God of War: Ragnarok Writer Responds to Angrboda Controversy
The scriptwriter of God of War: Ragnarok responded to accusations of alleged political correctness present in the game, claiming that the outrage of some players is illogical.
- Writer of God of War: Ragnarok responded to players accusations of excessive political correctness;
- According to the creator, the series has never been particularly faithful to the source material;
- Drawing attention to Angrboda's skin color doesn't make sense, he claims.
The first trailer for God of War: Ragnarok sparked a lot of discussion. The announcement met with a mostly positive reception, but there were also some disappointing voices. Some players complained, among other things, about the appearance of Thor, which did not agree with their vision of the Asgardian god, popularized by the Marvel comics. Others, in turn, began to accuse the creators of excessive political correctness.
The reason for such insinuations is the image of Angrboda, who appeared in the last scenes of the game's trailer. The character is a giantess who gave birth to Loki's three children. Although she is not human (she belongs to the Jötunn race), some players felt that it was inappropriate for her skin to differ from that of a standard European. So the game's scriptwriter decided to respond to their complaints on Twitter.
Matt Sophos said that the allegations do not make any sense. Outraged fans try to justify their way of thinking with the alleged faithfulness to the Norse mythology. The scriptwriter, however, pointed out that God of War often had little in common with the original works telling the stories of the Norse gods. In subsequent tweets, he therefore compared images of individual characters known from the stories with those presented in the game.
As an example he gave Brok, the legendary dwarven blacksmith, who in the game has blue skin and speaks with a Texan accent. Mimir, on the other hand, was given a Scottish character, which was inspired by one of Shakespeare's plays. Matt Sophos also drew attention to Loki himself, whom he described as "half giant, quarter man, quarter Greek demigod". In the end, the screenwriter stated that arguing consistency with the original in God of War's case is pointless.
Sophos also pointed out that talk of any "race change" for Angrboda involves a misunderstanding of who the character actually is. She is, after all, not a human, but a giant. In the realm of fantasy characters, such issues as skin color have no meaning for the creators.
Players accusing the creators of political correctness and lack of respect for the source material received a comprehensive answer. It is doubtful, however, that they will agree with the approach of developers.
