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The Chinese Room accuses CD Projekt Red of making sexist games

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I love how when company accounts make sly jabs at MLG pros, rival game companies, introduce Gunnery Sergeant Baldwhites McBuzzkill as the protag of Space Raiders 4, etc. it's "wow getrekt 420 quickscope" and a good time is had by all, but the second a company injects """politics""" into the situation people try and place everything under an electron microscope to make sure that they keep their SJW agendas out of muh gaming.

Yeah because there's a place and time for that.

Literally comparing a non serious situation with a serious situation. That's the definition of a illogical fallacy.
 
Yeah, that's not what I said at all but you just keep on building your strawmen army

He wasn't saying that is what you were saying. He was stating that, despite company accounts targeting a bunch before it, it was this particular statement on a social subject that generates controversy.
 
Your using the ideological lens of identity politics which is flawed. What you define as gratuitous sexual violence is sexist doesn't mean the creators of the show tended it to be so.

I have no interest in debating with someone who is using the progressive stack on oppression to define whats sexist and whats not.
Adding brand new scenes to depict sexual violence against women or altering scenes from the book to turn "regular" sex into rape is not sexist?
 

DNAbro

Member
I love how when company accounts make sly jabs at MLG pros, rival game companies, introduce Gunnery Sergeant Baldwhites McBuzzkill as the protag of Space Raiders 4, etc. it's "wow getrekt 420 quickscope" and a good time is had by all, but the second a company injects """politics""" into the situation people try and place everything under an electron microscope to make sure that they keep their SJW agendas out of muh gaming.

mmhmm
 

Vic20

Member
Its going to be a rough couple of years until the collective community of the internet decides what "We" thin about everything. Until then, its shock theater, with cheering and jeering crowds, yipeeee!
 

Vaga

Member
Come on guys, it is sexist. It doesn't mean the game will not be good and I love The Witcher 3 but let's face it, there's a lot of male gaze in these games. And I know, we see Geralt naked too but it's not the same, Yen and Triss are well-written but a part of their personality revolve around their sex-appeal. Don't be so defensive about this.

So what if it's sexist? Are you offended that easily? What is wrong with being offended?
 
How I imagine a few people in this thread
maxresdefault.jpg

Seriously, guys, calm down. What does it even matter...
 
throwing in positive representation is not what you want

what

i mean, this one isn't even taken out of context

like, what

You have a really strange view of the world if you think something in the entertainment industry can appeal to everyone.

Maybe not 100%, but it can sure as hell try for that 99.99%, considering there's more money to be had with a larger total demographic.

Jessica Curry isn't exactly the best PR person in the world. You don't get far attacking the publisher who funded your game, and now random other developers.

If you know who specifically tweeted that out, can I get her social security number and mailing address while you're at it?

So basically when said company jibe fits an agenda you are okay with then it's okay, but if it's something you aren't happy about then it's not?

You seem to think that my mentality is inherently exclusionary - I am in no way trying to remove existing elements of the social undercurrent. I'm looking for both of the examples I listed to be okay, rather than having only """political""" tweets be okay but MLG salt stuff be unprofessional. You did it earlier acting like I want to remove all straight dudes from gaming, too, when I clearly don't.
 

ced

Member
I never cared for that promotional picture myself, but CDPR has never come across as sexist to me.

Their depiction of women in the Witcher games has always been clearly historically accurate to the times they're influenced by (Midevil, Dark Ages etc).

They also have great female characters.
 
I never cared for that promotional picture myself, but CDPR has never come across as sexist to me.

They're depiction of women in the Witcher games has always been clearly historically accurate to the times they're influenced around. They also have great female characters.
Arguably some of the strongest, most autonomous female characters in all of gaming.
 

Hagi

Member
I think the posts about scores are meant to imply that Chinese Room is just "picking on the top dog"

They can criticize whoever they want, I don't think a one line post on twitter is really the way to go about it but you know internet drama. Witcher fans brining up review scores as some lame gotcha is quite frankly sad.

I take that back. But my point stands: accusing a fellow studio of sexism based on obscure material is completely unprofessional and irresponsible.

Hey it's cool I agree with the unprofessional part.
 

Henrar

Member
The Witcher never pretended to be set in an authentic medieval society. That world is full of anachronisms and if their scholars can have a fairly good grasp on modern sciences (even genetic engineering), it really shouldn't have to obey by any of our outdated rules.

On the other hand, why the studio should make a game where everybody is treated equal? That's practically limiting creating freedom.
 
I thought the women in the Witcher were portrayed pretty well. Romances seemed to be done much better than, say, Bioware especially when you
try to romance both lol
. CDPR has shown some growth since the first game so I think this snarky Twitter post was a little unwarranted.
 

Kinyou

Member
He wasn't saying that is what you were saying. He was stating that, despite company accounts targeting a bunch before it, it was this particular statement on a social subject that generates controversy.
It's not really surprising to me that this topic would start a controversy while slight jabs at MLG pros would not.

btw. Looking at their twitter timeline I see the company account only saying nice stuff.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
I think the point of the scantly clad vixen with freaking death scyths coming out of her arms is this:

1) Being a scantly clad woman you automatically think sexy and safe, then you see the death scyths and realize you are not safe, its a subversion.

2) Cyberpunk thematically has a lot of rampant sexuality in a dystopian future. I mean, look at what people wear in Blade Runner, 5th element, etc.

3) Furthermore there is nothing wrong with nudity or dressing sexy. Sexiness != sexist for either gender.
 
"Throwing in" something is not what you want. You want it to come from a natural place, not something born out of obligation only.

Nah. "Throwing in" implies you've got to have coordination and alertness if you want to catch it, while it'll fly by most people that aren't looking for it. "Throwing in" is exactly what I want. "Something natural" is basically a dogwhistle for "something traditional", e.g. "you can have the character be gay, but I don't want him acting gay during my playthrough". I mean, you don't get creative (and, by extension, creative freedom / creative liberties) by sticking to "natural" things.

Why does taking inspiration need to include the mistakes made 20 years ago too?

Those were the Good Old Days™! Back when, sexism wasn't a problem because nobody had Twitter people weren't kickstarting video series that suggest it's okay to be a woman and enjoy games there weren't positive female faces in the gaming landscape outside of the occasional Corinne Yu we got less offendered.
 
So what if it's sexist? Are you offended that easily? What is wrong with being offended?

4real man like shit bro sexism racism who cares ya know like fuckin who knows what does it matter man like women man what does it matter just who care mang blacks whites women tigers ligers all the same
 

MUnited83

For you.
Says the studio who has yet to make a game with > 80 on Metacritic.

"I don't have any actual arguments whatsoever, so take this meaningless number that says your game is shit, because your opinions are only valid if you have a game with 90 metacritic"


Jesus fucking christ what is with all the 12 years olds in this fucking thread?
 

shandy706

Member
Cyberpunk-2077-Final-stills4.jpg


That doesn't scream sexist/sexy at all (that's what came from the woman in the OP).

That screams...I wouldn't get within 50 yards as I'd fear for my life...lol.

That's some Black Widow, lure you in, then rip you in half stuff.
 
Why does taking inspiration need to include the mistakes made 20 years ago too?
What is the mistake here really? Some people already posted the context of the woman in the teaser trailer. The image came from the production of that trailer. There is nothing sexist about it.

I wonder why there was no tweet about Dead or Alive Xtreme 3? Because it's from Japan?
DOAX3 knows what it is and doesn't try to pretend otherwise. Criticizing that game would be like criticizing Playboy or whatever for having naked girls in it.
 

Tiops

Member
What's the point of this accusation in a random tweet? What kind of decent discussion can be brought with this?

So anything sexy is "sexist" now, is that what I'm getting here?

Well... that's what said in every GAF thread that discusses japanese games with girls that show some skin. But we're seing a pretty different reaction here. Funny.
 

ZanDatsu

Member
I think they said this because CD Projekt games prominently feature prostitution, a sick and demeaning trade which reduces women to mere objects existing only for the purpose of pleasure. It's a stinky situation, smells like fart.
 
It's not really surprising to me that this topic would start a controversy while slight jabs at MLG pros would not.

btw. Looking at their twitter timeline I see the company account only saying nice stuff.

I believe he was talking about other gaming company twitter accounts. And of course it's not surprising. The gamingsphere is still full of people who hate any serious discussion about social issues in gaming. So they do their best to shut down that conversation. And then of course this particular comment was targeting CDPR, which is going to get the fanboys all foaming at the mouth.

That screams...I wouldn't get within 50 yards as I'd fear for my life...lol.

That's some Black Widow, lure you in, then rip you in half stuff.

Plenty sexy to me. But then again I'm attracted to women who can easily kill me.
 

Tigress

Member
Come on guys, it is sexist. It doesn't mean the game will not be good and I love The Witcher 3 but let's face it, there's a lot of male gaze in these games. And I know, we see Geralt naked too but it's not the same, Yen and Triss are well-written but a part of their personality revolve around their sex-appeal. Don't be so defensive about this.

Thank you. The game very much treats females as reward for guys. You know it is possible to think a game is good and overall like it and like the developer and still think it has some problems and be able to criticize it.
 

Audioboxer

Member
what

i mean, this one isn't even taken out of context

like, what



Maybe not 100%, but it can sure as hell try for that 99.99%, considering there's more money to be had with a larger total demographic.



If you know who specifically tweeted that out, can I get her social security number and mailing address while you're at it?



You seem to think that my mentality is inherently exclusionary - I am in no way trying to remove existing elements of the social undercurrent. I'm looking for both of the examples I listed to be okay, rather than having only """political""" tweets be okay but MLG salt stuff be unprofessional. You did it earlier acting like I want to remove all straight dudes from gaming, too, when I clearly don't.

Still failing to grasp basic business facts. I'll allow you to go look at what games usually sell regardless of their target audience. I mean, surely Mass Effect and Dragon Age must have sold to 99.9% then due to their diversity?

/s

And I know or at least would hope you don't want to remove all straight protagonists. It was more so a remark at how unrealistic and silly it is to criticise The Witcher 3 on that front when the dev studio is making a game based on writings already published by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Have CDPR responded to this tweet?

They probably won't, and for sanity reasons I hope they don't.
 

Ratrat

Member
I never cared for that promotional picture myself, but CDPR has never come across as sexist to me.

Their depiction of women in the Witcher games has always been clearly historically accurate to the times they're influenced by (Midevil, Dark Ages etc).

They also have great female characters.
This is far from the truth. Women would not be wearing pants or heels. They wouldn't be nearly as promiscuous or free with nudity, they wouldn't be as educated...the list goes on. Its pulpy fantasy series not Game of Thrones.
 
Nah. "Throwing in" implies you've got to have coordination and alertness if you want to catch it, while it'll fly by most people that aren't looking for it. "Throwing in" is exactly what I want. "Something natural" is basically a dogwhistle for "something traditional", e.g. "you can have the character be gay, but I don't want him acting gay during my playthrough". I mean, you don't get creative (and, by extension, creative freedom / creative liberties) by sticking to "natural" things.



Those were the Good Old Days™! Back when, sexism wasn't a problem because nobody had Twitter people weren't kickstarting video series that suggest it's okay to be a woman and enjoy games there weren't positive female faces in the gaming landscape outside of the occasional Corinne Yu we got less offendered.

Wat why are you interrupting it that way?
 
Wat why are you interrupting it that way?

Incorporating more diversity in gaming "naturally" in this case is basically your way of saying "something that I can recognize, even if I don't have to be exposed to it". It's not fair to virtually every other demographic out there that you want them to be separate-but-equal - y'know, allowed to do their own things, but not if it comes at a cost to your gaming experience. It's selfish.
 

Kinyou

Member
I believe he was talking about other gaming company twitter accounts. And of course it's not surprising. The gamingsphere is still full of people who hate any serious discussion about social issues in gaming. So they do their best to shut down that conversation. And then of course this particular comment was targeting CDPR, which is going to get the fanboys all foaming at the mouth.
What Chinese Room did wasn't much of a discussion though and more like pointing fingers at a specific developer. That's what confuses me and especially why you'd do that with the official company account that represents the entire team.
 
Wat why are you interrupting it that way?
In Dragon Age 2 where the companions were playersexual a lot of guys were complaining when they got into into a situation where a male companion hit on them. The bolded in his post was basically word for word what they said.


It's unfortunately not an uncommon thing to hear.
 
What Chinese Room did wasn't much of a discussion though and more like pointing fingers at a specific developer. That's what confuses me and especially why you'd do that with the official company account that represents the entire team.

So why are we here, 14 pages into a thread? It clearly acted as a primer for discussion. One in which a certain subset is attempting to shutdown.
 
Incorporating more diversity in gaming "naturally" in this case is basically your way of saying "something that I can recognize, even if I don't have to be exposed to it". It's not fair to virtually every other demographic out there that you want them to be separate-but-equal - y'know, allowed to do their own things, but not if it comes at a cost to your gaming experience. It's selfish.

Yeah no.

What i mean by natural is that we don't get shit like in Deus EX, were we have a jive talking black female character and a few other examples of people "Throwing" shit in. For representation sake.
 

Audioboxer

Member
What Chinese Room did wasn't much of a discussion though and more like pointing fingers at a specific developer. That's what confuses me and especially why you'd do that with the official company account that represents the entire team.

Exactly. It would be easier to digest if an employee wrote a blog post or something with some discussion like this topic and linked to it. Not a one liner on a company Twitter suppose to represent an entire dev team. Of course the whole dev team may think this way, but without context we simply cannot assume that.
 

Zolo

Member
Almost every post in this thread has had more effort put into it than the twitter post that it was made about.
 

Henrar

Member
In Dragon Age 2 where the companions were playersexual a lot of guys were complaining when they got into into a situation where a male companion hit on them. The bolded in his post was basically word for word what they said.

The problem with that scene in DA2 was that Anders would always hit on the player and every single dialogue option apart from one would cause his approval rating to fall dawn significantly. The other would lead to romance. The execution was really bad and Bioware was rightfully criticised for that.
 
Still failing to grasp basic business facts. I'll allow you to go look at what games usually sell regardless of their target audience. I mean, surely Mass Effect and Dragon Age must have sold to 99.9% then due to their diversity?

"It's not sexist, it's just business" is never a valid argument.

It was more so a remark at how unrealistic and silly it is to criticise The Witcher 3 on that front when the dev studio is making a game based on writings already published by Andrzej Sapkowski.

So what? The Eye of Sauron was a proverbial sphere of influence in the original novels and not some massive fiery eye-tower thing the way it was depicted in the films. I seriously doubt the original Witcher went into great detail on how many jaggies filled the forests and how he had to keep cycling through his inventory to find something. Content has to change if it's going to survive in a different medium. Time is just as much a medium as any other, and works need to be adapted accordingly.
 
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