In the case of single-player video games, it is necessary for the developers to choose the right characters to make their storyline much more interesting. It is very exciting to see how characters have evolved so much in a positive way, but a former World of Warcraft developer has pointed out how “woke” conspiracy is ruining characters in AAA games such as Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Wolverine.
This discussion began after Mark Kern, a popular name in the gaming community, pointed out how the player model of Jean Grey from Marvel’s Wolverine was changed drastically. In a lengthy X thread, Kern stated that the “uglification of women in AAA gaming” is taking place due to the change in the mindset and studios are lowering the bar for femininity.
Former World of Warcraft dev says the rumors about the “uglification of women” in AAA games like Marvel’s Wolverine are true
Mark Kern, who was the Team Lead for World of Warcraft, explained on his X account how the “uglification of women” in AAA games is not benefitting anyone. Kern shared an early leaked screenshot of Jean Grey from Insomniac Games’ upcoming video game Marvel’s Wolverine, pointing out that the character has been changed into a more “masculine, world-weary version.”
Kern blamed this on Sweet Baby Inc., a well-known narrative development and consultation studio, as they are working on Marvel’s Wolverine. The developer claimed that Sweet Baby Inc. is the reason why Jean Grey went from great to “Grocery store auntie.” Many social media posts have accused Sweet Baby Inc. of ruining 2024’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and now it seems like Marvel’s Wolverine will get the same treatment.
Are studios intentionally making women in video games less attractive?
In the X thread, Kern also highlighted Del Walker’s point. Walker, who is a Principal Lead Designer, revealed that every time he pitched a beautiful woman player model, his idea was scrapped and the characters came back looking like “grocery store aunties.” He stated that there is place for both in the game.
Kern explained why this trend is being followed by game studios: First, he claimed that it was the MeToo movement as it forced many game studios to tread carefully while designing female characters, giving these characters no female traits at all. Second, Kern said that these characters were given masculine traits due to “the political imperative to place women equal to men.”
Lastly, Kern revealed that some studios are changing female characters to appeal to the trans community. Mark Kern called these changes “empty, token gestures, born of a knee-jerk response to misguided empathy” as it doesn’t benefit anyone.
