Something for my fellow men in gamedev, especially those just now entering the industry:
There are a lot of things you may run into that aren't directly harmful to people in the same way as sexual harassment, but they still contribute to hostile environments and harm.
When I was on the latest Ratchet and Clank game, there was an incredibly heated discussion that happened between the game director, art director, the lead writer, the lead character TD, and myself.
It was about Rivet, the female lead.
The discussion — or argument, really — was basically about whether we should make Rivet look more stereotypically feminine looking. That is, should she have wider hips, visible breasts (or bumps in her suit), and other physical traits we normally associate with cartoony women.
The argument basically broke down like this:
The game director and art director wanted her to have a visibly, fairly stereotypically feminine look.
The lead writer, the lead character TD, and I wanted to keep her as-is.
We believed that:
- It went against the message of the game, which is that anyone can be a hero regardless of how they look
- You don't need to be stereotypically feminine to be a woman
- RIVET IS A FUCKING ALIEN SPACE FOX, JUST LIKE RATCHET
The argument had been going on for about half an hour before I finally pulled one of the framed Ratchet and Clank posters down from the wall, put it in front of both leads, and told them to look at the damn thing and tell me how much Ratchet looked like a human man.
The argument largely petered out after that point, with all parties leaving incredibly frustrated, and myself leaving the company a few weeks later.
So.
Fellow men in gamedev.
This is an example of one of the VERY SMALL THINGS that build up over time to make life miserable for women and marginalized people in our industry.
Something as simple as putting titties on a space rat can harm people.
It breaks people's trust when you allow things like this to happen unchallenged. If you don't push back against tiny little things, like giving Rivet tits, you're essentially saying those things don't matter. If the small things don't matter, where's the line for bigger things?
I am not perfect and I have let things like this happen unchecked before. It happened at my first job, and I regret some of the choices I made when making characters there. It's not fucking worth it. Speaking up about small things heads off Blizzard-scale bullshit.
For the game journalists reading this: No, I will not be commenting for the article you're inevitably writing. Do not contact me unless it's to talk directly about the work that I do, and how technical processes can be demystified for people interested in making games.
