aww, and here I was hoping for a good trolling ... maybe it's so even-handed because we can't burn the boxes?

Seriously, though, I can only echo what's been said elsewhere: Card is only marginally connected to the title, and I think there's something useful to be said about games and authorship to come out of this experience.

Anyway... to continued level-headed discussions in games! Here, here!
 

and that's why we proofread... there's an interesting conversation about authorship that *could* emerge from this discussion.

That being said, I'm also a fan of voting with wallets, and here's one of the few times the phrase seems appropriate (and not overused or overhyped).
 

May i ask what content you objected to in Portal?
I've played through the game and nothing too objectionable comes to mind. I'd be interested to hear what made you decide to boycott it all together.
 

I bought, enjoyed and finished Shadow Complex despite Orson Scott Card's reprehensible opposition to love and science (the former is what's fundamentally at stake whenever we're talking about so-called "LGBT issues", and the latter is what the writer turns his back on when he tries to denigrate the overwhelming empirical evidence for global warming). I try telling myself that if Chair's wonderful Metroidvania title wasn't such an unbelievably cheap downloadable title - and the writer in question had been more directly involved in the making of the game - I would have had the inner strength to vote with my wallet, but in this case my passion for rock solid gameplay got the better of me...
 

@Andrew - Postal, not Portal. I loved Portal. :)
 

If I were to "vote with my wallet" there would be pretty much nothing to buy and consume for me.
I've seen many intelligent and educated and people turning instantly into religious zealots which suddenly pursue some weird, selfish and downright inhuman goals all in the name of their leader or god. Supporting them by buying their products or products they helped come to market should make me feel guilty.
And which religion should I sanction more? The one hating and condemning gays or the one hating gays ferociously?
I've seen superstitious people believing in ghosts - which should make me lose faith in the progress of mankind even quicker and not support those confused and sad and perhaps addicted people.
I've seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion - oops, wrong sermon, sorry!
 

First off you should try postal... good story line and it's one of the most interactive worlds I've played in, pretty fun.
 

Some people get all upset with LDS folks no matter what. Everyone is allowed an opinion. I'm not a mormon but I live in the Mormon east coast capital (Buena Vista, VA), we have southern virginia university and two massive LDS churches... and about 100 other church denoms in a town of 6000.

Orson Scott Card teaches at SVU and does plays and things and nobody gets upset.

Tempest in a teacup that few people care about. I'd care even less if Tom Cruise wanted to make scientology games, he can if he wants..
 

@Calibrator: Well, speaking as a religious zealot, I appreciate it. :)

@CodeJustin: I'm not too good at declaring lines that I'll never cross (I did try Super Columbine Massacre RPG, after all...), but I really couldn't bring myself to even be interested in a game that goes out of its way to be shocking and offensive for its own sake.

@Stu - Good point. I'm not particularly fond of scientology, either, but that won't stop me from reading a science fiction novel by L. Ron Hubbard (if I ever found the time to get through the huge list of books of higher priority on my list), or watch a movie staring Cruise or Travolta. Assuming the movie doesn't suck, of course...
 

If you want to boycott, more power to you. It makes more sense than boycotting a game just because it isn't any good (that's called "not buying junk"). Though I am boycotting HL2:E3 because it hasn't been relased, so don't take me too seriously.

It just seems silly to me because you are punishing mostly the company for something Card said or believes in. It would make more sense if the content of the game opposed your ideals, but I don't think this is the situation.
 

Actually, it looks like he's just commenting on the boycott, not taking part in it. Is that correct?

You know, I've never read anything by Card other than a debate between him and a Baptist guy whose name I forget. Both defended their positions well and calmly, though I think Card was obviously more eloquent. I have heard he's a very good writer.

Oh, and I'm evangelical, so I have some major disagreements with Mormons, but I can't say whether or not I'd boycott something like this without knowing more about it. Maybe the article will explain when I read it.
 

L. Ron Hubbard was a nutball, but Battlefield Earth is one of my all-time favorite books. If I had boycotted Mr. Hubbard's books based on my belief that he's a nutball, then I would have missed out on a great read.

In the context of games, or music, or movies -- or anything else for that matter; if I were boycotting things based solely on my disagreeing with the creators' views... Well, I can guarantee I would not be doing much at all, certainly no playing games, listening to music, watching movies, reading books, etc.
 

Well, I'm an atheist, so I'd be the last person to discriminate against someone on the basis of their religious beliefs. But I don't understand why Card's religion is even an issue here. If his religion is anti-gay, that's certainly no problem. That's covered by freedom of religion. The only problem would be if he were trying to base government policy on his own - or any - particular religion, since that would violate my own religious freedom.

I'm a science fiction fan, and there seem to be a LOT of SF authors with weird political and social views. If they continue to tell a good story, I can generally overlook it.

On the other hand, if someone becomes a spokesperson for views I find distasteful, I don't especially like to support that sort of person, either. So yes, that might make some difference in my purchasing decisions.

But it would depend on the details. I have absolutely no problem with people who disagree with me. But there ARE some people and some views I really don't want to encourage.
 

My cynical side keeps saying that this is just a veiled justification for pirating the game, of course I don't know how easy it is to pirate a downloadable xbox title.

My second thought was that the xbox community is full of raging homophobes anyway isn't it? So I wonder how much this call to boycott will affect sales.

As for boycotting creative works. Things like movies and games have so many contributors, that you could easily find a contributor who's views you find distasteful. For myself, unless the company itself was involved in some distasteful stuff I could probably overlook any individual contributors views.
 

I find it difficult to believe that Mr. Card considers the purchase of a video game as validation and support of his political beliefs. Given that, why on earth should I not enjoy the work he's seen fit to publish? I just bought a copy of The Dig off Steam, and I intend to enjoy every minute of it without worrying about my $5 making a political or moral statement.