This week marks one-year after the original release of Social Justice Warriors. I made the game in April 2014 after seeing an image circulating that said to ignore what a group of people had to say because they were "social justice warriors." Since I saw the increasingly frequent back and forth online arguments as two people dueling on the ramparts, I translated it into the form of a videogame to make people on both sides take a look at why they do it from the simplified perspective of gameplay mechanics. I hoped that the use of dismissive labels "social justice warrior" and "troll" would make people reflect on why using these terms makes it easier to fight someone. I hoped that people would relate their videogame memories of the frantic desperation of a low health bar to the Sanity and Reputation meters and understand how demoralizing and destroying other people affects them. I hoped people would learn to recognize the logical fallacies that constantly surround us online. It's been a difficult year since the game released last May: a shooting, harassment, stalking, doxxing, swatting. The online community has metamorphosed into something entirely new since the game was first conceived. It's been a challenge to update the game as it became increasingly tame compared to the harsh reality of what people were doing to each other. This week's fourth major game update attempts to reinforce the gameplay messages and highlight the optimistic end-game of mediation and reconciliation. Because ultimately, all we can control is our own behavior and the example we set for others. Social Justice Warriors is 25% off until May 18th.

This week marks one-year after the original release of Social Justice Warriors. I made the game in April 2014 after seeing an image circulating that said to ignore what a group of people had to say because they were "social justice warriors." Since I saw the increasingly frequent back and forth online arguments as two people dueling on the ramparts, I translated it into the form of a videogame to make people on both sides take a look at why they do it from the simplified perspective of gameplay mechanics. I hoped that the use of dismissive labels "social justice warrior" and "troll" would make people reflect on why using these terms makes it easier to fight someone. I hoped that people would relate their videogame memories of the frantic desperation of a low health bar to the Sanity and Reputation meters and understand how demoralizing and destroying other people affects them. I hoped people would learn to recognize the logical fallacies that constantly surround us online. It's been a difficult year since the game released last May: a shooting, harassment, stalking, doxxing, swatting. The online community has metamorphosed into something entirely new since the game was first conceived. It's been a challenge to update the game as it became increasingly tame compared to the harsh reality of what people were doing to each other. This week's fourth major game update attempts to reinforce the gameplay messages and highlight the optimistic end-game of mediation and reconciliation. Because ultimately, all we can control is our own behavior and the example we set for others. Social Justice Warriors is 25% off until May 18th.