Why is Activision Blizzard's Diversity Space tool a completely wrong way to improve its reputation?
In a recent blog post, Activision Blizzard unveiled a Diversity Space tool to rate the diversity of characters created in a game. Since then, the tool and its intentions have been publicly criticized, following which the publisher has taken a U-turn.
Irrespective of the criticism, the way the tool has been made doesn't serve the very purpose it has been created for.
A recent blog post showcased the Diversity Space tool, which King and MIT Game Lab have jointly developed. The tool is designed to help tell designers how diverse a certain game and its characters are. As promising as it sounds, fans have also pointed out a major issue at the very core. Since then, Activision Blizzard has made major updates, making the tool an indicator only.
The Diversity Space tool showcased by Activision Blizzard will compare the characteristics of a character based on certain parameters. These parameters will help determine how diverse a character is in a video game. It will also help differentiate between a truly diverse character and a default one.
The tool is also set to uncover hidden biases when one links a certain feature to a particular race or gender. Hence, this could be helpful to developers when designing a character, and this is how Activision Blizzard initially pitched it. However, a discussion over Fanbyte mentioned a major flaw in this model.
As noble as it may sound, the process is still limited and linked to certain parameters. If something like diversity is measured using distinct parameters, there could always be things that might go wrong.
The point raised by many fans as to why it might not work involved the limitations of the model. As they suggested, hiring diverse creators will help solve the problem. Every diverse
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