BioWare Supports Beleaguered Writer

[Bat Vader]

This is somewhat unrelated, but can you imagine how much her requested feature would be abused by achievement whores

(and yes, that did come to mind because I am a little bit of an achievement whore)

I am sure they could add something in the game that stops people from getting achievements if they skip a portion of combat.

On Topic: I think Bioware is handling this pretty well. I am happy to see they are sticking by their employee.

 

[Pegghead]

Blegh, while I'm not gonna be spamming her email inbox with selections from my folder titled "BigsweatyGabeN" I will say that reading most of her responses in interviews leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Being more of a writer than a gamer is one thing. Wanting to touch upon truly relevant issues like homosexuality in games is a good thing. Wanting to fast-forward through gameplay in a fucking game, shoe-horning in gay romance to all people playing thorugh the final chapter of their beloved space adventure and trying to claim that DA2 was some kind of glorious work of art instead of a boring piece of shit is the sort of thing that's turned me off Bioware in recent years.

Still, as long as she isn't put in charge of Jade Empire 2 (which I'm sure would result in the game being set in a "realistic" portrayal of Ancient China, in one room, with 50% text, 50% homosex and 0% gameplay) I'm happy.

 

[Kingjackl]

All I have to say is good on Bioware for sticking up for one of their writers. In all fairness, the complaints levelled against Hepler were bullshit anyway. Who says game writers have to enjoy playing games? So long as she does a good job and gets payed for her work, then it really shouldn't matter.

 

[TimeLord]

"The customer is always right" is a lie; sometimes the customer is a piece of shit and needs to be told about it.

Unfortunately while that's valid on the Internet where customers don't get to speak face to face with actual humans that represent the games industry and thus spout things they'd never say to a persons face, it's not in real life.
I have a full time job in retailing and I have to deal with rude, arrogant, idiotic customers sometimes. But I'm not allowed to tell them they are a piece of shit for shouting in my face about something I know they are wrong about and calling me stupid, despite their insistance that they are right. Because then I'd get fired for it.

True the same thing could happen on the Internet, that marketing guy for the controller thingy that had his e-mails spread over Penny Arcade is a good example of how people can act on the Internet because people think that the internet allows people to insult people over a vast distance without punishment. BioWare is a good example of how people should act in real life and on the Internet. Politely tell the customer that they are being silly and support their beleaguered writer like a manager in retailing should support the lower ranked staff members when dealing with customers.

I'm not sure really what my point was, I kind of lost my train of thought.
Oh yeah, BioWare could have taken a leaf from your book Andy and called the people who attacked Hepler a bunch of idiots and stuck their fingers in their ears going "lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal". But they chose the higher ground and I respect them for that.
Basically, yay BioWare for being the good guys and standing with their writer.

 

[Knight Templar]

They call this bullying? *facepalm* Fucking really? I understand and support Bioware's decision even though I don't understand - can she not get a writing job somewhere else? I don't even. But insulting (over the internet even) someone is not bullying, dammit. Have you been bullied before? Cry me a river.

I have been the victim of bullying and I am also sure this harassment should count as bullying. This is the least of the hate I have seen directed her way.
Fake porn is the worst, would somebody creating fake porn of you, with a caption mocking your weight sent to your email or PM box be considered bullying?

 

[Radelaide]

Agree or disagree with that she said, the fact that there is so much vile, disgusting language being thrown her way is entirely unacceptable. There is no reason why she should be called a cancer, ****, etc.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Wait so the writer wants to play a game with more cutscenes then gameplay? Why doesn't she just watch the FFX movie?

Lol that's exactly what I said. Except now i see why DA2 was like a three hour long terrible movie.

 

[madster11]

Wait, why are dickheads complaining about a story writer not caring they're writing for video games?
This is a good thing you twits, it means you aren't getting stupid, cliched crappy story lines with sequences specifically made to be 'cool' (See: GoW, CoD, Battlefield, etc etc)

"BioWare Edmonton General Manager Aaryn Flynn was driven to publicly refer to at least one commenter as a 'fucking moron'. "
The world needs more of this. Piss that political and polite bullshit off, if i'm being a dickhead i expect someone to call me a dickhead. This dude responded well.

"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."
AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Fucking GOLD.

 

[ThoughtlessConcept]

There are probably many things killing gaming these days, but this nice woman who presumably does the writing for some of my favorite games, is not one of them.

 

[StarCecil]

I heard about her new book, how piss poor it is, plus she wrote some really bad parts of DA:O and I just have to say this, the fact that they are adding male homosexuality in the last installment of Shepard's story seems very off if you ask me.

All the same, saw the title of this article, had to grab this.

Wow, there were so many things wrong with that sentence. A series that started off by advertising lesbian sex and it's a bad move that they appeal to women who like guy on guy action...the Hell?

OT: The guy is getting flamed like Hell...I don't really feel sorry for him.

do you people even read? I said MALE.

Did you read my post? I flat out stated that ME started by advertising lesbian sex, and now they're appealing to women by adding guy on guy action. (Yes girls like that, it's what girl on girl is to us)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YaoiFangirl

Check the real life folder.

So what are you trying to say? Girl on girl is fine in ME but guy on guy is going too far? Word that in a way that actually makes sense please.

What im saying is that has been in there sense game one, and im fine with that, but Male Shepard has had no homosexual options for the first two games, it feels shoehorned in.

Really? Funny, I seem to recall that romancing Tali with a Femshep was impossible in the second game but now is possible in the first game. So is that shoehorned in? And can you remind me why adding things to a game is bad? Do you just want something to stay the same forever? Also it was aliens only, which was cheating.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DiscountLesbians

By the way, you do know that it was originally going to be possible to romance Kaiden and Ashley in the first game right?

I think the point he was making was that from a storytelling perspective it feels rather awkward and forced for a male Shepard to be able to declare himself gay only after there have already been two games without a homosexual male option. Nothing against homosexual males, but it does seem forced and is quite obviously a meek attempt to appeal to fans who were upset at the lack of gay male options. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but the first two games in the series were devoid of anything that could hint at Shepard being gay (and the developers were actually somewhat insistent on that point).

So it seems like more: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SuddenlySexuality As opposed to real, good storytelling or a more natural flow to such characterization. Especially since there was absolutely no reference to a male Shepard being gay at all. At all.

 

[Little2Raph]

You seem to have missed the part where she fanned the flames by retorting to her detractors. Honestly, this is a situation where I just hate everyone involved. Responding to torrents of bile with the phrase "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." is just asking for trouble.

Haha. That quote is made of pure awesome. I refuse to go and read this stuff having more stimulating things to do like scraping my callouses, so thanks for bringing that wee gem over here. Best laugh of the week.

That is comedy gold - funniest thing I've read in ages. And since when is standing up for yourself "fanning the flames". There was a thread here a couple of weeks ago titled something like "Bullies Are People Too" and the amount of pure vitriol being spewed out by people who'd been affected by bullies in their lives was just unbelievable, and yet many of the same kinds of people turn around and treat someone like this? It's just absolutely fucking disgusting.

 

[ThoughtlessConcept]

I think as soon as someone said, "homosexuality is a new OPTION" the discussion should have been over. I don't think it matters whether or not it was in previous games or if it offends anyone. It's like domino's added truffle to there list of toppings and everyone who hates expensive mushrooms shows up with pitch forks and torches.

 

[Busard]

snippity

Not a great writer != "WHY HAVEN'T YOU KILLED YOURSELF YOU ****"

Except on the internet, apparently.

I'm not saying that. Like I said, i'm not supporting the bullies in the story. Just trying to put things in perspective since both sides here are missing a bit of the whole picture.

Truth is, I'm supporting neither side so I'm gonna back off the whole ordeal because I don't think I can bring much

 

[Druyn]

This is one of those times where I just don't see the issue. You want gaming to be taken seriously? You want people to look at them and see them as a legitimate form of art or entertainment? You will need talented writers. It doesn't matter if she likes to play or not, she's isn't getting paid to play, and she doesn't even test anything. She just writes. And even counting the storyboard setting stuff, Bioware still has some of the best writing in the industry. Whether or not she actually likes to play should not be an issue when it has nothing to do with her doing her job or her affect on the game.

 

[Tom Artingstall]

Speaking as a writer -and- a gamer... I feel ashamed for the internet. She wrote some damn fine stories that I would have gladly paid for in novel form, and we were lucky enough to play them interactively. I think it can't be coincidence that this person works for BioWare, known for some of the best story driven experiences in gaming. Long and short, these people like games. These people like BioWare for their largely story-based games. But they despise the person who puts the -story- into the game?

What would Mass Effect games be without these stories?

Dead Space.

'Nuff said.

 

[beniki]

Hmm... well the debate is already into the quote stacks stage, so I'm sure this will be ignored. But I thought that peoples beef with her was that she didn't like video games, and yet wrote stories for them.

I think this might be a problem, and lead to a disconnect between plot lines and mechanics... which you could certainly feel in Dragon Age. I have to admit I wasn't at all invested in the combat, and I can only attribute that to it being too heavily game orientated. You could easily see what combat puzzles the devs wanted you to work through, and the puzzles didn't have relevance to the story... beyond kill these guys to get to the next part.

I kind of think a game writer needs to be involved in the level design as well... and to be interested in how the game plays as a whole, so they can tailor their plot lines accordingly. A story about beating the odds would have hordes of low level guys, and a desperate struggle might only feature one or two heavy hitting mobs.

So I think she probably is in the wrong business, or at least the wrong company. Maybe a turn based JRPG would suit her better, or dating sims.

That said, she certainly doesn't deserve a hate campaign, since really it's the fault of the person who hired her not being discriminating enough with their staff.

And I can see a gay Shepard being okay, since, lets face it, the romance in Mass Effect was disconnected from the game play too. So basically, it doesn't really matter at all.

 

[sifffffff]

The gaming community ladies and gentlemen. Yep. You guys really deserve the very best a gaming company has to offer. After such a classy classy display.

You want to know who the real cancer of Bioware right now is? It's 'fans' like you. Self-entitled 'fans' with nothing better to do but cry about 'back-in-the-day'.

Boom nailed it. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Certainly not defending the commenters, but I think software devs need thicker skin, too. Internet trolling comes with the territory. This showy "anti-bullying" crap is a bit eyerolling, IMO.

Love Mass Effect series so at the end of the day, whatevs.

I quoted this not as a shot at the poster of it but because it nicely sums up a theme in many of the responses to this thread. That "trolling" just comes with the internet. My opinion is that why should we just accept this bullshit? It's a cop out to just say "well that's the way it is."

In my opinion much more should be done about internet trolls. They're not always harmless.

This incident is just another one in a long line of incidents. As a avid supporter of the gaming community I hate that I have to be lumped in with these dipshits.

 

[KingHodor]

Does Hepler deserve this kind of hate campaign? Obviously not.
Do you need to be a gamer to be a good writer for a game? Not really.

That said... the lady isn't a exactly the greatest writer, IMO. Her crowning moment in writing (the part with Hespith and the Broodmother) worked so well precisely because at the point you encountered her, the player felt just as bruised and battered emotionally as the character because they had to spend hours upon hours fighting their way through the seemingly endless Deep Roads.

It's a shame that this discussion is tainted by so much vitriol right now, though.
Yeah, hours of horrible whiny clingy gay Anders completely outweigh a few minutes of sublimely creepy Hespith awesomeness, but maybe she did manage to overcome her Yaoi Fangirl Fantasies and write a decent homosexual character for Mass Effect 3. Well, I may never know, thanks to Origin and EA... the latter being, of course, the far biggest tumor in Biowares pancreas.

 

[sifffffff]

but maybe she did manage to overcome her Yaoi Fangirl Fantasies and write a decent homosexual character for Mass Effect 3. Well, I may never know, thanks to Origin and EA... the latter being, of course, the far biggest tumor in Biowares pancreas.

As has been mentioned in both the original article and several times in this thread she is in no way involved in Mass Effect 3.