Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Perhaps you’re wondering where I stand on this “women are bad at tech” silliness? I think it’s troubling anyone could hold that opinion. I don’t see a single reason to hold that bias based on direct observation in my day to day. I have worked with badass combat designers.. …level creators, writers, QA and more. Skills from soft to technical can be taught and learned to anyone with curiosity and passion. What isn’t easy to acquire is a range of experience and perspective. A company can’t teach that, but I strongly feel it benefits from it. This goes double for games, where my goal is to make people feel. Happy, heroic, sad, tragic…all that range can nuanced and enhanced. So, my opinion and feeling is that a diverse team of skilled creators is more valuable than a monoculture of skilled creators.
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: DragonKingReborn Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 887 Prime Likes: 590 Posts: 21,644 Likes: 44,705
Seems I'm not up to date with online news, but what is "the whole Google mess"?
Ditto
"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
Someone unnamed at Google (likely not a high-up person) circulated an internal manifesto that suggested that diversity in the workplace is bad, using the most outdated 'data' and the most uninformed opinions on gender, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary psychology as his arguments. But he writes really well, so he comes across as reasonable.
Seriously though, if you want to read it for yourselves, just google "Google Manifesto" and you will get a ton of articles written about it in the aftermath of its release, as well as links to the manifesto that someone made public. There is a bit of schism - many people think the guy is correct but many others don't.
Last Edit: Aug 7, 2017 22:15:19 GMT by ladyiolanthe
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: DragonKingReborn Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 887 Prime Likes: 590 Posts: 21,644 Likes: 44,705
Someone unnamed at Google (likely not a high-up person) circulated an internal manifesto that suggested that diversity in the workplace is bad, using the most outdated 'data' and the most uninformed opinions on gender, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary psychology as his arguments. But he writes really well, so he comes across as reasonable.
Seriously though, if you want to read it for yourselves, just google "Google Manifesto" and you will get a ton of articles written about it in the aftermath of its release, as well as links to the manifesto that someone made public. There is a bit of schism - many people think the guy is correct but many others don't.
Ugh....thanks - I think I'll pass on reading it, though.
People who try and use "science" and "facts" to justify their bigotry and stupidity make me head hurt.
"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
Someone unnamed at Google (likely not a high-up person) circulated an internal manifesto that suggested that diversity in the workplace is bad, using the most outdated 'data' and the most uninformed opinions on gender, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary psychology as his arguments. But he writes really well, so he comes across as reasonable.
Seriously though, if you want to read it for yourselves, just google "Google Manifesto" and you will get a ton of articles written about it in the aftermath of its release, as well as links to the manifesto that someone made public. There is a bit of schism - many people think the guy is correct but many others don't.
Ugh....thanks - I think I'll pass on reading it, though.
People who try and use "science" and "facts" to justify their bigotry and stupidity make me head hurt.
I try to reassure myself by remembering that they're trying to be helpful. They believe they know information that other people aren't aware of - information that, if true, would improve everyone's happiness and efficiency if it was applied.
Verifying good information is hard. People can't be experts in every field. So it's important to defer to experts on topics they don't know about. But it's not always easy to correctly identify the experts without being an expert yourself. So some people miss the mark, and trust a sham "expert" instead. Or, worse, they believe themselves to be an expert. Maybe they didn't understand the real experts' explanation, so they thought the real experts' reasoning sounded fishy. The only cure is more (and more varied) explanations. It's learning, just like any other kind of learning.
...and I acknowledge that this learning period royally sucks for the groups that they're biased against.
Someone unnamed at Google (likely not a high-up person) circulated an internal manifesto that suggested that diversity in the workplace is bad, using the most outdated 'data' and the most uninformed opinions on gender, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary psychology as his arguments. But he writes really well, so he comes across as reasonable.
Seriously though, if you want to read it for yourselves, just google "Google Manifesto" and you will get a ton of articles written about it in the aftermath of its release, as well as links to the manifesto that someone made public. There is a bit of schism - many people think the guy is correct but many others don't.
Ugh....thanks - I think I'll pass on reading it, though.
People who try and use "science" and "facts" to justify their bigotry and stupidity make me head hurt.
I haven't read it, but I would find it hard to be "pro" or "anti" Google memo until I actually read it and made up my own mind... instead of having someone else make up my mind for me.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Perhaps you’re wondering where I stand on this “women are bad at tech” silliness? I think it’s troubling anyone could hold that opinion. I don’t see a single reason to hold that bias based on direct observation in my day to day. I have worked with badass combat designers.. …level creators, writers, QA and more. Skills from soft to technical can be taught and learned to anyone with curiosity and passion. What isn’t easy to acquire is a range of experience and perspective. A company can’t teach that, but I strongly feel it benefits from it. This goes double for games, where my goal is to make people feel. Happy, heroic, sad, tragic…all that range can nuanced and enhanced. So, my opinion and feeling is that a diverse team of skilled creators is more valuable than a monoculture of skilled creators.
As long as "skill" isn't sacrificed on the altar of "diversity" I'm in agreement.
Someone unnamed at Google (likely not a high-up person) circulated an internal manifesto that suggested that diversity in the workplace is bad, using the most outdated 'data' and the most uninformed opinions on gender, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary psychology as his arguments. But he writes really well, so he comes across as reasonable.
Seriously though, if you want to read it for yourselves, just google "Google Manifesto" and you will get a ton of articles written about it in the aftermath of its release, as well as links to the manifesto that someone made public. There is a bit of schism - many people think the guy is correct but many others don't.
Ugh....thanks - I think I'll pass on reading it, though.
People who try and use "science" and "facts" to justify their bigotry and stupidity make me head hurt.
Bah, you folks are still ahead of some places in the world. Where I live, it wasn't that long ago when similar arguments have been made about driving cars, nevermind engineering
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: DragonKingReborn Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Prime Posts: 887 Prime Likes: 590 Posts: 21,644 Likes: 44,705
Ugh....thanks - I think I'll pass on reading it, though.
People who try and use "science" and "facts" to justify their bigotry and stupidity make me head hurt.
Bah, you folks are still ahead of some places in the world. Where I live, it wasn't that long ago when similar arguments have been made about driving cars, nevermind engineering
"Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt." 21 Feb 2019 at 6:59am - It has not been forgotten. It will not be forgiven. We've now met seven times... Revenge is ice cream - Serza, April 2020 Also known as Mike, David, Scott or Bruce
Aussie Miriam @sagedufraine Curious: When DAO was made, was the DA ending always known/planned, or has the main plot slowly evolved? @patrickweekes @mike_Laidlaw
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw There is no planned ending for DA. There is an evolving plan that tends to look 2 games ahead or so.
Thus, I could tell you what -could- be in a theoretical game 5, if there were a theoretical game 4 happening.
But I strongly believe that if you try to hold to a rigid plan that is a decade old by the time you reach the end, you are wasting ops.
Mariah Jade Vowles @mariah_JV I believe you should definitely tell us what "could" be in a theoretical game 5... for... reasons....
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw "Swords, probably."
Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes DAMN IT, DUDE, THAT WAS GONNA BE THE BIG PLOT TWIST.
seb hanlon 🔵🗣 @hanlsp I’ll take “Swords” for $400, Alex!
Mariah Jade Vowles @mariah_JV I believe you should definitely tell us what "could" be in a theoretical game 5... for... reasons....
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw "Swords, probably."
sarah @sarahkfetter 6m6 minutes ago
CAN I KISS THE SWORD i guess technically all the games have "sword kissing" in them if you're going for flowery pretentious language with the romances
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Verily. Thine lips dost caress its naked blade, sending the faintest quiver to yon hilt.
sarah @sarahkfetter I guess "they gargled the sword with like, a ton of enthusiasm" just doesn't have the same ring
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw It does, just played on a different kind of instrument. The shredding electric guitar to the earlier's plucking harpsichord.
Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes Neither of you have ever read my story in which a dude walks in on his magic sword having sex, have you?
seb hanlon 🔵🗣 @hanlsp Wait, is that the magic warhammer, or is that a different one?
Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes It is the story that indirectly led to my hiring at BioWare.
seb hanlon 🔵🗣 @hanlsp … -chinhands-
Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes I will try to dig it up on the hard drive. It was in Amazing Stories in October 2004.
Devin B @purityknights If there was a theoretical game 4, would we hear about it before 2018?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Fuck, dude, at this point I'm giving "2018" it's own theoretical status.
Grammar Police @_grammar_ It seems to be the case that you, @mike_Laidlaw, ought to use “"2018" [its] own theoretical” instead. ‘It's’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Autocorrect has led to my arrest by the grammar police.
Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere, but Dark Horse and TFAW have updated the release date for Knight Errant Issue #4 for next week on the 16th instead of August 8 as originally indicated. Considering the Dark Horse twitter account was advertising the issue for sale this Wednesday not three days ago, I'm honestly not sure whether this change was made in error or if they simply failed to update the release until now for whatever reason. It is what it is, I suppose.
StormSage13 @stormsage13 @mike_Laidlaw How do you approach making companions for Dragon Age? I noticed in Origins that I learned about the world by learning about the characters and their place in their culture. Is that intentional or is there something else in mind when creating a companion?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw "An interesting, fundamentally capable person who gives a shit about what's going on and has their own perspective on what is right."
Richard Cobbett @richardcobbett How long before it's no longer the Dragon Age? The seers begin having dreams of sloths and have to be killed for the sake of the franchise?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw We've got 50+ years left.
Devin B @purityknights If there was a theoretical game 4, would we hear about it before 2018?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Fuck, dude, at this point I'm giving "2018" it's own theoretical status.
Grammar Police @_grammar_ It seems to be the case that you, @mike_Laidlaw, ought to use “"2018" [its] own theoretical” instead. ‘It's’ means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Autocorrect has led to my arrest by the grammar police.
Rent member me as I loved!
Ronnie Melamed @prettynose92 So you get to choose which two companions need to break you out, yeah?
Mike Laidlaw @mike_Laidlaw Sten and Barkspawn. Always Sten and Barkspawn.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard Posts: 2,666 Likes: 6,559
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Dragon Age The Veilguard
Shit hole or not, his lover has a title and holdings there, which for my Lavellan was a pretty big deal. If Dorian is not on good terms with the Inquisitor he calls the south "a freezing shit hole" when sitting in the Winter Palace. I dare say, if Dorian actually passed through Kirkwall, he picked up on the negative vibes in that city that I believe all mages would experience, so he'd likely disparage it based on that alone.
I agree that it is probably just Altus snobbery when comparing the rest of Thedas to Minrathous but I would have thought Kirkwall would have a lot of Tevinter architecture bearing in mind their long connection with the city.
Yes, but the most striking of that architecture was giant bronze statues of weeping slaves. Followed closely by giant mosaics of weeping slaves. Seriously, Varric needs to melt that crap down, historicity be damned. Maintaining the moniker "City of Chains" so graphically, even though they've been free of Tevinter's rule for centuries, is doing no one's mental health any favors.
I love Kirkwall for Hawke and company, but dream honeymoon destination it is not.