Yesterday we wrote about the furore from developers and gamers surrounding the writing and characterisation of women in their ZeptoLab Game Designer Challenge quiz. Following the story, ZeptoLab has pulled down the quiz and issued an apology.
The company posted on Facebook early morning Australian time that their quiz was attempting to satirise and poke fun at sexist cliches within video game development. It follows developers and users on social media took aim at ZeptoLab’s quiz for missing the mark and propagating negative stereotypes about developers and female gamers instead.
ZeptoLab’s Ivan Verde said in a blog post earlier this year that the quiz was meant to portray a chaotic, unhealthy picture of game development.
But slides asking users why it was contradictory to target a Clash of Clans-clone at females, and an end-game achievement saying that “you are assured that the cup size of female characters’ breasts must be at least C” drew ire on social media.
The apology has been warmly received from some of the loudest voices criticising ZeptoLab yesterday, although the studio has since received a wave of Tweets and comments criticising them for caving and giving in.
Good response from @ZeptoLab – explains what went wrong, takes responsibility, apologizes & takes action. A++ https://t.co/MMCJF8Wi6f
— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) May 5, 2016
Unrecgonizable satire isn’t satire, @ZeptoLab. Good on you for taking the quiz down. https://t.co/u06uS38AU7
— Evan “Scapes“ Berman (@Scapes) May 5, 2016
Don’t succumb to wusses, it was but a joke and no harm was done. Those people will get offended at anything you do. https://t.co/k5BSStoK7o
— Kami (@7thundead) May 5, 2016
The quiz posted online was supposed to be one part of a multi-stage test meant to challenge budding designers on concepts relating to game development, project management and more.
Comments
5 responses to “Cut The Rope Makers Apologise For Misdirected Quiz”
“It’s just a prank bro!”
*slow clap*
Mountain out of a molehill. What a shame people don’t have senses of humour or just take 1 second to understand anything – gotta love Social “media”
this is the internet, everything is serious business and you must try your best to get offended at everything.
the death of satire is upon us.
I hear you there brother (please don’t get offended, I know we aren’t actually brothers – and this goes to anyone else reading the comment – its not meant to be offensive)
Ineffectual satire, no real loss.
Top points for their response.
…hard hitting news