A shemale ([info]shemale) wrote,
@ 2008-07-12 17:26:00
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So i was watching a gameplay preview video of Diablo III for the first time i was like "oh hay this looks rly fun." then in the last four minutes or so of it, this character was introduced.

Excerpts from the character description page:

"Most believe the fearsome witch doctor of the umbaru race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes."

"The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley, but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety."

"Alongside the primacy of the belief in the life force and the Unformed Land, the second most sacred belief of the tribes is their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe. This idea, so foreign to our culture, struck me as something I wished to delve into much more deeply."






Real nice, Blizzard. You stay classy.
.



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[info]tgies
2008-07-12 10:33 pm UTC (link)
~more civilized~

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[info]tinamou
2008-07-12 10:38 pm UTC (link)
Damn. And I thought WOW was bad.

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[info]jame_alec
2008-07-12 11:14 pm UTC (link)
Wow, way to play to the "SWEET LAWD IT'S AN AH-FRI-KAN!" demographic.

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[info]recommendation
2008-07-13 12:04 am UTC (link)
firebomb
horrify
locust swarm
mass confusiom
soul harvest



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[info]mylaptopisevil
2008-07-13 12:44 am UTC (link)
well at least now we know where all those Resident Evil zombies came from.

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[info]kicey
2008-07-13 02:05 am UTC (link)
witchdoctor didn't excite me at all

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[info]pdxkate
2008-07-13 06:02 am UTC (link)
Wow that's racist.

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[info]ssendas
2008-07-13 06:35 am UTC (link)
Well, not to be nit picky here...

In Diablo 2:

The Sorceress was a non white woman of indeterminate race
The Barbarian was the classic Conan type we see here in the Diablo 3 preview
The Amazon was a nordic looking woman (who had a "Valkyrie" she could summon)
The Paladin was a non white character, possibly of African descent
The Necromancer was a pasty skinned, white haired man

3 of the 5 Character were male, while 2 were Female.

In my opinion, Blizzard at least tries.

What gets to me is that when the Female Barbarian shows up, her boobs are hangin out there.

I have been accidentally smacked in the boob and it is not pleasant. Were I to be planning on being in a brutal fight, I would certainly armor them (or at least cover them up)

But the treatment of Females in the gaming world is a totally different discussion.

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[info]trousersofdoom
2008-07-13 01:50 pm UTC (link)
blizzard's attempts at trying suck

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[info]shemale
2008-07-13 01:54 pm UTC (link)
so uh. what you're saying is that there's no way there could be anything wrong with the witch doctor character because the last game wasn't completely lily-white?

interesting logic. using the same method, i'm going to inform you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the women characters in diablo 2.
it just isn't possible, because there are female main characters, and they are obviously trying so hard. that holds for every other game where there is a female main character.
so you have to stop letting it get to you. not to be nit picky or anything.


inclusion is the bare minimum, and hardly makes up for things like this.

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[info]zephyrcrow
2008-07-13 10:53 am UTC (link)
Blood libel is hell of edgy.

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[info]gharbad
2008-07-13 03:46 pm UTC (link)
Question: If you want to do a fantasy trope which deals with the "witch doctor" concept, what would you do?

Or, is the "witch doctor" concept off limits because of it's racist connotations? Or is it because they said they were less civilized? As someone who's white as a sheet and not American, I have a hard time seeing things which are obvious to others. Can you point it out specifically?

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[info]tinamou
2008-07-13 07:15 pm UTC (link)
The term 'witch doctor' has condescending, racist connotations in US English; the phrase brings up a caricature of a brutal, ignorant, and possibly satanic cult leader. Folks trying to be respectful of the religious traditions of a non-western culture might go with '(insert name of religion) priest' or shaman.* Given that Blizzard also describes the culture they've made up as less civilized and based on human sacrifice, I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on semantics, either.

*though the word 'shaman' is a pet peeve of mine

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[info]angelsscream
2008-07-13 10:45 pm UTC (link)
Sigh. Fuckin' blizzard.

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[info]notacrnflkgirl
2008-07-18 05:03 pm UTC (link)
19.99 USD?* Cracka, plz. I already get racism for free!
*Price of Diablo II

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