After user Fipps wrote a post on Battle.net last week about the above pose for Tracer in Overwatch, saying it has nothing to do with being an elite killer and “just reduces [her] to another bland female sex symbol,” Game Director Jeff Kaplan responded yesterday by revealing that they’ll replace it.
Here’s what Kaplan said on Battle.net:
We’ll replace the pose. We want *everyone* to feel strong and heroic in our community. The last thing we want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented.
Apologies and we’ll continue to try to do better.
The thread received lots of attention following Kaplan’s comment, prompting him to issue another statement clarifying that he’s the game director and has final say what does or doesn’t go into the game. For the pose in question, the art team wasn’t always happy with it and they made the decision to replace it based on both fan feedback and internal concerns:
While I stand by my previous comment, I realize I should have been more clear. As the game director, I have final creative say over what does or does not go into the game. With this particular decision, it was an easy one to make—not just for me, but for the art team as well. We actually already have an alternate pose that we love and we feel speaks more to the character of Tracer. We weren’t entirely happy with the original pose, it was always one that we wrestled with creatively. That the pose had been called into question from an appropriateness standpoint by players in our community did help influence our decision—getting that kind of feedback is part of the reason we’re holding a closed beta test—but it wasn’t the only factor. We made the decision to go with a different pose in part because we shared some of the same concerns, but also because we wanted to create something better.
We wouldn’t do anything to sacrifice our creative vision for Overwatch, and we’re not going to remove something solely because someone may take issue with it. Our goal isn’t to water down or homogenize the world, or the diverse cast of heroes we’ve built within it. We have poured so much of our heart and souls into this game that it would be a travesty for us to do so.
Adding that they know everyone won’t agree with their decision, and that this “wasn’t pandering or caving,” Kaplan said, “This was the right call from our perspective, and we think the game will be just as fun the next time you play it.”
Overwatch releases on May 24 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with an open beta running from May 5 – 9.
What do you think of the removal?
[Source: Battle.net (1), (2) via Eurogamer]
