Great video, a nice healthy dialogue on an important topic. I really appreciate you raising these questions in a respectful way and Joel taking the time to reply. Thanks for the reading suggestions as well!
Wonderful video. We need more thoughtful, long-form discussions like this. Hearing the designer's responses to your feedback greatly increased my interest in this game. Well done.
Thanks for the kind words, Mark. I hope to approach all "reviews" in this way. Don't expect something as simple as "here's how to play / did I find it fun" - to me, if the game is worth covering in this way, it's worth discussing what story it's trying to tell and how it made me feel. And in case it's not clear from my remarks, if you have any interest AT ALL, then my all means check this game out. It takes a bit to learn, but well worth it for how engaging it is. Cheers!
Thanks for watching, Mike! I've seen your name on a few other streams over at Homo Ludens, I'm glad you could pop by... yes, Navajo Wars is on my radar, once I get a copy i'll put it through the paces and share my thoughts. Cheers!
Thanks for bringing Joel’s comments back to this discussion. It’s an interesting question if there isn’t many people from a given culture left, is it better for that history to die out or be told by someone on the outside?
Whether you agree with a white man having the right to tell this story, it certainly got you to learn a whole lot more about Native culture- and I think that’s the point. If a game designer, author, or movie maker does their due diligence and consciously treats a subject with respect, others may be inspired to learn more and to potentially become more of an advocate/ally. Side note, maybe reach out to GMT and ask them about ways they could bring more representation into the graphic design space.
You're right, this has been a very useful tool in my learning journey. I just have to keep in mind how my perspective, and the perspective of other sources, may be slightly skewed if we're approaching the story through non-Indigenous eyes. Good call on the dialogue with GMT (which I hope this prompts, if decision-makers are watching!) I've been taking the approach of engaging with the designers as sometimes they have artists in mind. For example, wouldn't be great if A Fading Star (COIN under development set in Somalia) used a Somali graphic artist?
@@WdTPDI think as with any business, there are probably limitations with who they can find to do a job. Speaking as an artist, I used to get calls to do things that simply weren’t in my wheel house- like not even remotely close to my skill set. Style is also a consideration.
Thanks for this thoughtful video Meanwhile, sweet modular synth setup in the back … will you post some synth workouts in addition to the wargame content? You’ll have at least one interested viewer
Pekka Hämäläinen also wrote The Comanche Empire which is a great book! I really appreciate Joel's responses. Both of his games made me read a lot about these topics not being American myself but interested in the indiginous people since my childhood. I can't wait for his next game if it's still in the making!
Yes! Pekka's other works are on my radar. I don't think my library has "The Comanche Empire" but if it's half as good a read as the other book I should buy a copy ;)
Really heartened to see this video and Joel's comments. This is coming back out and i've owned a copy for years, and always thought about the matter of who gets to tell the story with this game. This vids given me plenty to think about when it comes to how i present the review. Definitely going to mention the Tangata whenua at the start of the review. And, well, you may hear some of your thought echoed in my own comments when i get to the video. Cheers.
Wow, thank you for the kind words! I hope it comes across clear in the video, and in my replies to these comments, that although I'm "somewhat conflicted" about who gets to own the narrative this is by all means a great game and a learning tool on Indigenous struggle in North America. So thoroughly engaging with a complex narrative. I haven't seen anything else like this, on the topic or otherwise - trust me, I've been looking! I look forward to hearing about your experience with the game. Enjoy!
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Great video, a nice healthy dialogue on an important topic. I really appreciate you raising these questions in a respectful way and Joel taking the time to reply. Thanks for the reading suggestions as well!
Wonderful video. We need more thoughtful, long-form discussions like this. Hearing the designer's responses to your feedback greatly increased my interest in this game. Well done.
Thanks for the kind words, Mark. I hope to approach all "reviews" in this way. Don't expect something as simple as "here's how to play / did I find it fun" - to me, if the game is worth covering in this way, it's worth discussing what story it's trying to tell and how it made me feel.
And in case it's not clear from my remarks, if you have any interest AT ALL, then my all means check this game out. It takes a bit to learn, but well worth it for how engaging it is. Cheers!
Thank you for sharing these insights from your communications with Joel Toppen. Definitely do a video on Navajo Wars when you get a chance!
Thanks for watching, Mike! I've seen your name on a few other streams over at Homo Ludens, I'm glad you could pop by... yes, Navajo Wars is on my radar, once I get a copy i'll put it through the paces and share my thoughts. Cheers!
Thanks for bringing Joel’s comments back to this discussion. It’s an interesting question if there isn’t many people from a given culture left, is it better for that history to die out or be told by someone on the outside?
I think there’s a quote something along the lines of being doomed to repeat the past if we don’t remember it.
Whether you agree with a white man having the right to tell this story, it certainly got you to learn a whole lot more about Native culture- and I think that’s the point. If a game designer, author, or movie maker does their due diligence and consciously treats a subject with respect, others may be inspired to learn more and to potentially become more of an advocate/ally.
Side note, maybe reach out to GMT and ask them about ways they could bring more representation into the graphic design space.
You're right, this has been a very useful tool in my learning journey. I just have to keep in mind how my perspective, and the perspective of other sources, may be slightly skewed if we're approaching the story through non-Indigenous eyes.
Good call on the dialogue with GMT (which I hope this prompts, if decision-makers are watching!) I've been taking the approach of engaging with the designers as sometimes they have artists in mind. For example, wouldn't be great if A Fading Star (COIN under development set in Somalia) used a Somali graphic artist?
@@WdTPDI think as with any business, there are probably limitations with who they can find to do a job. Speaking as an artist, I used to get calls to do things that simply weren’t in my wheel house- like not even remotely close to my skill set. Style is also a consideration.
Thanks for this thoughtful video
Meanwhile, sweet modular synth setup in the back … will you post some synth workouts in addition to the wargame content?
You’ll have at least one interested viewer
You mean like this? fb.watch/oS95QStTTY/?
Pekka Hämäläinen also wrote The Comanche Empire which is a great book! I really appreciate Joel's responses. Both of his games made me read a lot about these topics not being American myself but interested in the indiginous people since my childhood. I can't wait for his next game if it's still in the making!
Yes! Pekka's other works are on my radar. I don't think my library has "The Comanche Empire" but if it's half as good a read as the other book I should buy a copy ;)
Really heartened to see this video and Joel's comments. This is coming back out and i've owned a copy for years, and always thought about the matter of who gets to tell the story with this game. This vids given me plenty to think about when it comes to how i present the review. Definitely going to mention the Tangata whenua at the start of the review. And, well, you may hear some of your thought echoed in my own comments when i get to the video. Cheers.
Wow, thank you for the kind words! I hope it comes across clear in the video, and in my replies to these comments, that although I'm "somewhat conflicted" about who gets to own the narrative this is by all means a great game and a learning tool on Indigenous struggle in North America. So thoroughly engaging with a complex narrative. I haven't seen anything else like this, on the topic or otherwise - trust me, I've been looking!
I look forward to hearing about your experience with the game. Enjoy!