gnarpy

it's been 24 hours and i think i've finally cooled off. ensured i was unfollowing on everything possible, muted related words on my other social medias, deac'd my ladstwt. collecting my thoughts.

fundamentally, no matter how much i love my boys, i can't respect a company that can't respect its fanbase, its staff, and the artistic integrity of its own creation.

in the last week, i have watched global players traverse language barriers, decipher updates in a language they don't understand, venture onto chinese platforms they aren't familiar with, and embark on cultural exchange projects to bolster infold's relationship with the government. i've also seen wonderful worldwide movements (CN and abroad) to donate money to worthwhile charities in valko's name, and otherwise gather to showcase the wonderful community LADS has created from billboards to public shrines. in response, the vitriol and sheer venom they have faced in return from toxic CN fans -- and infold refusing to put their foot down and condemn the cesspool of racism/xenophobia they've enabled -- is downright insulting.

also, as someone who grew up in china, called it home for many years, and has many loved ones from china, i am deeply disturbed by toxic CN fans framing their xenophobia as a matter of culture, and global valko antis excusing this behavior with similar arguments of cultural differences. it has been both fascinating and alarming to see how this fan war has been framed as a culture war, and the notion that valko and his fans are somehow corrupting the 'cultural purity' of the game is as ridiculous as the implications are disturbing.

beyond the insult of failing to protect their players from abusive community members, the silent treatment toward global specifically has been especially humiliating. when infold pulled out of bbw they enclosed an apology. it spoke volumes that this apology was isolated to xhs and not in any global communication. notably, not once has global been addressed directly since any of the valko criticism. from the infamous 'dear miss hunters' announcement to the standard patch update instructions, global was never really 'spoken to' at all - and i don't buy any 'their hands are tied because of government monitoring' because they were able to deliver an apology on xhs. not once has global heard 'we are sorry' in english on our own platforms. i'm made more aware each day that global has never been a part of the conversation, whether it's with lighting, gameplay QoL fixes, or character customizability. why have a global server at all? why show your face at anime expo? and why should i nod and hand over my cash?

infold caving to the demands of this vocal minority puts their staff in danger. sending cow dung to hq? showing up and threatening staff with a knife? this behavior is (unfortunately) absolutely not new for media companies, especially in east asia. it deeply concerns me that infold chose to reward this behavior by giving them what they want. i fear that this only encourages similar future behavior. pulling out of bbw felt like a dark foreshadowing of the kind of fanbase this game will have moving forward, and i want no part of that.

i'm honestly baffled by the incompetency of infold's management, marketing/pr, and legal team. this entire matter seems like it could have been managed internally, if not avoided entirely. staff should have had the foresight to recognize and avoid direct references that may imply unwanted parallels (ESPECIALLY given the political context they are writing in), and should have acted appropriately and promptly when concerns were raised. the appropriate authorities should have been contacted to protect hq. it should go without saying that doing something so drastic would both anger fans and draw even more public attention to escalate the matter further. given this, it's only natural that the government has (allegedly) gotten involved. i'm just genuinely amazed by how poorly this entire situation has been managed from a business and strategy standpoint.

and after removing valko and retconning the game lore (of which he is a very large part of!), it should be clear to us that any of infold's work moving forward has no artistic merit. while of course any game is a product at the end of the day, it is nonetheless the loving labor of hundreds of writers, actors, and artists who come together to make something special. fans that are okay with valko's removal and lore retcon should acknowledge that they are perfectly okay with playing with the shell of the story that should have existed. under these changes demanded by fans, LADS becomes nothing more than a *service* for personal comfort and satisfaction rather than the honest *creation* of writers, animators, actors, and artists.

i think this is what makes me feel gross about playing with the husks of the characters i fell in love with. i fell in love with characters: men written with stories, lore, and destiny. now they have become mere puppets molded to the satisfaction of these players. i can't in good conscience return to my game anymore.

i feel deeply sad for the staff losses, and the sacrifice of the wonderful thing they've spent the last three years creating. i am deeply sad about the loss of this wonderful community. i am aware of the conspiracy theories about smear campaigns. i am aware of fans continuing to fight for the game to exist by appealing to the government on infold's behalf. i just can't white knight for a multi million dollar corporation that has made it clear that they don't care about me or acknowledged any of this global action. the multi million dollar corporation can lawyer up. they will be just fine without me, without you. and quite frankly, the idea of me battling in a comments section, trying to show my allegiance to infold after the way we've been treated, is humiliating.