I had already been playing Shadow Complex before I realized that it had anything to do with Orson Scott Card (pictured), a sci-fi writer and outspoken Mormon who makes no secret that he's against gay rights. None of this is apparent in the game, which is awfully light on story as is. But Shadow Complex is intended to be a tie-in to some of Card's novels. There's definitely some cross-pollination going on. The game is supposed to feed into the novels, and vice versa, I presume.

I'm delighted to see that Card's politics have become an issue. Gamers are a sleepy bunch. Anything that wakes them up and gets them talking about something other than paladins being nerfed or the release date of Halo 3: ODST is fine by me. So here is Kotaku writer Stephen Totilo's overview of the situation, which includes comments from someone boycotting the game and some comments from the folks who made and published the game, denying that it's even an issue. The most curious comment is from the game's writer, Peter David.

If anyone wants to boycott the game and thus damage me or [developer] Chair while doing nothing to change Orson's opinions, that's naturally their right. Or...They can display the sort of tolerance for someone who is different from them that they feel is lacking in Orson and thus prove they're better. Your choice.

The best way to counter intolerance is by...tolerating it? I'm afraid Mr. David doesn't quite understand the issue. Or maybe he forgot to close with a smiley emoticon.

The far more compelling read is this personal editorial from Christian Nutt at Gamasutra, who identifies himself as gay. He spends too much time talking about what people say on videogaming forums, which is borderline irrelevant and a lot less interesting than what he has to say himself. And rather than use the issue to simply score political points, Nutt uses the issue to make a larger point about videogaming.

The medium of games is intrinsically capable of the heights of meaning and emotion that film is; our discourse must rise to that level as well. And that's why it's acceptable to talk about this. That's why it's okay to skip buying Dragon Quest IX [which was scored by a Japanese nationalist who denies the rape of Nanking] or Shadow Complex. If we can have meaningful political discussion in other media, we can have it in games. And even if Shadow Complex itself doesn't espouse views about same-sex marriage, in some way the product funds Orson Scott Card. He may be best-known and loved as the author behind Ender's Game, but he's also a political activist. He has become fair game.

From one guy with a goofy last name to another guy with a goofy last name, allow me to say, "Amen, Mr. Nutt!"