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[ronito]

Not quite sure what you're getting at, so I say this knowing I'm responding to a joke post, but just in case... Harper Lee never wrote anything before she wrote Mockingbird. Also never wrote one after.

Harper Lee licked a PSP? Where did she get one?

 

[udivision]

the irony in this thread is so thick you could ___________

cut through it with a saliva-slick PSP?

It may not be nice to keep harping on people's past... gaffes... but I don't know. It's not she was this stalwart force in the gaming industry that made one little mistake that lead to a loss of her job and career.

 

[brandnew]

I think there are lots of writers with far more credentials dying to break into the industry. What credentials did this girl have again, and why was she selected out of likely thousands of other potential applicants?

It says in the article that this thread is about that Zombie voted her story as the one they wanted to use for the game. There's no evidence that that isn't the truth.

 

[Freezie KO]

Serious question, do you honestly think they only reason Chobot got the job is because she's physically attractive?

I laughed.

disclaimer: I'm fine with Chobot getting a writing gig. She's no less qualified than the tons of game developers know how to design a level but don't know the first thing about subtext or theme, yet still write their own stories.

 

[AppleMIX]

Automatically assuming that writing minority/female characters will somehow preclude well-written characters is problematic.That argument is basically imagining devs saying "Well, we have this really well written white male protagonist, but let's throw that out because society says we should have more women and minorities." The issue is that consideration of women and minorities is not given equally at the conception level. This problem also exists in real life employment. However, in this case Jessica Chobot was specifically asked to write up an outline which was then pitched to and picked up by Atlus-yet some people see her as being "unqualified" or "taking someone else's place."

First, I'm not arguing about replacing males with other minorities/gender because that is the popular thing to do. In fact I'm arguing the opposite. Game developers should focus on making good characters and instead of focusing making a poorly-written female protagonist simply to appeal to people (or a poorly-written male character too). Developers should make the characters they want and me as the player should enjoy those characters regardless of race/gender.

I think a good example to illustrate this point is Lee from the Walking Dead.

Lee is black but if he was white the story would be fundamentally the same and I would enjoy it just as much as I did when he was black. This is because Lee is a well written character and the major themes of the walking dead don't really include racism and sexism (where it would make sense for a black/female protagonist).

I enjoy white Lee and black Lee the same.

 

[crozier]

I don't think it just works with women. It's good looking people on average. I have a friend who's very handsome and he's leaps and bounds ahead of where his skills could take him and we all know it's because he looks like he stepped out of GQ.

I mean let's not pretend this isn't a "thing"

http://www.universityherald.com/art...avored-job-interviews-over-non-ones-study.htm

7% callback rate for unattractive women is horrifying.

But yes, it works both ways. Tall men, for instance, tend to be paid more and are over represented in upper management (esc. As CEOs).

 

[roknin]

No one is born with credits. The company believes in her and is giving her a shot, why the outrage?

Pretty much this. Sometimes companies are willing to take the risk with someone unproven if they impress, and it goes from there.

Has to start somewhere. Can't always go with the proven, and perhaps what she presented (treatment most likely) impressed them enough that they were willing to take the risk.

Of course her name has something to do with, but that's not a bad thing in the slightest. Build your name, network, and doors are more likely to open a little bit more.

 

[Pyccko]

That's how the real world operates. Men want to work alongside hot women, so hot women have a tendency to get hired.

jesus christ. I understand that can be a factor, but I really don't understand how this would be the default assumption, though.

 

[weevles]

You obviously don't wish her well lol

I'm sure handheld tasting is her only redeemable quality

No, I do. I'm certainly not saying she has no other redeeming qualities.

 

[John Rabbit]

article seems like it's trying a little too hard to establish why she should be taken seriously instead of just taking her seriously and talking about her game. hopefully it turns out well for her though.

 

[Kinyou]

Not quite sure what you're getting at, so I say this knowing I'm responding to a joke post, but just in case... Harper Lee never wrote anything before she wrote Mockingbird. Also never wrote one after.

While that's great I'd consider that to be quite the exception. I'll happily eat a crow if Chobot writes the To Kill a Mockingbird of videogames.

 

[Interceptor]

Met her once at the conference for the reveal of the PS3 slim in germany. Really nice girl. Didn´t know she had a baby. Congratulations.

Really good video btw.

 

[WhiskeyKnight]

Mass Effect 3 was a disaster because of a tertiary character that had barely any screen time?

"Tertiary" is putting it mildly. Hell even calling her a "character" in Mass Effect 3 is being generous. It seems like she was there literally just to wear spandex. Every time I went down to talk with her I was hoping for something...anything. But it was always just always those two same options -- "Get off my ship!" or "You can stay..." Looking back I should have just kicked her off, at least that might have led to some dialog.

 

[2San]

1. Zombie dev/friend asked her to write up an outline
2. Friend like it, pitched game and outline to Atlus
3. Atlus picked it up

Honestly it's not like the studio is known for working with amazing writers either. No reason to see more into this.

 

[xenist]

A bunch of salty motherfuckers up in this thread.

 

[NervousXtian]

Please explain how wanting better written characters and not caring about ones gender/race somehow translates to women issues?



Sure, what she went though is bad but that has nothing to do with the writing job. Jobs are not given out to people who need them the most but rather who is the most qualified.

No, jobs a lot of time are given out to be because of who you know, how you look, how you act, how you dress, etc.

Being the most qualified has never been the sole criteria for getting hired. What the fuck does being qualified even mean in terms of game writing?

Sure, but that is not indicative of good writing. In the article they say "Chobot is not a trained writer".

Look, I'm not saying the game is going to poorly written. I'm just being skeptical.

You keep saying that over and over, and being trained as a writer doesn't guarantee you can actually write something anyone would want to read.. or in this case 'play'.

If all you ever said you were skeptical of her being able to write a decent game, then by all means. Yet you went above that.

 

[Omega]

1. Zombie dev/friend asked her to write up an outline
2. Friend like it, pitched game and outline to Atlus
3. Atlus picked it up

come on, you should know nobody reads anymore.

 

[brandnew]

While that's great I'd consider that to be quite the exception. I'll happily lick a psp if Chobot writes the To Kill a Mockingbird of videogames.

ftfy.

But come on now, I wasn't saying she's going to write something comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird and you know it. I was saying people shouldn't only use a lack of writing experience as a reason to say someone is not a good writer.

Edit: Also, tons of writing debuts have been pretty great. Perks of Being a Wallflower, This Side of Paradise, Harry Potter (lol), Catcher in the Rye. It's not exactly a unique exception.

 

[Serra]

All I know about her is that her character in ME3 was truly terrible (and it takes a special kind of bad to stand out in that game as particularly gringe worthy) but hey, thats not her fault.

That said, congrats on the project!

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Serious question, do you honestly think they only reason Chobot got the job is because she's physically attractive?

To this day, I believe that it's still the primary reason. You hope that the person has a screen presence and can actually talk too of course. As an example, I'll tell you that when Erin Andrews started out, her first big gig was doing Atlanta Braves broadcasts on TBS. She was in a studio, a single desk/chair setup and all she had to do was give updates on other games around the league and the current game we were watching. She was terrible. She couldn't say anyone's name properly and honestly looked petrified doing it. They stuck by her and gave her a chance to work things out. Over time she refined her skills and look at where she is now; she's hosting a College Football show on Fox and doing sideline reporting additionally.

In positions like this, all that you can ask is that the person doesn't embarrass themselves or the company that hired them first and foremost because of their looks. The host or entertainer must take it upon themselves to make the most out the situation. Chobot looks like she doing exactly that.

 

[prag16]

Let's be real, what makes 99% of the writers in this industry think they can write a game?

This. A perfect example actually comes from a game for which Chobot is being made fun of in this very topic.

::cough::"lots of speculation for everyone"::cough

 

[Minion101]

Her name sounds like robot.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Serious question, do you honestly think they only reason Chobot got the job is because she's physically attractive?

Look at Marc Summers, the OCD cleanliness freak host of Double Dare.

Given that show because he's smashingly, incredibly, handsome.

I wish I were as handsome as Marc Summers.



^^^^^

I call her Chobit because Zoidberg.

 

[DangerStepp]

Polygon..man. lol

In her opinion, working as a host didn't even make her a journalist.

No, that is fact.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

No, that is fact.

But it's awful good of her to understand that.

 

[AppleMIX]

No, jobs a lot of time are given out to be because of who you know, how you look, how you act, how you dress, etc.

Sure but the way hiring should work is based on who is the most qualified, not who needs the job the most.

Being the most qualified has never been the sole criteria for getting hired. What the fuck does being qualified even mean in terms of game writing?

I don't know, maybe writing some videogames stories? That might be a start.

You keep saying that over and over, and being trained as a writer doesn't guarantee you can actually write something anyone would want to read.. or in this case 'play'.

If all you ever said you were skeptical of her being able to write a decent game, then by all means. Yet you went above that.

A lot of the discussion was someone accusing me of having "women issues" and me defending myself.

I was simply responding to criticism.

 

[Architechnophile]

the irony in this thread is so thick you could ___________

I thought the community had made progress. I was wrong.

I knew there was a reason that when people were contrasting the old IGN article on her with the new, more respectful Polygon feature and saying "Look how far we've come!" my instinctive reaction was to say "Hang on a sec."

This thread is a disaster, and it's embarrassing to see so many people jealously questioning her place in the industry.

 

[udivision]

ftfy.

But come on now, I wasn't saying she's going to write something comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird and you know it. I was saying people shouldn't only use a lack of writing experience as a reason to say someone is not a good writer.

I don't think that's even it. It's like if "Georgia Brown" the lady only known for the "aint nobody got time for this" video was running for office, it would be pretty hard to divorce her from that first impression. You'd be all "Isn't that the person from _____?" and that would define her. It would define anyone.

A lot of times when we run into this situation, the defense is "You're still dredging that old stuff up but don't you know the person has credentials X, Y, and Z?" but in this case the person doesn't really have that going for her. It's more like "Well... she got the job so there." which doesn't do much to refute/de-emphasize the "Isn't that the person from _____?" claim.

 

[SRG01]

Started from the bottom now we here.
Follow me on her journey:
Licks PSP -> Hired at IGN as a host despite no credentials -> Featured character in a video game -> Horror writer despite no credentials.


Quit college now, budding writers.

A lot of skilled writers have little to no formal training.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Always try to make a good first impression my mom always said.

 

[Chairhome]

come on, you should know nobody reads anymore.

Especially the Zombie team that "read" her treatment. AMIRITE?

Sorry, couldn't resist. jk.

 

[Honey Bunny]

you guys are so narrow minded

she licked a vita too

 

[Brianimaniac]

ftfy.

But come on now, I wasn't saying she's going to write something comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird and you know it. I was saying people shouldn't only use a lack of writing experience as a reason to say someone is not a good writer.

Edit: Also, tons of writing debuts have been pretty great. Perks of Being a Wallflower, This Side of Paradise, Harry Potter (lol), Catcher in the Rye. It's not exactly a unique exception.

So they made little documentaries about Harper Lee before she ever wrote anything worth a damn?

I'm with a lot of the supporters here in that it's stupid to act like there's an issue with Chobot getting this new job. But my issue is that she wasn't good at the job she had before this. She wasn't good at the job we know her from-- the job where she had years to prove that she had more to offer than licking a PSP. And she never demonstrated that, so why exactly do we have a Polygon video about her now? Shouldn't she actually do something noteworthy before it gets to that point?

 

[Hrothgar]

A lot of skilled writers have little to no formal training.

Exactly. This "but she doesn't have the credentials" crap is laughable.

 

[Scooby]

Haters gon hate

 

[polyh3dron]

dem maggie gyllenhaal cheeks

 

[brandnew]

To this day, I believe that it's still the primary reason. You hope that the person has a screen presence and can actually talk too of course. As an example, I'll tell you that when Erin Andrews started out, her first big gig was doing Atlanta Braves broadcasts on TBS. She was in a studio, a single desk/chair setup and all she had to do was give updates on other games around the league and the current game we were watching. She was terrible. She couldn't say anyone's name properly and honestly looked petrified doing it. They stuck by her and gave her a chance to work things out. Over time she refined her skills and look at where she is now; she's hosting a College Football show on Fox and doing sideline reporting additionally.

In positions like this, all that you can ask is that the person doesn't embarrass themselves or the company that hired them first and foremost because of their looks. The host or entertainer must take it upon themselves to make the most out the situation. Chobot looks like she doing exactly that.

While I don't think it's the "primary" reason, I will admit it is likely a reason. It's basic psychology/sociolgy that physical attractiveness is an advantage. I just don't like when people are so quick to write off any other talent the person may have. Especially when Chobot seems to be genuinely interested in what she's doing and not some ditzy, spacey person.

I'm glad you could come up with a reasonable response that isn't filled with vitriol and overt sexism. No sarcasm.

 

[AngryMoth]

Yeah, after reading the article some of the comments in this thread are pretty embarrassing. If the game comes out and has terrible writing, then maybe you could say 'she only got the job cos she is attractive' or whatever, but until then at least give her a freakin' chance. As others have pointed out you could trip over the bar set by most video game stories so I don't much of a problem with her getting a break despite lack of experience if they were impressed by her. Wish her the best.

 

[DangerStepp]

dem maggie gyllenhaal cheeks

Yeah, I never found that character model particularly flattering for her.

 

[kerotan_eater]

Exactly. This "but she doesn't have the credentials" crap is laughable.

Yep, Harper Lee studied Law for instance

 

[brandnew]

So they made little documentaries about Harper Lee before she ever wrote anything worth a damn?

I'm with a lot of the supporters here in that it's stupid to act like there's an issue with Chobot getting this new job. But my issue is that she wasn't good at the job she had before this. She wasn't good at the job we know her from-- the job where she had years to prove that she had more to offer than licking a PSP. And she never demonstrated that, so why exactly do we have a Polygon video about her now? Shouldn't she actually do something noteworthy before it gets to that point?

I think the Polygon article stems from the backlash the game is receiving because she's writing it. This wasn't some documentary honoring one of the great game writers of our time. It was a piece meant to add a human angle to the "psp licker." Whether Polygon did it well is up to the individual reader/viewer, but it definitely was not made because anyone at Polygon thinks she's a great writer.

 

[GravityMan]

I never understood the disdain for Jessica. She always seemed like a nice woman who genuinely liked and cared about videogames. I didn't have a problem with her appearing in Mass Effect 3 (but I can understand conflict-of-interest concerns with IGN reviewing the game while she's on their payroll). Good luck to her on this new project.

Although I agree that the Diana Allers character model wasn't flattering for Jessica.

Who cares that she licked a PSP. That tells me that she actually has a personality of her own and doesn't simply comform to some "girly girl" stereotype. Thumbs up.

It's easy to tell in this thread which posters have little or no experience with women and/or no respect for them.

 

[NervousXtian]

Sure but the way hiring should work is based on who is the most qualified, not who needs the job the most.

Welcome to the real world. If no one ever gave anyone a chance on a whim or a feeling the world worse for it.

I don't know, maybe writing some videogames stories? That might be a start.

Well, then no one could ever write a videogame story once all the ones who've already did it quit or died.

Nice.

A lot of the discussion was someone accusing me of having "women issues" and me defending myself.

I was simply responding to criticism.

Yeah, someone did do that. I'm not making that accusation, but I will say you seem to care a bit too much about this particular person doing this job where she was friends with the people who ended up making a game based on ideas she had.

She helped start this project, not the other way around.

 

[Stet]

ftfy.

But come on now, I wasn't saying she's going to write something comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird and you know it. I was saying people shouldn't only use a lack of writing experience as a reason to say someone is not a good writer.

Edit: Also, tons of writing debuts have been pretty great. Perks of Being a Wallflower, This Side of Paradise, Harry Potter (lol), Catcher in the Rye. It's not exactly a unique exception.

Hang on though, writing debuts aren't necessarily those authors' first time writing. Harry Potter alone was rejected dozens of times by publishers. Writing isn't easy, and I can't imagine the idea vetting process is as stringent at Zombie than at a publishing house.

Not saying it's not possible that this could be a great project. I'm not a fan of Jessica Chobot's historical work, but I hope something good comes out of this. Just don't want to mislead people into thinking that debut writers just come out of nowhere.

 

[SeventhSon]

I get so empathy-embarrassed for the cheering nerds whenever I see this gif.

That's called wahjah.

 

[Dragon1893]

Why are some people so mean to her? Some people should really take a step back and be ashamed of the comments they directed at her.
I'm surprised she opened herself up like that in this video considering all the heat she gets.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I think there are lots of writers with far more credentials dying to break into the industry. What credentials did this girl have again, and why was she selected out of likely thousands of other potential applicants?

I seriously doubt there were anywhere close to "thousands" of applicants for this position. Stepping Into Daylight & Zombie Studios aren't exactly household names.

 

[PairOfFilthySocks]

I'm going to have to put myself in the camp of gaffers who considers Jess' PSP shenanigans as easy the most influential factor in getting her into the industry. IGN hired her because she was a knowledgeable 'gamer'(hate that word) who happened to be good-looking. Go back to the 2005 articles involving her. It's clear as day.

Edit:

It's easy to tell in this thread which posters have little or no experience with women and/or no respect for them.

You should start calling them virgins too, that'll really improve the level of discourse.

 

[udivision]

It's easy to tell in this thread which posters have little or no experience with women and/or no respect for them.

That's irrelevant.

 

[LycanXIII]

Like you all could do something better.