A mocap technician who worked on Hogwarts Legacy has said he won’t be buying the game, just shy of yet another voice calling for a boycott.
Parker Hartzler took to Twitter to make sure the world knew where he stood. “Here’s my place in the Hogwarts Legacy credits, the second high budget game I’ve been credited in,” Hartzler showcased. “I was the realtime technician on shoot floor helping mocap actors see their rigs in the environments. I will not be purchasing the game – it is the least I can do as an ally.”
Sure enough, Hartzler is listed in Hogwarts Legacy’s credits as one of 21 Beyond Capture employees who worked on mocap production as an “outsourcing partner.”
“Trans people do not deserve to have people like JKR [J.K. Rowling] grow and prosper – any ammunition to the wrong side is damage to a society I would otherwise wish to see in the future,” Hartzler defied. “One where people are not discriminated against for their gender, sexuality, or any piece of their identity.”
“And as always, I’m expecting a slew of people to jump out of the woodwork with “Well *I* don’t care !! I’m going to buy the game! !” – please save yourself the breath. So far most of you I have taken one peek at your account and seen you either follow JKR or you’re right wing.” Hartzler concluded his tweet with a flipping off emoji.
“Also – to people calling me hypocritical for not refusing to work on this game in my own way – please realize you can not speak for me or my financial situation, or the way that mocap companies operate,” Hartzler emphasized. “Had I not shown up to work I would have been promptly fired and homeless soon.”
Some users who replied felt this was not sufficient. As others still noted that Hartzler had contributed to something that made Rowling money, Hartzler reiterated “It was my first job in the industry, and I had no influence over what clients the studio decided to bring in. If I did have that kind of leverage, or held any form of seniority, I would have been an advocate against picking it up.”
When questioned how it was his first job in the industry, but the second game he was credited for, Hartzler tweeted, “This comes from mocap culture. Since they can literally work on as many 6 or more triple A titles over the course of a year. This is common place for mocap, since clients will book a set amount of days to create anim, and mocap actors+shoot crew is pretty expensive.”
He also claimed he didn’t receive a free copy of the game, “Outsourcing teams actually aren’t really given free game copies all the time, part of it could be since I left before the game was properly nearing release but only clients we worked with in excess seem to gift game copies like if they book a ton of shoots and spend lots of money.”
He would go on to respond to a user thanking him. “I’m sad that you feel like you have to try to satisfy unsatisfiable people but you’re a good person for trying, I appreciate your contributions,” @ThWxldThxngKxng praised.
“So far the only people unsatisfied and triggered have been cis people telling me I’m not an ally for working on the game lol,” Hartzler responded.
RELATED: Activists Launch Vile Attacks Against Asmongold After He Blasts ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Boycotters
Hogwarts Legacy has been subject to an attempted boycott by some, continuing attempts to cancel Rowling since 2020. Pro-transgender activists took offence to her comments on biological sex being real, and her rejection of phrases like “people who menstruate” instead of women.
Despite trying to spread false claims the game being anti-semitic and harassing streamers, the game broke Twitch’s record for having the most live viewers for a single player game, and took Steam’s top four slots for Weekly Top Sellers the week the game launched (pre-orders and launch copies being counted separately, along with the normal and Digital Deluxe Edition).
