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

 

[Morrus]

The danger here is failing to understand people you disagree with and just labeling them bigots.

But you contradict yourself. You ask that people not label those they disagree with as bigots. You then say:

But there is no explanation at all. The only explanation is that they wanted to have a diverse cast so people wouldn't get mad and that is it.

So you label them as people who just didn't want to be shouted at.

Because.... in your mind there is no other possible explanation? Is it not possible to you that they simply felt that was the right thing to do? That that action was in line with their values? Or is the only valid explanation in your mind really that they're cowards and were too scared not to have a diverse cast?

Because that's a very uncharitable position to take. You talk about the failure to understand people you diagree with, and then immediately commit that very crime yourself.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Because.... in your mind there is no other possible explanation? Is it not possible to you that they simply felt that was the right thing to do? That that action was in line with their values? Or is the only valid explanation in your mind really that they're cowards and were too scared not to have a diverse cast?

I don't think its cowardice. I don't think corporations have values (outside of very small ones where an individual owner or lead team can use the company to their own goals), they should only care about maximizing their bottom line and creating value for the shareholders. It is a smart move to be inclusive (if buyers care about representation, it gives them more of it, if buyers care about inclusivity, it is a selling point...) when you're targetting a rather inclusive and enlightened market. Where the social consensus is, say, that same-sex relationships are evil (like in China), filmmaking companies make cuts instead of pulling out of the Chinese market -- they are faithful to their cardinal value, moneymaking, not necessarily taking a stand against equality and tolerance.

I understand that some people would hold them responsible and boycott films by these companies, though, if they are of the opinion that corporations should be exhibiting social values compatible with their own.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

And now there are some people who want to change the rules, but not the rest agrees. For example the saga of Harry Potter was by a woman, and one of the main characters is a girl, a very smart girl. But today someones says Harry Potter should have added more female characters.

I doubt seriously pictures of undeads were allowed by the Chinese censure in a translated edition, but the fun fact would be a "pirate", clone or rip-off was published in China, with no respect for the copyright.

Usually the smart companies when added some "inclusive content" this is easy to be edited to avoid the censure from other countries, not only China or Russia, but also ultraconservative Muslims countries.

And there are several levels of offense. For example you could tell a story about kickbacks and bribed referees in the Spanish soccer league, this could be allowed by Spaniards, but if you insinuate Spain won the world championship because that time Spaniards paid enough (and then it would be a victory without glory, with no merit), then that is a different thing.

And using TTRPGs to tell a satire about the real life can be a double-edged sword, because other can use the same the same plot but with a twist, for example changing the antagonist faction. or a new version of Robocop, but Caracas (capital of Venezuela) instead of Detroit, or Poe's horror story "the pit and the pendulum", but a different end, in the original the storyteller is rescued by a soldier of Napoleon in Spain, but in the new story the storyteller was a Catholic priest victim of Napoleon's troops because he didn't want to say where the jewels of Corpus Christis were hidden.

And today there are people who can realise when a fictional work really is a weapon for propaganda in the cultural war.

 

[Bill Zebub]

If that were the only issue, I think you're right. Based on his own writing about adaptation, however, and some odd narrative choices in the show, I suspect he would not have cared for it anyway.

Oh I agree that he wouldn’t like many of the story/lore changes. And he would cringe at much of the writing.

But inclusive casting? He was a good person, would recognize the importance of those decisions, and would support it. I have no doubt.

 

[Irlo]

Diversity is becoming short hand for badly written cardboard cutout characters. Writers who like pushing things usually mess it up.

Disagree. There are no more badly written cardboard cutout character in entertainments with diverse casts than there are in those with non-diverse casts. There's no degradation of quality art that can be attributed to writers "pushing" diversity.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I think this is a good point as we tend to lump criticism together.

this is one of the things that bug me alot too... I am a HUGE comics fan i love diverse characters, and one of my favorites is cap marvel (formerly ms marvel) but when I said her movie was only OKAY, and that I loved it on first watch but it feel apart in subsequent I was told that was me being sexist... that I never gave it a chance.

But that's been the problem: the loudest voices shouting hate become the spokespeople for the fandom. I've seen it time and time again. Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, the frickin X-Men!

oh man the doctor who one bugs me too... I got board with nuwho... and was told it was because I was sexist. When I told people 'but I left during capaldi' it didn't matter, not watching the 1st woman doctor was an issue...
Xmen one I laugh and laugh as people seem to miss that women, and woman of color are MAJOR draws to most X fans, and for a comic book it is pretty much a soap opera so what some ones sexuality is comes up a lot more then you would think.

Sometimes, a bad movie is a bad movie.

yup... the only counter point is how many bad superman movies are there? How many bad batman? How many bad male lead superhero movies? think that through then ask "Why do no body ever say that will kill white male lead comic movies?" but one bad catwoman and "This is why we don't have women comic book movies"

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I had my issues with the 2003 Daredevil movie and Michael Clarke Duncan playing Kingpin wasn't one of them. I'm also not a huge Daredevil fan to begin with, so that level of attention to detail to the source material just doesn't matter to me.

TBH i LOVE denofreo and his take, but Michael Clarke Duncan may have been the better kingpin...

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So you label them as people who just didn't want to be shouted at.

Because.... in your mind there is no other possible explanation? Is it not possible to you that they simply felt that was the right thing to do?

I will take this and raise it... when you have a non visual medium (so not comics not movies or TV but audio drama or novel) unless they really spell out what someone looks like, they could be any race.

I go with the harry potter series as my go to... they describe Ron and his family and Draco and his (and harry and his) but almost never describe herminie... and almost never anything about others.

Tolkein describes his main characters, but he doesn't describe every hobbit in the shire (my jokes about his writing style of describing trees aside) so if you live in a place full of diversity you can easily imagine it being diverse.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Disagree. There are no more badly written cardboard cutout character in entertainments with diverse casts than there are in those with non-diverse casts. There's no degradation of quality art that can be attributed to writers "pushing" diversity.

I agree with that, but I also think that a work shouldn't get a pass for bad writing because it also happens to be diverse. I would still like my stories to be good, and just being diverse isn't enough for a good narrative.

 

[Irlo]

I agree with that, but I also think that a work shouldn't get a pass for bad writing because it also happens to be diverse. I would still like my stories to be good, and just being diverse isn't enough for a good narrative.

Full agreement on that from me!