sexism
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Mike Morhaime apologizes for lack of diversity in Blizzard games
It's been a bad year or so for women in Blizzard games, for a lot of reasons. At BlizzCon, Warlords of Draenor was described as a "boy's trip" that Aggra wasn't invited to -- which fits with the Warlords marketing material that shows almost exclusively male characters (a few women appear in the trailer and one in the art, but they're unnamed). But Warlords isn't the only concern: the company's April Fool's joke came off as tone-deaf to many, Heroes of the Storm uses female characters as eye candy (which game director Dustin Browder argued didn't send a message), and, recently, Rob Pardo stated in a talk at MIT that diversity wasn't really a value for the company. Though Warlords has come a long way since BlizzCon and both Browder and Pardo apologized, the fact that any of these things were an issue in the first place is off-putting -- at best -- to female gamers. Even long-term Blizzard fans have started to wonder why they're continuing to play in a gaming world that didn't accept women amongst the cast of heroes. It's from this place of disappointment that Starcunning wrote to Mike Morhaime, explaining why she's walked away from Blizzard's games. The surprise, however, is that Mike Morhaime responded stressing Blizzard's commitment to listening to the playerbase and building games that are fun for everyone. Mike Morhaime We are very conscious of the issues you raise and are discussing them more than ever, at every level of the company, in an effort to make sure our games and stories are as epic and inclusive as possible. Blizzard's employees form a broad and diverse group that cares deeply about the experiences we are creating for our players. And we know that actions speak louder than words, so we are challenging ourselves to draw from more diverse voices within and outside of the company and create more diverse heroes and content. We are also actively looking at our story development and other processes to ensure that our values are fully represented. We've always believed that positive, lasting change comes from examination, discussion, and iteration, and this applies as much to story as to gameplay. There is no reason why inclusivity should come at the expense of an amazing game experience. source
Hearthstone tournament now open to all
Yesterday we reported about the oddity of a Hearthstone tournament that didn't allow women to compete. The reason? The International e-Sports Federation wanted gaming to be recognized as a "true sport," and was following the professional sports model of gender division. With fewer women competitors than men, this led to tournaments with a large selection of gaming events for men, but few for women -- in the case of this tournament, Hearthstone, Dota 2, and Ultra Street Fighter IV were all men-only events. While e-Sports are often gender-divided (competitive StarCraft is notable in this regard), the idea of a men-only Hearthstone tournament was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back. Among many others, Blizzard spoke out against IeSF policy, telling VentureBeat, "One of our goals with e-sports is to ensure that there's a vibrant and also inclusive community around our games. We do not allow the use of our games in tournaments that do not support this, and are working with our partners to ensure they share the same goal." The end result is that the IeSF has reversed the policy, and offers events open to all genders as well as women-only events to encourage the participation of women in the male-dominated field of pro gaming. It's a setup that's similar to the competitive chess scene, which has both a World Chess Championship in which anyone can compete and a Women's World Chess Championship. Now, at the 6th e-Sports World Championship BAKU 2014, men and women will be able to compete together in StarCraft 2 and Hearthstone tournaments, while there's also a women's only StarCraft 2 tournament. Time to get your game on!
IeSF changes its mind, opens all tournaments to women
Following the enormous outcry of gamers angry that International eSports Federation had forbidden women from some of its tournaments, including Hearthstone, the organization decided to open up the playing field to both genders. "Upon hearing these concerns, the IeSF convoked an emergency session of the IeSF Board to respond," the Federation posted on the official site. "As a result, IeSF shall have two event categories: 'Open for All' events and events that are reserved for women. The events which were initially set aside as the male division will now be open to all genders, and the events which were initially set as the female division will remain as they were." The IeSF defended its former rationale for segregating men and women in the event, saying that it did so to encourage female players to engage in the tournaments: "The IeSF's female-only competitions aim to bring more diversity to competitive play by improving the representation of women at these events. Without efforts to improve representation, e-sports can't achieve true gender equality." [To clarify since there's some confusion in the comments: Men can now participate in all five games. Women can now participate in all five games on the same teams as the men. Women can additionally play in women-only brackets for SC2 and Tekken Tag. Those two games are included in the games men can play in the mixed gender lineup (Tekken Tag wasn't available to men originally, just as Hearthstone was blocked from women, but this has been rectified). Neither men nor women are now barred from any game in the tourney.]
Hearthstone tournament bans female competitors
No girls are allowed to compete in Finland's Assembly Summer 2014 Dota 2, Ultra Street Fighter IV, and Hearthstone tournaments, which are open to men only. According to the International e-Sports Federation's rules, the genders of competitors in e-sports are separated to help the competition be recognized as a "true sport." In response to complaints, the IeSF posted the following on their Facebook page: "The decision to divide male and female competitions was made in accordance with international sports authorities, as part of our effort to promote e-Sports as a legitimate sports." And while this means separate but equal style treatment for some events, for others -- like Hearthstone -- it means women simply can't compete at all. At Assembly Summer 2014, women aren't allowed into these tournaments because if they won, they wouldn't be allowed into the IeSF men-only world finals. Markus Koskivirta, head admin of the Assembly Summer 2014 Hearthstone IeSF Qualifier, speaking to PC Gamer, said that the Finnish eSports Federation is lobbying for equal rights for male and female gamers... but with the long and strange tradition of segregated e-sports (StarCraft competition often has such divisions), that could be a long time coming. Though the IeSF says it wants to promote female gamers by hosting women's only events, the end result of this is to keep women on the outskirts of pro gaming by relegating their participation to smaller events and smaller stages. All this goes towards suggesting that women aren't good enough to compete with the men -- something that in an all-digital "sport" is difficult, at best, to justify. We all love the same games, so why can't we play them together?
No girls allowed in IeSF-sanctioned Hearthstone tourney
If you're female and you're interested in competing in a Finnish Hearthstone tournament called the Assembly Summer 2014 Hearthstone IeSF Qualifier, you're currently out of luck. PCGamer reports that the IeSF, a global e-sports organization headquartered in South Korea, stipulates male-only participants "in accordance with international sports authorities, as part of our effort to promote e-sports as legitimate sports." Assembly Summer 2014 administrator Markus Koskivirta says that the event's other tourneys are open to all genders. "We would also like to point out that the Finnish eSports Federation is currently lobbying for the equal rights of male and female players in the IeSF tournaments," he said. [Commenters have pointed out that women are barred from four games in this tournament, including Hearthstone and Dota, while male players are barred from two, including Tekken Tag, in the IeSF's attempt to create gendered brackets for e-sports. Both genders can compete in StarCraft II, but only in gender-segregated divisions. Thanks to CrowingOne especially for the extra details.]
Recommended Reading: sexist video games and origins of forensic science
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Is 'Assassin's Creed' Sexist? Is Link a Girl? And More Fun Questions From This Year's E3 by Emily Yoshida, Grantland Pocket!function(d,i){if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement("script");j.id=i;j.src="https://widgets.getpocket.com/v1/j/btn.js?v=1";var w=d.getElementById(i);d.body.appendChild(j);}}(document,"pocket-btn-js"); The sad truth is, if Samus (the heavily armored hero in Metroid) made her debut today, her big reveal would probably be just as shocking today as it was in 1986. While attitudes towards women -- even in the decidedly male-dominated world of gaming -- have matured, putting a female protagonist in a video game is still something of a rarity. (And, if you believe representatives of Ubisoft, something of a technical challenge... but that feels disingenuous.) Emily Yoshida shares what it's like to be a woman at E3, perhaps the most testosterone-drenched tech convention of the year.
Why is there so much skin in this iOS fishing game?
The topic of sexism in games is one that has raged for years and will continue to do so long after Ace Fishing has faded from existence, but for the moment it is the only game in recent memory that forced me to stop playing it because I felt too gross to continue. Ace Fishing is, as the name would suggest, a fishing game, and as a fishing game it is extremely solid. The actual mechanics of casting your line, reeling in your catch, and ranking your fish based on rarity, length, and overall awesome factor are extremely satisfying. What isn't satisfying is the fact that, for at least the first hour of the game, you can't go five minutes without a chick with cut-off daisy dukes and a bare midriff telling you how good you're doing. On top of the scummy decision to dress the player's "guide" as a sex symbol, there's also a good bit of sexual innuendo tossed in for good measure. I don't need a questionably-dressed lady complimenting my "Yanking Skill" in what is supposed to be a game about catching fish. Even the loading screen features a pair of babes who apparently woke up and dressed as though they didn't realize they would be fishing that day. I'm not sure who this kind of design choice is supposed to appeal to. I think even 17-year-old me would have seen through the thinly veiled attempt to titillate me when all I'm trying to do is play a decent fishing game. This isn't a game set in a fantasy universe where the lore offers a convenient, if shaky, justification for sexed-up characters; It's a fishing game. Give me a break. After about an hour, I gave up on trying to break through the unneeded sexual appeal and deleted the app. It's a shame that this kind of crap has to ruin what would otherwise be a decent (if microtransaction-dependent) experience.
The joke is on women in Blizzard's April Fool's gag
Though Blizzard doesn't always treat female characters with as much respect as I'd like, where big game companies are concerned they usually do okay -- heck, the fact that you can play a female character at all puts them ahead of a lot of the gaming industry. But Blizzard doesn't have a particularly spotless record, with sexist NPCs, more sexist NPCs, sexual dimorphism, the lack of women in game lore, and the fact that Aggra won't be heading to Draenor in Warlords -- not to mention the fact that Chris Metzen described the journey as "more of a boy's trip" at BlizzCon. The fact that Blizzard does all of this and I still think of them as doing okay speaks to the exceedingly low standards women have where it comes to inclusion in video games. And in today's April Fool's gag, the joke's on us with the new female draenei models. Today's draenei are the most sexually dimorphic of the lot, with male models that are extremely muscled and female models that are slender -- but still heavy on the cleavage (seriously, they must have so many back problems). Releasing this so-called ugly draenei model as a joke -- though it might have been intended to poke fun at the gamers who insist on sexualized game characters -- just says outright that any women who aren't the height of perfect beauty are a joke.
The Soapbox: My hypersexualization conundrum
Every now and then here at Massively, we receive an email that isn't super nice. I know this may come as a shock to many of you -- the internet is, after all, a place of tolerance and constructive debate -- but sometimes the Massively inbox is no place any sane person would want to be. One reader recently took the opportunity to offer some choice thoughts on Massively staffers. And amidst the jumble of insults and generalizations, the reader levied the ever-powerful "hypocrisy" charge at us for claiming to care about hypersexualized designs of female characters in MMOs while simultaneously playing as those very hypersexualized characters. How could we possibly purport to care about the presentation of women in games if we're all running around in chainmail bikinis? Generally speaking, I prefer to not have my habits and behavior challenged via ad hominem attacks and false comparisons. But I have to admit that this one particular charge piqued my curiosity. Why is it that the majority of my characters are female? Am I, as a person who looks down on hypersexualized designs in games, committing an act of hypocrisy every time I create a female character? Let's sort it out. And before we begin, remember that the Soapbox, like most of our editorials, is just one person's opinion and doesn't represent the thoughts of Massively as a whole.
Plastic surgery game for kids removed from iOS, Android stores
Two mobile games in which users performed liposuction and other plastic surgery procedures on a cartoon woman have been removed from their respective app stores - Plastic Surgery & Plastic Doctor & Plastic Hospital Office for Barbie from iTunes, and Plastic Surgery from Google Play. The BBC reports that the overweight woman was described as "ugly" on Google Play. We'd say there's something very ugly here indeed, but it isn't a cartoon woman. Mattel seems to be behind the removal of Plastic Surgery for Barbie; a statement from the company reads, "At Mattel, we take our commitment to children seriously and work hard to ensure there are no unauthorized uses of our brands that may be unsafe or inappropriate for children." Google likewise released a statement saying that, while the company doesn't comment on individual apps, they will remove those which breach guidelines. Plastic Surgery for Barbie was labeled as appropriate for children ages 9 and up. A similar version of the game, called Plastic Surgery for Barbara and labeled as appropriate for ages 12 and up, has also been removed.
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's great big sexist elephant in the room
There's a subtle problem in WildStar that we've all seen lurking around the edges. It's not huge, and it's not glaring, but it's there, and it's pretty obvious. It's the elephant in the room, and much like the traditional elephant, it's something absolutely no one wants to actually point out because it is not fun to point out. But it's pretty obvious as soon as you look at the races that the male Mechari are built like linebackers and the female Mechari are wasp-waisted blowup dolls in a permanent pair of heels. I've been a fan of WildStar since its first teaser trailer, and while I'd hoped for detailed character customization, the beta came without any body sliders or any other options for customizing a character's build. And while the Mechari are easy to cite as problematic (mostly because none of the other women has high heels as part of her feet), this sort of subtle and passive sexism weaves its way into the game on a consistent basis.
Heroes of the Storm game director apologizes for insensitive remarks regarding sexualized character designs
It's not often that you can feel uncomfortable pauses via text, but a recent interview about Heroes of the Storm managed exactly that. When asked about the character design of the upcoming game's female characters, game director Dustin Browder responded with: "We're not running for President. We're not sending a message. No one should look to our game for that." This went over about as well as you would expect, especially in the wake of World of Warcraft's next expansion's story getting billed as a "boy's trip" (and being portrayed as such in promotional materials). Browder has issued an apology for his statement, claiming that the topic is a serious one and that Blizzard is sensitive about how it portrays its characters. No part of the apology actually addresses the issue in any more detail, although Browder does insist that the team wants everyone to have a character to identify with and enjoy. Whether or not this will result in more discussion of this serious topic or any changes to character designs remains to be seen.
Prime World defies gender stereotypes in latest update
In a stunning twist of irony, Prime World is now challenging gender stereotypes by adding effieminate males and burly females for the upcoming NA and EU release. Producer Marc Singer commented on the new customization options: "We want to give a lot of skin options that are not just hairdos and color changes. We want to completely shift them from one spectrum to the other. We want effeminate males and we want burly, bulky females. We want animal-style stuff and old women and young kids." Singer said that this was part of a game-wide effort to combat tired portrayals of sexy girls: "A lot of games nowadays are very over-sexualised or male-centric when it comes to character pools. When you have over-sexualised characters, when you have male-centric hero pools, that's not something that the Russians are concerned about, because culturally for them, it's not a big deal. And even in parts of Europe, it's not a big deal either. But in the US, it's a very big deal." This change is ironic because the MOBA is perhaps best-known for originally forcing gamers to play their gender and incorporating gender-specific abilities and buffs, including a team-wide defensive buff if a female was part of the squad. Nival later decided to (mostly) remove these features for the NA/EU release, although gender locking is still part of the experience.
Prime World devs tackle gender issues, hero prices
The folks over at Nival have posted a quick dev diary that addresses some of the biggest player concerns with its still-in-beta MOBA, Prime World. The studio wants players to know that matchmaking is being refined, an EU server should solve European lag issues, a report system is on the way, and hero prices are under review (though the team seems generally happy with them). Perhaps the most interesting tidbit is Nival's decision to nix all gender features from the game. Prime World has been the subject of some controversy due to its treatment of gender; male and female characters have different abilities that operate in relation to their gender and the gender of other heroes, and player hero choice is determined by the gender established either on the player's Facebook page or Prime World account. Nival explained that the decision to remove gender-specific features will soon be discussed in greater detail in a separate post. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Government bans female League of Legends characters at Iranian tourney
League of Legends players will be short a few fighters at Iran's World Cyber Games tournament that's scheduled to begin on September 12th. The Iranian government has its knickers in a knot over some of the MOBA's more scantily clad femme fatales, and so tourney participants will have to do without the services of champions including Ahri, Miss Fortune, Lulu, and dozens of others. Kotaku reports that WGC Iran may be forced to shut down the tournament altogether if it doesn't comply with the ban, though it's worth noting that a few female avatars are "under consideration for tournament play."
TUG tackles sexiness and diversity
We're not getting into a real talk about diversity in gaming here. We are, however, talking about The Untitled Game's take on that sort of thing. The latest update on the TUG Kickstarter page is all about Seed diversity. The team is promising to do its best to make sure that players don't have to deal with armors that have a "drastically different appearance" based on gender. Female characters won't get overly sexualized animations, and you're just as likely to find a manly NPC in distress as a lady one. The team is working to avoid stereotypical representations of races and cultures, and wants to be sure that white males aren't portrayed as the default for Seeds. Some servers will allow users only basic inputs on their Seed's appearance, like gender and skin color, and will automatically assign the rest. All Seed's appearances, regardless of initial input, will grow and change over time as they age. Players will also be able to directly affect their Seed's look with hairstyle changes, tattoos, and other mysterious alterations.
Ask Massively: Why we cover what we do, part one
Welcome back to Ask Massively. We're all aboard the yacht this week, answering your questions while dressed like characters in Scarlet Blade. Because that's pretty much what the characters in Scarlet Blade should be doing rather than, you know, mortal combat in a thong. Yes, today we're talking Scarlet Blade. In between all the crazed commenter ranting, several of you guys posed legit questions about why we covered it in the first place. Let me try to answer you without turning this into a debate about sexism. Why? Because it's not really about any one specific -ism.
The Daily Grind: Do you like political subtext and social commentary on gaming sites?
Recently Massively authored a Think Tank column that asked whether studio drama affects our perception of games and gamemakers. For today's Daily Grind, I'd like to turn a similar lens toward game blogging. While most game journos are content to write about products and companies they love (or hate), there is a growing subset of politically motivated types who stir the pot by mentioning sexism, gun control, and any number of other hot button topics at every opportunity. Whether this is good or bad depends entirely on your perspective, and naturally that's what we'd like to hear. Do you like political and/or social change subtext in your gaming coverage, or do you prefer to separate your entertainment news from real-world issues? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Rise and Shiny: Peeking into the half-naked world of Scarlet Blade
As soon as I knew that I was going to be covering Scarlet Blade, the new title published by Aeria Games, I decided that I was not going to dedicate 1,000 words or so to discussing just how stupidly offensive the game is. I'll cover the issue of sexism in gaming through other avenues because I know that there are generally two types of players in MMOs: those who think this is a sexist industry and those who don't care. I will, however, concentrate on the gameplay. I am always ready to volunteer and cover weird or icky games like Scarlet Blade. After all, I can't comment on a game I haven't played. What I found wasn't really surprising, but it was relatively confusing. Warning: Don't read the rest of this article if your boss is over your shoulder. Unless your boss is my boss, in which case it's OK.
IGDA party features dancers, prompts controversy, resignations
The International Game Developers Association's GDC party resulted, rather than merriment for all, in the resignations of several IGDA leaders, after the appearance of underdressed dancers on stage at the event, reportedly hired by party sponsor YetiZen.Student Alicia Avril first brought the appropriateness of the dancers into question in a Forbes report, noting that it doesn't square with the professionalism or advocacy the group espouses. "Knowing there are such concerned women as members of this group," she told Forbes, "you'd think that the IGDA would be more thoughtful in their own party and how they're portraying themselves."Some members' concern led to the end of their membership, including game designer Brenda Romero, who publicly resigned from her position of co-chair of the IGDA Women in Games SIG, and developer Darius Kazemi, who "formally resigned" following the party.The IGDA issued a statement in response to the controversy. "We recognize that some of the performers' costumes at the party were inappropriate, and also some of the activities they peformed were not what we expected or approved," the statement reads. "We regret that the IGDA was involved in this situation. We do not condone activities that objectify or demean women or any other group of people." The group pledged increased vigilance toward "encouraging inclusion and diversity."During the IGDA meeting today at GDC, executive director Kate Edwards elaborated on the organization's position, Gamasutra reports. "We realize that we make mistakes sometimes, and we want to make sure that all of our programs and activities are considered inclusive and professional." She called for participation from all members, including those who left, in order to know "what we can do to do a better job in the future."
