Tychus Findlay, Blizzards ikoniske StarCraft-karakter, der også er en af stjernerne i deres MOBA Heroes of the Storm, har fået slukket sin cigar.
Den ikoniske cancer-pind, som fans af StarCraft genkender med det samme, er blevet fjernet, fordi "der var regioner, hvor han ikke har lov til at ryge" ifølge Blizzard. Beslutningen har skabt røre blandt fans.
"YES. We know smoking is bad, everybody does. BUT! it's not Blizzard's job to make sure we don't do it anyway" er titlen på en tråd, der er dukket op på Reddit, og her gav en Blizzard-udvikler følgende svar:
"Heroes of the Storm is a multi-region game with a teen rating. There are a magnitude of guidelines we have to be aware of. From a development standpoint we prioritize making Heroes and Skins as utilitarian as possible, if a single model can be used in all regions, that's a huge win for development."
Han fortsætter: "In the case of Tychus' cigar there were regions where he wouldn't be allowed to smoke. We have two options: Make 2 versions, one smoking, one non-smoking, or Remove the Cigar."
De besluttede sig for at fjerne cigaren: "This let's us put the development time into more content instead of bloating the management of one character. This is a decision based on productivity. The appeal of Tychus should not hinge on a cigar anyways, and we have no issue with that aspect of his character."
"These scenarios emerge frequently, and the cigar-removal was a impulsive fix because we want as many people as possible to experience the same content"
Heroes of the Storm, Blizzards første MOBA, er netop gået i åben beta.
