Recent headlines:
World: EU backs controversial copyright law (Or: If you don’t own the rights to the game you’re playing on Twitch, your streams are going to go in the bin. THANKS, MORONS.)
Gaming: The Elder Scrolls is 25 Years Old (What a wonderful and unique fantasy universe. Thanks, Bethesda)
I’m going to be honest with you. It’s Tuesday. I write these on Mondays. But yesterday I got distracted playing games with friends, and if that isn’t a decent enough excuse, I don’t know what is.
So, the sun is shining, it isn’t cold enough to freeze a yeti, and I have a few evenings off work. I’m in a pretty good place! I mention this right off the bat as these journals tend to theme a little further towards the depressing side, and I’m quite self-conscious about it by this point. But while I can only guess as to what future Kristian’s perspective is while reading this, past Kristian here has nothing to report. No resurgent psychological schisms. No fresh horror to blindside my week. I need a “x days since last mental catastrophe” sign! Also I just finally added “Kristian” to the dictionary. You’re welcome, future Kristian.
So, a few days ago (uhhhhh I mean yesterday) I went to see Captain Marvel with some friends. No spoilers, do not worry! Although the movie will be over a year old by the time this publishes, I still empathise with those who take their time seeing movies; I’ve yet to watch Return of the King, myself. But Captain Marvel was quite excellent! I wouldn’t rank it as highly as Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther, but it was up there.
This is a bit of a non-sequitur, but I suppose what’s particularly on my mind at the time of writing is Article 13, the part of the law which the EU just passed regarding copyright on the internet. They’re celebrating over the fact that companies will now be the ones responsible for material posted without copyright permission, not individuals, as if individuals being persecuted has been a problem which urgently needed addressing. By doing this it ensures that companies like Youtube, who have been known to have a knee-jerk reaction to copyright law in the past, have more pressure put on them and will undoubtedly go around removing videos which are otherwise fine. Like gaming videos. The ones I exclusively make. Or we’ll see Twitch die in the EU as streamers don’t own the rights to the games they’re making content in.
It is incredibly frustrating to have your livelihood or creative outlet revoked by people who do not understand the medium. Of course, right now we can only speculate as to the kind of effects Article 13 will have, and future Kristian won’t know more than I do because this is a process which takes two years. But as somebody who records and streams games, and watches others playing games as a means of escapism from an unfair and often depressing world, a group of ignorant, rich and powerful people taking that away is crushing. It’s a yank on the leash away from one of the only things keeping me sane, and writing this in 2019 I can only hope that I look back on this in the years to come as reactionary hyperbole.
Further reading:
The Weekly Deathmatch #48 – Quake Champions – Time to Stop Restarting
Perpetually Perturbed 