New Normative

Author: Jasmine Henry

  • Twitch Spambot Drama Highlights Another Side to Harassment Issue

    Twitch Spambot Drama Highlights Another Side to Harassment Issue

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    Jasmine Henry
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    A Canadian man has been accused of using spambots to flood Twitch chatrooms with abusive messages. Brandon Lukas Apple, 20, faces a charge of “mischief in relation to computer data” and a civil order restraining him from creating “any robot, bot, crawler, spider, blacklisting software or other software” as a result of actions taken between…

  • Overwatch League Skin Unlocks Have a Dumb ‘Easter Egg’

    Overwatch League Skin Unlocks Have a Dumb ‘Easter Egg’

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    Jasmine Henry
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    The first season of the Blizzard-hosted eSports tournament) Overwatch League has now begun. With it, hundreds of skins based on each League team’s colors are available for players to unlock in-game. You get one free, but the rest will cost you. When players unlock one of these Overwatch League skins, the game will play a…

  • Call of Duty: WWII’s Female Soldier ‘Rousseau’ Deserves Her Own Spin-Off

    Call of Duty: WWII’s Female Soldier ‘Rousseau’ Deserves Her Own Spin-Off

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Call of Duty: WW2 is an awkward game. Its campaign strives to be serious (at one point touching upon the horrors of a concentration camp). On the other hand it offers frenetic multiplayer gameplay and an absurd Nazi Zombie mode. This bizarre juxtaposition has lead to calls for the game’s three distinct modes to get…

  • You Won’t Like the Solution to the Loot Box Problem

    You Won’t Like the Solution to the Loot Box Problem

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    Jasmine Henry
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    There’s no such thing as a good loot box, all of them are capital ‘B’ for Bad no matter which way you slice them. We’ve established that much: so what are we going to do about it? As NPD analyst Mat Piscatella outlined to GamesIndustry.biz, for all the furore and the calls for boycotts, the…

  • The Problem With Subtle LGBTQ Characters in Games

    The Problem With Subtle LGBTQ Characters in Games

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Over the last few years, we have seen a steady increase in LGBTQ characters in games both as little-known NPCs and as characters at the forefront of the action. Tracer, the most well-known Overwatch character (she’s the only hero on the box art) is a lesbian. Destiny 2 NPC, European Dead Zone vendor Devrim Kay,…

  • There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Good’ Loot Box

    There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Good’ Loot Box

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    Jasmine Henry
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    In the last few weeks, much has been written about video game loot boxes. The articles and social media posts have raised some pertinent questions: ‘are loot boxes gambling?’ and ‘is it right that children have access to them?’ being just a couple of examples. But time and time again I’m seeing the argument come…

  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War Orc Slavery Highlights LOTR’s History of Racism

    Middle-earth: Shadow of War Orc Slavery Highlights LOTR’s History of Racism

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    Jasmine Henry
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    As reports and complaints about Middle-earth: Shadow of War‘s loot boxes abound, criticisms of the game’s core content are beginning to do the rounds too. Monolith Productions’ fantasy RPG features ‘orc slavery’ as a key component of the game. Player character Talion (along with Celebrimbor, the wraith that cohabits his body) must bend and break…

  • PSA: Making Video Games is Hard, Don’t Be a Dillweed

    PSA: Making Video Games is Hard, Don’t Be a Dillweed

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    Jasmine Henry
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    This just in: making video games is hard. Breaking news, I know! Each year thousands upon thousands of games, big and small, hit the physical and digital store shelves, promising to entertain, move and infuriate us. The amount of games released and their varying price points may lead you to think otherwise, but let it…

  • Steam is a Nightmare for Marginalised Game Developers

    Steam is a Nightmare for Marginalised Game Developers

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Steam is undoubtedly the biggest storefront on the PC gaming block. Over 125 million people use Steam and its games market is worth over $3.5 billion a year. Steam offers so many game developers a chance at breakout success and gives players the opportunity to find hidden gems, nestled right alongside free to play juggernauts…

  • Why Did EA’s E3 2017 Press Conference Include a Racist Madden Player?

    Why Did EA’s E3 2017 Press Conference Include a Racist Madden Player?

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    Jasmine Henry
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    The EA press conference wasn’t…great. The use of influencers and the unclear commentary during the Star Wars Battlefront 2 gameplay portion led many to deem the presser ‘unnecessary.’ Many also argued that the best part about the whole shebang was Battlefront 2 star Janina Gavankar. Gavankar’s incredible Star Wars-themed dress was a runner-up. But one…

  • All Your Favorite Games Are Political

    All Your Favorite Games Are Political

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Battlefield 1, Watch Dogs 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Each of these games tackles political issues in a big way.  DICE’s first-person shooter of course, is about World War 1.  Watch Dogs 2 explores themes of gentrification and privacy in the digital age (amongst other things).  Meanwhile, the player character in the latest Dragon Age…

  • Why Are Mass Effect Fans Obsessed With Romance?

    Why Are Mass Effect Fans Obsessed With Romance?

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Second only to the controversy caused by the game’s supposedly wonky animations, most of the talk surrounding Mass Effect Andromeda has been about its romances.  Fans were speculating on who they could get in the sack (and who they could live happily ever after with) since even before BioWare’s sci-fi RPG was released. But is…

  • Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a Jingoist Nightmare

    Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a Jingoist Nightmare

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Earlier this month, when the Bolivian government demanded that the French government take action against Ubisoft over Ghost Recon: Wildlands, a good many people laughed.  The South American country was disgusted at its portrayal as a territory solely comprised of cartels and cocaine empires and considered legal action. Ubisoft, for its part, admitted that it…

  • Shovel Knight Body Swap : A Bold Step Forward for Gender in Games

    Shovel Knight Body Swap : A Bold Step Forward for Gender in Games

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    Jasmine Henry
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    A commonly heard excuse when explaining why a game couldn’t feature playable female characters is that it’s ‘too much work.’ It’s why Ubisoft found itself in hot water in 2014 when it trotted out the line to explain why Assassin’s Creed Unity only lets you play as men. But flipping that narrative right on its head,…

  • It’s Time to Retire the Phrase ‘Diversity in Games’

    It’s Time to Retire the Phrase ‘Diversity in Games’

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    Jasmine Henry
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    When discussing making games with characters who aren’t white, straight, male or cisgender, a phrase often used is ‘diversity.’ When publishers and developers disclose the demographics of their workforces, these are often called ‘diversity reports.’ And for the most part this terminology works. Video game characters and the people who make them are still homogenous.…

  • Tracer Being Gay Is Ground-Breaking, But It’s Not Everything

    Tracer Being Gay Is Ground-Breaking, But It’s Not Everything

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    Jasmine Henry
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    Out of everyone, I have been one of the most skeptical when it comes to Overwatch‘s LGBT characters. I’ve been very vocal about my doubts that Blizzard would ever make good on its promise to confirm which characters are LGBT, even expressing concerns that the company had changed its mind for fear of angering bigots. But boy, did…