World of Warcraft, Eh?

So, I’m going to make a comfortable assumption that everyone knows about this – the innocently ignorant statements of one Rob Pardo of Blizzard Entertainment (credit to Polygon.com). There’s also the full video of it right here (go from 70:10-74-ish). Long and the short of it is that Rob, when asked about valuing gameplay over narrative, and what is Blizzard doing about inclusiveness, responded that “oh, well, we don’t really focus on that. We’re not out to make a social statement; we just want to have fun. Our writers grew up reading comics and idolizing Frank Frazetta so all our female characters are sexy fantasy women.” When asked as to why don’t they hire more female devs to help bring diversity to the table, he responded with the same “we just don’t get as many female applicants.”

It’s a long and sordid problem – young women don’t get into STEM, programming or game design because they’re faced with shitty obstacles just for being girls, which leads many to not bother pursuing, which leads the resume pool for qualified women to be VERY small. I’ve worked in gaming and animation since 2007 – I know the situation.

But that’s not what this is about. This is about a C-level Blizz exec essentially saying that adding diversity to the game is just too much effort, and we don’t want to rock the boat. I understand that their audience contains straight white men, but…women make up nearly half of the entire gaming population, and we’re NOT just all healers. The WoW community is fueled by some of the hardest working, most insanely talented women I’ve ever had the honor of meeting, so…why? Why are women relegated to being the sexy lamp window dressing piece for WoW, or stripped of their power to just cool their heels and let the boys have their adventure? It was another crushing blow to an already shaking community foundation, and Rob’s thoughtless comments made the ground buckle for more than just a few people. Several high-ranking community members threw in the towel to say enough is enough, and I do not blame them one bit.

Where am I going with all this?

Well…nowhere. For now, at least.

WoW Eh has certainly suffered in the past 2 months, but that is entirely due to the fact that I got a new job that takes up a lot of my time and energy. Comics are still a-coming, don’t you worry! But besides that, I was thinking about what the fan community brings to WoW. I consider myself to be a part of a couple of different fandoms, and the biggest thing you’ll see in it is fanfiction and fanart. Any of these fan creations struck me as someone’s way of saying “the source material is good…in theory, but I think it would be interesting if we made this character gay, or a POC.” It’s a way for fans to repair the damage done to a franchise that is, at the end of the day, more concerned with making money than catering to someone’s OTP.

I feel that’s what I try to do with my comics and characters. WoW Eh is, in its purest essence, fanfiction. I try to stay as true to the canonical world as possible, but Cadistra and Kissless (and even poor Kama) are representations of what I’d like to see in WoW. Cadistra is sweet, funny, generous and kind, but has a wicked temper and a feral rage boiling just under the surface. Kissless is tiny, fearless, and an example of a woman who was stripped of a given power only to fight back for every scrap of it. She loves fighting, fucking and is far too impulsive for anyone who would call themselves a paladin. What I’m trying to say is that they’re flawed, but when you think about it, the fact that they’re both women have nothing to do with their actions. They could still do all of those things and be all of those things if they were men, so…why can’t WoW? Why can’t women in WoW have power? Why are they all showing their midriff? Why can’t they laugh, cry, have bad habits, or, y’know, be multi-dimensional characters that go beyond being someone’s wife, lover or girlfriend? Why are there so few female characters in WoW who are not defined just by being on the arm of an already-established male power fantasy?

A great point that was brought up in at least two articles I’ve seen was Hearthstone. There are…two female heroes; Jaina and Valeera. Instead of putting the Dark Lady, the leader of the forsaken and the best archer in not only Azeroth but ALSO Draenor as the hunter hero, we got…Rexxar? Maybe some alternate heroes in the future, at least? Aponi Brightmane for a paladin hero? Magatha Grimtotem for a shaman hero? Christ, Aggra as a shaman hero?!

Anyways, I’m veering off course. WoW Eh means so much to me because I’ve carved out a little corner of the vibrant and war-torn world of Azeroth for two women who can like cute things, cute guys, and still defend their homes, people and factions – without being relegated to 3″ stiletto heels and a steel thong (if you want to dress that way because you find it empowering, by all means! Just do it for YOU, and not to fulfill the male gaze). And even if it doesn’t always translate (I’m not the best artist!) I’ve even changed the girls over the years – I specifically draw Cadi more pear-shaped/bottom-heavy, and Kissless is now thin and lean; no longer the perfect hourglass she used to be. I’m trying to show that heavier women with different body types can be heroic. I’m trying to show that it’s okay to be who you are, and to like what you like, and to feel what you feel!

If Blizzard won’t make WoW a safe place, then you can come hang out with Cadistra, Kissless and Kama, because you’ll always have a shoulder to lean on over here.

~Cadi