Vara Dark Goes to War with God of War Director David Jaffe

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After getting Kotaku nutjob (well, former Kotaku nutjob nowadays) Alyssa Mecante to back out of a fight she proposed, YouTuber Vara Dark is throwing down with another staunch defender of woke video games. This time, it’s David Jaffe, the director of God of War (the first one, and God of War II), whose response to one of Vara Dark’s videos is a wonder in how it destroys the entire social justice warrior narrative while trying to defend it. This all began when Jaffe claimed that “YouTube grifters” were partially responsible for the failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. It’s pretty messed up; he equates not wanting transgender propaganda in a video game to being a racist, although he admits the cut scenes were awful. He’s kind of all over the place with his arguments. You can see the video below:

So, Jaffe doesn’t much like the YouTube video game commentators – unless they love all the right games, one assumes. That’s how people like Jaffe operate: if you have the correct opinion, you’re a valued customer whose help in selling the game is much appreciated, but if you don’t, you’re a troll who needs to keep your mouth shut. That’s the kind of attitude that leads to things like “toxic positivity” in video game studios that result in failed games. Vara Dark, whom Jaffe mentions in his tirade, seems to agree, and she made a response video to Jaffe’s rant about YouTubers sinking Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She first describes an earlier interaction with him (in which Jaffe apparently suggested one of the assassination attempts on President Trump may have been staged; so, he’s that kind of guy) before explaining why it’s a mistake to dismiss the criticisms of gamers, as well as the group think of the video game developers who hate their fans so much. You can see Vara Dark’s response below:

She’s right, and I’m again reminded of the “toxic positivity” atmosphere at the now-defunct Firewalk Studios, reported by Colin Moriarty of Sacred Symbols. When you don’t allow or listen to criticism, you ignore the possibility that your customers won’t like your product. And her argument about the transgender nonsense in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is right on; it takes you out of the game, and it’s so heavy-handed and cringey that it puts normal people off. Is it really outside the realm of possibility that people weren’t interested in a fantasy RPG with a lecture on pronouns and didn’t need YouTubers to tell them they weren’t allowed to buy the game? Of course, it is, and David Jaffe made a response video to Vara Dark’s response in which he focuses more on his opinions about Trump than I figured he would. (It always comes back to Trump, doesn’t it?) You can see it below:

Jaffe’s video is just weird, but then, Jaffe sounds like a weird guy. He complains about her response to him and her characterization of his definition of a grifter instead of talking about the arguments concerning online video game criticism. But the interesting part comes about three-quarters of the way through, when he says that Vara Dark is only “in that chair,” by which I assume he means she’s only cultivated the audience she has (Vara Dark’s YouTube channel has more than double the number of subscribers that Jaffe’s has, not that anyone’s keeping score) because she’s an attractive woman and that she’s not smart. Vara Dark then made another video where she talks about his insults and, once again, addresses the topic of YouTube video game commentators and the failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard much more than Jaffe did, and she points out that his anger and insults come from a place of frustration that people listen to those he disagrees with. She also mentions that, as he hasn’t worked on a game since Drawn to  Death in 2017, she knows more about the current state of the video game industry than he does. Her video is below:

Vara Dark defends her online career and her ability to draw an audience, but she doesn’t accuse Jaffe of sexism (although she reads an X comment that does). I think that’s admirable; it would have been an easy shot to take, but she’s more thoughtful than that, preferring to stick to the actual arguments, which she correctly points out is something Jaffe is incapable of doing. So, of course, Jaffe made a response video where he keeps insisting he wasn’t sexist or misogynistic towards Vara Dark, just “mean.” Vara’s decision not to call him those things makes this even funnier because it’s online users in the comments telling Jaffe they think he fits those terms; he’s not even defending himself from Vara at this point. And this is what brings the whole woke house of cards tumbling down: these terms are so arbitrarily applied that they have no meaning when used by people like Jaffe. You’re a misogynist for thinking Rey is too overpowered in the Star Wars sequels, but if you tell an actual woman she’s only popular because of her looks, you’re A-okay? They make up the social justice rules as they go along, meaning they have no real convictions; this whole woke movement is nothing but a smokescreen, a weapon they can use at their convenience like children on a playground. There’s no reason to take these wackos seriously, and based on these videos, Jaffe is certainly a wacko. Seriously, ignore the arguments and just listen to him talk, then listen to Vara Dark talk, and decide for yourself which one sounds more rational. Vara made one more video about Jaffe, which you can see below:

Yeah, he’s a nut, and it sucks that one of the guys who helped create the amazing God of War has become like this (or maybe he always was), but that feels like it’s true of pretty much everything nowadays. But at least Vara Dark got some good content out of him.

Let us know what you think of Vara Dark feuding with David Jaffe in the comments!

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