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This is such an important point here. The developers, the individuals who just work at CDPR, are innocent victims in this whole thing. They show up, are given direction from studio leadership, and probably end up with their compensation taken hostage.
Thread... https://twitter.com/thejamesbjones/status/1339750233195110402
Thread... https://twitter.com/thejamesbjones/status/1339750233195110402
I WANT to play & celebrate the games my industry colleagues create.
And I loathe seeing their employers make it hard to do so at the expense of people who were just trying to do their jobs.
People on the dev floor aren’t lazy or don’t care.
And I loathe seeing their employers make it hard to do so at the expense of people who were just trying to do their jobs.
People on the dev floor aren’t lazy or don’t care.
They are subject to the restraints of time and scope that the studio gives them.
They reach milestones best they can with what resources they are given.
Every bug you see was probably logged, but probably couldn’t be fixed because of leadership decisions handed down to them.
They reach milestones best they can with what resources they are given.
Every bug you see was probably logged, but probably couldn’t be fixed because of leadership decisions handed down to them.
CDPR has multiple streams of revenue.
They started as a localization service for Baldur’s Gate. The code from the cancelled Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was used for the OG Witcher game.
They are validated at $8.1 billion, making them more valuable than Ubisoft in Europe.
They started as a localization service for Baldur’s Gate. The code from the cancelled Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was used for the OG Witcher game.
They are validated at $8.1 billion, making them more valuable than Ubisoft in Europe.
Much of this value comes from gog dot com. This is why they can take a hit from the DLC for the Witcher series and generate a ton of good will from consumers.
While I don’t know the details of CDPR’s financial situation, my knowledge brings me to this conclusion:
They have a safety net. Maybe partners that invested in the CP2077 project were pushing for a release. But any screwed partner would understand why another delay is needed.
They have a safety net. Maybe partners that invested in the CP2077 project were pushing for a release. But any screwed partner would understand why another delay is needed.
The issue of bugs alone tells me a story of something pushing or scaring the company into releasing the way they did.
Why would a company with perceived financial stability do this?
Had Valve released HL 3 in this manner, people would ask where the money went from Steam.
Why would a company with perceived financial stability do this?
Had Valve released HL 3 in this manner, people would ask where the money went from Steam.
And sure, it could be the economy surrounding COVID in the EU. Maybe they took out a loan from the Polish government. I don’t know.
But all I can hypothesize is something stinks.
That’s not even counting the horrendous content surrounding the poor trans representation alone.
But all I can hypothesize is something stinks.
That’s not even counting the horrendous content surrounding the poor trans representation alone.
CDPR is a huge deal for Poland. They’re on the WIG20 for the Warsaw stock exchange.
Poland is in the middle of some scary social shit. The laws are pro-birther, anti trans, anti LGBT, and the populace is seeing a sickening rise in a particularly dangerous brand of nationalism.
Poland is in the middle of some scary social shit. The laws are pro-birther, anti trans, anti LGBT, and the populace is seeing a sickening rise in a particularly dangerous brand of nationalism.
I personally feel that CDPR has either no incentive to put in any respectful representation of these groups, or is actively making these harmful choices because they’re from Poland.
Being from somewhere doesn’t automatically make you an asshole, though.
Being from somewhere doesn’t automatically make you an asshole, though.
Are they getting government leeway or benefits for staying within the lines that Poland endorses?
I have no idea. But the correlation between what’s happening in real life and how people are portrayed is something I won’t pretend isn’t there.
I have no idea. But the correlation between what’s happening in real life and how people are portrayed is something I won’t pretend isn’t there.
We as developers do not create games in a vacuum. We do not release games into a vacuum.
Our source material comes from lived experiences, often of the oppressed.
So quit pretending that it’s just a game, it’s just “mature content,” or it’s just entertainment.
Our source material comes from lived experiences, often of the oppressed.
So quit pretending that it’s just a game, it’s just “mature content,” or it’s just entertainment.
Making something dark and edgy without acknowledging the humanity of those next to you is simply just going to give you shock value with no substance.
It says nothing new, nothing important. And silence is the worst betrayal of your fellow humans.
It says nothing new, nothing important. And silence is the worst betrayal of your fellow humans.
Taking the cyber punk genre— one that examines the concepts of what it means to be human and how you express your identity amid a world of corporate oppression in very literal ways, with thinly veiled allegory— and use it to MOCK the very real people it represents tells me a lot.
And perhaps the Witcher series was the canary in the coal mine.
The brief discourse over there being no BIPOC in the game was often brushed off by defenders of the series as it being sourced from Polish folklore.
But Europe isn’t completely white and hasn’t been for CENTURIES.
The brief discourse over there being no BIPOC in the game was often brushed off by defenders of the series as it being sourced from Polish folklore.
But Europe isn’t completely white and hasn’t been for CENTURIES.
And the games don’t take place in Poland. They just... don’t.
Either admit to the unfortunate oversight and do better next time or fix it.
Either admit to the unfortunate oversight and do better next time or fix it.
I need to go and source the works of people far more well-spoken than I on the matter. In the meantime, I would check out @cypheroftyr’s work with @INeedDivGms for more info on Black, indigenous, and PoC representation and impact in games!
