As a CIS player, id say game is degrading in most directions. In plot mostly.
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That is such a load of crap. Do you people make everything into some kind of polemic event?
There was no Capital G Games saying no to diversity. That is such a lie. Fact is most people didn’t mind diversity as long as it integrated well in the story and wasn’t diversity for diversity’s sake.
Let me tell you what really happened. The gaming Industry used to be looked down upon as some kind of nerd’s self exile paradise. Until it started slowly getting popular. Then when people noticed we had a billion girl gamers running around. Then like in every other industry they figured that scandals are the best way to get attention, so it started. Gamers are women haters, gamers are gay haters, everyone who the day before didn’t want to have any contact with the gaming industry was now being oppressed by gamers, queue Anita Sarkeesian and the rest of the offended brigade.
And these people they didn’t make games. They tried to but nobody was interested. So they went for the next best thing, the gaming news media that was still developing at the time. And from there they had more influence than they would have had making games.
So using outrage and victimhood as a tool they started imposing their agendas on gamers, people they obviously hated with a passion. And slowly the DEI was born. The bane of the male gaze.
And now here we are. Thing is this industry was built by nerds for nerds and the people like Anita who infested this world are being slowly ejected. Because people caught on to the grift. There is no noble cause behind the outrage, no compassionate and understanding movement meant to make it all better so that everyone can get along. If there was there would have been some signs of improvement, but the more the DEI stuff gets involved the more racist gamers become according to them so if it gets worse what exactly are they doing to fix it? Nothing. The outrage is the grift, the idea that they are needed to regulate games or they are in danger of being not DEI approved and that means a proverbial black mark on their name.
Problem is this grift isn’t maintainable. And so, if you haven’t noticed there’s a pretty significant pushback against the DEI stuff. Go look. Gamers are actively avoiding games that have been involved with DEI companies.
So please don’t act like this is some justice plot. It’s not. It’s a grift, run by scammers and hypocrites and it’s dying out fortunately.
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Diversity has never been an issue in World of Warcraft, nor has the presence of strong, independent women in nerd culture.
These characters have traditionally been well-received.
The concern lies in how strong, independent women are portrayed in modern Western media.
(Spoiler: It’s bad writing)
In modern Western storytelling, there is a tendency to portray strong female characters in a way that comes across as forced or tokenistic. This is because of a desire to meet certain diversity or representation quotas, rather than creating fully fleshed-out characters.
Sometimes, this leads to characters that feel more like symbols or caricatures than real people, which can make them less relatable or compelling.
Japanese storytelling for example, particularly in anime, often places a strong emphasis on character development and personal growth, regardless of gender.
Female characters like Mikasa Ackermann (from Attack on Titan) or Akame (from Akame ga Kill!) are often depicted with deep backstories, motivations, and complexities that make them feel more well-rounded and relatable.
Strong female characters in Western media are written in a way that strips them of vulnerability or flaws in an attempt to showcase their strength. This makes them seem less human and more like untouchable, perfect beings, which can alienate audiences. Additionally, these characters are often written to conform to certain ideological expectations, which results in them feeling inauthentic or preachy.
Strong female characters in Eastern media are often shown as being both strong and vulnerable, with a balance between their physical abilities and emotional depth. Characters like Mikasa are strong warriors, but their strength is grounded in deep personal motivations, fears, and relationships. This combination of strength and emotional depth tends to resonate more with audiences.
The writing of strong female characters in Western media falls into the trap of “strength” being their only defining trait. When these characters are not given enough depth or flaws, they feel one-dimensional.
Many well-received anime characters are given extensive character arcs, showing their growth, struggles, and triumphs. This kind of character development makes them more relatable and engaging. Mikasa, for instance, is not only a formidable fighter but also has a rich emotional life, complex relationships, and a clear, personal reason for her strength, which makes her a compelling character.
So the difference in how diverse characters are perceived largely comes down to how they are written and developed.
Untalented writers prioritize the idea of a strong diverse character over the execution of creating a nuanced and relatable person.
Skilled writers focus on building complex characters with depth, resulting in diverse characters who are well-rounded and resonate more with audiences.
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We all know why, but if we’re gonna use honest words we’ll likely get timed out or banned from the forus
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I 100% agree and this change happened arguably last expansion where most male charachters are either made out to be selfish or foolish/incapable of leading in the heat of the moment, to be corrected by the empatic female charachters. I must say i find thisrather disapointing as WoW has a great history of creating characthers of all kinds of both genders
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Also have to agree here. The solution to every problem in Azeroth today is 1 of 3 things. 1 Forgiving your enemy 2 Family and love 3 Making decisions that are activly detrimental to war efforts but display superior empathy to the enemy therefore = good. There is one scene in the begining of the xpac that shows this change clearly. The gruff erthen guy who leads the people in the city and the bearded erthen lady who cares for the people outside the city. In reality he was smart to defend the much more defenseble position of a walled stone city instead of spreading thin over the entire island. She chose to abondon her post to go assist people in less defenseble positions instead of leading a retreat to the city. In WoW this somehow plays out as him being selfish and not empathic enough towards others wihle the leader who went with feelings instead of strategy or logic is shown to be in the right and rewarded. He is made to be the fool and she the wise one even tho this makes very little sense when viewed with some scrutiny
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The hobby’s never been some kind of egalitarian utopia until big bad Anita came along and ruined everything.
Also that’s a lot of words to repackage the absolute nightmare that was Gamergate into something that almost doesn’t sound like an absolute nightmare. Well done.
Maybe not. But it was never allowed to develop naturally. It was infected by people who introduced to it only their venom and nothing else. The only positive thing these people achieved was to unite gamers against them. Nothing else.
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It’s pretty silly to claim that when voices calling for more diversity have been present in the hobby from the start. I’d know, for I was one of them.
So yeah, claiming that it was some kind of outside intrusion or “infection” as you so cutely put it not only silly but plain wrong.
Because it was. You people moved in this industry and started making demands when you were in no position to do so. Who the hell are you to do that? You were just outrage bots trying to guilt trip people who had their own ideas of their own stories and took the time and commitment to bring them to reality, into doing your bidding or else they were racist, or evil or whatever. The infection I was talking about. So no, I’m not wrong.
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I’ve been in the hobby for 25 years, babygirl. So no, I never “moved in” anywhere; I’ve been here since I was a kid.
Oh, exactly like Anita. How coincidental.
omg dont get me starrrrted
welcome to “the woke within”
heard the DEI Staff all got fired? what will this mean?
And… what exactly does that mean? You think I’m Anita or something?
Nah. It’s just that you people are always the same. It’s like you are connected by a hive mind. It’s… odd.
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Ah damn, you got me. It’s me, the Elgeebeetee Agenduh.
Edit: On a more serious note, the notion that those who don’t agree with you must be part of some outside conspiracy is delightfully awful. Once again, good job.
Can someone more patient then me do a tally of all the people in this thread complaining with female characters as their avatar?
I never said you need to agree with me. You could disagree with me all day. But you said you were one of the people demanding diversity, incidentally like the rest of the Anitas and like the Anitas, you assured me that because you have been playing games for a long time that gives you the right to make these demands. So what else am I supposed to think?
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Oh, do tell please… What IS the correct message?
A better question is, what makes you think that I don’t have the right to go, “Hey game developers, I’d like to see more diverse themes and casts in my vidya games?”