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

 

[GMforPowergamers]

It’s a self selected group. And has power dynamics not in play in the wider world.

In part you see these issues when you step away from your circle because they are not under your control.

I will say that 30 years ago I knew people who were bad people... like horrible no hold back bad people, I think even when the people I am with now are far from angels they are at least good people. my go to test is when someone says something offends them, but it doesn't my group of friends how they react... I wish I used that gage 30 years ago

 

[Irlo]

This crosses the line into censorship, which is what I take issue with.

A publisher deciding what to publish and what not to publish is censorship?

 

[Azzy]

That works both ways though. Most people who complained about Hadozee being racist towards African American or Oriental Adventure to Asians were neither of those and also just a 3rd party and just assumed that they would be offended by those books, or even as the first post in this line of discussion said, assumed that they would make the same associations of Hadozee = African Americans instead of fantasy monkey people.

Source for your assumption?

 

[Umbran]

Self selected by liking video games and rpgs? Or books and rpgs?

Nope. By being a community that chooses to interact. and by being people within that community who choose to respond in discussion. Those choices are the self-selection.

There are people who came by that community, didn't like it, and left. There are people who looked at the discussion and said, "Nah, I'm not going to get into it."

That means the groups you read are selected to be the kinds of people who stay in that community,a nd who jump into such discussions.

I am not talking about some small private forums but open forums frequented by thousands of people and so far I have seen no one who displayed the same outrage at all this stuff as seen here on Enworld, also a self selected group, by the way.

Most definitely we are. I could not begin to count the number of times I have told people that EN World is not representative of the gaming community as a whole. Anyone who polls EN World and takes that as a good indication of what gamers, in general, think, doesn't know the first thing about statistics.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Because, I'm afraid, none of us are entitled to relevancy.

If you are a third party to a problem, why do you think your opinion on that problem matters? Going back to my previous example of Joe and Sam. You didn't throw the punch. You didn't take the punch. Why are you relevant in this scenario?

it also depends on the degree... If I watch Joe hit Sam (or the other way around I didn't go back to original post) I am at most a witness...

If I watch something worse go down I MAY be effected by it for years. Trauma can happen just for bystandards too

 

[Vaalingrade]

That works both ways though. Most people who complained about Hadozee being racist towards African American or Oriental Adventure to Asians were neither of those and also just a 3rd party and just assumed that they would be offended by those books, or even as the first post in this line of discussion said, assumed that they would make the same associations of Hadozee = African Americans instead of fantasy monkey people.

Hi, Black Guy here.

It was offensive.

Are we done with this particular tangent or do I have to go find an Asian Guy too?

 

[Umbran]

If I watch something worse go down I MAY be effected by it for years. Trauma can happen just for bystandards too

Yes, but we are talking about game content, not something worse. Let's keep it focused, please.

 

[Blue Orange]

I mean, Hasbro (and their subsidiary Wizards) has no doubt done the market research and decided inclusivity is important going forward. Having read these books for a few decades, I can say the authors lean left overall (with exactly what that means changing over time), and from what I'm reading RPGs are becoming popular among LGBTQ people, who lean left as well on average. So whatever the moral valence you assign to it, it is also smart marketing on their part. Tabletop RPGs don't have the same audience they did 30 years ago.

The equivalent teenagers to the more conservative people who would have played 30 years ago are now playing video games.

 

[MGibster]

Most definitely we are. I could not begin to count the number of times I have told people that EN World is not representative of the gaming community as a whole. Anyone who polls EN World and takes that as a good indication of what gamers, in general, think, doesn't know the first thing about statistics.

I find the best policy is to ask myself what I think and assume that's what the community thinks.

Hi, Black Guy here.

White dude here. I was flabbergasted that WotC went forward with the publication of the Hadozee as it was. I don't think it was a deliberate decision on their part, I just couldn't believe that nobody in the process stopped and said, "Uh, have you really looked at this?" I don't think it was unreasonable for you or anyone else to look at that and find it offensive.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Quality is frequently iterative in nature. You have to learn to walk before you can become a champion sprinter. And our understanding of DEI is a continuum - it is changing all the time, and there is no "done." What can be considered doing the right thing today can easily become the wrong thing in the future. And that can be the case even when paired with the best of intentions.

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.