“It takes work to make compelling characters, but it’s important to take a step back with the intention that we’re not alienating our players,” Game Director of Heroes of The Storm Dustin Browder wrote today at the game’s official site.
Browder’s post follows up on comments he made in a up to date interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, where he was asked concerning the tendency to over-sexualize female characters in MOBAs like Dota 2 and Blizzard’s own Heroes of the Storm.
“Well, I mean, a few of these characters, i’d argue, are already hyper-sexualized in a feeling,” Browder said then. “I mean, Kerrigan is wearing heels, right? We’re not sending a message to anybody. We’re just making characters who look cool. . .We’re not running for President. We’re not sending a message. Nobody should look to our game for that.”
When interviewer Nathan Grayson pressed on, Browder and his public relations handler deflected and finally ended the interview. Of their defense, they indicated that they were running out of time before Grayson raised the difficulty.
In the post he published today, Browder apologized for responding poorly, that he thinks the difficulty is significant and that Blizzard is taking note of feedback.
“At the stage at BlizzCon, I spoke about Heroes being a collaborative project, shaped by the keenness, love, and support of gamers such as you . We’re building this game together, we’re listening, and your thoughts are valued.”