Would you support a project if one team member was problematic?

[TonyAndonuts]

So most movies, TV shows, video games, etc are a team effort. No one person does it all. But if one person on the team was problematic, could you still support whatever they're working on?

 

There's this old game series called Earthworm Jim. It had a few games that were popular at the time for their style, but hasn't had a sequel in years. Until recently it was revealed that the original team was coming back to make a sequel. Sounds great, except the main artist and creator of the character, Doug Tenapel, is apparently a transphobic, right leaning bigot. Some people have voiced their disapproval and even some professional game journalists have said they might have trouble reviewing the game fairly since his name is attached to it.

 

Similarly, there's Dragon Quest. It's one of, if not THE biggest JRPG in Japan that has a ton of games. However, outside of Japan, it's always struggled to sell for whatever reason. With the latest game, Dragon Quest 11, the developers even said that if it doesn't sell well, they might not localize anymore games in English since that stuff costs money that they probably aren't making back due to poor sales. So fans have really been pushing for people to support the series and DQ11 specifically. But it was then brought up that the main music composer, Koichi Sugiyama, is this xenophobic, homophobic, World War 2 apologist. So of course it turned some people off from getting the game because they didn't wanna support someone like that. Would you?

 

Personally, I think it depends. With the Dragon Quest example, this is just one guy out of the hundreds that were apart of this big game. I highly doubt that the company or the game itself is at all a reflection of his views. To them, it just business. All they care about is that he does his job and make the music. And all he does is make the music. It's not like he's a director or writer. So for this, I'd be fine still buying DQ11 and supporting the series (because it needs it!)

 

With Earthworm Jim though, it's a little different. That team is much smaller and probably more close knit, which makes me think they're okay with Doug's views. Plus, he isn't just the artist, he's also the creator of the character, world, and designed some of the levels. Since he's so much more involved, it would feel a lot more like many aspects of the game reflect himself. So it wouldn't sit right with me personally buying and supporting it. Although I do think if you're a professional game reviewer, you really should be as objective as possible and review the game fairly.

[Mingyu's Blue Hair]

I was playing Earthworm Jim on my Game Boy Advance when I was a child. Still sometimes I play. Such a good game.

[Silicon]

I would'nt care too much in those cases of I enjoyed the game, I'd still buy it. Those people are only 1 or 2 cogs in a massive wheel.

 

However if it's a case where the main creator or designer or director whose vision is being constructed turns out to be an ass then I'd have doubts. For example if someone like Shigeru Miyamoto the father of games like Mario and Zelda turned out to be a racist or whatever. Now that would be a massive deal.

[TonyAndonuts]

I would'nt care too much in those cases of I enjoyed the game, I'd still buy it. Those people are only 1 or 2 cogs in a massive wheel.

However if it's a case where the main creator or designer or director whose vision is being constructed turns out to be an ass then I'd have doubts. For example if someone like Shigeru Miyamoto the father of games like Mario and Zelda turned out to be a racist or whatever. Now that would be a massive deal.

I would cry :'(