The problem is smeeprocket is basically this...
Videogames making light of abuse and rape is tasteless... It isn't a good thing, in fact videogames would probably be better without it.
Yet without any sort of hard damage... so what exactly? We can't act on that. We can certainly point out when a game is being tactless... but that is it.
We can totally act on that.
Don't buy the fucking games. Easy. Play Kerbal or (vanilla) Skyrim or literally any other game that doesn't have abuse or rape as a main plot point.
Ignoring most games don't have that (and if you are stretching the definition Skyrim REALLY REALLY doesn't count)...
That is basically what everyone here does already and what all gamers do. They let their feelings inform their buying choices. It isn't something the industry needs to change but rather react to.
That is basically... doing nothing.
exactly, and those who refuse to be part of the solution are ultimately part of the problem
Well no. People are free to agree and disagree as they so freely chose and act on their differences.
There is no need to indoctrinate everyone into your way of thinking and to label everyone else as people who proliferate sexism.
It is why we have the market set up as we do.
I would say the same about anything. If the status quo is flawed, and you maintain the status quo, you are perpetuating it.
As a consumer it comes down to how interesting the game is versus how much you care about women's issues. It's an easy decision for a lot of male gamers, tbh.
But also, speaking out about this, using your voice, which might resound more with the male developers, to strengthen the voices of women gamers, helps as well.
Most people don't care about these things unless it affects them directly though. And currently, the system is weighted in favor of male gamers, giving them very little incentive to want to see things change.