I mean just because Cora is a woman doesn't automatically mean the reasons are related to that, i always liked Cora, but she had some bumps while casting (like all casters, this is not just directed to her) and while a great player (more than i'll ever be) she wasn't the first thing to jump into your mind when you think about what players get picked by Blizzard, you think of the "Top 10 Legend Giga-grinders" like Chakki or Gallon, so i can see why he could have some reservations about it.
I hesitate to respond to things like this because they seem ridiculous to me, but I'll bite. We hire people into game design because they have great potential as a game designers. Chakki, Cora, and Gallon all showed fantastic potential to become great game designers and were hired as a result. Having 'reservations' about someone being hired into a field with little to no understanding of any work or effort they put into being a great fit for that field is a confusing take.
Sure, I'm game. Blizz hiring Cora made me skeptical of their hiring decisions, because she had nowhere near the resume of someone who should be doing design on a card game. If you've been around the HS esports scene for long enough to remember, Frodan used to frequent the subreddit to take polls on casters and discuss their strengths/weaknesses. Cora was consistently placed in a third tier of casters for not adding quality analysis to a match (think the opposite of Jia, who IMO is top-tier these days). Remember the reveal stream in which Cora misplayed out of her mind time and time again and gave such a bad rap to (I think it was) Rise of Shadows at launch. Easily the most painful reveal stream ever. My point is I've not seen anything from her casting or playing career to justify being on a design team in any capacity - unlike Gallon. Thanks for the cookie BTW.
Gallon and Jia are way better players than I am! But I was a host, and Jia is an analyst. We didn't do the same job. Of course my analysis was worse than hers. I would hope that my interviews were better, but to each their own. We're very happy to have Gallon on the team. :)
You rock, Cora. Taking the high road in responding to someone who is very negative is part of what makes you so great.
ps Do you think you’ll ever cast again even as a one-of for fun again?
Hard to say. I loved casting but it was quite bad for my mental health at times. I love what I'm doing now and I'd like to focus on it for the time being. Never say never, though. :)
Iksar
I hesitate to respond to things like this because they seem ridiculous to me, but I'll bite. We hire people into game design because they have great potential as a game designers. Chakki, Cora, and Gallon all showed fantastic potential to become great game designers and were hired as a result. Having 'reservations' about someone being hired into a field with little to no understanding of any work or effort they put into being a great fit for that field is a confusing take.
Cora
Gallon and Jia are way better players than I am! But I was a host, and Jia is an analyst. We didn't do the same job. Of course my analysis was worse than hers. I would hope that my interviews were better, but to each their own. We're very happy to have Gallon on the team. :)
Cora
Hard to say. I loved casting but it was quite bad for my mental health at times. I love what I'm doing now and I'd like to focus on it for the time being. Never say never, though. :)