More Overwatch design criticisms

[malfcn]

Religious statesman and president of the Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed released a statement today, urging Blizzard and Activision to remove an Overwatch skin he said “trivialized Hinduism’s highly revered goddesses.”
...
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that in a video game set-up, the player controlled the movements of Devi, while in reality the devotees put the destinies of themselves in the hands of their goddesses.

Moreover, Devi and its movements depicted in Overwatch did not match with characterization of the goddesses in the scriptures, Rajan Zed noted.
...
Zed stated that Blizzard Entertainment needed to follow its own “core values” which included “lead responsibly” (As one of the world’s leading game companies, we’re committed to making ethical decisions), as in this case it was creating confusion in the minds of community about Devi by misrepresentation.

More at Kotaku

First it was dat ass. Now it's dat blue skin.

 

[lazygecko]

Who's Zed?

 

[FluxWaveZ]

This is the same person who was upset at Krishna in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

 

[GhostWriter24]

It's a videogame costume.

 

[Art Vandilay]

Who's Zed?

That guy from Pulp Fiction.

 

[Valtýr]

Who's Zed?

zed's dead, baby

 

[Kei-]

Who's Zed?

Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead.

Edit: damn, beaten. But in a rush to show their movie knowledge, all the other contestants misquoted the line. So I win on a technicality?

 

[vocab]

"the player controlled the movements of Devi"

No. It's a costume for a video game character. Shut the hell up.

 

[Artanisix]

maybe this guy should go criticize Smite instead

 

[slackern1nja]

Heh. As a Hindu who has been playing the game since the open beta I find this laughable. More so coming from a guy who commends Miley Cyrus for promoting yoga. The guy needs to chill out.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

It's really silly how games keep doing this same thing.
Also, clickbait, PC culture, "They can't win!", and "it's just a video game" will be uttered a lot in this thread.

 

[Taruranto]

This is the same person who was upset at Krishna in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

Well, they did give him a fedora.

 

[aurahack]

It's a videogame costume.

Real easy to say when it's not your culture or faith being used as window dressing for a game.

 

[Wulfram]

Who's Zed?

Americans would call him Zee, I assume.

Anyway, I think he's got a reasonable point. Its not especially respectful.

I suppose you could point to Mercy's angel symbolism for comparison, but dealing with your own culture in a casual way is inherently different, and you've got a better idea of where the line is.

 

[malfcn]

maybe this guy should go criticize Smite instead

Rajan Zed has championed the Hindu faith’s depiction in video games on a previous occasion, asking developer Hi-Rez Studios to remove Hindu deities from its multiplayer online battle arena game, Smite.

I don't think championed is the word he wanted to use in the article.

 

[toastyToast]

This is the same person who was upset at Krishna in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

To be fair almost all religious denominations can find something to piss them off in SMT

 

[Nickle]

imma use her twice as hard

 

[WillyFive]

The reasoning behind the discomfort behind the costume remind me of the people that got offended that they got baptized in Bioshock Infinite.

 

[vocab]

To be fair almost all religious denominations cam find something to piss them off in SMT

I'm sure our Buddhist friends would love that Mara is a demon cock on a chariot.

 

[Dec]

I guess once you compromise once people think you might do it again. Maybe some day we'll all be playing featureless husks in Overwatch.

 

[Keyser Soze]

If they start fixing issues such as this they should probably start with Pharah. Her skins are a mess of cultures than insult everything and everyone.

 

[Hektor]

In all fairness, it's not supposed to be the Devi, so arguing it is out of character is a bit nonsensical. It's still symmetra as a character, just dressing up like devi.

Real easy to say when it's not your culture or faith being used as window dressing for a game.

idk, i'm fairly chill with Bundeswehr Reinhardt.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

Real easy to say when it's not your culture or faith being used as window dressing for a game.

You're right, it's not like there haven't been dozens of games that have had different portrayals of Jesus or the Christian god in them either, some of which flat out make fun of said figures.

 

[Eumi]

I'm not really a very knowledgable person on Hinduism but my immediate question is what differentiates it from Mercy?

 

[caleb1915]

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that in a video game set-up, the player controlled the movements of Devi, while in reality the devotees put the destinies of themselves in the hands of their goddesses.

Moreover, Devi and its movements depicted in Overwatch did not match with characterization of the goddesses in the scriptures, Rajan Zed noted.

Ok so he has a problem that she doesn't look, act, behave, or match the characterization of the Hindu goddess.

Well that's simple enough since it's just a costume worn by a made up character who is not a Hindu Goddess. Now if it was Devi you were playing as and not Symmetra he might have a point with it being an incorrect characterization of an established religious fgure, but she's not....she's wearing a costume not literally becoming Devi in the Overwatch universe.

 

[Wulfram]

You're right, it's not like there haven't been dozens of games that have had different portrayals of Jesus or the Christian god in them either, some of which flat out make fun of said figures.

OK, which AAA computer games let you dress up as sexy Jesus?

 

[Kinyou]

I guess once you compromise once people think you might do it again. Maybe some day we'll all be playing featureless husks in Overwatch.

Get ready for the new "human being" hero

 

[ScaryShark]

Smite dealt with similar controversies with their Hindu gods.

Smite's depictions were/are far less tasteful than anything in Overwatch too.

 

[Phoenix944]

Yea let's remove everything everyone finds offensive.

 

[Lemonte]

That's probably my favorite skin in the game

 

[Squire]

Heh. As a Hindu who has been playing the game since the open beta I find this laughable. More so coming from a guy who commends Miley Cyrus for promoting yoga. The guy needs to chill out.

My first guess was this is probably about as silly for you guys as it is in the states whenever some church gets up in arms over a portrayal of Christianity.

Art owes nothing to religion.

 

[bbkkristian]

Yea let's remove everything everyone finds offensive.

And then we will be left with nothing. Anyone can find something offensive if they look for it.

 

[mp1990]

If they start fixing issues such as this they should probably start with Pharah. Her skins are a mess of cultures than insult everything and everyone.

Saw this post on tumblr yesterday and, granted, it's just a single person, but the Pharah Thunderbird skin doesn't seem to be as problematic as one might think.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

OK, which AAA computer games let you dress up as sexy Jesus?

Does it matter if they're AAA or not? The fact remains that they exist in this medium and are very rarely portrayed the same way their religious texts/art suggest.

 

[kirbyfan407]

When I first saw some of the imagery some costumes used, I wondered what the response would be. Inevitably, some won't care, some will think it's cool, and some will find it offensive. I wonder if Blizzard will respond. It's possible Blizzard already got some advising on this or used employee opinions that fell in the middle group.

Americans call him Zee, I assume.

Anyway, I think he's got a reasonable point. Its not especially respectful.

I suppose you could point to Mercy's angel symbolism for comparison, but dealing with your own culture in a casual way is inherently different, and you've got a better idea of where the line is.

Eh, let's not presume that Blizzard does not have employees who practice Hinduism (regarding your "own culture" comment), even if the vast majority of employees likely practice something else.

 

[Easy_D]

Real easy to say when it's not your culture or faith being used as window dressing for a game.

I'm gonna rage hard as hell at the new God of War when it comes out and point to this post when people say how silly I am, thanks

 

[Nokterian]

Who's Zed?

zed's dead, baby

thank you gaf! never change

 

[NEO0MJ]

imma use her twice as hard

Why subject yourself to that torture?

 

[WrenchNinja]

Does it matter if they're AAA or not? The fact remains that they exist in this medium and are very rarely portrayed the same way their religious texts/art suggest.

It does matter if it's some niche game that no one is honestly going to care that much about compared to a AAA one seen by millions. What are these games outside of Shin Megami Tensei? You're the one who brought it up.

Even SMITE won't use Jesus but they're perfectly okay with another currently practised religion by a billion people for characters in their game.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

Americans would call him Zee, I assume.

Anyway, I think he's got a reasonable point. Its not especially respectful.

I suppose you could point to Mercy's angel symbolism for comparison, but dealing with your own culture in a casual way is inherently different, and you've got a better idea of where the line is.

They deal with all cultures casually. All cultures are characterized in many ways in the game.

It does matter if it's some niche game that no one is honestly going to care that much about compared to a AAA one seen by millions. What are these games outside of Shin Megami Tensei? You're the one who brought it up.

Even SMITE won't use Jesus but they're perfectly okay with another practised religions by a billion people for characters in their game.

Smite is a game about gods thought right? Jesus just doesn't exactly fit that script anyway.

 

[Stevey]

Ridiculous.

while in reality the devotees put the destinies of themselves in the hands of their goddesses.

Religion isn't real.

 

[Easy_D]

They deal with all cultures casually. All cultures are characterized in many ways in the game.

Except Swedish culture. I am legit upset that Torbjörn is just a fantasy dwarf, they didn't do anything funny with his nationality . If anything he's just strange because us Scandinavians are tall mofos.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Ridiculous.


Religion isn't real.

You can disagree without doing this.

 

[Stevey]

You can disagree without doing this.

Yeah, you're right.

I don't believe in any religion, so these complaints are irrelevant to me.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

Except Swedish culture. I am legit upset that Torbjörn is just a fantasy dwarf, they didn't do anything funny with his nationality . If anything he's just strange because us Scandinavians are tall mofos.

Short people confirmed fantasy.

 

[Taruranto]

OK, which AAA computer games let you dress up as sexy Jesus?

Spoiler

Ok, it's not AAA, but still.

 

[Alucrid]

jr did not age well

 

[Azoor]

Moreover, Devi and its movements depicted in Overwatch did not match with characterization of the goddesses in the scriptures, Rajan Zed noted.

That's because it's a costume and Symmetra didn't actually transform into the Goddess...

Some people take this game was too seriously.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Smite is a game about gods thought right? Jesus just doesn't exactly fit that script anyway.

Not exactly. Characters can be Gods or are associated with Gods. There are plenty of things from the Bible they could use that dont have to be Jesus anyway so that excuse doesn't work either way.

 

[Pinko Marx]

Ridiculous.


Religion isn't real.

Religion definitely exists. It's the gods existence that you mean to question. Either way that's not even a point that should be argued here.