In a move that can be considered way too far out of left field, embattled developer/publisher Activision Blizzard has released a so-called "diversity tool" which will rank their video game characters based on how inclusive they are. Because why not?
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According to Dexerto, the tool's reveal from seemingly out of nowhere has largely elicited mixed results - and prompted more questions than answers. The company said that they developed the tool in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with the goal of creating software that studies and "guards" against unconscious bias and exclusion.
In an explainer published on the official Activision Blizzard blog, Jacquieline Chomatas of ActiBlizz subsidiary King explained what the tool is all about:
"The Diversity Space Tool is a measurement device, to help identify how diverse a set of character traits are and in turn how diverse that character and casts are when compared to the norm."
To perform its "duty," the tool uses a ranking method which scores character designs for various things and gives it points. These things include gender, race, body type, and other defining ones.
With the Diversity Space Tool, as ActiBlizz calls it, game developers have the potential to not fall into unconscious bias when developing their games and characters. And the company cited some sources that show this as a definitive thing in the gaming industry as a whole.
Starting with Activision Blizzard itself, it was revealed that women only comprised 24% of the company's overall workforce. Furthermore, 36% of its employees based in the United States identify as a member of an underrepresented ethnic group.
The diversity tool, according to Chomatas, aims to curb this long-standing company culture and apply more diversity all throughout ActiBlizz' numerous IPs - Overwatch and Call of Duty included.
Visitors walk past an advertisement of the computer game "Call of Duty" during the gaming fair "gamescom" in Cologne, western Germany on August 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ
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People Are Divided
By "divided," maybe we really mean "up in arms" because folks are finding it hard to understand why Activision Blizzard would do such a thing like this.
A few people took to Twitter to air their disapproval of ActiBlizz' diversity tool, with this user condemning it for "reducing diversity to extremely weird and degrading metrics" while also chastising the company for announcing it to the public as if it is something to be proud of:
Another user, however, gave the embattled game industry player props for trying, but also said that its efforts aren't necessarily working for its overall goals:
Either way, this latest move is likely part of the company's overall strategy to fix its image after that legal brouhaha last year. It has started with the recent hiring of former Disney executive Jessica Martinez as their primary culture-fixer, alongside other efforts meant to ensure that the studio will be a more inclusive workplace to be in.
Of course, those other efforts will now include Activision Blizzard games which will likely feature a far more diverse cast of characters in the foreseeable future, more so with the release of this tool - which the company seems to be pretty serious about.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce