Mike Morhaime replies to open letter over diversity in Blizzard games.

[helmaroc]

Fel, I hate splatter paintings, I think they're insanely lazy. But are they art? Yeah,
damn right they are.

Yep I hate em too but that doesn't diminish their value to other people. I won't laugh or judge them for liking them. Perspective and subjectivity.

[Dreknar20]

There's lots of diverse characters in their games they just don't utilize more than a handful of characters at a time which makes almost all their characters feel really weak and absent from the game's reality and the ones they do use gets their character motivations pinballed around like crazy.

Whelp I stand by that WoW just has waaaaay to many people in its cast of characters and too little content to go around

[AeneasBK]

While I agree that the main driving forces need to be moved about a bit, the reason
they only use a few at a time is... well, frankly writing for 50+ powerful characters in
a single story isn't easy or conducive to a good narrative.

You end up with Wheel of Time style stagnation where story progress is so broad it never gets a chance to go anywhere...

[prwraith]

Indeed, end of discussion.

WoW is not art. You can have your own views and opinions on that and go call your McChicken an artwork, but I won't agree with it. And that is all that needs to be said.

You make me lol

That high horse is gonna tip over some day.

[Zoaric]

Yep I hate em too but that doesn't diminish their value to other people. I won't laugh or judge them for liking them. Perspective and subjectivity.

I actually had to do a research paper on them for an art class... that was torture.

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You end up with Wheel of Time style stagnation where story progress is so broad it never gets a chance to go anywhere...

I know WoT is a game, but the reference is lost on me as I've never played it. Care to
elaborate?

[Willias]

You are forcing people to change their view, the very act of which is hippocritical of the argument you are trying to support and garner support for.

you want people to view the world YOUR way, and then bicker When people refuse to do so. You cannot change people's minds for the sake of changing them, people must come to change their views on their own, video games and the industry in general are no exception to this rule.

it's called indoctrination, which is exactly what you wish to foster here, and no person of reason will ever support it.

Jeez man, quit trying to indoctrinate him into your line of thinking!

People have different opinions on things and constantly try to convince others to see the same way they do. It's a basic part of human interaction.

[Tastyfish]

Because whether the Dwarves head you just chopped off fucks dudes or not is totally gonna change things.............

It does not matter at all but you are mentioning like combat when I am more about flavor text.
There is a lot of flavor text, a lot of story in wow, and most of it is the same. Breaking that up a little isn't too bad. Maybe cause the subject matter is unattractive but opening the door for different story makes things more exciting or can.
It's like when Lor left silvermoon and actually started acting like a serious leader, that was an exciting change that was heralded by a lot of player QQ. Remember the jokes about, "who is that guy"

[Dreknar20]

Either way it's still dumb that all main human characters share the same skin color.

It about as dumb as complaining too many people in China for being Asian or too many people in Somalia for being black

[AeneasBK]

I know WoT is a game, but the reference is lost on me as I've never played it. Care to
elaborate?

It's a series of books (14 of them) all 600+ pages long or so, involving an epic fantasy world. The first 3 books are awesome (they all are tbh imo) but at the start of the fourth books some of the main characters head seperate ways, more secondary characters have been introduced (and aren't dead yet) and so the book has to split its focus several ways. THe result is by the end of the book, much less time has passed, the same amount of "action" but spread over a much larger area; I think book 7 or something covers about 2 or 3 days of "in world" time. The pace increases again by the end but there are definately moments in the middle of the series where you are tempted to "skip this bit" and get back to a plot-line you're more intrigued by. Makes for great re-reading though as a result.

But yeah if they gave equal attention to all the B-list WoW characters we'd have enough time for them to say "This is Moira, she's the head of the Dark Iron Dwar_ and this is Thassarian he's like a Death Knight leader or some shi_ and this is ... etc. etc."

[Willias]

It about as dumb as complaining too many people in China for being Asian or too many people in Somalia for being black

All humans in the Eastern Kingdoms are white? I had no idea.

[Not Againnn]

typical blizzard email "WE KNOW AND WE WILL TRY BUT NO PROMISES"

lame. whats so hard about saying sorry and working harder. no need to defend your position over the topic when you are bleeding subs and this guy wrote a novel to explain it.

[Kakokun]

While I agree that the main driving forces need to be moved about a bit, the reason
they only use a few at a time is... well, frankly writing for 50+ powerful characters in
a single story isn't easy or conducive to a good narrative.

Well they don't have to use all their characters at all times but focusing on a bit more than just the same old faction leaders (and then ignoring most of them) would be a start. They could also make some of the NPCs in the quests play a bigger role in the expansion. If they're making a new character there's nothing stopping them from making it a female character or a different colored one, most people wouldn't really notice, and unless they're actively highlighting what that person is it wouldn't really be forced either.

I find it funny how people in this thread post like adding diversity to your game somehow makes the story less fluid or harder to write and that it takes away something if a character is something else than a white male.

[Zoaric]

It's a series of books (14 of them) all 600+ pages long or so, involving an epic fantasy world. The first 3 books are awesome (they all are tbh imo) but at the start of the fourth books some of the main characters head seperate ways, more secondary characters have been introduced (and aren't dead yet) and so the book has to split its focus several ways. THe result is by the end of the book, much less time has passed, the same amount of "action" but spread over a much larger area; I think book 7 or something covers about 2 or 3 days of "in world" time. The pace increases again by the end but there are definately moments in the middle of the series where you are tempted to "skip this bit" and get back to a plot-line you're more intrigued by. Makes for great re-reading though as a result.

But yeah if they gace equal attention to all the B-list WoW characters we'd have enough time for them to say "This is Moira, she's the head of the Dark Iron Dwar_ and this is Thassarian he's like a Death Knight leader or some shi_ and this is ... etc. etc."

Huh, may have to check those out then. Currently debating on if I should start
Diskworld stuff or Lovecraft stuff.

Exactly. Though, It'd be hilarious to see the Iron Horde against all of Azeroth's best.
That battle might last 5 minutes, tops.

[Deleted]

All humans in the Eastern Kingdoms are white? I had no idea.

Afaik the only humans not white are either from Kul'tiras or Tanaris, and even then they would only be considered tanned by our standards.

[Zoaric]

Well they don't have to use all their characters at all times but focusing on a bit more than just the same old faction leaders (and then ignoring most of them) would be a start. They could also make some of the NPCs in the quests play a bigger role in the expansion. If they're making a new character there's nothing stopping them from making it a female character or a different colored one, most people wouldn't really notice, and unless they're actively highlighting what that person is it wouldn't really be forced either.

I find it funny how people in this thread post like adding diversity to your game somehow makes the story less fluid or harder to write and that it takes away something if a character is something else than a white male.

As I said, yeah, they should rotate the main cast more than they do.

And Yrel is certainly a start for new characters.

[Tastyfish]

You are forcing people to change their view, the very act of which is hippocritical of the argument you are trying to support and garner support for.

you want people to view the world YOUR way, and then bicker When people refuse to do so. You cannot change people's minds for the sake of changing them, people must come to change their views on their own, video games and the industry in general are no exception to this rule.

it's called indoctrination, which is exactly what you wish to foster here, and no person of reason will ever support it.

Here I thought having a female melee fighter or a female druid as a bear was a better representation of the strong Azerothian women, not some subersive plot to bend the whole of the games minds to my will.
Wowzers.

Ya sure you aren't just reacting that way cause I stated I was gay, ergo there must be some kind of agenda? LOL Cause buddy ya prob need to learn what subtext is to see why that is funny.

What is this view we are talking about here? Personally I think there is room for everything, a validity for it all. Im not sitting here accusing them of writing jainia to indocternate me into dating a desperate passive aggressive wacko woman. Simply, maybe they should stop making so many of their women desperate, passive aggressive, and wako. lol
It's actually pretty unreasonable to expect everything to just go one way, rite? lol

[Dreknar20]

All humans in the Eastern Kingdoms are white? I had no idea.

Was this never obvious?
Have you seen the Eastern Kingdoms? Its like a replica of Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

[Tastyfish]

All humans in the Eastern Kingdoms are white? I had no idea.

Here I thought I had the only black Pally in the game, ha.

[Willias]

Afaik the only humans not white are either from Kul'tiras or Tanaris, and even then they would only be considered tanned by our standards.

Look around Stormwind a little more closely. While the number of facial options in WoW is limited, I'm pretty sure you can pick some dark skin tones. I'm pretty sure there are black people in Stormwind. Just none of them actually matter any.

Here I thought I had the only black Pally in the game, ha.

I was disappointed that the crusader in Diablo 3 was a white guy considering the paladin from Diablo 2.

[Not Againnn]

Look around Stormwind a little more closely. While the number of facial options in WoW is limited, I'm pretty sure you can pick some dark skin tones. I'm pretty sure there are black people in Stormwind. Just none of them actually matter any.

nope. there are none LOL. nobody