Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that criticized one of the characters in the upcoming game Dragonâs Crown. Today, the man behind that character has responded to that article.
On April 12, I published a post titled âGame Developers Really Need To Stop Letting Teenage Boys Design Their Characters.â It was a snarky, short article, written to point out that the gameâs voluptuous, hyper-sexualized sorceress character looks like it came out of the notebook doodles of a teenage, heterosexual male.
âAs you can see,â I wrote, âthe sorceress was designed by a 14-year-old boy.â
Today, Dragonâs Crown artist George Kamitaniâwho is not a 14-year-old boy and in fact is the president of Vanillaware, a Japanese developer known for games like Odin Sphere and Muramasaâtook to his Facebook page to respond to me.
Hereâs what he said:
âIt seems that Mr. Jason Schreier of Kotaku is pleased also with neither sorceress nor amazon,â Kamitani wrote. âThe art of the direction which he likes was prepared.â
The blurb was posted next to an illustration of three burly, bearded men embracing one another. The implication, as some have pointed out on message boards like NeoGAF, is that because I didnât like Kamitaniâs female characters, I must instead like an image of muscled men hugging. A gay joke, perhaps?
âI like Kotaku,â Kamitani added later in the Facebook thread. âI will be glad if Mr. Jason Schreier is made pleasant with a Dragonâs Crown.â
Iâve reached out to Kamitani on Facebook, and hopefully weâll be able to chat about Dragonâs Crown, which, incidentally, I had the chance to play last December, and I enjoyed, character design aside. Hopefully heâll clarify his response.
UPDATE: Kamitani sent me a message this afternoon, in Japanese. Wiredâs Chris Kohler helped me translate: âWhile the picture of the dwarfs was meant to be a lighthearted joke, after it became bigger than I thought it would, I reflected on the rashness of it. I am sorry. I have no hard feelings about the article.â
Rest of original article follows:
For now, Iâd like to elaborate on my criticism, because this subject deserves more thought and consideration than a few snarky lines below a trailer.
First, I should make it clear that I do not actually believe that Kamitani is a 14-year-old boy, and I apologize for the insult. My point should have been clearer.
Over the past couple weeks, Iâve received a number of messagesâsome polite, some not-so-politeâabout my article and Dragonâs Crown. The most common complaint: âWhy are you complaining about the busty females and not the burly men?â
Another point Iâve seen brought up more than a few times: âWhy complain about this art when youâre clearly not the target audience?â
Why complain? Because itâs embarrassing. Because I wouldnât want to be seen playing it in public. Because I love Japanese games and Japanese RPGs and I donât want them to perpetuate the ugly âboysâ clubâ mentality that has pervaded gaming for almost three decades now.
Look, the video game industry has a sexism problem. This is not very difficult to prove. Head to E3 and watch hordes of sweaty male attendees trample one another in order to get the best photos of booth babes. Read about âone reason why.â Itâs tough to find a woman in gaming who doesnât have a story about that one time someone said something way over the line, or the industry event that made her feel like she didnât belong
Some have pointed out that the dwarf characterâa shirtless warrior with disproportionate musclesâis just as sexualized and over-exaggerated as the sorceress. Thatâs true. Heâs also straight out of a straight male power fantasy, tailored for men just like the sorceressâs skimpy clothing and ridiculously jiggly breasts. The design comes across as juvenile, like a hackneyed comic book or a God of War game.
But the dwarf isnât making many people uncomfortable, because men donât get sexually harassed at PAX East. Because male designers donât get mistaken for receptionists. Because male reporters are never asked if they really play video games.
Because the sorceress is symbolic of a much bigger problem.
Look, Iâm not a censor. Iâm not going to say that an artist shouldnât draw what he or she thinks is beautiful. But just as I champion an artistâs right to respect themselves, I believe that itâs essential for criticsâand for regular peopleâto discuss that art. All art has its fans. And all art deserves exposure to critics. Iâm not saying this particular piece of art should not exist, but I have no qualms about saying I think it can hurt this game and gaming as a whole. I think it repels more than it attracts. It doesnât challenge viewers in interesting ways. And I donât consider it beautiful.
