There seems to be a legitimate basis for the racism angle, intentional or not. This random article is one of many that delve into it.
Kaberu
joined 1 year ago
I think the problem is in referencing a specific phrase, "table dancing" and not just the idea of "dancing on a table" which is more common and wouldn't be in the dictionary as a term.
If someone says anything about dancing on a table or bar, the first thing I think of is PeeWee Herman dancing to Tequila by the Champs, perhaps betraying my age a bit, followed by the music video for Hypnodance by Little Big. Other than that, it's just a random smattering of movies and TV shows (and a drunk wedding attendee or two) hopping on a table, shouting something to the effect of, "Let's party!" and then dancing very poorly.
Sure, erotic/sexual versions exist (like everything, as dictated by rule 34, of course), but that's not likely the norm that most people encounter.
It's perfectly reasonable to make a dancing joke when on a table that has nothing to do with being sexual or erotic.
I was entranced the first time I played this game on the Apple IIc. It was a beautiful game at the time and very movie-like in its presentation.
I wasn't any good at it, of course, but boy did I love watching it in action!
Scrying type spells are not in the game as far as I know. There are a lot of non-combat spells in D&D that are not present, likely because they are based on creative liberties, and difficult to replicate on a computer.
I can finally play D&D instead of always being the default GM! Yay!
It's a fantastic game and I am having a blast with it. It'd be neat if they found a way to incorporate a little more of the utility stuff (scrying etc.) but I can imagine how difficult that would be. The scope of what you can do in the game is definitely much farther than I thought they'd go!
I can see how it could be viewed as pro-competition within the very specific category of the console market... Playstation's install base is over double Xbox, so Playstation doesn't really have effective competition and can kind of direct the market or obtain exclusives with the influence of its user base. Sort of how like Walmart doesn't really have to force exclusivity or pricing per se, they are so big that product vendors can be successful with only Walmart as a customer. They do also force it, like Sony/MS/etc., but for a lot of stuff they don't have too.
Microsoft is also big in other tech/gaming markets though, which complicates the conversation.
Have they started tying women to train tracks yet? I feel like that might be a literal next step at this point.
I really love Monster Sanctuary by Moi Rai Games. So much so that I played it to 100% on Xbox, Steam, Switch, and the Game pass version on Windows, which for whatever reason is different than the Xbox versions.
It's a metroidvania game with Pokemon-style creature collecting and turn based three-on-three battles (or six-on-six with three at a time plus swapping when a monster faints). It's insane how viable every monster can be with the right build.
Several newgame+ modes to enable too!
I'm not trying to convince you, just point out it's not uncommon or unheard of. Even the article I linked ends with a statement about it possibly being just a bias and not outright racism.
Regardless, I don't think it helps either of us if we start referring to bloggers and influencers.