ActivisionBlizzard I have an idea original behind combating stereotypes and encouraging diversity in video games. The company presented its Space Diversity Tool, tool that uses math that games have diverse and inclusive characters. To do this, the software determines the typical traits of a hero or villain and displays them on a graph, which shows the weight of each of them.
According to Jacqueline Chomatas, Globalization Project Manager at King, the idea for this tool was born back in 2016 because method of dealing with existing prejudices and exclusion. King subsequently turned to the MIT Game Lab, which materialized the concept into software that takes on various values to determine whether a character is inclusive or not.
In an entry published on the Activision blog, Homatas mentions that Diversity Space Tool uses basic functions such as gender, body type, role (hero or villain), age, and race. It also applies other more detailed values such as culture, sexual orientation, physical and cognitive abilitiesor socio-economic background.
“Diversity Space Tool” is a mix of Excel with character editor for games.
The entry displays a list with characters from Overwatch and focuses on Ana, a bounty hunter of Egyptian origin. Judging by the image, the Diversity Space Tool arranges objects into drop-down menus and assigns certain values to them. At first glance, it looks like a mix of Excel and an RPG character editor. The tool allows filter by labels and a graph shows which values prevail in the character.
Activision Software measuring tool and with numbers, developers could determine how diverse a character was. The company is based on the standard set by Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) experts and able to identify contradictions and stereotypes.
“[La herramienta] It helps identify these stereotypes and also helps creatives take a closer look at their designs so they can analyze their own assumptions and presets,” says Chomatas.
The King’s Directive states that diversity is not only about appearance. The software helps identify storytelling opportunities for these characters. “Hopefully we will create more characters that break stereotypes and better represent women, non-binary and other underrepresented minorities in the industry,” she said.
Activision is far from a diversity champion
The announcement of this tool comes at a difficult time for Activision. Although King claims to have been working on it since 2016, sexual harassment and discrimination claims that surround the company do not help speech create a space where everyone feels welcome.
The Diversity Space Tool is also controversial among some developers in the industry. The general cry is diversity and inclusion are not solved by mathematical formulas or a diagram, but with a multicultural development team. While the latter is important, it is not the final solution.
We have seen more than once how companies that go under the slogan of diversity have made blunders. The most recent example Forza Horizon 5Xbox game set in Mexico where Microsoft and playgrounds they were concentrated on some regions of the country. In an attempt to maintain authenticity, they hired Mexican voice actors and artists.
The end result, more than a celebration of the culture of Mexico, this is an ode to a stereotype. Constant use Spanish languagea party in Cancun or grandmother’s trite phrases are commonplace in Hollywood films.
The software is not a definitive solution, although it would help clear up some bugs.
Relying solely on one tool won’t solve the problem of diversity in video games, though it will help if used in conjunction with experts. In any case, Activision believes it can be applied to other verticals as well, such as television, film, and even literature.
The company announced that several internal studies have been using it for several months in beta. The most recent game to take advantage of this is Call of Duty: Vanguardalthough Blizzard has already confirmed that it will implement it in Overwatch 2. Activision has confirmed the final version for the summer and intends to make it available to the entire industry. It is not known whether he will do this openly or under license.
Source: Hiper Textual
