After Censoring Their Latest Champion Furia, Paladins Game Developer Comes to Their Senses!
Hi-Rez Studios, the video game developer behind the Paladins MOBA game, introduced their new champion Furia. If you are unfamiliar with MOBAs, they are multiplayer online battle arenas that pit players against each other. The games usually have a number of unique champions that players are allowed to choose from. In order to keep the game fresh they are always creating new champions with different abilities to cater to different play styles.
They introduced the new character who looked like an angel with giant wings and a sword. She also had one a type of pants that bared her upper thighs.
It didn’t take long before a small group of fans complained that Furia’s thighs weren’t covered.
HI-Rez Censors Their Own Character
In response, Hi-Rez Studios thought it’d be a good idea to cover her up. The change went to the public test realm soon after. Fans noticed, and it wasn’t good.
Not long afterward, Paladins executive producer Chris Larson took to Twitter in an attempt to clear the air. He claimed in short that the change was a result of “feedback” they received.
Hi all! Just wanted to say that we have heard the feedback on Furia and her art direction and are looking at ways to go a bit more conservative with her visual design to hopefully hit the mark better! Thanks for your passion for Paladins and making the game great. @ThunderBrush
— HirezChris (@HirezChris) June 1, 2018
Larson was then joined by Paladins Art Director who also said the change was made due to “feedback on our latest champion.” Along with his explanation he included the updated design for the character which covers up her thighs.
Hi Paladins community, We have heard the feedback on our latest champion and are making some quick last minute changes before she goes live to the world. Thanks everyone, we can’t wait for you to play our new content! pic.twitter.com/gqTXWARGFG
— ThunderBrush (@ThunderBrush) June 1, 2018
Fans Pushback
Many fans were not happy with the new design and let the game developers know.
#NotMyFuria This sucks, i´m not going to play with a censored character.
— Ricardo Nagüelquín (@RickNaguelquin) June 4, 2018
No
— Kevin Senpaii (@KeviinSenpaii) June 3, 2018
One user even asked why it was okay for Wonder Woman to wear a much more revealing outfit, but Furia needed to be censored.
So Wonder Woman (who’s actually known and is an iconic character) can wear something like this but a character that barely has any skin showing (just her thighs) gets covered up? Alright lets cover up Lian, Seris, Willo, and Ying while we’re at it. Oh and the “sexier” skins too. pic.twitter.com/bEb1mSsp0A
— NepSir (@NepSir) June 1, 2018
The Paladin community is fighting what seems to be an attempt by social justice warriors to force censorship into the game. A great video by Eye Candy Detective compares Furia with many of the other females in Paladins. And asks the questions, if it’s okay for them, why not her?
Check out the video below:
https://youtu.be/0NbQb_LB6gI
Hi-Rez Holds The Line
But even after all the tweets and push back against Hi-Rez, it seems that the studio had decided to stand firm with their decision about Furia. The official Paladins Twitter account noted the development team “shared some of the same concerns of our community regarding Furia’s base skin.”
We’ve decided to take a different art direction that speaks more to the character of Furia. While we still want to have fun with skins and convey different aspects of our Champions through them, we shared some of the same concerns of our community regarding Furia’s base skin. https://t.co/bJVbDgz4kA
— Paladins: The Game (@PaladinsGame) June 1, 2018
They also added they “feel it’s the right decision in order to showcase Furia as the bad-ass she is.”
This is what PTS is for, and we definitely feel it’s the right decision in order to showcase Furia as the bad-ass she is. We can’t wait for you to try out the Angel of Vengeance in 1.1!
— Paladins: The Game (@PaladinsGame) June 1, 2018
We’ve decided to take a different art direction that speaks more to the character of Furia. While we still want to have fun with skins and convey different aspects of our Champions through them, we shared some of the same concerns of our community regarding Furia’s base skin. https://t.co/bJVbDgz4kA
— Paladins: The Game (@PaladinsGame) June 1, 2018
Many players continued to express their displeasure at the decision and even began to mock the company for caving into the demands to change character.
Ugh, you guys suck
— Rockgirl (@arekuxis) June 1, 2018
I haven’t seen one comment happy about this change … at all ..
— JordanRay (@BasiicRay) June 2, 2018
One player hit the nail on the head with their criticism.
Since you guys are pandering to the vocal minority now, Are you gonna censor these skins just because someone got offended? pic.twitter.com/paX6vpSjer
— KingOfBlades (@KingOfBlades38) June 1, 2018
What about these? pic.twitter.com/0cU8da4ayc
— KingOfBlades (@KingOfBlades38) June 1, 2018
Or these? pic.twitter.com/75phd3fAim
— KingOfBlades (@KingOfBlades38) June 1, 2018
It has become such an issue that executive producer of Paladins, Chris Larson took to the official subreddit last Friday to claim that the company wasn’t “caving” because the changes were already in the pipeline. Most fans weren’t convinced, so they continued to voice their displeasure with the changes.
Fans Victorious – Hi-Rez Reinstates Furia’s Original Design!
Despite the initial push back from Hi-Rez, the studio eventually listened to reason from their fans and brought back the original design for Furia. The censored version will also be available.
Hi-Rez’s community manager Molly Joseph made the announcement.
Everyone has a favorite outfit. You can choose from Furia’s base look, or her Iron Maiden recolor skin in Update 1.1! pic.twitter.com/0fjbIdgm7C
— Molly Joseph (@HiRezMolly) June 4, 2018
Paladins art director also confirmed the change this morning.
Since some folks seemed to have missed out on the news Yesterday, Iron Maiden in all her glory is still here! pic.twitter.com/IjiSrF1zQ4
— ThunderBrush (@ThunderBrush) June 5, 2018
It seems that the video, gif, and meme war against the censorship of Furia caused Hi-Rez to at least offer a compromise in an attempt to satisfy both sides. In the compromise, the original design of Furia, exposed thighs and all, will come back. But in turn, the new design also stays. Players will be able to choose which outfit they want Furia to wear.
Though it might not be a complete victory against the onslaught of SJW corruption. This shows at the very least that fans were heard loud and clear. The studio is giving people a choice.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Either way, the attack on the gaming community from the Social Justice Warriors will continue. It wasn’t that long ago that Polygon attacked God of War because of its supposed “toxic masculinity.”
Even IGN caved to pressure and apologized for a hilarious meme making fun of Microsoft’s Xbox.
What do you think, was this enough? Or are we just waiting for another fringe SJW group to come back and attack again? And how do you feel about how Hi-Rez Studios handled the situation? Could they have done a better job? Or are you just happy with how it all turned out??
Tell us in the comments below!
Paladins is now available on the PS4, PC, and Xbox One.
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