Melissa Batten was a Software Development Engineer for the XBox team. Before that she was a Harvard-educated lawyer who worked as a public defender, handling domestic violence cases, in North Carolina. She was also a victim of domestic violence (DV). Her abusive husband killed her a few weeks ago in a murder-suicide after she had moved out and taken out a restraining order on him.
Domestic violence is a pervasive, deadly problem that affects us all. This incident is not an isolated act, nor can it be viewed in a vacuum. We lost one of our own. But there is more to take from this tragedy than it simply being a woman in the industry who died. Batten’s murder wasn’t an outside incident; it was part of a greater pattern of violence against women. It was enabled by a culture of misogyny that all too often trivializes domestic violence and puts obstacles in the way of the victim who tries to protect herself. Even in this case, where Batten did everything she could to get out of her situation and stay safe, her abuser had no problem shooting her outside of her workplace.
As gamers and game industry professionals, it’s our responsibility to take a deep look at ourselves, and our industry, and think about the ways that we’ve enabled a culture where violence against women is not taken seriously. Many gamers think that greater societal problems such as domestic violence and violence against women has nothing to do with their beloved hobby, but they are wrong. For one, games like the GTA series rely on sexualized violence and otherwise reflect sexist dynamics in order to add to their realism. Tying it into an example closer to real life, consider the harassment of Jade Raymond. The violence may have been verbal rather than physical, but it was rooted in the same sense of ownership of women that was the root cause of Batten’s husband killing her before he killed himself.
One way that we can honor Batten’s memory is to get educated on issues such as DV and violence against women and stop denying that they have nothing to do with us and our hobbies/careers.
More on Melissa Batten
Domestic violence resources
X-posted: Official Shrub.com Blog
Most of the e-mails I get mention concerns about the age gap between them and their would-be classmates. As with most things, though, I think the age issue has both advantages and disadvantages associated with it.
Sure, it’s kinda strange being an older student. I am about 6 to 7 years older than most of my classmates and when you’re in your twenties that gap is kind of significant. I am still young enough (and, uh, immature enough) to fit in, but there are a lot of times when I feel like there is a gulf between where I am and where everyone else is.
In terms of advantages, I’d say that a big one is that I’m already used to managing my workload. I have had 5 years of university to teach me how to handle my assignments — how to break down larger assignments so that I’m not panicking at the last minute with nothing done, when it’s okay to procrastinate and when it’s not, and what areas I can skimp on if I let my procrastination get the better of me. Having that skill makes things a whole lot easier, let me tell you.
There’s also factors such as having several years of experience dealing with things such as paying bills, which many of my classmates are only now learning how to do. The teachers often talk about how we’re going to become full-fledged members of society soon, but in reality I’ve been there (except for the having a job part) for years now.
Overall, I’d say that my age is more advantageous than not. The 6+ years of experience I have on my classmates helps to make up for the difficulty I have due to my Japanese not being perfect. If nothing else, my experience makes for a great icebreaker; I’ve made more than a few friends by doing things like sharing tips on getting assignments done.
I have been reluctant to address the Jade Raymond incident here not because I don’t think it’s relevant to the topic of this blog (it is) and not because others have said it better than I (though they have), but because it hits close to home. Too close, really.
But before I go into that, let me link some of the other voices that have risen to comment about the incident. (more…)
Although I knew I would want to revisit Lisa’s story again, I didn’t think it would be this soon. I’ve been keeping up with the comments on her blog, however, and I noticed that one of her classmates commented. I responded in thread, but I think that some of the points he brought up deserve more thought and analysis.
The person, calling themselves “Guildhall Student”, made the following argument:
It just takes a love, commitment, and talent to be in this industry. Its much like Music or Acting, honestly. You have to do lots of hard work to be discovered and only the best talent will make it and get the good jobs.
I first just want to take some time to talk about Guildhall Student’s comparison with the music and acting industries. I find it to be ironic that he mentions acting, with the recent debacle where it was reported that Jeff Robinov, the president of Warner Bros, said, “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead”. While this allegation is “untrue” according to the studio (link roundup), it is an accurate reflection of what is taught in film school according to one student. Acting is no more free from discriminatory practices than game design is, nor the music industry for that matter.
Below I will look at how privilege enters into the equation when deciding on, and attending, gamer college. Although Guildhall Student specifically addresses age, I’ve decided to leave it out of this post because I don’t have the time to do the research to back up my argument. Instead I will focus on family and financial matters, and how the status quo can privilege young single men and end up discouraging diversity. (more…)
Usually when one starts telling a story, one begins at the beginning. But I honestly don’t know where my beginning is. Does it begin with the first video game I played? With the long nights I spent with my mom, and later my friend Katie, playing video games until obnoxiously late at night? What about when I realized that RPGs came from Japan, and therefore decided that I would one day learn Japanese. Perhaps I should start with when I said to myself, “Of all the things I could do with my life, I want to make and design video games.” (more…)
Andrea Rubenstein