Tracer #Buttgate - Shots fired by professional cosplayer at Heroes Championships

[hermes]

WHAT? What about this pose has anything to do with the character you're building in tracer? It's not fun, its not silly, it has nothing to do with being a fast elite killer. It just reduces tracer to another bland female sex symbol.

We aren't looking at a widowmaker pose here, this isn't a character who is in part defined by flaunting her sexuality. This pose says to the player base, oh we've got all these cool diverse characters, but at any moment we are willing to reduce them to sex symbols to help boost our investment game.

This is an argument that sexualization is reductive to a woman character.

Actually, it does looks like an argument about the pose not fitting a particular character's personality. In fact, it points out later that there is no problem with the same pose being used by another character because being flirty is part of Widowmaker's personality.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

Actually, it does looks like an argument about the pose not fitting a particular character's personality.

Which begs the question precisely which character traits does one supposedly sexualized pose contradict, and how precisely does said sexualization "reduce Tracer to just another sex symbol"? That's the plain-text of the original complaint against which you're arguing, there.

The more I read these arguments, the more I'm reminded of "the Civil War was really about states' rights!" arguments. Yeah, which states' right was in question again?

 

[happyninja42]

WHAT? What about this pose has anything to do with the character you're building in tracer? It's not fun, its not silly, it has nothing to do with being a fast elite killer. It just reduces tracer to another bland female sex symbol.

We aren't looking at a widowmaker pose here, this isn't a character who is in part defined by flaunting her sexuality. This pose says to the player base, oh we've got all these cool diverse characters, but at any moment we are willing to reduce them to sex symbols to help boost our investment game.

This is an argument that sexualization is reductive to a woman character.

Actually, it does looks like an argument about the pose not fitting a particular character's personality. In fact, it points out later that there is no problem with the same pose being used by another character because being flirty is part of Widowmaker's personality.

That's still a personal opinion that Tracer isn't flirty. There are different forms of flirtation. Not all of them are Smoldering Temptress like Widowmaker. Considering Tracer is so fast, and thus usually ahead of people, I saw it more of her telling them "kiss my ass" right before she runs away, leaving them in her dust.

Regardless though, you can have a chipper, perky, fun loving person, who is also flirty right next to a seductive, manipulative, temptress, who is also flirty. They aren't mutually exclusive

 

[hermes]

WHAT? What about this pose has anything to do with the character you're building in tracer? It's not fun, its not silly, it has nothing to do with being a fast elite killer. It just reduces tracer to another bland female sex symbol.

We aren't looking at a widowmaker pose here, this isn't a character who is in part defined by flaunting her sexuality. This pose says to the player base, oh we've got all these cool diverse characters, but at any moment we are willing to reduce them to sex symbols to help boost our investment game.

This is an argument that sexualization is reductive to a woman character.

Actually, it does looks like an argument about the pose not fitting a particular character's personality. In fact, it points out later that there is no problem with the same pose being used by another character because being flirty is part of Widowmaker's personality.

That's still a personal opinion that Tracer isn't flirty. There are different forms of flirtation. Not all of them are Smoldering Temptress like Widowmaker. Considering Tracer is so fast, and thus usually ahead of people, I saw it more of her telling them "kiss my ass" right before she runs away, leaving them in her dust.

Regardless though, you can have a chipper, perky, fun loving person, who is also flirty right next to a seductive, manipulative, temptress, who is also flirty. They aren't mutually exclusive

True, true. Unless the creators of the game explicitly said it one way or another, you are making the same thing the original post creator has, namely, you are reading into what you have (character design, voice, mannerism, etc) to fill the gaps and create a personality for Tracer. Your reading of her as fun loving and flirty is as valid as Flipps' reading of her as not flirty, at which point it is reduced to Alternative Character Interpretation [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlternativeCharacterInterpretation].

Unfortunately, the creators have spoken and decree that Tracer is not flirty...

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

They won. Blizzard capitulated as much as possible.

Considering that Tracer's butt looks more curvaceous than before, i don't really see that as capitulation. And who won? People demanding more playful, in-character pose, cause that got delivered? People that didn't want the pose to be less sexy, cause now, imo, it's even more of an eye-candy. Blizzard, cause they got free publicity for their new IP for last couple of days? Everybody wins?

They came up with this pose in a desperate last ditch effort in the last week to save their new flagship title.

Okay, 1)Save? That implies Overwatch is somehow being in decline now? Explain how. 2)Do you really believe a shistorm in a teacup like this would significantly affect playerbase?

 

[GestaltEsper]

Maybe I'm just weird like that, but what was the issue with the old pose? It was called "Over the Shoulder," and she looks...over her shoulder. Honestly all the leg raise does is make me wanna have her hold that pose to see if she falls over or gets sore.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

Unfortunately, the creators have spoken and decree that Tracer is not flirty...

By adding a butt pose that mirrors a vintage pin-up poster. Nothing flirty there at all.

 

[Erttheking]

They won. Blizzard capitulated as much as possible.

I keep seeing this as both sides winning, but if you want to say that "they" won, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Your words, not mine.

 

[Schadrach]

If you can call 1 guy being very polite "small screaming group", then yes - that's exactly what happened.

Yep, one guy made a single forum post, then Blizzard responded saying that was a good idea that hadn't been mentioned outside that single forum post and they were going to do that. [font color=pink]That's exactly how it happened.[/font]

Buttgate?

...

I give up. I'm done. I'm hanging up the hat. It's self satire at this point. There's really nowhere to go after this.

Really? There are some people referring to the controversy around the new BG expansion (one side claims shitty writing done mostly as social justice virtue signalling, the other claims that not liking the game's writing is transphobia) as Baldur's GateGate. That might be the bottom of that particular barrel, unless there starts a controversy around the anime "GATE."

Well we've seen plenty of outrage over developers not including the sufficient required amount of People of colour or the required amount of female playable characters or the required number of LGBTQ+ characters.

Yep, but those outrages are OK, because being outraged over those things is an expression of righteous socially just anger!

I mean there's a present campaign to pull sponsors from the show The 100 because they dared to have a Lesbian character be one of the ones they killed off.

Attacking a businesses by going to their advertisers?!?!? I thought that was the most evil of all attacks, a dire form of soggy-kneed horse mints used by the only the most evil of people online, like #GamerGate...

Even with some of the sites claiming how with Overwatch she should support artists choices then also rallying about how this shouldn't be acceptable.

I always find it interesting how they'll talk about "private business decisions", "artistic choice", and "localization" (when appropriate) when it's removing content that offends them, but none of those apply when it's removing content they like or including content they don't. It's like it's all about demanding content fall in line with their preferences or something.

I'm actually more surprised there wasn't more hate over killing off Denise on the Walking Dead for the same reason.

I'm sure those who think they're protecting the children or as one Gamespot journalist thought of removing the Tracer butt pose "Actually stopping people getting raped" by doing so think they're doing good and being the good guys.

It amazes me that people doing this shit now don't realize how similar to all the far right nuts of the past they really are. Just replace "think of the children" with "think of the women" and "rock music and D&D cause devil worship" with "vidya actually causes people to be raped and/or murdered." It's really not that far off, and somehow they can't see it.

Politics is a hell of a drug, or as Elizier Yudkowsky thinks of it, a mindkiller that prevents people from thinking rationally.

 

[DoPo]

If you can call 1 guy being very polite "small screaming group", then yes - that's exactly what happened.

Yep, one guy made a single forum post, then Blizzard responded saying that was a good idea that hadn't been mentioned outside that single forum post and they were going to do that. [font color=pink]That's exactly how it happened.[/font]

Sorry, I forget - it was a false flag operation, instigated by Blizzard that was aimed to hide their e-e-e-evil es-jay-dubya tendencies by manifacturing a post in their forums. Their plan went as far as to NOT state the posters gender expecting people would assume they were female, thus actually making it a bit of a double false flag operation if you delve under the hood. Pretty clever, in fact.

From what I've seen, by far the MOST vocal group was of people decrying Blizzards decision - either because they "caved in for the Censorship" (capital C) or not because of the changing of the pose but because Blizzard "mishandled it" by...I dunno, caving in or something. Frankly, the latter makes no real sense but whatever. Those two - the "anti-removal" people are the most vocal.

Blizzard have repeatedly ignored and stalled actual gameplay/balance change requests from players for months or even years. Based on their history, this new move of making a change over a really minor "complaint" by comparison AND making it so fast (less than a YEAR) kind of suggests, to me at least, that them being "pressured" isn't really, like, a thing. Again, let's recall that Blizzard is the company that has ran on Valve-time since before it was named Valve-time. As a minor side note, I don't really understand why it was named after Valve, given that it's been Blizzard's bread and butter since forever.

 

[Falling_v1legacy]

2)Do you really believe a shistorm in a teacup like this would significantly affect playerbase?

Dunno. For myself, before and during the controversy I was planning to buy the game. Aaaaand I am still planning on buying the game.

 

[Yuuki]

Remember guys, this shitstorm had little to do with Tracer's pose. It was caused by Jeff Kaplan's response to the complaint:

"We'll replace the pose. We want everyone to feel strong and heroic in our community. The last thing we want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented.
Apologies and we'll continue to try to do better."

That response is what made the internet explode. The complaint could've been about anything equally petty/stupid. E.g. someone had said "Torbjorn's beard is making me uncomfortable because patriarchy" and Jeff responded with "we will remove Torbjorn's beard, we don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, our sincerest apologies", you bet the internet would've exploded just as badly. And no, it wouldn't help if Jeff came in the next day saying "hey our art team was totally planning to do this anyway guys, honest".

 

[DoPo]

you wouldn't find her doing that pose if she was a male character?

Well, some of the male characters do use that pose.

 

[wulf3n]

Am I a bad person to think it was true that Tracer's old pose was sexist and that you wouldn't find her doing that pose if she was a male character?

Am I a bad person to think this new pose is even more sexualized and offends me even more?

Am I a SJW?

For being offended? no.

It's what one does in response to being offended that determines whether or not they are a "bad" person. Though bad is still a pretty strong word in this context. Disliked is probably a better term.

 

[DoPo]

you wouldn't find her doing that pose if she was a male character?

Well, some of the male characters do use that pose.

But do they also wear skin-tight outfit that pretty much looks like the butt is naked?

I don't think so - I just remember this being brought up before. I think one has a cape or something covering his behind, don't know about the others.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Am I a bad person to think it was true that Tracer's old pose was sexist and that you wouldn't find her doing that pose if she was a male character?

Am I a bad person to think this new pose is even more sexualized and offends me even more?

Am I a SJW?

Tracer's old pose is/was shared by several other characters including Hanzo (male), McCree (male) and Widowmaker. I believe Soldier 76 also had a variation.

Hanzo is a very attractive and very shirtless archer.

McCree is very rugged, cowboy-style gunslinger with cowboy chaps/leather pants on.

Widowmaker is Widowmaker.

Soldier 76 wears standard combat-styled pants and a leather jacket, so I guess he doesn't count.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Wait? She was sack for doing the new pose??? When I read the title, I thought it was the original poses?