BioWare writer quits after death threats to family

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.<p>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.<p>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).<p>The relentless stalking and cyberbullying of Ms. Hepler, one of the franchise&#x27;s true stars, is a damned shame. It was a shame a year ago, simply because of its immaturity. It&#x27;s a damned shame now, because of its consequences.<p>If any studios out there are looking for writers, please seek out Jennifer Hepler ASAP.

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&#x27;s with the very uneven handed approach to law enforcement?<p>Oh right, school shootings make the news and are near terrorism and murdering a woman&#x27;s family gruesomely is... normal?<p>[1] Justin Carter: <a href="http://freejustincarter.org" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;freejustincarter.org</a>

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.

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&#x27;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.<p>I&#x27;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.

From <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-dev-harassment-erodes-industry-spurs-support-groups" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.polygon.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;8&#x2F;15&#x2F;4622252&#x2F;plague-of-game-dev-...</a> :<p>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.<p>When asked if the harassment led to her depature, Hepler told Polygon &quot;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.&quot;

<a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/15/4622252/plague-of-game-dev-harassment-erodes-industry-spurs-support-groups" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.polygon.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;8&#x2F;15&#x2F;4622252&#x2F;plague-of-game-dev-...</a>

Seriously this: <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/03/11/boxer-hunts-down-twitter-troll/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;mashable.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;03&#x2F;11&#x2F;boxer-hunts-down-twitter-trol...</a> is the only cure for this sort of thing.<p>We need some vigilantes that will turn up at the house of these people and dare them to say it face to face.

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

For some context, this article is part of a moral panic going on in the UK right now regarding trolling, &quot;cyber-bullying&quot;, 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.

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

Typical. It&#x27;s always easier to be a bully behind a keyboard.

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

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

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

Reading this makes me sick to my stomach!