BioWare Supports Beleaguered Writer

[Harker067]

These snotty little entitled brats disgust me I can only hope this is just a phase and they grow the fuck up.

People don't "grow up", they just learn how to "act" in public. Also there's a funny thing about communicating on the internet. You can be in "public" online without anyone actually seeing you and there are hardly ever any serious consequences if you are inappropriate.

Your discretion of them is quite true, but as for your hopes for them to become better with time......Well don't hold your breath, or do. No I'm not trying to be mean! You won't die if you hold your breath. You'll just pass out and start to breathe involuntarily. Or not.

I'm not a doctor. I'm just some, guy...Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8!

You're never too old to grow up and change for the better and I try to be hopeful about these things.

 

[Andronicus]

I really couldn't care less, I get told to GTFO, im not going to read his post, simple as that.

Except he told you to GTFO towards the END of his post...

See what I did there?

This user made some good points. I'm not quite sure why he received an infraction, unless the Escapist moderators did not read his post thoroughly.

I called him a troll. Course, I doubt he would have even read any of my post had I not included a "tl;dr" anyway (he didn't strike me as the sort of person to read detailed literary breakdowns) but it doesn't matter. I apologised anyway, because I broke the rules.

Besides, I too lead the discussion in a direction away from the relevant topic/s, so I guess I'm no better than he; I just used longer words.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

These snotty little entitled brats disgust me I can only hope this is just a phase and they grow the fuck up.

People don't "grow up", they just learn how to "act" in public. Also there's a funny thing about communicating on the internet. You can be in "public" online without anyone actually seeing you and there are hardly ever any serious consequences if you are inappropriate.

Your discretion of them is quite true, but as for your hopes for them to become better with time......Well don't hold your breath, or do. No I'm not trying to be mean! You won't die if you hold your breath. You'll just pass out and start to breathe involuntarily. Or not.

I'm not a doctor. I'm just some, guy...Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8!

You're never too old to grow up and change for the better and I try to be hopeful about these things.

I greatly envy your heart, and your optimism. I personally am a positive pessimist, so I do hope that you are right, and that I am very wrong.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

snip

wait, so Flynn isn't going to get in trouble for his comment, really? smh

 

[Mikeyfell]

What?
What kind of people call a good writer the cancer that's killing Bioware?

What's making more recent Bioware games suck is their focus on gameplay over story.
Dragon Age 2 anyone?
How 'bout that Mass Effect 3 demo?

Do you want more banal shit with action oriented gameplay or do you want something that might actually be worth experiencing?

 

[faeshadow]

All of this frustration, anger, misogyny, homophobia, and disrespect is stemming from a comment about mostly not liking video games? I find this entire situation psychologically fascinating. Anyone else think so?

It's fascinating on a psychological level, yes, but on a sociological level, I find it both terrifying and tragic.

 

[zerobudgetgamer]

Dunno how I never heard about this stuff before, but I hadn't, so at first, I, like many of the flamers, stared with my mouth agape at the things Hepler said.

And then I saw the "5 Years ago" proviso, and promptly put my torch back into the closet.

Now, honestly, if her opinion has gone completely unchanged in all those five years, then I have to say she's at least deserving of a small percentage of the hate directed at her, maybe about 2-4% of it, 5 at the absolute max. Seriously, claiming she hates violence, but works in an industry that sells it more than Music sells Sex seems mighty hypocritical of her, and claiming that Maps and Inventories make it difficult to play games...I seriously have to wonder what games she was playing. Her comments were very stupid, IMO bordering on the level that certain SOPA advocates were touting "proudly" during debates (the whole "I'm not a nerd" crap). However, if she can at least prove that SOME of those opinions have changed in the last five years, then I have no further beef with this woman and will wish her well with her career.

/twocents

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

 

[Phisi]

I am just confused? What is wrong with a game writer skipping to the interesting bits of story and dialogue. The are not game designers and the mechanics are not what the are responsible for. It's like people complaining when a sculptor goes to the art gallery and skips all the paintings. Yes they are an artist but they are studying their field of art and not all of them.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

I look at this thread and how most people are defending her then I cruise on over to the 'GIRL' initiative thread and how most people are complaining about women specifically being encouraged to get into the industry

and it makes me shake my head. How can you not see the connection...

I think its insulting to women to compare this lady to all women wanting to be in the field of video games. If anything, women like Amy Hennig, and Mary DeMarle are women that should be thought of. Not Miss Hepler .

 

[beniki]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

To be honest I think he's just over reacting due to forum blindness now. You know, that special tunnel vision you get when you spend too long in one thread, and are so flat out determined you're right that everyone else must be wrong.

Heck, he's being aggressive to people who agree with him because they don't agree strongly enough.

Just treat it like a raging hamster. Close the cage, and come back when it's hungry.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

To be honest I think he's just over reacting due to forum blindness now. You know, that special tunnel vision you get when you spend too long in one thread, and are so flat out determined you're right that everyone else must be wrong.

Heck, he's being aggressive to people who agree with him because they don't agree strongly enough.

Just treat it like a raging hamster. Close the cage, and come back when it's hungry.

I'm sorry but that is not acceptable, I come to this site expecting a fair amount of professionalism and for the most part, the Escapist staff have not disappointed. However, seeing how Mr. Chalk is engaging the thread for this article, I'm a little taken back by his conduct. It really is unbecoming of him to act so hostile, especially with his comments to SmashLovesTitanQuest. SmashLovesTitanQuest may be antagonizing Mr. Chalk, but as an contributor to the Escapist, it is a clear lack of professionalism on Mr. Chalk's part.

 

[MimeticLie]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

This. The relationship between Bioware and hardcore PC RPG fans has been contentious for awhile now, driven in large part by totally unprofessional conduct on the part of Bioware and its employees. Bioware's fans were dismayed by Dragon Age, a series that went back to the roots of Bioware RPGs, shifting to have consoles as the series' primary platform. How does Bioware respond to that concern? By stamping out any criticism (well articulated or otherwise) on their forums, to the point where writer Stanley Woo's "End of the Line" comment upon locking threads became a meme in its own right. Hepler's comment in particular is seen as an affront, but is not alone (the infamous "When you push a button, something awesome happens." comes to mind).

Fast forward to now. The anti-Hepler (really anti-Bioware) sentiment that has been stewing in the recesses of the internet for years (no, Escapist, Reddit is not the entire internet) gets revived. How does Hepler respond? With that wonderful stereotype that all gamers are virgins. And then Bioware's GM calls someone a "fucking moron". Great PR, guys.

The moral of the story is: if you don't acknowledge criticism, it doesn't go away. It stews and eventually becomes something vile. But once it gets to that point, don't stoop to that level. You will lose whatever moral high ground you once held. I find it hard to believe anyone is defending Hepler after her comments.

"I just figure they're jealous that I get to have both a vagina AND a games industry job, and they can't get either."

If someone outside the industry, or a man, made a comment like that, gamers and the gaming press alike would destroy them. Instead, everyone is tripping over each other to defend yet another Bioware employee giving the middle finger to their fans.

I'm done with Bioware. Count me out for Mass Effect 3. I can't support a company that shows such utter contempt for its customers.

 

[beniki]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

To be honest I think he's just over reacting due to forum blindness now. You know, that special tunnel vision you get when you spend too long in one thread, and are so flat out determined you're right that everyone else must be wrong.

Heck, he's being aggressive to people who agree with him because they don't agree strongly enough.

Just treat it like a raging hamster. Close the cage, and come back when it's hungry.

I'm sorry but that is not acceptable, I come to this site expecting a fair amount of professionalism and for the most part, the Escapist staff have not disappointed. However, seeing how Mr. Chalk is engaging the thread for this article, I'm a little taken back by his conduct. It really is unbecoming of him to act so hostile, especially with his comments to SmashLovesTitanQuest. SmashLovesTitanQuest may be antagonizing Mr. Chalk, but as an contributor to the Escapist, it is a clear lack of professionalism on Mr. Chalk's part.

We all fall prey to forum blindness at some point. Time for me to leave this thread... discussion value is pretty much all worn out.

*closes cage*

Wonder if I can some hamster food at the super market...

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

You're representing a business and if you're gonna throw a hissy fit like that as soon as someone insults you, you should be fired ASAP, especially if you're gonna start PR nightmares like Flynn did.

I disagree and fortunately, so does BioWare. Some people - like the people who started all this - deserve nothing more than a casual "fuck you" and perhaps a ban from whatever forum they've infested. "The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

At the risk of getting a warning, given your status, am I to assume that that attitude that you uphold is supported by the rest of the Escapist employees? I truly hope that is not the case, and that you/your company are more professional than that.

To be honest I think he's just over reacting due to forum blindness now. You know, that special tunnel vision you get when you spend too long in one thread, and are so flat out determined you're right that everyone else must be wrong.

Heck, he's being aggressive to people who agree with him because they don't agree strongly enough.

Just treat it like a raging hamster. Close the cage, and come back when it's hungry.

I'm sorry but that is not acceptable, I come to this site expecting a fair amount of professionalism and for the most part, the Escapist staff have not disappointed. However, seeing how Mr. Chalk is engaging the thread for this article, I'm a little taken back by his conduct. It really is unbecoming of him to act so hostile, especially with his comments to SmashLovesTitanQuest. SmashLovesTitanQuest may be antagonizing Mr. Chalk, but as an contributor to the Escapist, it is a clear lack of professionalism on Mr. Chalk's part.

We all fall prey to forum blindness at some point. Time for me to leave this thread... discussion value is pretty much all worn out.

*closes cage*

Wonder if I can some hamster food at the super market...

True, but as I mentioned before, there is a level of professionalism that Mr. Chalk is held up to as a staff member of this site, and from what I've just been reading, he is taking this far too personal.

 

[pwned123456]

as long as she doesnt so much as touch the main gameplay pevelopment and sticks to the story i guess im fine with it but saying you hate games is an outright stupid and absolutely terrible thing to do when you work for a game company

 

[chiefohara]

Having read the entire thread up to this point, i've come to one conclusion.

Im going to buy one of Hepler's books, i don't care whether its good or not, buying her book is the biggest FU i can give to all the mindless little scumbags who felt they had the right to harass her because they didn't like a fucking computer game.

Anyone else who is disgusted by this mindless drivel that people are spewing at her. Feel free to do the same thing.

Do you mindlessly buy products with Bobby Koticks seal on them as well? Or do you think he is nothing but 'mindless drivel'?

1) Bobby kotick is connected to this how? He is with activison, this thread is predominantly about EA and Bioware.

2) the only person getting a cut of the profits from her book is hepler and her publisher, bioware and EA have nothing to do with it.

3) thank you for posting, you have set yourself up as a particularly stupid example of the type of mindless drivel i am rebelling against.

4) The fact that you are petty enough to be annoyed with my purchase has only made me all the more pleased with it ;-)

 

[Swiftkillz]

Having read the entire thread up to this point, i've come to one conclusion.

Im going to buy one of Hepler's books, i don't care whether its good or not, buying her book is the biggest FU i can give to all the mindless little scumbags who felt they had the right to harass her because they didn't like a fucking computer game.

Anyone else who is disgusted by this mindless drivel that people are spewing at her. Feel free to do the same thing.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You accuse others of being mindless and then proceed to talk about how you will mindlessly purchase her book to stick it to some anons on the internet.

Yeah that is you.

 

[CoL0sS]

While I generally try to avoid these things, it was hard not to catch a whiff of intense, unjustified hatred aimed at this woman. And those entitled pricks get to be called gamers.
I don't really know (or care enough to check) what parts of Dragon Age she wrote (although I hear she's a terrible writer), or how idiotic her personal opinions are NOTHING gives you the right me verbally abuse someone. But It'd be naive to expect anything resembling civilized behavior or (god forbid) constructive criticism from fanboys and trolls. Internet needs someone new to hate every week.