Techland reflects on Dead Island blooper

Feminist Whore programmer's "private joke".

Dead Island developer Techland has reflected, following an internal investigation, on the embarrassing "Feminist Whore" blooper.

"The person responsible for this unfortunate situation will face professional consequences for violating the professional standards and beliefs Techland stands for," the company declared.

The rest of statement is all humble pie, apologising for the "inexcusably overlooked" and incriminating line of old game code.

"It has come to our attention that one of Dead Island's leftover debug files contains a highly inappropriate internal script name of one of the character skills. This has been inexcusably overlooked and released with the game," the company stated.

"The line in question was something a programmer considered a private joke.

"The skill naturally has a completely different in-game name and the script reference was also changed. What is left is a part of an obscure debug function. This is merely an explanation but by no means an excuse.

"In the end that code was made a part of the product and signed with our company name," Techland added.

"We deeply regret that fact and we apologise to all our customers or anyone who might have been offended by that inappropriate expression."

The Feminist Whore line of code would never have been found had developer Techland not accidentally released a developer build of Dead Island on Steam.

When the news of the Feminist Whore code broke, Techland told Eurogamer it was "disturbed" by the surprise violation of "professional and ethical" standards.

Europeans will benefit from a hefty day-one Dead Island patch when Steam wakes up later today. This will fix the dodgy developer version and fix numerous bugs. It may also wipe existing character saves due to incompatible game versions.

Techland announced this morning that Dead Island wave-based arena DLC will arrive later this month.

Comments (85) Latest comment 8 months ago

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  • jablonski #1 9 months ago

    My motto at work is, if you have to stop to think about whether it's risky, then don't do it.

    That will be the sacked person't motto from now on too.
  • urban #2 9 months ago

    Oh get a grip.
  • JahB #3 9 months ago

    nobody's gonna get sacked for this, i'm pretty sure the guys at techland are laughing about the whole thing
  • Steve2911 #4 9 months ago

    It's a game about the mass extermination and reanimation of humanity, but no, the words 'feminist whore' are far too 'out there' to be allowed.
  • BSMR #5 9 months ago

    it's a private joke buried in code that no consumers have any right to see. it's a non issue as far as i'm concerned.
  • Psychotext #6 9 months ago

    Who fucking cares. So pathetic.
  • jablonski #7 9 months ago

    I'm not on any kind of soapbox, but I'd be amazed if this person wasn't sacked.

    I think the internet has desensitized some of you, if you think this isn't quite a major HR issue!
  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 9 months ago

    It is a major disciplinary issue, but probably cause for a written warning, not immediate dismissal, unless said staff member has previous.
  • Haloboy #9 9 months ago

    Sackland!

    Well it would be a bit of a crap move if they did. I found it hilarious!! When my wife wasn't in the room that is.
  • Lymmusic #10 9 months ago

    Free publicity for a game that reviewed badly.
  • arcam #11 9 months ago

    @jablonski

    I'm assuming all these people either don't work, or work in extremely male-oriented environments (which probably describes Techland's studio too).
  • Doctor_What #12 9 months ago

    There's no such thing as bad advertising.
  • el_pollo_diablo #13 9 months ago

    I think the sad nerd who trawled through game file to uncover and subsequently release this information is about 100 times more pathetic than what is essentially a cartoon character being labelled a whore.
  • Sir_STRESSHEaD #14 9 months ago

    You know what? If one of the achievements/trophies was titled "feminist whore" nobody would've said Boo!

    **What?? It's true! The only reason this is an issue is because it was discovered and was supposedly unintentional. If this was intended and included in the game no one would have said a thing. Just another game being "risky and edgy" as they like to try and do.**

    **Negged by Douchebags since 2011**
    Edited by Sir_STRESSHEaD at 09/09/11 @ 13:20
  • captain_Carl #15 9 months ago

    It's okay, no one likes feminists anyway
  • realworld666 Verified Lead Programmer, Fuzzy-Frog Games #16 9 months ago

    Surely the mistake is releasing the debug game not the programmer. If someone doodles "I love Hitler" on a notepad and their boss accidentally sticks the company name on it and releases it into shops you can't punish the guy that was doodling on the notepad. The notepad should never have left the desk.
    I think that analogy works :\
  • GamesConnoisseur #17 9 months ago

    I remember back in late 80s, in my first job at a large IT dept, there were porn posters everywhere.

    We moved on a lot since then!

    Written warning quite likely, sackable? Since this is not easily found by the public and hidden within codes, I hope not but possible.
  • arcam #18 9 months ago

    ^Ironic that your name is realworld

    In most offices, if someone is doodling 'I love Hitler' on their notepads at work then you would fully expect management to have words with them. Not acceptable behaviour for an office.
  • TelexStar #19 9 months ago

    "…I'd be amazed if this person wasn't sacked.

    I think the internet has desensitized some of you, if you think this isn't quite a major HR issue!
    "

    As embarrassing and potentially offensive this mistake was, its far more likely that the coder responsible will suffer a disciplinary warning, rather than being outright sacked.

    "it's a private joke buried in code that no consumers have any right to see. it's a non issue as far as i'm concerned."

    And that makes it ok does it? What world do you live in? The fact that you're not personally offended by this is irrelevant. It's right that companies (ALL companies) should work to an ethical code of professional practice. Just saying "well, it was a private joke that no one should have seen" doesn't make it ok.
  • AndyboyH #20 9 months ago

  • el_pollo_diablo #21 9 months ago

  • el_pollo_diablo #22 9 months ago

    (I don't really, but I'm at work so this is an experiment)
  • zegerman1942 #23 9 months ago

    What difference does it make? if it was not for the mess up with the released steam version nobody would ever know. Techland is making a big deal out of this to avoid negative press fallout.

    Where are the good old days of hot coffee and other easter eggs like we found in Deus Ex 2 (pole dancing women anyone?) - this used to be fun. today everything has to be politicaly correct.
  • nbnz #24 9 months ago

    They sure did make a pigs ear of the PC release.
  • Bravestinsane #25 9 months ago

    Europeans will benefit from a hefty day-one Dead Island patch when Steam wakes up later today. This will fix the dodgy developer version and fix numerous bugs. It may also wipe existing character saves due to incompatible game versions.

    Where have you been during Steams last 5 years, games "wake up" so to speak as soon as it hit's midnight, infact my copy od dead island "woke up" at about 11:30 last night
  • ILoveThrashMetal #26 9 months ago

    Why can't people learn to grow a fucking pair!
  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #27 9 months ago

    Why can't people learn to grow a fucking pair!

    What, women?
  • Irien #28 9 months ago

    The thing is, whilst the comments aren't politically correct, or pleasant, it is not uncommon for source code to contain expletives and other "jokes" made by programmers. These files aren't generally for public consumption, and may even only be (originally) bits of test code the programmer knocks together. IIRC there's a compile time flag in Doom, for example, that replaces a number of the messages with quite obscene f-bomb laden alternatives - see http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Quit_messages which rather puts this into some kind of perspective! How the industry has changed!
  • azic #29 9 months ago

    So while there are games that allow you to tie up women and put them on train tracks and get an achievement for it!
    Or those where you just kill everybody in an Airport, a game where you can fuck then murder ladies of the night (WHORES), games that allow multiple marriages / looting / robbery....oh fuck this... you know what I mean, the list of stuff is endless.

    This causes a big fucking stink??? What a load of rubbish. So fucking what, really all this PC stuff is out of control, Look at the theme of the game for Christ sake. What wrong with smacking a female zombie with a lead pipe then ramming it up her arse? I mean the way they fall over sometimes into the doggy position is kinda funny and don't tell me I am the only one who thought of that, I spent a good 1 to 2 mins stabbing a bikini clad zombie yesterday in the arse could of lasted longer but the knife broke LOL

  • arcam #30 9 months ago

    @Irien

    Romero himself said they shouldn't have been in the release version. Which is exactly what they've said here, so I'm not sure what has actually changed...
  • kangarootoo #31 9 months ago

    "it's a private joke buried in code that no consumers have any right to see"

    I find that a strange attitude to apply to the content of a product that you are creating to be sold to the general public. Its hardly a private joke in the same context as a private joke shared between friends across dinner in your own home.

    I'm not saying this outrageous, or that sackings should occur. But if I was a manager at techland, I would be wondering just how poor a sense of judgement must someone have to include this in their code. Its WORK ffs, its a matter of professional competance. Saying "I planned to remove it before release" as a justification just throws even MORE doubt on the judgement of the individual in question imo, as anyone who thinks that makes it "all ok" is delusional.

    It wouldn't be a sacking in my book, but my trust in said individual would be very badly damaged, perhaps permanantly.
  • TelexStar #32 9 months ago

    "Where are the good old days of hot coffee and other easter eggs like we found in Deus Ex 2 (pole dancing women anyone?) - this used to be fun. today everything has to be politicaly correct."

    Where are the good old days of beating children and sodomising your house slaves eh?

    Like it or not, The games industry is no longer the realm of geeky bedroom developers for an audience of equally geeky and spotty teenagers. It's the largest entertainment industry in the world and should be treated as such. Besides, I'd like to think we've moved on a little.
    Edited by TelexStar at 09/09/11 @ 13:26
  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #33 9 months ago

    The thing is, whilst the comments aren't politically correct, or pleasant, it is not uncommon for source code to contain expletives and other "jokes" made by programmers.

    When I was working on a product for Microsoft Games Studios, they insisted that we provide them with all the source code for each release, which they would check through specifically for any instances of inappropriate language that might end up on the disc somehow and cause exactly this sort of bad PR. So it's partly developer/publisher management's fault that they weren't prescient enough to have policies in place to pevent this sort of thing.
  • DefendoCroc #34 9 months ago

    Omg who gives a fuck , grow some balls Techland and stop apologizing.
  • arcam #35 9 months ago

    Its WORK ffs, its a matter of professional competance.

    QFT
  • kangarootoo #36 9 months ago

    I have to say, lists of anecdotal "Hey its not just this one dude that is unprofessional. Everyone used to be at it." references don't cut any ice with me. 2 wrongs don't make a right is a cliche for good reason.

    I know I'm starting to sound like a school prefect, but the truth is the games business is relatively new, and as a result some (increasingly rare, thankfully) parts of it are still a little immature (whether that be attitude to content, or lack of best practice). Whenever someone says "cruch is part of the business" or "code is always full of bigotry" (paraphrasing in effect there), it just makes me sigh a little.

    A reason is not always an excuse.
    Edited by kangarootoo at 09/09/11 @ 13:35
  • kangarootoo #37 9 months ago

    Q. Omg who gives a fuck?

    A. Grownups.
  • zegerman1942 #38 9 months ago

    @TelexStar: bit of a jump from an easter egg in a game to beating children, but that could just be my impression.

    i am all for advancing the industry, but i dont think it necessarily means we have to be politically correct about everything. movies, books, theatres all examples where explicit material is found (and i am not talking about porn). Why can't games? As someone else mentioned: it's already ok to kill, maim and dismember. Hell you even get achievements for it. This text is no worse than any of that IMO.

    it was done as a joke, as a coder comment, and never intended for public release - whats the big deal?
  • jablonski #39 9 months ago

    I'm no liberal drum-banger, but I have worked in professional environments amongst other professionals.
    For those people saying this is totally fine, then I think you are still at school or work in an all male environment and haven't developed much social skills or empathy.

    How do you think the women in this guy's workplace are going to react around him? It's going to be pretty akward.
    He couldn't have written a worse thing to be honest in terms of putting down their sex.
  • dutzan #40 9 months ago

    All this political correctiveness is sickening. It just turned into the modern day equivalent of witch-hunts where the masses can have someone to poke at and feel good about themselves.
  • kangarootoo #41 9 months ago

    @zegerman1942

    I guess its relative, but its interesting that you consider NOT calling something "FeministWhore" as being politically correct.

    In some ways, this reminds me a little of a discussion recently about shooting civialians in BF3. The thread quickly decended into discussion about how the developer could have maintained the player ability to shoot civilians with penalties applied, as if shooting civilians was a core mechanic to be preserved.

    The reason I make the comparison is that I feel we are focussing on entirely the wrong issue here. The question is not whether using the term in the code is politically uncorrect or not. The question is how the very idea even entered the head of the coder in question?!?

    I very much subscribe to the school of thought that says taste can be the enemy of good wit, so for me this is not at all an issue that hinges around "just how offensive CAN one be with their code comments, before they cross the line?" For me the answer is simple - NOT AT ALL. WHY would someone who posesses judgement and intelligence (as an employed code MUST do to some extent) even consider their work code to be the place for such things?

    As I said before, its not an issue of taste AT ALL. Its not an issue of political correctness AT ALL. Its an issue of judgement. To say that the term used isn't that offensive, and that people are over-reacting, is to entirely miss the point.
  • kangarootoo #42 9 months ago

    And I'm going to shut up now :)
  • the_dudefather #43 9 months ago

    I'm not sexist, some of my best friends are feminist whores
  • chrisjm #44 9 months ago

    internal release: "LMAO"
    external release: "OMG"
  • nbringer #45 9 months ago

    Should I care about this story?
  • Vortextk #46 9 months ago

    It wasn't a public line of text. The programmer probably even knew it wasn't even going to be in the build if it had been released properly(and when does a dev build ever get released publicly?), so regardless of any kind of problems you may have with his "private joke" it should never have been seen by anyone ever in the commercial product. A lot of people tell racist, homophobic, sexist etc jokes that are in no way awful human beings that deserve to be stoned; they're just not "perfect" and when they aren't on television talking to millions or writing a best seller book, they don't mind slipping into sleaze country for a minute for a laugh with friends and friends alone.

    Seems a bit too easy that techland screwed first day pc players and that this one stupid phrase is getting more heat than that.
  • BabyJesus #47 9 months ago

    Lol@ the 'PC gone mad' crew.

    I'm off work I'll humour you, tell me your tales of 'elf n safety' too. Perhaps quote richard littlejohn aswell to complete Daily Mail bingo!
  • Freek #48 9 months ago

    From all the press coverage and discussions you'd start to think that it was Techland company policy to make offensive jokes or statements like this rather then the reality: a person did something dumb on a minor scale.
  • DiamondIce #49 9 months ago

    I await Rob Fahey's weekend article on all of this.
  • lockload #50 9 months ago

    Total over reaction, like people have said you can actually do much worce in GTA4 and thats in the actual game

    I blame techland for releasing the wrong version of the game
  • jablonski #51 9 months ago

    @Kangarootoo

    "The reason I make the comparison is that I feel we are focussing on entirely the wrong issue here. The question is not whether using the term in the code is politically uncorrect or not. The question is how the very idea even entered the head of the coder in question?!? "

    Exactly this.

    I keep reading people saying it was a private joke.
    Private? He's on company time, embedding this in a multi-million pound product.
    If I was his manager, I'd rethink hiring someone so idiotic and dangerous.
  • TruSmiles #52 9 months ago

    Regarding the comments about this being fine because most games are full of sexualised men and ridiculous levels of violence, I personally don't want my games to be like that. I look forward to a time when the game industry matures enough to have 'normal' female characters, rather than stereotypes, and main characters that don't go around murdering everything.

    Just because everything seems to be that way doesn't mean it should stay there.
  • TheEarlOfZinger #53 9 months ago

    Jesus christ, does anyone actually even care?
  • Freek #54 9 months ago

    @52 Really? One person, making one bad judgement call? Because, lets face, no matter what you do, no matter where you work, ocaisionally somebody makes a joke and sometimes that doesn't end well or is poor taste. That doesn't make you a bad person. It means you made a mistake, one.

    And in programming there is a long tradition of hiding jokes in comments and code, that also doesn't mean those are bad or unprofessional people.
    Edited by Freek at 09/09/11 @ 14:16
  • DirectAim #55 9 months ago

    I hope he doesn't get sacked!

    Is this as bad as the hidden sex mini game in San Andreas? Some people are way to serious!
  • Ryze #56 9 months ago

    It'd be easy to make an example by saying:

    'The people who say that this is a non-issue, are mainly socially inept, white-boy Internet geeks.'

    But that would result in a torrent of offended and insulted, mainly socially inept, white-boy Internet geeks hurling abuse back.

    It's hilarious when that happens. This is an issue. This is unacceptable professionally. This could offend many people.

    Whether it's funny or 'OK' amongst us in a casual setting is beside the point.
  • Spekingur #57 9 months ago

    I guess everyone that is shouting about how this guy should be fired have never ever done anything "stupid" at work or/and have never worked in software development.
  • BuckEntropy #58 9 months ago

    This is starting to reek of marketing ploy...
  • asphaltcowboy #59 9 months ago

    Storm in a teacup. I imagine every piece of software out there probably has tens, if not hundreds of comments that are rude and offensive/for the programmers' own amusement given that the public won't/shouldn't ever see it...
  • Spungles #60 9 months ago

    I'm with Kanga on this. I work in QA and have seen coders with egg on their faces many times because they think our employer has employed them for their ability to include schoolboy humour in the work he pays for.

    "Jesus christ, does anyone actually even care?!"
    Fair enough, you don't and neither do I. But if my girlfriend worked at Techland then I would.
  • DefendoCroc #61 9 months ago

    "if my girlfriend worked at Techland " .... lol dude, so thats the demographic they have offended ... lads whos girfriends worked at techland.

    Oh and @Kangarootoo , NO , adults have got more important things to think about other than the name of some stupid fkin skill in a zombie killing game you complete tit.

    Negharvester signing off (40 year old 'adult' btw ... and i can re-confirm i dont give a fuck about the skill name ... and i do like killing zombies .... and my wife dosent give a shit about the name either!)
    Edited by DefendoCroc at 09/09/11 @ 16:34
  • kangarootoo #62 9 months ago

    @DefendoCroc

    Nice punctuation and use of "complete tit" as an insult. Is it better that you are actually a 40 yr old 'adult'.... or worse?


    And I quite agree, grown ups do have better things to think about.... one such thing to worry about that springs to mind might be a very public PR cockup caused by a paid employee of a developer who already has enough to worry about. Oh.
  • fiery_jackass #63 9 months ago

    >Defendocroc
    a 40yr old 'adult' writes ".... lol dude"

    nice. Didn't even need to read your imbecilic post to identify you as a clown.
    P.S. I'm 40 too, but I've been paying attention in class.
  • DefendoCroc #64 9 months ago

    @fiery_jackass i did fine in class thanks, BSC Comp Science 1st class honours (yes shock-horror im a sw/dev) .... and oh, he comes back with a stab at my 'punctuation' ... wow , that really hurts. And omg i used the word 'dude' .. i *must* be clown ... and you think a pop like that makes me look stupid?. Get a grip.
  • CatWeazle #65 9 months ago

    "feminist whore". Oxymoron? Discuss..
  • kangarootoo #66 9 months ago

    @DefendoCroc

    I picked on your punctuation and choice of words as you seemed so confident that your "I am 40" revelation was some kind of game changer. If you were 19 I wouldn't have mentioned it.

    But hey, keep on digging.

    And well done on your degree result (I mean that bit).
  • jablonski #67 9 months ago

    @DefendoCroc

    You're 40?

    Where did you pick up all that 'youth' language?

    Are you a groomer?
  • TheDarkFurie #68 9 months ago

    Dear Techland,

    My fiance is one of the three women external to your company who will actually play this game in the launch window. She thinks it's funny and wants to know what the skill ended up being called so she can compare. Please stop punishing members of staff and apologising for something that is essentially a non-issue, and get to work on patching this game and DLCing the shite out of it.

    Thank you.
  • Lord_Gremlin #69 9 months ago

    Actually, I would like to see this in game. I like offensive stuff in games. As long as it's all only in-game and not real it can be really fun.
  • MiY4MOTO #70 9 months ago

    Speaking as a development head for a software firm the issue here isn't that the comment / script name is offensive. It is, and it shouldn't be there.

    The real issue here is that a whole bunch of things have gone wrong for this build to even get out of the door.

    Yes, in my firm, I would have words with the developer in question about his conduct
  • addugg #71 9 months ago

    Was kinda funny though.
  • DefendoCroc #72 9 months ago

    @jablonski .. Sorry im not a 'pipe and slippers' 40yrd old. I actually make electronic music as a hobby (used to be full time) as i used to run a couple of record labels and dj etc.(Tekno, House, D&B , Break beat), because of this i do a lot of free music seminars for younger people in order to help them understand what's involved in producing their own electronic music. Maybe thats why...and/or the fact i have 2 kids of my own...

    Im actually quite confused as to what 'All that' youth language you refer to was ... do the' groomers' you know call you 'dude' or something !?
    Edited by DefendoCroc at 10/09/11 @ 00:36
  • VibratingDonkey #73 9 months ago

    Who really cares about this? From what I've been hearing they should focus on the blooper called the PC version.

    Did you know that the game effectively employs always online DRM?
    Edited by VibratingDonkey at 10/09/11 @ 02:34
  • Quak #74 9 months ago

    > It's a game about the mass extermination and reanimation of humanity, but no, the words 'feminist whore' are far too 'out there' to be allowed.

    While I agree the issue has been blown out of proportion by some outlets, this post here is just ridiculous. The "mass extermination and reanimation of humanity" is a deliberate part of the game - the "feminist whore" property blatantly isn't.
  • Softie2k #75 9 months ago

    Eurogamer's comments' section just makes me cringe. Everybody here should be discouraging this sort of thoughtlessness.

    These comments reinforce developers' beliefs that no one gives a shit at how women are portrayed in video games.
  • Sevens #76 9 months ago

    Blown out of proportion.
  • apoc_reg #77 9 months ago

    Is this really a big deal...?
  • Softie2k #78 9 months ago

    Yes it is a bigger deal than people are making out. And the only reason you don't think it is, is exactly that - you don't think.

    If this was "Negro Raper" people would be up in arms. Sexism is laughed at daily and for real feminists (ever thought about their issues?) that is a great shame. We should all be feminists, because we should all be trying to rectify the portray of women through video games. However this won't happen for a long time because Eurogamer fan boys are too damned thick.
  • Spekingur #79 9 months ago

    @redbarony: Really? So in your mind, a hidden code snippet only uncovered by someone who likes to dig around in game files equals mindless minions in the future? Because you know, the 'Feminist Whore' wording was never in-game at release. Not saying that using such wording is alright, it isn't - but this just seems to be Hot Coffee Part 2 seeing how media outlets have grabbed at it.

    For some reason this hidden part of the code causes more uproar than blood-gushing zombies that are not far off from being human. No, it's okay, violence is okay and those are "just" zombies. But words... words can hurt.
  • domoslaf #80 9 months ago

    Oh come on. Not the most sensitive or intelligent thing to write, but it's in the debug files, not in the game itself. So what's next, breaking into houses and reporting that "programmer X of the game Y had some mysoginistic statement written in his notepad!"?
  • UkHardcore23 #81 9 months ago

    No need to apoligise imo
  • Softie2k #82 9 months ago

    @redbarony - High five!

    Let me explain some of these concepts to the commentaires that loiter around the Eurogamer back-alleys.

    Racism is not acceptable, everyone knows it, you might laugh and joke in your own home, that is your choice and no one can stop you. In the public domain however racism is completely intolerable and at work it's practically a fireable offense and quite rightly so.

    Sexism however is a joke, sexist remarks in public are not treated in the same way and our very culture almost encourages it, although we understand that there is a risk, that risk is not the same as the one you would take for making a racist remark.

    By saying, "it's ok" and "nothing to worry about" it shows the complete lack of respect and more over the stupid, ignorant culture we've developed for ourselves.

    Feminism is extremely important, instead it's laughed at as something childish and unnecessary; has anyone ever heard someone call Martin Lurther King an outspoken n****r recently?
  • teknohead #83 8 months ago

    I'm surprised there is even a reaction to this. I seriously fear having children in this day and age because I don't want them to grow up to be hyper-sensitive cock bags like the people that complain over this. I showed my wife the story, she chuckled and said 'Well that's a bit silly isn't it!'. How about half of you bleeding heart peasant girls harden up.

    Tell you what will get media attention though, if the Aboriginal community in Australia gets hold of the fact that Purna is referred to as an 'Abo', they will cry like African Americans do when they are called Nigger.
  • teknohead #84 8 months ago

    Also, my money is on Softie2k being a virgin. Feminism is for women that are too weak to step up to the plate and take a swing at life and that like to complain because life isn't handed to them on a silver platter.
  • teknohead #85 8 months ago

    Any women in the world capable of knocking me out aren't useless feminists.