WotC WotC's Chris Perkins On D&D's Inclusivity Processes Going Forward

Over on D&D Beyond, WotC's Chris Perkins has written a blog entry about how the company's processes have been changed to improve the way the D&D studio deals with harmful content and inclusivity. This follows recent issues with racist content in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and involves working with external cultural consultants.

The studio’s new process mandates that every word, illustration, and map must be reviewed by multiple outside cultural consultants prior to publication.

Leveling Up Our Creative Process: Learnings From Spelljammer

In this blog post, I'll talk about how we in the D&D Studio are changing our review process following the problematic content that appeared in Spell...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Method 1 :

Talk about inclusivity, lamenting past products = buzz for the company.
Make a mistake like Hadozee = buzz for the company.
Pledge to correct it going forward = buzz for the company.

Method 2 :

Doing things right in the first place and not having to pledge to be inclusive going forward because you didn't fail in the first place = no buzz.

It's unfortunate that marketing and communication doesn't reward just doing things like they should.

 

[Digdude]

For us older gamers, I look at current social justice issues like these comparable to getting a patch uploaded for your favorite computer program or game. It's up to you to upgrade yourself on issues that were once brushed aside and are now not accepted within society. In this way we can operate at maximum efficiency within said society. Just my two cents...

 

[Umbran]

Which largely aligns to how I feel about it.

Here's a point that can be difficult to swallow - if you haven't been the target of this racism, how you feel about it really isn't really a central point. If Joe punches Sam, and you are a third party observer, how hard you feel the hit was doesn't change what happened to Sam.

While many of us are also third party observers, we have a solid ethical position in the point that folks generally ought to be careful about punching others.

It seems like people are searching for a reason to be angry and indignant about something pretty innocuous.

Again, how it seems to you may not be a terribly central issue here.

 

[Ixal]

For us older gamers, I look at current social justice issues like these comparable to getting a patch uploaded for your favorite computer program or game. It's up to you to upgrade yourself on issues that were once brushed aside and are now not accepted within society. In this way we can operate at maximum efficiency within said society. Just my two cents...

Well if you go outside of the internet bubble, and Enworld is part of this bubble, you will see that its not really "society" which has a problem with things like the Hadozee or Oriental Adventures but only a small group who want to protect others from things those people often don't feel attacked by anyway and also want be seen doing it.

 

[Incenjucar]

Inclusivity causes no harm to anyone who is already being treated well by existing material, and gives more people access to that material without discomfort. Media generally favors me, but I am happier when it does not treat people around me poorly.

 

[darjr]

Well if you go outside of the internet bubble, and Enworld is part of this bubble, you will see that its not really "society" which has a problem with things like the Hadozee or Oriental Adventures but only a small group who want to protect others from things those people often don't feel attacked by anyway and also want be seen doing it.

No. It’s just your local group of friends and you somehow think that’s global or representative of everyone.

The exact thing you blame others of, so you can remain comfortable, is what you’re actually doing.

 

[Ixal]

No. It’s just your local group of friends and you somehow think that’s global or representative of everyone.

The exact thing you blame others of, so you can remain comfortable, is what you’re actually doing.

This "group of friends" is actually members of several other online gaming forums (not specifically RPGs) where all people just shake the heads and laugh when they hear about the latest scandal in D&D.
Might be because those forums tend not to be American but from my experience no, the ones having problems with Hadozee ect. are not the majority.

 

[Incenjucar]

Thankfully WotC does not need 51% approval from the global community to do the right thing and make their content more inclusive and sensitive to cultural considerations.

 

[pauldanieljohnson]

Again, how it seems to you may not be a terribly central issue here.

Because why? How it feels to others seems to be the only reason it's an issue in the first place. In fact, the entire concept seems to be rooted solely and exclusively in the basis of assorted peoples' feelings about it. So am I the only person whose feelings are irrelevant?

I saw a commercial the other day. It was for a new type of extra cheesy Ritz cracker. Now, 'cracker' is a common racial trope directed at white people. It seems obvious to me that this commercial was a thinly veiled swipe at white people, clearly implying that all white people are cheesy. What critical mass of collective outrage is required before the good folks at Nabisco are forced to pull that advertisement and fall over themselves apologizing?

Yes, that's an ad absurdum, but my point is that people can feel however they want about whatever they want. This crosses the line into censorship, which is what I take issue with.

 

[Umbran]

It's unfortunate that marketing and communication doesn't reward just doing things like they should.

Well, yeah.

But also, note that "doing things like they should" is not a simple and instant thing. You can't pop down to Walmart and buy "The 100% Effective Inclusion and Diversity Kit" and have it just work. In a large organization, you have to put together processes and patterns that help prevent mistakes like the Hadozee from happening. And the first passes at these processes and patterns will have failures.

Building new corporate culture takes time, and will have fits and starts. The important bit is that they actually take the failures as opportunities to at least try to be better.