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

 

[Clint_L]

You are reinforcing my point about why WotC hiring cultural consultants is a good idea.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Pretty much every White Southerner understood this when these brand brands were invented, and pretty much every Black American still does. Yet what was completely obvious to them was not even on your radar. And this does not make you a bad person - like, I said, you seem to have good intentions, and you obviously put thought into your totally wrong thesis about the meaning of the name "Ben," etc. And that's not your fault, because you lacked the cultural context to understand where those brand names came from.

Indeed, and I am pretty sure very few people outside of the US would get those references and in my country substituted the original (or intended) interpretation with their own cultural references, that I provided in the post. Nobody could have guessed "Uncle" referred to slavery because slavery is a thing that didn't exist in a relevant past to the point it is even difficult to realize it was a thing in the "land of the Free" as recently as the late 19th century. Sure, many people know about the secession war and some can probably identify the dates correctly thanks to history lessons, but it's an academic knowledge, not something that is intuitively known [and even then... history isn't a topic that is studied a lot]. The goal of the post was to illustrate how a progressive move with regard to the American market (suppressing racist references that a significant number of person there would understand) would be impossible to understand, and even counterproductive, outside of this market, because the image they used was seen very differently, to the point that removing a black iconic character sounded strange in an era of increased representation. It probably didn't affect the brand much, but still, most of the press reporting this change at the time focussed on the "accusations" of racism and linking it to the BLM movement, without substantiating it much. [Actually, after checking,the brand lost market share since, but it might be totally unrelated to the brand change]. It is an example why hiring cultural consultants, for a worldwide brand, and focussing only on a single market is a bad idea (even if it is their strongest market by far).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

You are reinforcing my point about why WotC hiring cultural consultants is a good idea.

that was my point... so yes, I have been 100% behind experts that can do research over using 'common' knowledge. I just hope the team they hire is good and diverse (although still not a replacement for hireing more diverse developers)

 

[MGibster]

Texas wasn't a big slave state, and nothing in this origin references ANY of what you said... now god knows my google fu is not the best, and getting your info from the web is spotty at best, BUT it shows that there is a major disconnect on what the story is.

There were approximately 182,000 enslaved persons in Texas in 1860 out of 604,000 free people. I don't know what percentage of the state needs to be made up of enslaved persons to be considered a "big slave state," but I've got to think 30% should count.

 

[Zardnaar]

What's it called overseas?

Ben's Original Microwave Rich Vegetable Pilau 250g Pouch | The Warehouse

Buy Ben's Original Microwave Rich Vegetable Pilau 250g Pouch at The Warehouse

www.thewarehouse.co.nz

 

[MGibster]

What's it called overseas?

It's Ben's Original here in the United States as well. They changed the name in 2020 or 2021.

 

[Blue Orange]

Indeed, and I am pretty sure very few people outside of the US would get those references and in my country substituted the original (or intended) interpretation with their own cultural references, that I provided in the post. Nobody could have guessed "Uncle" referred to slavery because slavery is a thing that didn't exist in a relevant past to the point it is even difficult to realize it was a thing in the "land of the Free" as recently as the late 19th century. Sure, many people know about the secession war and some can probably identify the dates correctly thanks to history lessons, but it's an academic knowledge, not something that is intuitively known [and even then... history isn't a topic that is studied a lot]. The goal of the post was to illustrate how a progressive move with regard to the American market (suppressing racist references that a significant number of person there would understand) would be impossible to understand, and even counterproductive, outside of this market, because the image they used was seen very differently, to the point that removing a black iconic character sounded strange in an era of increased representation. It probably didn't affect the brand much, but still, most of the press reporting this change at the time focussed on the "accusations" of racism and linking it to the BLM movement, without substantiating it much. [Actually, after checking,the brand lost market share since, but it might be totally unrelated to the brand change]. It is an example why hiring cultural consultants, for a worldwide brand, and focussing only on a single market is a bad idea (even if it is their strongest market by far).

We always assume people outside our country know more about our history than they do. The international release of Lincoln had to include a preamble explaining the American Civil War and Lincoln's role in it.

How many Americans can name the sides in the English Civil War, and can tell you which one supported the king?

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Ben's Original since 2020, without any picture, Oncle Ben before that.

 

[BookTenTiger]

We always assume people outside our country know more about our history than they do. The international release of Lincoln had to include a preamble explaining the American Civil War and Lincoln's role in it.

How many Americans can name the sides in the English Civil War, and can tell you which one supported the king?

House Targaryen was defending the crown, and House Stark and Baratheon were opposing, right?

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

House Targaryen was defending the crown, and House Stark and Baratheon were opposing, right?

That was a couple of centuries earlier.