as such, it is rare that we have not felt the emotional toll that comes from that being equated with something trivial or unimportant. How can you justify charging so much for a *game*?
(With a bonus side fo imposter syndrome!)
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
These have always been the sinister voices. We could *all* laugh off the Jack Chicks of the world, because even trivial exposure to the actual hobby revealed the lie. But exposure, even love of the hobby, does not destroy doubt. It’s always going to follow creativity.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
And it’s what the shitheels leverage. Not just on topics like this, but also in a lot of other terrible behaviors. This is one of the big pillars of gatekeeping.
I fear there’s no magic antidote to them. So long as this is a welcoming, creative hobby, they will be here.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
But we do benefit from honestly discussing the harm that they do, not just to their perceived enemies but to the hobby as a whole. Not for their sake – we are not going to *convince* them that they are the new Jack Chicks – but for our own.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
If for no other reason that to call out that it is *OK* for us to talk about what we value, what we’re worth, and what matters to us in this hobby without it meeting the approval of those voices who cannot differentiate disagreement from silencing.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
Related to this, I am reminded to point people to @jonrog1‘s lovely piece on the shame hack. It’s largely political, but the pattern applies in a lot of other place too, like this one. https://t.co/TfqqlMhGoj
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
Anyway.
-This is a great hobby.
-You deserve to make the game you want to see in the world.
-You are not selfish or petty for valuing your work.
-The more games there are, the more games there are you won’t like, and that is a sign of good health.
– Dislike things well.
— Rob Donoghue (@rdonoghue) February 4, 2020
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