
BioWare writer quits after death threats to family - adeaver
http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/16/bioware-writer-quits-after-death-threats-to-family-3925970/
======
jonnathanson
This is extremely disheartening to hear, especially because I remember when
this story first received some media coverage (and grabbed front-page real
estate on HN). I knew, even before clicking on the link, that Jennifer Hepler
would be the subject of this story.

Ms. Hepler was a creative force behind some of the strongest writing in the
first Dragon Age, a game whose derivative (though thoroughly enjoyable)
gameplay was enhanced dramatically by the depth, wit, and personality of its
setting and characters.

The sequel, while (IMO) justifiably criticized for its dumbed-down gameplay,
nevertheless retained a lot of the brilliant writing and storycraft tha made
its predecessor so enjoyable. (AFAIK, Jennifer Hepler had nothing to do with
the gameplay changes; she was responsible for the writing).

The relentless stalking and cyberbullying of Ms. Hepler, one of the
franchise's true stars, is a damned shame. It was a shame a year ago, simply
because of its immaturity. It's a damned shame now, because of its
consequences.

If any studios out there are looking for writers, please seek out Jennifer
Hepler ASAP.

------
mindstab
So a kid threatens to shot up a school and spends half a year in jail [1], but
endless viciously well described death threats like this and no police
response? What's with the very uneven handed approach to law enforcement?

Oh right, school shootings make the news and are near terrorism and murdering
a woman's family gruesomely is... normal?

[1] Justin Carter: [http://freejustincarter.org](http://freejustincarter.org)

~~~
boh
Death threats are more numerous and less threatening than they seem. It's
terrible to be regularly threatened by anonymous people but the fact is, any
12 yr old with an internet connection and a phone line can send/call in a
threatening message. The likelihood of it being carried out, however, is slim
to none. Few people would be willing to take the lives of children, and then
face jail time, for the sake of a video game they don't like. As far as law
enforcement goes, resources are limited and they can legally only do so much.

------
zeckalpha
This behavior is unacceptable. People who are around this behavior but say
nothing are not helping the problem. If you see this behavior speak up.

~~~
DanielStraight
And if you run a gaming community, or really any online community, immediately
hellban anyone who threatens someone else. Someone who threatens to kill
someone's children does not deserve a second chance.

~~~
gte910h
I think blizzard has the right approach: You don't get to post unless you post
from your account which is linked to a credit card by which you pay for the
game.

If you post something like this, it's easy peasy to get your ass arrested.

------
joezydeco
Back in the days of arcade gaming, companies had pretty serious policies about
never publicizing or even mentioning the names of the engineers that worked on
the games. This was primarily because the companies valued the talent and
didn't want to see their key designers poached by other companies (and, by
result, keep their salaries and royalties down as well). This is why people
like Robinett (Atari 2600 Adventure) put the earliest easter eggs in their
work.

I'm wondering if we need to go back to that system, or perhaps come to some
middle ground where if developers are going to talk publicly about games, they
do it under pseudonym or something.

~~~
adeaver
In the age of the Internet will that actually work though? It would be be that
hard to find the names.

~~~
joezydeco
I believe there can be a significant difference between "Jennifer Hepler,
Employee, BioWare" and "Jennifer Hepler, Writer of this specific character you
hate on this specific game, BioWare".

~~~
Zikes
The internet allows for a fairly "shotgun" approach when it comes to abuse.
But, maybe it would be beneficial to spread the abuse out instead of allowing
it to focus.

Though, there is still doxxing. You can't rule out that that information is in
some way discoverable regardless.

------
sxp
From [http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-
dev-...](http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-dev-
harassment-erodes-industry-spurs-support-groups) :

Jennifer Hepler left BioWare this week to begin work on a book about narrative
design and do some freelance work. Her most recent job title was senior writer
on Dragon Age: Inquisition. But it was Dragon Age 2 that led to the death
threats, the threats against her family and children and the harassment.

When asked if the harassment led to her depature, Hepler told Polygon "No,
leaving Bioware was for family reasons. I am going to be working on a text
book on narrative design among other game-related freelance projects."

------
ukdm
[http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-
dev-...](http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-dev-
harassment-erodes-industry-spurs-support-groups)

------
gadders
Seriously this: [http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-twitter-
trol...](http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-twitter-troll/) is
the only cure for this sort of thing.

We need some vigilantes that will turn up at the house of these people and
dare them to say it face to face.

~~~
bitwize
Wow. A real-life version of "u 'avin a giggle m8? ill bash yer fookin 'ead in
swear on me mum".

~~~
gadders
What language was that typed in?

------
norswap
Unrelated, but Dragon Age II is actually a game with an interesting story,
that strays far from the classics (in a good way). The game did not deserve
the backlash it got.

Combat is good too, albeit the weird camera angle is somewhat of an annoyance.

~~~
PJones
As a story it was good, but as a game the backlash it received was fully
justified.

It reused the same areas and assets to the extreme. You literally spent all
your time running around the same 5 or 6 dungeon maps with different entrances
and exits. The combat was repetitive and the constant waves of enemies
appearing out of thin air removed any tactical positioning or clever
conservation of abilities.

------
bcoates
For some context, this article is part of a moral panic going on in the UK
right now regarding trolling, "cyber-bullying", etc. that was set off by the
suicide of a teenage girl which was blamed on internet harassment. The suicide
story has fallen apart since, but never let the facts get in the way of some
good outrage, and the usual suspects are in full force using it as leverage
against free speech.

------
CmonDev
So they will see that threats work. Will surely give mixed feelings to a lot
of fans...

~~~
adeaver
Undoubtedly some will see this as a success and use it against writers/devs
they don't like in the future. Needs to be nipped in the bud _now_ by
reporting this people. These are legitimate threats, not jokes.

------
mercurial
Typical. It's always easier to be a bully behind a keyboard.

~~~
astrodust
Especially when you're an asshat in real life. As an example, BBC tracked down
a bully and, surprise, the guy was a real piece of work.
([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kFNYuteAjA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kFNYuteAjA))

------
speeder
I believe the culture wars regarding these sorts of subjects will get a lot
worse, maybe with lots of deaths, before it become better.

All sides of it, has their own reasons, many of them legitimate... But if
history is good in showing precedents, the end result of this will be
countless deaths and destruction, before it gets better.

------
timje1
If George Lucas had created Jar Jar Binks in 2010, would fans have done the
same to him? Is this purely a gender thing?

~~~
ebbv
It's not a gender thing. George Lucas _did_ receive death threats for Jar Jar,
I'm sure.

I've received death threats just doing customer support at a previous job.

There's always going to be crazy douches out there who say crazy douche
things. If we start legislating away free speech (and I realize this is a UK
site where that's already happened even more than in the US) because of the
0.001% of psychotic douchebags then we're harming ourselves and not really
protecting anyone.

Making death threats is already illegal, we don't need any more legislation
about it.

~~~
schrijver
Who’s talking about legislation?

~~~
FoeNyx
the article ? "The situation highlights both more general problems with
cyberbullying and the targeting of women via Twitter, both of which are likely
to see more strict legal sanctions in the future."

------
GotAnyMegadeth
This is the first thing I have ever read from The Metro that I have believed.

------
C1D
Reading this makes me sick to my stomach!

