Some Extra Commentary, "Cut" Autism Content, and Where Next in 2024
With Christmas right around the corner, it wouldn't hurt giving a little glimpse of the future. Plus, some "cut" content featuring autistic developer Mike Z.
It’s been a little over a month since I’ve started Ramblings of a Filipino Nerd. While this has been, and continues to be, a work in progress, I’m slowly but steadily getting the hang of things. Though with Christmas and New Year right around the corner, much of that would have to wait. So where next for this site?
Aside from some further entries in the Areo Archive, you can expect the following to pop up in the coming weeks and/or months:
The Faces of Filipino Games - a glimpse into the story and evolution of video games in the Philippines through a look at three specific games that have caught both domestic and international attention, for better or worse.
The Future of Western Comics? - a retrospective on the infamous Comicsgate controversy, its complicated legacy, and what these may say about the future of Western (particularly Anglophone) comics.
Third World Neurodiversity (Working title) - a follow-up of sorts to my Autism and its Abusers piece for Areo, focusing on autism in the Philippines, how the experience relates to that in the developed world, what it means for them, and what happens next.
And other prospective ideas.
You can be sure that come January 2024, this site will be back up to speed.
Speaking of autism, some interesting videos had slipped under my radar while writing down the Post-mortem for that Areo piece recently. And while it was too late to make the cut there, this is still worth bringing up nonetheless.
It all concerns Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont, an autistic game developer and former lead design director at Lab Zero Games responsible for the indie fighting game hit Skullgirls and Southeast Asia-inspired RPG Indivisible. Despite being a success story in the industry, allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment in June 2020 made by studio employees and associates resulted in Lab Zero’s collapse almost overnight. Said allegations kept hounding the man on social media even afterwards, quickly discrediting him in the public eye as yet another creepy pest, if not a lolcow exposed by righteous mobs.
This narrative seemed straightforward enough that PC Gamer’s June 12, 2023 article passed it off as factual. Except that, as revealed in a counter-suit and a series of court cases, the only thing Mike Z’s ever guilty of was being socially awkward. Instead, his accusers purposefully exploited his autism to not only bully him over supposed crimes that were either grossly overblown or outright made up. This also extended to gaslighting him into giving up his work, lest he face worse consequences. All the while, they invoked the blight of cancel culture, as if to seal the deal. Much of these were discussed in excruciating detail through an hour-long documentary by Youtuber Technicals released on October 31, 2023.
Devon “ShortFatOtaku” Del Vecchio, meanwhile, released an almost two-hour long expose on December 10, 2023. While touching on many of the same points, further attention was placed on how those accusing Mike Z of guilt (some of whom currently own Skullgirls and were people he considered close friends) had resorted to increasingly slanderous means in order to maximize character assassination. This had gone alongside censoring Skullgirls of what he envisioned and retooling it as if he had no part in making it at all, all done with a veneer of progressive virtue signaling. To call this hypocritical would be selling it short.
That these revelations have been getting more attention as of late is perhaps long overdue. Yet while Mike Z has gotten back up on his feet in spite of all that, being reportedly in good company with indie studio Modus Games and working on the upcoming fighting game Diesel Legacy, his peculiar situation is at once sobering and infuriating.
To be thrown to the dirt and (almost) have one’s life ruined out of some unforeseen gaffe, or simply because they’re not normal, is perhaps one of the worst fears any person with autism could have. All the more when trust, relationships and social bonds are abused. If that could happen in the more socially “progressive” Anglophone West even against “normies”, what then for neuroatypicals elsewhere? Perhaps it’s food for thought for the coming year.
While I’m still tentatively toying with the idea of one day setting up a proper paywall, I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon. So you can expect these and more to be available to everyone. All the same, free free to leave your comments on what could be improved, or what else you’d like to see!
On a lighter note, I just like to say thanks for those who’s stuck around on of the Internet for sticking around. And for those who’ve just joined, this is Carlos Miguel, wishing you a Happy Holidays and a fruitful 2024.
Maligayang Pasko!
Problem is that Mike Z might have trusted them too much and then turns out they made up some accusations.
Who knows, he might sue them for libel.