In recent days, there has been quite a stir about Path of Exile and developer Grinding Gear Games. This is related to accusations from a supposed player that turned out to be a troll action. What is going on?
The story starts with a reddit post from user poelegalthrowaway00. He accused the PoE developer of recently banning him. The reason was supposedly that he used macros.
According to his own account, the player is physically impaired and relies on macros to play PoE. This accusation quickly sparked outrage and anger among readers and spread like wildfire, first on reddit, then on Twitter.
Grinding Gear Games received numerous angry messages and complaints regarding the case.
Macros can provide advantages in games through automatic inputs. For example, if you are playing a healing class in an MMORPG, you can assign the healing skill, mana potion, and targeting the desired team member to one key (via gaming-zubehoer.org).
Players with disabilities often rely on tools that allow them to fully utilize the game. We recently reported on a blind player who can use a voice input tool to access the chat.
Why are macros a problem? They provide a significant advantage in multiplayer and online games over other players and are therefore usually against the rules.
Ban for using macros?
This is behind the accusation: In the subreddit /legaladvice, user poelegalthrowaway00 asked for legal advice. He stated that he was banned in Path of Exile. He mentioned that due to a workplace accident, he cannot use one hand and some fingers of the other do not function properly.
Therefore, he relies on pedals and macro control to play Path of Exile. However, the developers banned him, supposedly due to the macros. In his post, which has since been deleted, he stated:
[…] I cannot use one hand and some fingers of the other due to an industrial accident. I do things on the computer using a mouse and three foot pedals. I play the game Path of Exile and in the game, you need to refresh four potion buffs every three to eight seconds. I physically cannot press all four keys every few seconds, so I use a macro that does it automatically for me.
I was recently banned for that, I have spent hundreds of dollars on this account. […] So my question is, should a lawyer look into this, or is it just a waste of their time?
via PCGamer.com
The photo of the Reddit post has been published on PCGamer.com and comes from Discord. (via Discord). Although macros are prohibited in most games, other factors play a more significant role for players who are physically impaired.
The “cry for help” quickly spread from reddit to Twitter. More and more people sympathized with poelegalthrowaway00 and wanted to know from the developer how they justified this alleged ban.
The gaming website PCGamer.com contacted the developers at Grinding Gear Games and asked for a statement. However, they strangely could not find a ban that matched the situation described by poelegalthrowaway00.
Grinding Gear Games CEO Chris Wilson told PCGamer: “We are curious about what happened here, as a ban for such a thing does not align with our internal policy and we cannot find any evidence that it occurred.” So what was going on? In the meantime, the mood on Twitter grew increasingly angry, and the topic continued to spread.
For instance, Steve Sposh from Able Games spoke up, emphasizing their advocacy for gamers with physical impairments, calling on the developers to clarify the case. The waves grew larger until poelegalthrowaway00 spoke up again on reddit. There, he burst the bubble:
It was all fake.
“I am a teacher and did this as a demonstration”
What is behind the fake? In the reddit post, poelegalthrowaway00 states that he is actually a teacher and did this as a demonstration for his class. He wanted to show how easy it is nowadays to manipulate public opinion.
He chose the topic Path of Exile because it is small enough and most of his students are familiar with gaming. He provides advice on how users on reddit can better see through such fakes.
Shortly after the second post was made, it was edited. Allegedly, the account of the supposed teacher was hacked. A short time later, it was deleted, but screenshots remained showing the entire text (via Discord).
How the developer reacts: CEO Chris Wilson stated to PCGamer.com: “Honestly, this makes me a little sick. It undermines the legitimacy of real issues, and the Twitter thread has caused us some pretty severe PR damage.”
Steve Sposh writes: “Pretending to be a player with a disability to harass a company is worse than bad. People are already skeptical of others who claim to have a disability.
So, congratulations, troll. You did it. You’ve made it harder for people with real disabilities to draw attention from developers. GG”.
What do you think of the case? Do you believe the teacher story and find the alleged motives justified? Or do you think the action is just as stupid as Steve Sposh does? Let us know in the comments.
What challenges this can bring, you can read in our interview with an FFXIV player: Blind player tells us how she plays Final Fantasy XIV
