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Amber's Interview with Cracked

ChidojuanChidojuan Member Posts: 211
I've been watching for this and only just recently spotted it. In case anyone is interested.

http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2284-i-put-trans-character-in-game-gamers-went-insane.html

Not trying to create another controversy, just felt like people would be interested.
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Comments

  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    This is an article rather than interview. And I believe it should be titled: "I put trans character in the game and people to immature to play games rated any other than E went insane".
  • ChidojuanChidojuan Member Posts: 211
    Agreed @O_Bruce , I just wasn't sure how to title it.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    That was good read, including some of the linked articles.
  • KilivitzKilivitz Member Posts: 1,459
    I'm just glad there wasn't too much repercussion around here. Cracked is usually under fire from the gamergater crowd for picking the sane side of the debate and Shar knows we're not going to miss another invasion of those types.
  • VbibbiVbibbi Member Posts: 229
    I just can't believe people in today's world can post such hate speech online and not think twice about it. If I were Cracked I wouldn't have redacted the user names, but perhaps there is a privacy issue they have to obey. Not like anonymous screen names can do anything, and I doubt any of those people would be shamed by having their hate comments distributed more widely.
  • KuronaKurona Member Posts: 881
    I truly hope these people never reproduce.
  • redlineredline Member Posts: 296
    Kudos to Cracked for publishing a sane perspective on this whole mess.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Vbibbi said:

    I just can't believe people in today's world can post such hate speech online and not think twice about it. If I were Cracked I wouldn't have redacted the user names, but perhaps there is a privacy issue they have to obey. Not like anonymous screen names can do anything, and I doubt any of those people would be shamed by having their hate comments distributed more widely.

    You can probably find out who posted what by just google searching the entire comment. But why give these trolls the attention that they crave?
  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,079
    I didn't talk to Mizhena much when I first played SOD so I wasn't sure what exactly was in her dialog that had to do with her being transgender. I had no idea what could spark so much controversy. So I was looking through that article, and... WOW, THAT was what got people riled up? That handful of lines of dialogue?
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    I read that a few days ago. I believe Amber's contribution was not even the majority of the article.
  • ScofieldScofield Member Posts: 119
    I think the title of the article is misleading. Sure there were people who went insane over that particular character being transgender but most of the people were upset because Amber Scott put a transgender character into a Baldur's Gate game!

    If Beamdog had created a game, something new say "Game X" (which had nothing to do with an already established title) and put a transgender character in it, it would have been a completely different story. Obviously haters would have hated and conservative people would have gone crazy about the idea itself, but, - and this is a big BUT - that wouldn't have hurt the feelings of thousands of fans who expected a Baldur's Gate game but got something else.

    If somebody buys the licence to make a Baldur's Gate game, then they have to remain loyal to the game's every aspect even if it includes sexism or other things they believe could be "improved on". If your ideas or believes aren't compatible with this, then by all means, make your game the way you want but don't call it Baldur's Gate!

    I've played Bioware games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect that featured gay characters and had no problem with it whatsoever. I wonder what would a true Dragon Age or Mass Effect fan say if a new company came along and made a racist expansion featuring only white males and then to ease the tensions give an interview saying well if you don't like it then it's too bad...

    Anyway, I'm not having a go at Beamdog because in my opinion they have done a pretty good job with the enhanced editions, bringing my beloved games back to life. I don't even want to over-critisise Dragonspear as it isn't a bad game at all; just shared my thoughts on the topic of this article.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    Dee said:



    If you think any of those things are an excuse or a justification for the abuse described in that article, we will never be friends.

    There is never a good excuse for it.

    But I'm pretty sure that entire article was abusive to people who criticised SoD.
  • KampfKaninchenKampfKaninchen Member Posts: 139

    Murica, fuck yeah!

  • ChidojuanChidojuan Member Posts: 211
    @ajwz Perhaps, but it is Cracked, so no one escapes abuse. I simply posted the article in case anyone was interested, I wasn't trying to direct abuse at anyone.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I personally find it hilarious that people are freaking out over a transgender character in a game that includes A GIRDLE THAT CHANGES YOUR GENDER.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Grum said:

    I personally find it hilarious that people are freaking out over a transgender character in a game that includes A GIRDLE THAT CHANGES YOUR GENDER.

    The girdle is cursed. People who are transphobic get to treat it like a joke and/or a...well...a curse.

    The notion that someone is actually trans, now *that* offends people.
    There is a tasteless joke about consent in here somewhere...
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666

    I personally find it hilarious that people are freaking out over a transgender character in a game that includes A GIRDLE THAT CHANGES YOUR GENDER.

    and i'm pretty sure there are people that play as the opposite gender in crpgs during some runthroughs.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    edited August 2016
    Scofield said:


    If somebody buys the licence to make a Baldur's Gate game, then they have to remain loyal to the game's every aspect even if it includes sexism or other things they believe could be "improved on". If your ideas or believes aren't compatible with this, then by all means, make your game the way you want but don't call it Baldur's Gate!

    I agree!

    Baldur's Gate is a Dungeons and Dragons licensed game. They use the rules outlined in the Player's Handbook and other official D&D books to keep it as faithful as possible to the base game.

    Here is an except from Character Creation for the latest Player's Handbook (5e) regarding gender:
    You can play a male or female character without gaining
    any special benefits or hindrances. Think about how
    your character does or does not conform to the broader
    culture’s expectations of sex, gender, and sexual
    behavior. For example, a male drow cleric defies the
    traditional gender divisions of drow society, which could
    be a reason for your character to leave that society and
    come to the surface.

    You don’t need to be confined to binary notions of
    sex and gender. The elf god Corellon Larethian is often
    seen as androgynous or hermaphroditic, for example,
    and some elves in the multiverse are made in Corellon’s
    image. You could also play a female character who
    presents herself as a man, a man who feels trapped in a
    female body, or a bearded female dwarf who hates being
    mistaken for a male. Likewise, your character’s sexual
    orientation is for you to decide.


    Thanks for playing!

    ~

    @ajwz not really he had one line about real criticism (since that isn't what the article was about) going like

    The flood of anger focused almost entirely on this one brief and easy-to- miss conversation, to the point where people with real criticism had to preface their reviews with "Sure, transgender character, whatever. Can you fix these bugs, please?"


    Followed by one example.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122

    ajwz said:

    I'm pretty sure that entire article was abusive to people who criticised SoD.

    [citation needed]
    I was being a bit facetious in an attempt to highlight how nebulous the concepts of "abuse" and "harrassment" can be.


    But ok:

    Point #4:
    "And now here are some players reacting to that brief conversation as if the game required them to pledge allegiance to ISIS before proceeding"

    "Any attempts to "protect video games" might be a bit undercut by 74 percent of readers considering "Hurr durr!" valid critique"

    "serial killers would find the comments a bit much"

    "It's called Siege Of Dragonspear: Corrections, because apparently there was a competition to make the Skyrim horse vagina mod look classy."

    Point #3
    "The reaction reveals a striking persecution complex"

    "An angry mob decided that one minor employee was responsible for their inability to caress underage cartoon girls (seriously, it was a face-touching minigame),"

    "Finally, a game called Pillars Of Eternity included a quick little transphobic limerick"

    "Their goal is to be outraged, no matter what. If the situation doesn't justify it, they'll twist it until it does"

    "Advancement is met with walls of fiery hate hiding behind a thin veneer of "tradition" or not wanting to get "political""
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