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Wow... I am astounded. In an age where computer games nearly rival, or surpass, movies in terms of storytelling; a game developer gets harassed because she pref

Wow... I am astounded. In an age where computer games nearly rival, or surpass, movies in terms of storytelling; a game developer gets harassed because she prefers storytelling aspect over combat. But seriously, we deserve it. For some people gameplay = combat; not the experience lived with it and at the core of this problem lies fps-ification of everything. Gone the days of Monkey Island and Beneath a Steel Sky. We need oodles of guns and/or breasts in our games. No need to think or read, we need blamming! If it's medieval we need badass swords and breasts; if it's modern we need guns and ammo and breasts! Story? What do you mean "story"? Who needs story when you have enemies to turn into offal. It is sad to see this train of thought is dominant in gamers nowadays.

kevingadd 15y ago
It's unfair to say it's dominant. The problem is that EA management forces BioWare to aim for the (admittedly, quite large) segment of the gaming population that loves playing a big burly man who shoots other big burly men, because those games make an absolute truckload of money. It may be true that Modern Warfare and Gears of War are absurdly profitable franchises - that's why BioWare is slowly turning Mass Effect into those games - but that doesn't mean that other types of games aren't popular, or that the average gamer only wants to play those games. You need only look at the most popular games on Steam to see evidence otherwise. An important thing to consider, though, is whether Hepler's agenda - admirable though it may be - is actually right for Mass Effect or any of BioWare's games. If BioWare's customers want games that are heavy on gameplay and not story, trying to build a pure story game is probably unwise, unless your goal is to drive away all your existing customers and try to find new ones. You can do that, but it's usually not a good business strategy, and my wager is that EA shareholders wouldn't approve of it. If you look at the trajectory of BioWare's games, over time, they've shed their gameplay sophistication, branching paths, and depth in favor of accessibility, action, and high production values. The emphasis on shooting men with guns (or, in the case of Dragon Age, stabbing men with swords) came along with that because those themes are wildly successful in modern sci-fi/fantasy films and test well with focus groups. When BioWare's remaining fans (not to mention former fans who were driven away by the new focus) hear a BioWare staffer calling for the games to have less gameplay, they're going to see that as someone driving their games further away from the classics that many people remember BioWare for - like Baldur's Gate. And it's no surprise to see a negative response for that. As far as the content of the actual community response, I don't think it even bears mentioning that the sexism is unacceptable. Unfortunately, the community as a whole will likely never move past this, because games are popular with youth and the emotionally immature instead of just with adults.
- scott_s 15y ago
  You're assuming that BioWare's change of direction is because of EA. That is, you're assuming it's not what BioWare wants to do of their own accord. Is that your assumption, or have you heard either EA or BioWare say that is the case?
bmuon 15y ago
A lot of people think playability = gameplay = fun (more precisely _their_ concept of fun). Games are very personal. People take them personally, for some reason think their way of having fun is the only way, and are very vocal about it.

kevingadd 15y ago

It's unfair to say it's dominant. The problem is that EA management forces BioWare to aim for the (admittedly, quite large) segment of the gaming population that loves playing a big burly man who shoots other big burly men, because those games make an absolute truckload of money. It may be true that Modern Warfare and Gears of War are absurdly profitable franchises - that's why BioWare is slowly turning Mass Effect into those games - but that doesn't mean that other types of games aren't popular, or that the average gamer only wants to play those games. You need only look at the most popular games on Steam to see evidence otherwise. An important thing to consider, though, is whether Hepler's agenda - admirable though it may be - is actually right for Mass Effect or any of BioWare's games. If BioWare's customers want games that are heavy on gameplay and not story, trying to build a pure story game is probably unwise, unless your goal is to drive away all your existing customers and try to find new ones. You can do that, but it's usually not a good business strategy, and my wager is that EA shareholders wouldn't approve of it. If you look at the trajectory of BioWare's games, over time, they've shed their gameplay sophistication, branching paths, and depth in favor of accessibility, action, and high production values. The emphasis on shooting men with guns (or, in the case of Dragon Age, stabbing men with swords) came along with that because those themes are wildly successful in modern sci-fi/fantasy films and test well with focus groups. When BioWare's remaining fans (not to mention former fans who were driven away by the new focus) hear a BioWare staffer calling for the games to have less gameplay, they're going to see that as someone driving their games further away from the classics that many people remember BioWare for - like Baldur's Gate. And it's no surprise to see a negative response for that. As far as the content of the actual community response, I don't think it even bears mentioning that the sexism is unacceptable. Unfortunately, the community as a whole will likely never move past this, because games are popular with youth and the emotionally immature instead of just with adults.

scott_s 15y ago
You're assuming that BioWare's change of direction is because of EA. That is, you're assuming it's not what BioWare wants to do of their own accord. Is that your assumption, or have you heard either EA or BioWare say that is the case?

bmuon 15y ago

A lot of people think playability = gameplay = fun (more precisely _their_ concept of fun). Games are very personal. People take them personally, for some reason think their way of having fun is the only way, and are very vocal about it.