Toxic voice line "Pen Flinger"

Community Discussion
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I like this card, the fact that you can use it and recall it in the same round after playing a spell is really handy. However, I do find the voice line of “Hey LOSER” a bit offensive.

A card that plays a belittling voice line feels like blizzard took a step in the wrong direction from a community game standpoint. I just feel the voice line is toxic and offensive, maybe it’s just me. Not sure if others feel the same.

-------------------------I added the text below Aug 28th----------------------

Based on the responses that I have been seeing on this post, it is very evident that many are unfamiliar with phycological impacts of emotional words such as “loser”. There are many Academic research papers in phycology that have published with their findings surrounding an individuals neurological response. It has been found that emotional words, how ever a person is exposed to the emotional word, be it in sentences or as a stand alone word, in person, verbal, online, etc.; can elicit a neurological response that differ from neutral words.

Many studies included focus groups with a wide array of age variance, kids, teenagers, adults, with the goal to come to a better understanding of how various age groups respond and interrupt emotional words vs neutral based words.

Most of the research articles that have been published are in academic journals and require a fee in order to access the results of the particular study, however, I was able to find a particular study that is able to be viewed publicly, but the study is focused on bodily responses to emotional words, such as heart rate and facial expressions.

The site is Frontiers in Phycology. You can find by doing a search on emotional words. Because this is an academic research paper it has a lot of technical Jargon explaining the research method that was applied with the participants in the control groups.

At the end of the day, the reality is that Humans are emotion based creatures. We all respond to various emotional stimli, with the exception of clinical psychopaths. Regardless if you want to accept it or not, language does elicit various neurological responses in each of us that vary based on the type of emotional word. Whether it be online, in person, on tv. Individual circumstances differ from person to person, thus, each persons response to emotional words can be very different from your own, and should not be discounted.

Neglecting to consider the impacts of others when choosing to use certain emotional words regardless of contexts, does not fit within an inclusive community. And while this is a video game, this is still a community that has a very large youth base, and that is why I feel that Blizzard made a bad call on this card.

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I agree, it should be changed to “Hey D-bag!”

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I think a more suited line would be something like

Yoo-hoo… (gets the attention of whoever- flings the pen) The opening voice-line can sound annoyingly similar to the second voice-line.

Cast a spell and then have the voice-line remain the same for when he goes back into your hand.

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I also like his battlecry but not his battle cry.

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Dude, you’re the only one that’s toxic complaining about a fricking voice line. It’s a game, enjoy it.

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I agree with you, especialy if children that play pick this up teaches a bad lesson with regards to behaviour.

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We should all cancel the Pen Flinger on twitter for bullying.

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[quote=“Emrakul-11983, post:5, topic:40093, full:true”]
Dude, you’re the only one that’s toxic complaining about a fricking voice line. It’s a game, enjoy it.
[/quote]"

Not being toxic at all. I would encourage you to look up what belittling is, that is what this voice line does. And while you may not find that voice line offensive, when you call someone a loser it’s not out of love, compassion, or empathy. it displays a lack of respect. I was very surprised that Blizzard made a card which such a voice line.

And Aerthis make a very valid point.

So Emrakul thank you for your input and your maturity. Hope you are enjoying the new expansion.

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lololol

twenty characters

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You’re some kind of special snowflake right ?
You are ridiculous.

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I find it interesting how you made the conscious decision to belittle me for speaking my mind in a respectful open manner.

You have made your character as a person very clear.

Thank you for your input and your maturity.

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Look you are being respectful, but about an opinion that is quite difficult to respect.

It’s a tongue in cheek voice line in a video game… if this offends you it’s a you thing and you are not going to find much sympathy, because you won’t be taken seriously… and you know what, if this is your complaint quite frankly you don’t deserve to be taken seriously.

That may sound harsh but if your skin is that thin you probably shouldn’t be on the internet. So my advice would be to toughen up a little or go wrap yourself up in bubble wrap.

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As you can see in the responses to this post, there are some that agree and some that disagree. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone is welcome and encouraged to contribute to the conversation that convey’s where they stand on the topic.

Some who have responded to this topic fail to realize this very important aspect, I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m looking to have open and honest discussion about the game regarding various things that impact the entire Hearthstone community. That is what this forum is for, community engagement.

At the end of the day, the way we all conduct ourselves on this site when engaging with others reflects our characters as individuals.

So you can mock, belittle me by calling me any name that makes you feel god when trying to degrade me in whatever fashion suits you. It doesn’t bother me.

And if you think bubble wrap Language is harsh…

my response to that is, okay if you say so.

But thank you for your input and your maturity.

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This is what we’ve come to? This??? SMH

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You may find some bias in that the minority who find a problem with this voice line will be more inclined to come here and post, whereas the vast majority who don’t take this seriously will look at the title, shake their heads and move on with their life.

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(Written on phone, forgive me)
Your posts are well written. Honestly. Ive never seen such verbose use of the English language to describe this topic before.

It almost seems like youre trolling though. I would expect this type of written out post on something like the RNG or like card/class balance. If youre truly being serious though Ill try to give a serious response. Hopefully so far you dont feel attacked/offended etc. as im doing my best to remain cordial.

The original line is “hey loser”. Well, what is a loser? A loser is simply the opposite of a winner and in a 1v1 there will ALWAYS be a loser and a winner. (Except rare draws where both people are sad)

Why are people so afraid to lose and in Hearthstone specifically every match has one so its gonna happen to everyone. Pen flinger is telling the opponent that they are gonna lose! Theyre a loser in the sense that they will not win the match. While it can seem rude, its healthy to have confidence in competition and claim that you will be the victor! Going into a match thinking youre opponent is a winner is a self defeatest attitude and most would agree thats unhealthy.

I think you may be looking into the word “loser” too deeply and attaching too much value to it. If it were a line like “hey fatty” or “hey idiot” then I think you may have a better case.

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The Troublemaker card says ‘you gonna cry?’ when attacking.

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I miss the good old days … a video game could tell you this “You and your friends are dead, Game Over” … and nobody complained.

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I mean troublemaker , summons 2 minions at the end that attack randomly saying : You gonna cry ?

Tons of voice line that can be considered offensive , asking for it to be changed to suit a specific case , is just as worst as hiding jaina’s cleavage , or removing blood from certain card art , or removing the succubus .

Not saying i dont agree , just that we can’t allow these kinds of things to mess with our games no more . Do we want hollywood movies to be our gaming standard now ? Catering to small portion just to be on a safe line ?

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Thank you for the compliment. This is how I actually write. I"m not trying to offend anyone. And if someone has a different view or opinion great, then we can agree to disagree without the act of belittling.

Think about it… the theme of the expansion is about a new school year at Hearthstone’s version of hogwarts. To flip a coin is one thing, to fling an object is entirely different action. I mean this isn’t “Cards against humanity” and it’s not an Adult only game. Kids play this game as well.

I just think in general this card was in ill taste. It makes me think about kids in school that have been bullied who end up taking their own lives. Or internalize their emotions if they feel they have none they can confide in, when being bullied. I firmly feel that this card could potentially trigger certain emotions in younger players. Kids view the world very differently than adults, and don’t interpret the world as we do.

I mean wikipeida has a list of kids that have taken their own lives due to bullying. Many of these kids didn’t feel as though they had someone who could help them through what they were facing daily.

But I do appreciate you taking the time to write your stance, and for being cordial. You were very respectful in your delivery. So Two thumbs up! :slight_smile: And I"m not being sarcastic…I’m being very genuine.

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