Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn TikTok
    TopBuzzMagazine.com
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn TikTok
    • Home
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Music
    • Fashion
    • Books
    • Science
    • Technology
    • Cover Story
    • Contact
      • About
      • Amazon Disclaimer
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Privacy Policy
      • DMCA / Copyrights Disclaimer
    TopBuzzMagazine.com
    Home»Technology»How Electronic Arts Tries to Make Diverse Video Games
    Technology

    How Electronic Arts Tries to Make Diverse Video Games

    By AdminAugust 21, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Tülay McNally, director of inclusive design at Electronic Arts, chooses her words carefully as we chat about creating diverse characters for video games. Raised in Germany, McNally is no stranger to the international video game industry. She worked at Square Enix, Sega, and Bioware before joining EA. McNally’s team at EA assists with the development of characters from underrepresented groups and with public communication.

    Her caution is warranted—Activision Blizzard was ripped to shreds a month before our interview for its reductive approach to video game diversity, one which assigned numerical scores to marginalization, turning identity into a kind of scorecard that developers could use to determine who they should include (or exclude) from character rosters. McNally remains excited to talk about EA’s inclusive design framework, although she is quick to emphasize that the company is not taking a legalistic approach to diversity.

    “It’s really a loose framework of guiding principles and design philosophies that we customize to our engagements with each game team,” says McNally. She points to Maxis Studios, the team behind The Sims 4 (which recently added the ability for players to customize their Sims’ pronouns), as part of the company already seeing success creating content with a diverse player base in mind and not needing as much assistance. “Some other game teams may be more at the beginning. They may need a bit more support, education, and hand holding,” she says.

    Released in 2018, EA’s Battlefield V received backlash for putting women in World War II combat. Despite this, a foundation for the company’s approach to inclusive design at scale was laid through collaborations between the Pacific expansion development team and the company’s Asian and Pacific Islander employee resource group. An intensive review process for this Battlefield V downloadable content covered everything from initial trailers and storyboards to tiny weapon charms and player skins. In addition to its employee resource group, EA reached out to geopolitical consultants for contextual authenticity.

    After helping lead the volunteer initiative on Battlefield V, McNally crafted a business case for continued use of an inclusive design framework and presented it to EA’s chief operating officer, Laura Miele. The company created a new position for McNally as a result of that meeting: director of inclusive design. Talking about her current team of four at EA, she says, “Two of them are focusing on game accessibility. The other two focus more on the cultural sensitivity and representation side, and also working with game teams.”

    Volunteer employees and a new internal team supplement the work of outside, professional consultants. “We know that we need that guidance,” McNally says. It’s a fight against hubris, not a trade-off.

    Although some conservative consumers might react negatively to the prospect of inclusive character design, the case for approaching video game storytelling from multiple perspectives is not only concerned with equity. Inclusivity is also good for business. One goal of the inclusive design framework at EA is to spark  discussions with developers throughout a game’s creation. It doesn’t make financial sense to wait till the later stages of development to start asking questions that could require time and resource-intensive fixes.

    Read The Full Article Here

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    The Lenovo Go S Is $120 Off

    October 3, 2025

    a16z releases a report, with Mercury data, on the top 50 AI companies startups pay for; OpenAI leads, followed by Anthropic, Replit, Freepik, and ElevenLabs (Dominic-Madori Davis/TechCrunch)

    October 3, 2025

    The 36 Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now (October 2025)

    October 2, 2025

    A profile of Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, who brokered the EA takeover with Jared Kushner, following the PE firm’s high-stakes deals from TikTok to Altera (Financial Times)

    October 2, 2025

    Early Prime Day Deals: $100 Off 2 Best-Selling Espresso Makers

    October 1, 2025

    How live sports betting has exploded in popularity in the US, accounting for more than half of the money wagered on FanDuel and DraftKings in recent quarters (Jenny Vrentas/New York Times)

    October 1, 2025
    popular posts

    15 Things We Miss About the Gen-X Music Experience

    Barbra Streisand Praises Gracie Abrams After ‘Saturday Night Live’

    Quantum batteries could discharge more power than they store

    Zeeko Zaki Talks OA and Army Buddy Clay, Leaning on Maggie (Exclusive)

    BAYC Creator Yuga Labs Reportedly Facing SEC Probe Over Securities

    CAFA 2022 Nominees: The Full List of Canada’s Top Talent

    Robert Fripp and Toyah rip through Hole’s “Celebrity Skin”: Watch

    Categories
    • Books (3,448)
    • Cover Story (8)
    • Events (19)
    • Fashion (2,548)
    • Interviews (45)
    • Movies (2,748)
    • Music (3,032)
    • News (161)
    • Politics (6)
    • Science (4,598)
    • Technology (2,743)
    • Television (3,473)
    • Uncategorized (932)
    Archives
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube Reddit TikTok
    © 2025 Top Buzz Magazine. All rights reserved. All articles, images, product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    Cookie SettingsAccept
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT