On Telltale Games’ Ableist Treatment of Sarah

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Comments

  • The Tumblr twdg fandom is in a constant uproar about sexism, ableism, feminism, name any "ism" and they're probably screaming about it over there. They can't turn off the "offended" switch for anything, not even for a video game. I'd imagine it must be very hard to enjoy life so pissed off all the time.:-/

    Lingvort posted: »

    Tumblr is populated by feminists, and I reckon the article's author is no exception.

  • You can pretty much remove "twdg fandom" from your statement and it will apply to over 70-80% of what's happening on Tumblr, at least from what I've heard.

    Tinni posted: »

    The Tumblr twdg fandom is in a constant uproar about sexism, ableism, feminism, name any "ism" and they're probably screaming about it over

  • edited August 2014

    What the hell is wrong with you people on Tumblr? So the minute someone disagrees with you, that person is automatically a white "cis"(wtf is cis, is that even a word?) male in their twenties or thirties. Noo that's not the least bit generalizing or judgmental at all.

  • If you wasn't offended that's good for you. But if someone is, let them speak. People don't usually 'shout' because they want to annoy you or to get attention, it's because they feel hurt.
    And as tumblr user, I can assure you, we enjoy the game as much as everyone here does.

    Tinni posted: »

    The Tumblr twdg fandom is in a constant uproar about sexism, ableism, feminism, name any "ism" and they're probably screaming about it over

  • Sadly, you're correct. Tumblr has great edits and gifs, but as for the community? Stay away at all costs xshuddersx

    Lingvort posted: »

    You can pretty much remove "twdg fandom" from your statement and it will apply to over 70-80% of what's happening on Tumblr, at least from what I've heard.

  • edited August 2014

    Sadly, you're correct. Tumblr has great edits and gifs, but as for the community? Stay away at all costs xshuddersx

    Lingvort posted: »

    You can pretty much remove "twdg fandom" from your statement and it will apply to over 70-80% of what's happening on Tumblr, at least from what I've heard.

  • edited August 2014

    I'm not saying you aren't allowed to be offended, but there needs to be a limit. Over at Tumblr it seems that every single thing that offends someone, or is considered "problematic" even the least bit needs to be petitioned/boycotted, TellTale needs to be reprimanded for allowing it, and the person who's responsible for the "offensive" comment is now labeled as trash/gross/ableist/sexist/a bad person /belongs in the dumpster etc. With people freaking out so much over there, it lessens the impact of the issue you're trying to make light of. And because of that people won't take the issue, or you, seriously.

    theonys posted: »

    If you wasn't offended that's good for you. But if someone is, let them speak. People don't usually 'shout' because they want to annoy you o

  • damn, I keep double posting, wtf is wrong with my computer. Sorry guys.

    Tinni posted: »

    Sadly, you're correct. Tumblr has great edits and gifs, but as for the community? Stay away at all costs xshuddersx

  • edited August 2014

    every single thing that offends someone

    I hope you understand that everyone is different. And of course everyone is mad about different things, that's why it may seem that 'everyone is offended by something'. But that's at the same time the precious thing about tumblr - no one will try to shut you up. What I've been told about tumblr before I joined it - you won't be judged there unless you're uncivil. And strangely it happen to be true.

    I'm not saying that I agree with every topic that had been raised on tumblr, but you can be heared there, and that's what I aprreciate.

    Tinni posted: »

    I'm not saying you aren't allowed to be offended, but there needs to be a limit. Over at Tumblr it seems that every single thing that offend

  • edited August 2014

    Of course I understand that everyone is different and will react differently to things. But just because you're offended doesn't mean it calls for this huge movement to make TellTale apologize, or yield to your way of thinking about those things. I just don't understand what you all over at Tumblr want to get out of this, Greg apologized but you're all still angry. I hate to break it to you but I think you've been misinformed about Tumblr. Tumblr preaches about accepting and embracing everybody, and not judging anyone, but that only applies if you think like them. If someone has an unpopular opinion or disagrees with them, they attack you like rabid dogs.

    You can be heard on any forum, all you have to do is start a thread. Do you mean to say that having people agree with you is equivalent to being heard? Sorry, I might be misinterpreting that last bit of your comment.

    theonys posted: »

    every single thing that offends someone I hope you understand that everyone is different. And of course everyone is mad about differ

  • If someone has an unpopular opinion or disagrees with them, they attack you like rabid dogs.

    I haven't seen this side of tumblr yet and I'm truly sorry if you did. Not everyone there is well-mannered but it's just like everywhere, there is no perfection in the world. But from what I've seen the majority are actually nice people.

    By 'you can be heard' I meant there will be people who will discuss your topic of interest without being impolite.

    Tinni posted: »

    Of course I understand that everyone is different and will react differently to things. But just because you're offended doesn't mean it cal

  • edited August 2014

    You are very lucky not to have dealt with people like that, and I hope you never do. I don't own a Tumblr account, but I lurk there a lot, and the amount of times I've seen someone being bullied into deleting their account because they think differently is far too high. However, I can't disagree with you there, it is true that every forum/site is always going to have some bad apples. All I can say is that there is a reason why Tumblr tends to have such a bad rep among non-Tumblr users.

    I think you can be heard here, as said earlier there will always be a few trolls on the forums, but for those few trolls there is a lot more people who actually want to have a polite discussion and exchange thoughts/opinions civilly.

    theonys posted: »

    If someone has an unpopular opinion or disagrees with them, they attack you like rabid dogs. I haven't seen this side of tumblr yet

  • Brother, please take an upvote!

    Tinni posted: »

    It's not that I can't see why so many are upset by what Greg said, because it was put harshly. But it crosses the line when people start spa

  • thanks man! Good to hear I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

    remorse667 posted: »

    Brother, please take an upvote!

  • edited August 2014

    I'm sorry to hear that. I've seen posts about 'stop bulling, it makes people delete their blog' stuff, but it was in general, never applying to TWDG. As I said, tumblr is not perfect and I only can wish it to become a better place.

    Tinni posted: »

    You are very lucky not to have dealt with people like that, and I hope you never do. I don't own a Tumblr account, but I lurk there a lot, a

  • No you misunderstood, that comment is toward people who laugh at sarah's death. if it isn't you, then you have nothing to worry about.

    Tinni posted: »

    What the hell is wrong with you people on Tumblr? So the minute someone disagrees with you, that person is automatically a white "cis"(wtf i

  • Don't you see the problem with what you said? You are immediately assuming a person's race and gender based off of an opinion, and then generalizing the whole forum as being full of white straight men(is cis slang for straight? I looked it up and that's the definition I got), not only is that very judgmental but is also very rude to other white straight men who don't have the same opinion. It's not ok that people laughed at Sarah's death, but it's also not ok to make shakily based assumptions off of one opinion.

    Ellias posted: »

    No you misunderstood, that comment is toward people who laugh at sarah's death. if it isn't you, then you have nothing to worry about.

  • edited August 2014

    No. Go away, blood sucking leeches. Don't make issues where there are NONE. Telltale hasn't done anything wrong or even slightly deserving of this bullshit.

  • i think whoever wrote this article should really check their privilege :P

  • [appreciative snapping]

    i think whoever wrote this article should really check their privilege :P

  • "Cisgender" means you were born in a physical body that matches the gender of your inner being. For example, I'm a cisgender female because I am inwardly female in a matching body. This isn't a very nuanced explanation, but basically, what I mean is I'm not transgender. Not taking sides in the argument--just defining what "cis" means.

    Tinni posted: »

    Don't you see the problem with what you said? You are immediately assuming a person's race and gender based off of an opinion, and then gene

  • So a black person saying your racist joke is racist and offensive is them being a baby that can't chew a steak? okayy...

    Joke: something spoken, written, or done with humorous intention. Honestly the fact that someone can say a joke and be called offensive for

  • Oh okay, thanks for the explanation.

    Gwion posted: »

    "Cisgender" means you were born in a physical body that matches the gender of your inner being. For example, I'm a cisgender female because

  • I see what you did there lol.

    i think whoever wrote this article should really check their privilege :P

  • edited August 2014

    This post triggers my self-induced PTSD

    i think whoever wrote this article should really check their privilege :P

  • I sorta get this, but then I don't. Care to explain please?

    i think whoever wrote this article should really check their privilege :P

  • it's a tumblr social justice Vs tumblr social justice battle

    remorse667 posted: »

    I sorta get this, but then I don't. Care to explain please?

  • edited August 2014

    I don't mean to sound like a douche, but you seriously need to stop being a Sarah fanboy. Just because things didn't go the way you wanted it, doesn't mean you have to hate the game now. That's life. Do you really think what they said on this true??? It's probably all for Greg Miller's show. And besides, it's only two developers opinion anyways.

    P.S. Who the hell is Greg Miller and why does everyone care about him so much??? I know he's from IGN, but damn, I see this name an awful lot on this forum.

    EDIT: I saw the disabled part... So what it's offensive. What movies and TV shows aren't. Although I still don't understand how the hell he got the idea and how it is offensive. I mean, in real life... yeah, maybe a disabled person wouldn't do so good in this world. It's understandable and that isn't the only reason why she died. Her father wasn't really raising right her well in a world like this. So you can't just say this game frowns upon disabled people

  • edited November 2015

    If Tumblr Social Justice Warriors had a catch phrase it would seriously be "Don't Trigger Me!11!!"

    remorse667 posted: »

    I sorta get this, but then I don't. Care to explain please?

  • Approximately what percentage of the OP did you read?

    OverDrive posted: »

    I don't mean to sound like a douche, but you seriously need to stop being a Sarah fanboy. Just because things didn't go the way you wanted i

  • I must be lucky too then. Although I heard of severe bullying on tumblr I haven't actually seen as much. If anything I've seen far more bullying on twitter and facebook combined than I ever seen on tumblr. (I don't use social networking much though I do check them at least once a day.)

    Tinni posted: »

    You are very lucky not to have dealt with people like that, and I hope you never do. I don't own a Tumblr account, but I lurk there a lot, a

  • edited August 2014

    With good writing, you don't want to see characters that you hate or annoy you die. I didn't find any joy in splattering larry all over the meat locker despite thinking he was a douche. To take a non-TWD example that none of you will have heard of, when Normad "dies", that is sad, even though up to that point he's just been deliberately annoying and you wished he would go away. His death actually makes you realise how much he was a part of the team, even if he was annoying.

    However, there are some times where you find joy in someone's death. For me those times only tend to be when someone is a blatantly evil scumbag. Sarah is not a blatantly evil scumbag, she's a scared little girl and taking joy in her death is just fucked up, whether you liked her or found her super annoying. Honestly, that he said that just speaks to the bad writing of season 2 imo because I don't think greg is some kind of evil monster. I think the problem is with the game that didn't make him give a crap about her as a person. You shouldn't want to see your fellow group members dead if they haven't done anything wrong.

    DomeWing333 posted: »

    So it seems like a lot of the hate towards Greg Miller is due to the fact that he found joy in seeing Sarah, a character he didn't like, die

  • But Ben directly caused people to die through his lying. Sarah is just a scared little girl who hasn't done anything wrong. You may not think she's worth saving, but you should not be happy to watch her die.

    IndigoHawk posted: »

    You don't even need to look outside of TWD to see that some players are happy to see characters die. In Season 1, the forums had many posts from people who were happy to murder Ben by dropping him to his death.

  • edited August 2014

    It's there alright, and just like I said to theonys, I sincerely hope you don't ever have to see it. The people who engage in it are huge hypocrites, they advocate love and acceptance but turn on others at even the slightest mention of an opinion they don't agree with. They tell their followers about the user and send them over to harass them. It's disgusting, and is a huge reason as to why I despise Tumblr so much as a community. I only really lurk there for edits/gifs/art mostly, but I still come across it some how. I guess I'm just unlucky that way. Thankfully I have neither a Facebook or a Twitter, nor do I plan to lurk on there.

    Lumlotus posted: »

    I must be lucky too then. Although I heard of severe bullying on tumblr I haven't actually seen as much. If anything I've seen far more bull

  • [removed]

    Approximately what percentage of the OP did you read?

  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited August 2014

    The two Telltale employees publicly stated that people at Telltale were excited to kill Sarah. That they were waiting for a chance to do so. And that they listened to the ableist casual fandom who hated her and used that to go forward with her eventual pointless death. They then go on to make a joke about the fact that, in order to save Sarah, the player has to physically assault her while she’s in the middle of a shut-down. They joke that people who hated her wanted to slap her, but that would mean saving her, something they didn’t want to do.


    Telltale's Walking Dead capitalizes on life or death choices as the pinnacle of interactive fiction, that's what I consider a major problem with the series. Let's face it, life or death choices are the most boring choice & consequence mechanics in story based games. They're utterly foreseeable and it's painfully obvious how players are tricked out of experiencing 'consequences' with life or death choices.

    Essentially, the situations in which these choices are made are arbitrary and artificial, and most of all repetitive. Two people are attacked by zombies at the same time, whom do you save? Do you save yourself or do you try to help a person in danger? The only thing that distinguishes these repeating choice moments is context. Who are these characters whom I am trying to help or whom I am letting die? However, if there was only one answer to the latter question, there wouldn't be any choice to make. People would save the good guys and let the bad guys die. So Telltale always has to leave a window open for ambiguity. There have to be sound reasons for either choice. It was always clear what Sarah's role was from moment one. She took Ben's place as a "walking liability". OF COURSE there would be people who just waited to get rid of her, even at Telltale's office.

    Saving her, the compassionate route, advertises itself. So Telltale's designers advertise the cynic alternative, the bad guy arguments. Greg Miller certainly is no help: it's all about the coolness factor for him, and that's only one of the reasons why Telltale seriously has to take these videos back into their own hands again, preferably with AJ Locascio as the host.

    As long as Telltale's Walking Dead goes on, this will probably remain a problem.

  • very good post,i can say you have touched on something there,TWD is very limited...it's about life and death,there is never going to be a point where a season where no one dies or the z.a.ends and everyone gets to play the normal life sim,even if it would be ultra cool. But then why are we playing it? to play as Clem? to save her? the characters we want to save are unsaveable in the end,so why invest? will there be no end goal or sunset ending?

    and deffo for AJ

    Vainamoinen posted: »

    The two Telltale employees publicly stated that people at Telltale were excited to kill Sarah. That they were waiting for a chance to do so.

  • your correct,a lot of fans didn't say she was disabled back then,including me,but i have changed my mind based on what ive read from fans who have got similiar disabilities,and it's probably something i wouldn't recognise as a disability because it's so subtle.

    How is this tumblr garbage still going around in here? Are the sheeple keeping it alive?. What is it with Sarah suddenly being accepted as "

  • edited August 2014

    TWD is very limited...

    That's because they don't try hard enough to come up with something new, Kirkman has been stuck on the same stuff for like 6 years now.

    The show's second half of Season 4 didn't have any major character deaths and GUESS WHAT, it's the best part of the show apart from Season 1.

    Clemmy1 posted: »

    very good post,i can say you have touched on something there,TWD is very limited...it's about life and death,there is never going to be a po

  • i agree,Kirkman is no Romero by any stretch.

    TWD is very limited... That's because they don't try hard enough to come up with something new, Kirkman has been stuck on the same s

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