Shemeska said:
My worry is that when game designers talk about their work and represent them and their work on the same place as they vent on politics, it makes me worry about speaking out on my own political beliefs if I would ever want a chance to get something published in that industry if I held opinions counter to those folks.
A fine, but misplaced worry. That is to say, in the 18 years I've been in the industry I can't think of one case where this was even remotely an issue. Every company I've worked at has had creatives of wildly different and fervently held political views, and it's never mattered one whit. I don't think, for example, that Sean (who's been pretty vocal on the topic) has ever wanted for work because of it.
I say "misplaced," because ironically it's not political talk that gets people work (or ensures that they get none), but gaming talk. Either talk about games themselves or companies or people in the industry. I know lots of people who haven't gotten to work with people or companies they wanted to work with because of things they've said to others or written about in magazines or the internet. And really, I'm not talking about legitimate reviews here or anything like that, I'm talking about criticizing people (or sometimes companies) directly, revealing confidential information, and that sort of thing. Does that mean that people don't have the right to say what they want to say? Of course not. Personally, I have respect for people who tell it like it is (although I have far more respect for people who have the wisdom to keep their mouth shut when the time is right). But it is naive to think that what you say publicly can't come back to bite you if you're not careful, depending on the situation. The game industry is small, and word gets back to parties concerned very quickly.
For the designers/authors who are putting up their own political opinions on their own pages, it might be worthy to consider that some people might not agree with you and might not give your apolitical work a decent chance.
I agree wholeheartedly. There are musicians, writers, actors, for etc, who do or say things that I don't care for, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate their work. Every interview I've seen with Russel Crowe, for example, has made him look like a jerk, but I still like Gladiator and really like Master and Commander.