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

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is a thing we have yet to internalize. We don't "own content" on online systems. We lease access to content.

This is why I copied it offline as soon as I bought it.

 

[R_J_K75]

Work for any major US corporation. This always happens unless the lead is a super micromanager.

I have, I worked for General Mills Inc and this was not the case.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Exactly. Which is why it's becoming physical or nothing for me again.

I'm still good with pdfs. I own those.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

as a huge GL fan that is one of the worst stories

There are several Green Lantern writers over the years whom today, one would hope, would be quietly escorted outside of the building and asked to go indie and not come back.

But they're hardly alone: Marv Wolfman wrote himself into New Teen Titans so he could have sex with Starfire, which is ... certainly something.

 

[Minigiant]

I have, I worked for General Mills Inc and this was not the case.

I used to be the 3rd in line for my branch's safety meeting and I been in more that one "Employees cannot race or play chicken with forklift" meetings. More than once. And 2 other people have to be absent for me to required to join the monthly meeting.

At a different workplace in a major corporation , my job is at least 25% harder because oversight that should happen doesn't happen.

My family bonds over work related facepalming.

So a book missing the sensitivity readers, I totally see it.

 

[Alzrius]

I used to be the 3rd in line for my branch's safety meeting and I been in more that one "Employees cannot race or play chicken with forklift" meetings.

In my defense, I wouldn't have done that at all, but Needles called me a chicken and I needed to prove him wrong.

 

[Minigiant]

In my defense, I wouldn't have done that at all, but Needles called me a chicken, and I needed to prove him wrong.

I was not racing forklifts.

I sat in meetings telling use that managers sat in their offices and allowed drivers race forklifts until someone was ejected...again.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I used to be the 3rd in line for my branch's safety meeting and I been in more that one "Employees cannot race or play chicken with forklift" meetings. More than once. And 2 other people have to be absent for me to required to join the monthly meeting.

Why does your company hate fun?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

There are several Green Lantern writers over the years whom today, one would hope, would be quietly escorted outside of the building and asked to go indie and not come back. But they're hardly alone: Marv Wolfman wrote himself into New Teen Titans so he could have sex with Starfire, which is ... certainly something.

the entire depiction of sex in the titans needed to be scubed

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

the entire depiction of sex in the titans needed to be scubed

What, including the pivotal moment in one of the most iconic story lines in DC Comics -- not just New Teen Titans -- where it's revealed that a 50-something Deathstroke is having sex with a 13 year old Titan who's infiltrated and plans to betray the team?

New Teen Titans was a transformative series for DC and superhero comics in general, second only to the Claremont X-Men for that era, but boy, it had a lot of problematic stuff mixed in with the great stuff.

And, to bring this back on topic, this is why more eyes need to be on creative content. I find it unlikely that the Judas Contract storyline could have passed muster as-is if there had been women in the editorial process empowered to pull the emergency brake as needed.