Ashamed to be part of the gaming community some days (like today).

[The_Waspman]

*facepalm*

While, like a lot of people, I totally disagree with the level of hatred she's been getting (Cancer of the gaming industry? Pffft) I don't personally feel she's been helping her case by, well, responding in the same manner. Not on the internet, where everything gets blown out of proportion.

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of hers. Her opinions of what constitutes 'good literature' are not in line with mine (or, lets be honest, in line with a lot of people), and while I don't want to degenerate into fanboy snarking, I thought the changes she made to the characters in Dragon Age 2 were a big mistake. But I'm not going to focus all my ire on her for that. I have to save that ire for so many other things. Star Wars for example. or the popularity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Getting back to being (somewhat) serious for a minute, while I wasn't too disappointed with Dragon Age 2, I thought that making all of the 'romance' options uberhorny omnisexuals was stupid. Especially with Anders, who had already been established as a character. But y'know, I could deal with that. What I found lazy about the whole thing was how easy it was to get any of the companions in the sack. I'm not going to blame Hepler for this, because I don't know exactly how much influence she had in this regard, but considering that each of the character in DA:O had different criteria for success, stripping it out of the second one was, as I said, lazy.

I'm not sure Hepler is really in the right industry though. While I do a lot of writing myself, and I enjoy games, I doubt I'd be able to write one, especially an open option RPG. Its a different format to what I'm used to. If she isn't keen on gaming and wants to write her own Twilight rip-offs, then she should do that. It's not like its not a huge market right now...

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

"... and woke up one day to discover the entire Internet hated her...."

Hey, I wondered where all the NotW writers went.

Maybe a touch of perspective? Just a little?

 

[Signa]

I can't help but wonder how much of this is because of the "new" audience that EA and Bioware are wishing to attract to their games. Most gamers that care about games to be on a site like this are never going to be that dickish.

 

[RaffB]

BEST.....COMEBACK......EVER!!!!

Seriously though, don't see the point of all the hate. While I do agree that DA:2 blew ass, the story was not the worse thing about it by far, so I fail to see the point in blaming her.

And while this should go without saying, there is no need for the personal insults.

Still, the internet seems to be like this quite often.

To quote a smart man

Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total *Censored*...

 

[MammothBlade]

Some people are extremely disrespectful and unappreciative, no surprises there. I don't understand why they can't voice their criticism in a constructive and polite manner. I hope this doesn't negatively effect her career. She has done some good work and it would be a shame to have it undone by some low-life scumbag who clearly doesn't speak for the majority.

 

[Atmos Duality]

SomethingAwful put the reason people act like total twats online, in the opening line of AwfulFantasy:
"Just try to keep in mind, The Internet makes you stupid."

I don't hate her, I don't hate her work, and I don't find her to be in an enviable position to be working for EA via buyout (I can't imagine the workload she has to put up with for games she doesn't like; but employment is employment).

Honestly, give the woman a break.

 

[D0WNT0WN]

As far as I am concerned Hepler has no place in the industry, she does not care for videogames and this shows in her work. The main reasons she has a job at Bioware is nepotism thanks to her husband and without that link Bioware would not have hired a writer that specializes in homo-erotic fanfiction (See her published book MITH: Operation Smoking Jaguar). She wrote Zevran and Orzimmar which by consensus are the worst parts of the game.

In Dragon Age 2 she re-wrote Anders from a cheeky sociopath to a promiscuous, irrational child and her idea of skipping combat is laughable. If you dont want to play a game go and watch a movie, play a VN, read a book or watch somebody else play. Having an option that removes the gameplay from the game (*cough* Mass Effect 3 *cough*) is a fucking stupid idea and takes away the core idea of what a game is, it would be like watching a film but instead of watching you would be reading perpetual scrolling text.

I am not ashamed, if a figure responds to criticism with "I have a vagina and a job and you have neither" then they deserve all the hate they can.

Also to the people who think we hate her because she is female and you play the sexist card you are really fucking ignorant, we hate her because of the aforementioned reasons I stated. If Bobby Kotick had a twitter it would get bombed really fucking quick.

 

[ResonanceGames]

I don't have a ton of sympathy for her, to be honest. A little, sure, but not a ton.

She said it herself: she's working in the industry. And like any industry that caters to an internet-savvy crowd, it comes with its share criticism from anonymous idiots on messageboards. It requires thick skin; that's part of the job.

If your response to that kind of silly criticism is to be unprofessional and toss out nerd cliches like "you don't get any vagina," and "I'm in the industry and you're not, neener neener neener," then you lose me.

Also, I don't like the implication that she doesn't deserve any criticism for saying she doesn't play video games. Bioware has incredibly clunky and poorly-integrated narrative, and their games do feel like the writing is being done by someone who doesn't really understand or care about gameplay.

That said, if she's really the one responsible for the gay relationships in their games, I think she deserves a lot of credit for that. I love watching the entitled homophobes squirm when LBGT people start getting media representation. It really puts their bigotry in the spotlight. It also spices up what are usually really bland and generic Bioware stories.

Anyway, the overall cause -- which is that people should be nicer on the internet -- is all good and well, but as long as there is anonymity, there are going to be assholes. There's nothing wrong with calling them out, but do it professionally (and with the understanding that this is just a tiny number of idiots) and I'll be a lot more likely to empathize.

 

[Weaver]

Well, she totally doesn't deserve this flak at all. However, I disagree with the statement she made insulting traditional fantasy authors (Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin, etc.). I also disagree with her decision to make Anders bi-sexual for no reason.

NOTE: I fully believe the full spectrum of sexuality is fine. Me and a gay co-worker go to lunch every day. We play games after work (on occasion). I'm not against sexuality in any form. I just don't like retconning character traits (Anders was a womanizer in Awakening) for the sake of "equality". Just make a new character.

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

I hate her because her gay characters are whiny flat caricatures that wouldn't be out of place in some Dragon Age slash fiction.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I do not care if her response was not 'professional'. There are simply no excuses for the bullshit flung at Hepler. It's little wonder (however ill-advised) she retorted to the mob of self-entitled dipshits and trolls.

What in god's name causes people to regress into a pack of morons?

People are idiots is the only answer I can come up with. Also, I posted this in another thread about this topic:

So yes, the bile being vomited out against Jennifer Hepler is unwarranted and awful. She is an awesome writer.

I have just sent Ms. Hepler a message of support. I hope other Escapists will join me in doing the same. Ms. Hepler does not deserve this - we should show our support for her.

I also discussed that her ideas have all been good ones (we can skip dialogue, why not combat? - I wish I could skip combat in Xenosaga 2 to get to the awesome story, but I can't). She has given us great characters and has given us more choice and freedom in an RPG. Isn't making choices what RPGs are all about? Isn't more freedom in games a good thing?

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I hate her because her gay characters are whiny flat caricatures that wouldn't be out of place in some Dragon Age slash fiction.

What gay characters?

She writes gender-blind characters. I played a Fem-Hawke - Anders was just as whiny with me. That's the point - Anders in DA:2 is whiny, no matter if he's straight or gay. She isn't writing gay caricatures. She just wrote a whiny character.

Or, to put it another way, was Merrill a lesbian caricature? Cause she was (one of) my romantic interest(s) in DA:2.

I just don't like retconning character traits (Anders was a womanizer in Awakening) for the sake of "equality". Just make a new character.

He was a lot whinier in DA:2. Never really got why. However, he didn't suddenly "turn gay" because he isn't gay in DA:2. He's gender-blind.

If you want to be upset about Anders being a whiny jerk in DA:2 then fine, that's a legitimate character change that goes unexplained. I liked Anders in Awakenings, and I didn't like him in DA:2, and for me (playing FemHawke) his sexual preferences were identical.

So what I'm saying is, Anders isn't a bad gay character in DA:2, because he isn't gay. He's just a bad character, period.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

This story is a bit funny to me. Both sides are clearly in the wrong and are stupid to boot.

And I'm not ashamed of actions I had no involvement in.

 

[targren]

way i see it ,she acted like douchbag which in turned attracted the interwebz horde. alls fair.

So "the way you see it" is in the reverse order of what the narrative says actually happened? Brilliant.

 

[veloper]

The title above this topic is nonsensical. A couple trolls and flamers are not the whole gaming community, so there's nothing to be ashamed of.
This small time crap doesn't even make the news beyond gaming mags.

Also, Hepler does deserve criticism for many stupid things she does, only it should be done in a little more civilized manner, but this is the internet, so don't expect it.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Why would I be ashamed of something someone else has done. I don't agree with either side on this (people shouldn't have insulted hepler over nothing, GM shouldn't have trash talked customers)

But why does this have to reflect poorly on gamers in general? I didn't throw insults at anyone at bioware or even know who wrote these stories before today, why should I be ashamed of myself or allow FOX news to stereotype me as a basement dweller.

being a gamer isn't some club you join when you buy an xbox or playstation, If I tweet about how much twilight sucks and some kid cries over it would you blame the 'film community' as being immature? no you would blame me for being immature.

the reason I don't watch the VGA's or G4 is because I hate how people still think that a gamer is one type[/b] of person. just because you like to play games doesn't mean you behave or think a certain way.

completely agreed.

couldn't add much more to this, unless by some large phenomenon that literally you couldn't walk down the street without hearing hate about this woman, then i simply don't see why i, or the rest of the "gaming community" should take any flak for this.