Companies really need to hire vetting personell whose job is to do thorough background checks on people, especially with their social media activity.
I cant defend this guy because his views are horrible but seeing the Twitter/internet mob come after this whole game scares me
As you all know, it takes hundreds of people to make any AAA game like this these days. After many years of wishing and hoping for an open world game from the long dormant HP game series, I would hate to see this project canceled because of a backlash
That would also mean hundreds of game devs out of a job and means of income during a pandemic. Not to mention the fact that Avalanche barely survived post Disney. The WB acquisition saved them
He disclosed his youtube channel to WB Games and they had no issue with it.Companies really need to hire vetting personell whose job is to do thorough background checks on people, especially with their social media activity.
It doesn't help if the company bankrolling the project doesn't care at all. Check out the threadmark with the Kotaku article.Companies really need to hire vetting personell whose job is to do thorough background checks on people, especially with their social media activity.
If you or someone else can, do it. I can't because mods won't allow me.
While that is an also important matter, it probably isn't a good look to bring that whataboutism into a thread about someone that used their platform to support a hate movement while also wearing the avatar of someone that did the exact same thing.What about Blizzard, a studio that not only treats its developers like trash, but also supports a genocidal and oppressive CCP government that kills hundreds of thousands and tortures more?
He's worked at Avalanche software since at least 2004. i dont think its right to be constantly checking up on people to make sure they aren't being twats online, but it absolutely should have been dealt with better when it was discovered. ultimately we dont know the conversation that was had this that made WB okay with hiring the studio to make HL.
we need more answers really but its looks fucking awful on the face of it. it looks like he was grandfathered into the project because he has been there so long, its likely a bunch of the higher ups at the company are good friends with him and either share the same views, give him a pass becase they are mates or are hoping he changes his views over time. id love to know the story behind the curtain on this one.
Companies really need to hire vetting personell whose job is to do thorough background checks on people, especially with their social media activity.
The thread got locked, but I think its still worth reading as a collection of fuckeryI think it would be a great thing, either updating or making a new thread
it might be a lot of work, but having all that info in one opening post feels really effective imo, so easy to direct people right to it so they can see all the fuckery
Official Staff CommunicationSo this is a uniquely awful situation where both the creator of the IP and a senior producer on the game have unrepentant bigoted views.
The team has talked it over at length and as a result we've decided to implement a total ban on threads for promotional media for the game. This means there will be no threads for trailers or official announcements, no hype threads, no fluff pieces about its features. This functionally bans almost all threads leading up to release, unless there are major new developments about the controversy or something along those lines.
This is the first time we've done something like this and we consider this a very exceptional case. It's not just one bigoted game designer that made the difference here. JK Rowling's singular reach and influence, how closely that influence is tied to the Harry Potter IP, and what she chooses to do with that power, is a unique problem on top of this latest controversy.
We're going to revisit whether to have an OT much closer to the game's release. Learning from what happened with Cyberpunk, if there is an OT, it will have a text-only OP created by staff that lays out the controversy with the game and IP. The main reason to have an OT at all is the same one we've articulated before: Some minority members want a space to discuss the game's contents where they will not be shouted down by bigots.
For now though we're definitely not going to be platforming the marketing. If you see any threads for that stuff please report them. If you're unsure about a thread you want to post, please contact the staff first to check before creating it.
Yeah I wasn't implying anyone was tricked. I just want to know their thought process i guess. there are a lot of LGBT people in the game dev community and there will be at Avalanche software. is it worth keeping someone like this around if its just going to alienate a load of your employees?
... thread made me angry with people not wanting to see the shit she's talked about. Some people love having their heads in the sand going "BLAH BLAH BLAH I CANT HEAR YOU" and "WHAT ABOUT OTHER COMPANIES!!!"The thread got locked, but I think its still worth reading as a collection of fuckery
JK Rowling is a transphobic bigot, and you shouldn't support her or Harry Potter.
Here's a new thread, with an OP of all her awfulness. Since an awful lot of Era seems like they don't care that Rowling is a bigot and just want to enjoy their Harry Potter video game. Also before someone asks, the definition of TERF TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist...www.resetera.com
I cant defend this guy because his views are horrible but seeing the Twitter/internet mob come after this whole game scares me
As you all know, it takes hundreds of people to make any AAA game like this these days. After many years of wishing and hoping for an open world game from the long dormant HP game series, I would hate to see this project canceled because of a backlash
That would also mean hundreds of game devs out of a job and means of income during a pandemic. Not to mention the fact that Avalanche barely survived post Disney. The WB acquisition saved them
The flip side to "let's ban all discussion of Hogwarts" and "let's make a single dedicated thread for JK" (that has barely been posted in this year) just means the game and related issues are going to get ignored/buriedThe thread got locked, but I think its still worth reading as a collection of fuckery
JK Rowling is a transphobic bigot, and you shouldn't support her or Harry Potter.
Here's a new thread, with an OP of all her awfulness. Since an awful lot of Era seems like they don't care that Rowling is a bigot and just want to enjoy their Harry Potter video game. Also before someone asks, the definition of TERF TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist...www.resetera.com
Official Staff CommunicationSo this is a uniquely awful situation where both the creator of the IP and a senior producer on the game have unrepentant bigoted views.
The team has talked it over at length and as a result we've decided to implement a total ban on threads for promotional media for the game. This means there will be no threads for trailers or official announcements, no hype threads, no fluff pieces about its features. This functionally bans almost all threads leading up to release, unless there are major new developments about the controversy or something along those lines.
For now though we're definitely not going to be platforming the marketing. If you see any threads for that stuff please report them. If you're unsure about a thread you want to post, please contact the staff first to check before creating it.
I wonder if there's a way for them to sticky the thread to the top in gaming but have it redirect to the thread in OT. So that way people can't ignore it (unless they use said ignore thread button) since apparently having threads do help get rid of troll/second accounts. And that people still show their ass and need their rhetoric challenged.The flip side to "let's ban all discussion of Hogwarts" and "let's make a single dedicated thread for JK" (that has barely been posted in this year) just means the game and related issues are going to get ignored/buried
If the majority of the community thinks that's the best approach that's fine, but if I felt so strongly about an issue I wouldn't personally go that route
The whataboutisms that some people love to throw is always infuriating. Like fam if you want to talk about a certain issue make a thread about it! Don't come giving me this ''but what about x, huh HUH?'' shit in a thread that is specifically about JK Rowling's transphobia ffs.... thread made me angry with people not wanting to see the shit she's talked about. Some people love having their heads in the sand going "BLAH BLAH BLAH I CANT HEAR YOU" and "WHAT ABOUT OTHER COMPANIES!!!"
i imagine it's a thread that will be better received around when this lumbering butt hole of a game finally launches (seems to be having issues)The thread got locked, but I think its still worth reading as a collection of fuckery
JK Rowling is a transphobic bigot, and you shouldn't support her or Harry Potter.
Here's a new thread, with an OP of all her awfulness. Since an awful lot of Era seems like they don't care that Rowling is a bigot and just want to enjoy their Harry Potter video game. Also before someone asks, the definition of TERF TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist...www.resetera.com
I think maybe I should just quote said people and tell them they sound like "all lives matter folk" since its just they don't care enough about people to make a thread but when a marginalized group gets attack they care enough to take the attention off of said group and make it about someone else....The whataboutisms that some people love to throw is always infuriating. Like fam if you want to talk about a certain issue make a thread about it! Don't come giving me this ''but what about x, huh HUH?'' shit in a thread that is specifically about JK Rowling's transphobia ffs.
Sorry for the rant, but is shit is just hurgh.
If your priority in fighting for a harmful IP to have a presence here is "cis people need to be educated tho" then just quit while you're behind. The point is incredibly tiresome, especially when it's perpetually presented by people for whom that burden of educating won't fall upon.
The IP is harmful since fans of it are drawn toward Rowling, give more weight to her words and feel an impulse to defend her. It can work to poison people's views of trans people as a result when their only exposure to their issues is through Rowling's misguided rants. So don't throw the "multiple hundreds of people working on games" at me, please. I'm keenly aware of how adoration for Harry Potter and Rowling's impact with her transphobia are intertwined.The IP itself isn't harmful though, at least no more so than most other IPs. The issue is JK. I think the recent news that one of the devs is a twat is largely irrelevant. You've got teams of multiple hundreds of people working on AAA games. There's going to be more than one odious person working on every game in your collection,
I mean trans rights aren't an opinion, they're a right.Let's only promote our own "superior" opinion. Grow the fuck up.
Human rights are opinion now?Let's only promote our own "superior" opinion. Grow the fuck up.
Can agree there, went into it earlier in the thread as to why that argument doesn't really apply in the same way as it did for that game:Also, I will be really disappointed if there is an OT for this game and it makes me wary that it is still being discussed. Cyberpunk was one thing, but this is something very different. Having an OT still promotes discussion, which still promotes the game. I honestly don't think I will be able to stomach visiting this site if that is case.
Not sure the "I don't want to discuss it among bigots" line holds up here relative to, say, Cyberpunk. In the latter instance there was content there that was bigoted and it was lapped up by an actively-bigoted crowd because it was harmful. Here the issue is less the content of the game and more helping to prop up adoration and respect for a franchise whose fame and renown is being used to turn public and political perception against the trans community. Not just in terms of game discourse but in terms of real, detrimental effects in real life.
I'm sure you could go to Reddit to discuss the game without people being actively bigoted alongside you. The fear can't be that anyone who plays the game is bigoted because, well, you're looking to discuss it while playing it lol. So it kind of falls apart. It just comes off as an easily repeated line learned from defences for why CDPR content was allowed. The two aren't comparable though, in material or consequence.
->The flip side to "let's ban all discussion of Hogwarts" and "let's make a single dedicated thread for JK" (that has barely been posted in this year) just means the game and related issues are going to get ignored/buried
If the majority of the community thinks that's the best approach that's fine, but if I felt so strongly about an issue I wouldn't personally go that route
I'm reading this as there will be more threads if more issues arise?Official Staff CommunicationThis functionally bans almost all threads leading up to release, unless there are major new developments about the controversy or something along those lines.
I am so tired of people saying that they are getting the game but they don't support her views, like it makes it okay. Guess what, buying the game is supporting her views! You are giving her money, so she can continue to hurt trans people. I saw that sentiment popping up in the thread that was just banned and it just makes my blood boil. If you're going to buy the game, fine, just please stop announcing it. There's also seems to be a mentality that it's going to sell well anyways, so one more person buying it doesn't matter. It does matter.
Also, I will be really disappointed if there is an OT for this game and it makes me wary that it is still being discussed. Cyberpunk was one thing, but this is something very different. Having an OT still promotes discussion, which still promotes the game. I honestly don't think I will be able to stomach visiting this site if that is case.
Good to know to avoid the inevitable comments.By the way, Jason Schreier tweeted about this game being banned on Era, so expect a major uptick in people with 20 posts in 3 years adding their two cents.
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I'm reading this as there will be more threads if more issues arise?
If you'd left this little snippet out, your failed attempt at a moral high ground might have passed us by.
JK is rich as fuck. The horse has long ago bolted on having a platform. At this point whether people buy the game is irrelevant to the point of her having a platform. Her platform has been established by the books that sold millions.
Going after people who want to play the game is pointless and counterproductive
The issues are more or less constantBy the way, Jason Schreier tweeted about this game being banned on Era, so expect a major uptick in people with 20 posts in 3 years adding their two cents.
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I'm reading this as there will be more threads if more issues arise?
That's not what the staff post said.The flip side to "let's ban all discussion of Hogwarts" and "let's make a single dedicated thread for JK" (that has barely been posted in this year) just means the game and related issues are going to get ignored/buried
If the majority of the community thinks that's the best approach that's fine, but if I felt so strongly about an issue I wouldn't personally go that route
They even put two spaces after each period, to add insult to injury.
I mean, this has always been at the heart of the "support the devs" rhetoric. There's a reason that people stopped using that to defend Cyberpank when it was revealed to be a bad game. Nice to see someone say the quiet part outloud though.
I didn't think that's what the staff post meant, but then you closed a thread criticizing JK and then forwarded it to an old mega thread that hadn't been posted in in a month, which IMO doesn't do much other than hide the criticismThat's not what the staff post said.
Total ban on threads for promotional media for the game, so not platform for the marketing.
If there's an issue related to the controversy that a member thinks is important/that the community would be interested in, please give us a shout before posting the thread.
Plus, we already know that this line of thinking was a failure with CP2077 still getting a platform here on release date. Lots of people couldn't care less about trans rights and instead openly complained about not being able to say how much they liked the game.If your priority in fighting for a harmful IP to have a presence here is "cis people need to be educated tho" then just quit while you're behind. The point is incredibly tiresome, especially when it's perpetually presented by people for whom that burden of educating won't fall upon.
I'm frustrated that it was ever framed as otherwise-interested consumers nebulously "punishing" "devs" for passing on a licensed game and not JK Rowling violently betraying/punishing everyone working on her IP that doesn't share her bigotry, especially trans employees. The workers impacted by the high-up bigotry aren't getting a break with the revealing of the lead designer's actions.I think at one point someone needs to make a thread so people will understand that devs still get paid regardless of whether or not you buy a game or not due to whatever reasons you have (not counting indie since that's a hugely different area). The defense of "what about other devs making game" needs to die/people need to see that devs don't actually get residuals for making game and generally get paid for their work and then that's it.
My partner wanted to go to Hogwarts at Universal for years. Couple years back, we were on a trip to LA with some friends for D23, and we made sure to stop by there. I have zero fucking affinity for Harry Potter beyond thinking acouple of the movies were okay, but they were super important books for her childhood. And it was a good trip, a crazy-ass ride, had some butter beer, bunch of fun photos. And she even got 'chosen' for the wand ceremony they do. Beyond the lines, it couldn't have been a better visit.I've never had any real affinity for Harry Potter, but I can only imagine how crushed certain fans feel. At least with some problematic authors you can use the "product of its time" excuse, but the issues here are pretty regressive by today's standards let alone in the future.
You realize that makes your defense even more suspect then yes? If you don't even care about the game, then why choose this hill to die on?
To be honest, I'm not sure I buy that he disclosed his channel to WB. If the dude is hell bent on believing the industry is controlled by the SjWs, he would not risk losing the job by openly admitting to be a bigot. That takes way more courage than these fuckers have.