You know what makes me angry about your post? You're basically advocating the silencing of legitimate complaints of developers because you're afraid of how they'll feel about it. Seriously, are you trying to tell me I don't have a right to express the fact that his words offended me because you're fucking scared their feelings will be hurt, and that they'll hole up and never talk to us again?Frybird said:
You said it yourself they used a stereotype. Stereotypes are offensive, and he deserves to get called on for it. If KFC had some sort of press conference and their speaker made some sort of joke about chicken and a certain stereotype about black people, people would get mad at them about it, and for good reason. But you're sitting here saying "Oh, no! KFC hardly ever has press conferences! You can't complain about what they said because they might never speak to us again!"
Bullshit. I understand the gaming community has a terrible habit of making something of nothing, and it happens from both the male and female side. But I feel this is a legitimate complaint--and no, that doesn't always happen. Hell, I didn't mind what the dev of the new Tomb Raider game said about "wanting to protect her" (because in the full context of the article, I realized he was not referring to protecting her in the sense of protecting her because she's a female, but protecting her in the sense of wanting to see her through to the end and actually caring about what happens to her in-game). But this comment? No. Whether consciously or unconsciously, he gave a big middle finger to every female who plays games, and he needs to address what he said for the stereotype it is. It doesn't matter if he intended to insult anyone or not, the fact is he did, and when communicating in a public forum you have to take responsibility. That is the nature of public speaking.
Again, I realize the gaming community is probably causing developers to avoid these sorts of interviews and press conferences. But that certainly doesn't mean everybody with legitimate complaints should shut up, because even if we do that's certainly not going to stop any of the illegitimate complaints. So then rather than them getting both legitimate and illegitimate dissent, all they ever get is illegitimate dissent, and they have no reason to be careful about anything they say ever again.
Oh, and before you ask "But if you know he didn't mean to insult you, why do you want an apology from him?" I'll tell you why. It's because then I would know that he knows this isn't the 1990s anymore, and that females are a present and active force in the market and the sort of shit that might slide in his little development group is not going to slide with us.
Oh, and some alternatives which have been used MUCH more often than "girlfriend mode" when describing such game modes: Easy mode, beginner mode, relaxation mode, zen mode, novice. I could go on, but I think you get the point. "Girlfriend mode" was not the most accurate or the most prevalent term for the mode, and clearly a bit of slang he likes to use around the office and let slide during the interview.
