Jade Raymond Is Hot and We Can't Handle It

I've mentioned Assassin's Creed in past blogs, but I was surprised to get wind of a brewing controversy with the game's producer, Jade Raymond. This past week, someone made a sexually charged webcomic that depicted Raymond "servicing" male gamers. I won't link the comic, but I have seen it and can attest that it's neither witty nor insightful nor funny. I have, on the other hand, seen Raymond interviewed regarding Assassin's Creed and she seemed like any other game producer I've seen: knowledgeable, passionate, professional.

I don't know anything about Raymond beyond what I've seen in two or three interviews. But I guess others do because rumors swirl that she is unqualified to produce games and that she only got her job because she's attractive. Jane at GameGirlAdvance does a good job defending Raymond even if she unfairly directs a heap of blame on Ubisoft who, ". . . unfairly pushed her image as part of the marketing of Assassin's Creed."

I think the comic as slanderous as anyone, but I haven't seen any evidence that Ubisoft used Raymond as a spokes-model for their game. Does anyone really think Ubisoft out-of-line for asking the game's producer to conduct interviews and promote the game to the media and the gaming community at-large? It's not Ubisoft's fault that the main demographic for their product are young males, many of whom have little to no chance of getting laid anytime within the next calendar year. As for her being unqualified, I say let the game's release pronounce judgement on that. Plenty of games have failed and I doubt many of their producers were accused of getting their job for good looks and sexual favors after the dust settled.

Raymond didn't do anything that Bill Roper or Chris Taylor did for their respective games except be pretty while explaining the mechanics of a video game assassin combing the streets of a medieval town. Apparently the gaming community can't handle this, as witnessed by a distasteful comic and a community of forum trollers obsessed with the idea of courting a woman who might also make their most favorite game EVER. The comic reflects badly on Raymond because it disparages her unfairly. But it reflects on the gaming community even worse because it implies that we can't cope with the idea of an attractive woman being competent enough to make games.

For the record, I watched G4's review of Assassin's Creed this past weekend. They gave the game five out of five, praising the game for its novel setting, elegant control scheme, and immersive gameplay.