Right but Overwatch is a commercial project. They are VERY VERY VERY much subject to laws, and since they are not making a political statement ON the nature of these symbols, they don’t get immunity.
That depends on your point of view I suppose.
I think having a person wearing a red cross who is a person you have to shoot to win is in pretty bad taste, and I think having games be more mindful about such things would have a very real impact on the attrition rates of medic’s in war zones, especially as more gamers become drone pilots.
As it IS ICRC has been throwing their weight around a bit, which is why a bunch of games has made the switch, so, it is being enforced, if somewhat in a spotty way.
It is the bit any design nearly resembling the red cross or red crescent emblems “as to be capable of being mistaken for, or understood as referring to, one of those emblems. ”
Which is the real kicker.
I personally would understand his symbol as referring to the red cross, and under the right conditions, I would ABSOLUTELY would be able to confuse it as being it.
The reasons it is given a wide definition is so that people can’t say “well, this obviously has a light blue background, and therefore isn’t the red cross” - while using vehicles to move troops around.
Sure as hell they didn’t want people saying “this isn’t red on white, this is red on a dusty beige” so obviously it was ok to shoot the vehicles.
It is given special legal protection because of this.
It is also you know… a bad look for Blizzard to be doing that at all. I suspect Blizzard hasn’t really put a lot of thought into it, which is the only reason they are still the way they are.
Blizzard is many things, but like, the kind of place which is wilfully going against stuff like this isn’t one of them.
i mean, most games simply replace the cross with an H or make it green or blue or something, and yea, if it was a problem…the Red Cross would have done something already
Their enforcing it has been patchy, but they 100% HAVE gone after other developers for it.
Again, it has been spotty, but, like, the intention is pretty clear, and it is VERY MUCH unlike Blizzard to simple ignore it, if it came to their attention.
You’re right, it is very unlike them to ignore something like this, which only leads me to believe that they’ve made sure they’re following the correct guidelines, especially considering it wouldn’t be the first time it had to be changed in a videogame.
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