2023-11-27 06:11:52
▲Game PV suspected of containing ‘misogynistic’ gestures (Photo = YouTube capture)
The ‘misogyny’ controversy, which caused a convenience store franchise trouble in 2021, has now turned the gaming industry upside down. As the controversy arose, game companies began issuing official statements one following another starting early on the weekend and made the videos and illustrations in question private.
According to the gaming industry on the 27th, major domestic games such as Nexon’s ‘Maple Story’ and ‘Dungeon & Fighter’, as well as ‘Dungeon Fighter Mobile’, ‘Blue Archive’, Smilegate’s ‘Epic Seven’, ‘Outer Plains’, and Nimble Neuron’s ‘Eternal Return’ Statements and apologies were posted on the games’ official communities saying, “We are taking action once morest inappropriate expressions in promotional videos (PVs).”
It all started on the 25th when Maple Story released the PV for the character ‘Angelic Buster’ to which the remaster patch was applied. In the PV, Angelic Buster makes a movement of bending his thumb and index finger during the choreography, and netizens have raised suspicions that this movement is an expression of male hatred and a gesture that means ‘megalia’.
Megalia is a currently closed female supremacist community, and the controversial hand shape used to mean ‘a little difference’ or ‘a little’, but is now used by netizens as Megalia’s official logo and a symbol of Korean male genitalia. It is being accepted as a caricatured and misogynistic hand gesture. In 2021, the hand shape was included in promotional posters for GS25 and chicken company BBQ, sparking controversy over misogyny, causing an uproar that resulted in the design being changed and an apology being posted.
As suspicions grew, netizens turned their attention to the company that produced the video. This video was produced by Studio Root, an animation video company that has been collaborating with various game companies for several years to produce animation videos for game promotion. However, it was discovered that Mr. A, known as the team leader of Studio Root, had left a number of posts on social media (SNS) that might be perceived as misogynistic, sparking controversy. As the controversy grew, Mr. A closed his SNS.
As a result of netizens checking various PVs and illustrations produced by the studio, it was confirmed that there were many cases where the controversial hand movements appeared unnatural. Among these, it is known that the same situation occurred in the game ‘Counterside’, which was distributed by Nexon in the past, Neowiz’s ‘Brown Dust 2’, and even the overseas company Hoyo Bus.
▲Maple Story director Kim Chang-seop directly announcing the controversy (Photo = Maple Story YouTube capture)
As the controversy spread, each game company literally went into ’emergency’ and took quick action. As the proportion of male consumers in the gaming industry as a whole is large, related companies appear to have responded more quickly and sensitively.
Maple Story management made the Angelic Buster PV posted on the official YouTube channel private and immediately posted an apology stating, “We will take measures to ensure that the promotional material in question is no longer exposed, and we will investigate the controversial areas in detail as quickly as possible and take necessary measures.” Maple Story director Kim Chang-seop even made a resolute statement, saying through an emergency YouTube broadcast, “We sincerely apologize to users who may have felt inconvenienced,” and “We plan to thoroughly investigate not only the controversial video, but all works collaborated with the studio in question.” showed attitude.
Likewise, Lee Won-man, general director of Dungeon & Fighter, which is being distributed by Nexon, said, “We can never tolerate expressions that give unpleasant feelings or are undesirable from the standpoint of providing services,” and added, “Because the scope of the problem may be wide, we will review it without exception. “It was announced.
In a post explaining related content, Blue Archive’s general producer Kim Yong-ha said, “We confirmed that some inappropriate expressions were included in the video promotional material,” and added, “The videos confirmed to have been affected will be processed privately to confirm authenticity and take quick action. “It has been completed,” he emphasized.
Kim Yun-ha, producer of Smilegate Epic Seven, also said, “We are investigating some inappropriate expressions in the PV video,” and added, “We are in the process of investigating related resources and taking non-disclosure measures, and we will separately inform you of the progress.”
Nimble Neuron Eternal Return’s management team stated, “We have made the video private as inappropriate expressions have been identified,” and “Hate once morest others cannot be tolerated in the name of freedom of expression,” and conducted a full investigation of all copyrighted works, from animations to illustrations. I announced that I would do it.
Studio Root, which produced the video in question, said on its official SNS, “We apologize for causing trouble to users who enjoy the game, companies that trusted us with their work, and many people who are watching this situation.” He continued, “I have confirmed all of the staff’s comments, and I am truly sorry for making the video related to these comments that have nothing to do with the direction of the game.” He added, “The cuts that the staff member worked on were listed and delivered to each game company, and follow-up measures were taken. “I’m waiting for it,” he said.
However, regarding the hand movements in question, he refuted, “It was not an intentional movement,” and “The staff in question is an original animator who works on key frames and participates in all work, but it is impossible to control each movement.” He continued, “If the original building is okay, we will take responsibility for editing any suspicious scenes,” and added, “Not only will the staff in question not participate in future editing work, but we will also retrieve what they are currently working on, discard it, and rework it.”
Meanwhile, the controversy is intensifying as some claim that the hand gesture in question may be a natural movement during the animation process. Since it is an animation that connects movements rather than a single illustration, the scene appeared by chance as the shape of the hand changed.
Accordingly, an official in the design industry said in a phone call with News Tree on the 27th, “In addition to the last GS25 controversy, similar incidents are continuously occurring, so the entire design industry is very sensitive to this issue. Unless there is a request or design intent, “We are avoiding any controversial elements as much as possible,” he explained. He continued, “Even in this situation, it is sufficiently suspicious that the gesture was made from the Korean won stage.”
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