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[solecon64]

Just goes to show how crazy it was to believe companies actually cared about these things. The only thing they ever care about is money and all the brainrot we've seen in the past 5 - 7 years has only existed because they thought they could make money off of it.

They didn't, so now all those "right side of history" beliefs are going down the drain hard. Ffs, we'd have "The Birth of a Nation: The Video Game" if they thought it would make them money.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Based. Based as fuck.

How are the purple people taking this news?

 

[Thief1987]

I think they also made the Surge 1 and Surge 2 games.

Surge devs made old LotF game. Newer one was made by a new studio and it was their first project.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

It’s happening you guys

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/10/read-the-memo-meta-announces-end-of-its-dei-programs.html

 

[Idleyes]

That was Deck13 Interactive.

 

[BigBeauford]

Uh....huh.

So what does that actually mean? I see more bitching here about DEI than I do harm being done. Its a Soulslike to begin with anyway, something tells me its only as "woke" as right wing snowflakes want to be, which could be anywhere from "not at all" to "throwinflg a temper tantrum because woman protagonist scares me"

DEI isn't the existence of minorities. It's asking us to nod our heads along as a 95 lbs female wields a giant rocket launcher and orders grizzled, yoked military men around on the front lines, or features people of color as 1/2 of the population in a game set in 13th century England.

In short, it's asking (requiring under penalty of cancelation) to accept a warped reality that everyone knows is bullshit, in order to peddle a concept to grow an audience at the expense of the one they have.

 

[Doomtrain]

"How hard is it to just shut the fuck up, not say anything at all. Jesus Christ." - some rando in ResetERA

Oh, NOW you don't want them to make statements ...

Wait wait wait, I thought "silence is violence."

 

[gaming_again]

I get it, but most of these devs need to just keep quiet about it. No need to talk a create rage in either side.

Nah. Rub it in. Hard. My side is winning for the first time in over a decade. Just don't overdo it because then the counterculture rises...

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

translator note: rampant mismanagement means DEI hiring and Woke Ideology.

Studios are finally free to speak the truth. Gaming media is obsolete, and gamers have won!

 

[Crayon]

Hill continued, the lower than expected commercial performance of some of these games shows that many players do not appreciate these elements.​

 

[Gojiira]

This is a good start at least.

Idk this is just another form of virtue signalling. Its irrelevant if the games they make are below average.

 

[Danjin44]

Devs now have to announced they are not doing political story?

I dont remember devs like Vanillaware or FromSoftware announce this every time they release their games.

I dont get what part of this praise worthy.

 

[Nickolaidas]

I dont remember devs like Vanillaware or FromSoftware announce this every time they release their games.

I dont get what part of this praise worthy.

You don't get what it means to see developers renounce woke culture and not pledge their allegiance to that brain-rotting ideology?

Are you being purposefully dense?

 

[Thief1987]

Devs now have to announced they are not doing political story?

I dont remember devs like Vanillaware or FromSoftware announce this every time they release their games.

I dont get what part of this praise worthy.

Can you at least read the first sentence in the OP before stating your, oh so valuable, opinion?

During a recent investor chat, the studio was asked about their stance on DEI in gaming.

 

[TehGoomba7s]

Based. Based as fuck.

How are the purple people taking this news?

They all "boycotted" Helldivers 2 after Arrowhead said the same thing and renamed it Chuddivers, so probably some similar meltdown

 

[mopspear]

Also, LOTF shows its "diversity" literally in the first 5 minutes of the game in the form of the black priest with no other distinguishable characteristics whatsoever besides the fact that he is black (i.e, he's not well written, he isn't recognizable by other means/has no personality).

Which one? Exacter Dunmire?

 

[Physiognomonics]

Goal is to maximize profits

 

[Thief1987]

How are the purple people taking this news?

Very reasonable.

 

[Da1337Vinci]

Anti-DEI sentiment is now a selling point that can be marketed and is being marketed.

Will be interesting to see how it look like for the next batch of games.

 

[Neff]

Don't wanna jinx it, but it is starting, ever so slowly, to feel like we'll have a future where we can look back on this and say 'Hey, remember that crazy time when every game and every movie had a gay black disabled character with no sense of humour who was amazing at everything they did?'

 

[cormack12]

translator note: rampant mismanagement means DEI hiring and Woke Ideology.

Frustrating this was obvious, yet he's made 3 years worth of articles complaining about crunch etc.

Very reasonable.

I swear everytime I see a snip from there, it's like some tongue out angst 14 year old, storming out the room in a white nosed rage trying to save face.

 

[March Climber]

You don't get what it means to see developers renounce woke culture and not pledge their allegiance to that brain-rotting ideology?

Are you being purposefully dense?

Danjin44 is saying that other devs would say nothing and simply release the game. I agree with that method of doing things, letting the work speak for itself.

There's no benefit as a developer to throwing yourself into the viper pit where both sides will rip you apart regardless of who you appeal or pander to.

 

[Danjin44]

Danjin44 is saying that other devs would say nothing and simply release the game. I agree with that method of doing things, letting the work speak for itself.

There's no benefit as a developer to throwing yourself into the viper pit where both sides will rip you apart regardless of who you appeal or pander to.

Exactly! Do we really need devs announcing this every time they release their game?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Exactly! Do we really need devs announcing this every time they release their game?

this year.

 

[PisswasserYellow]

Very reasonable.

That thread is embarrassing. I truly could not imagine a bigger collection of fucking losers. They are so disingenuous with the whole "what does DEI even mean" bullshit when anyone who's being honest with themselves knows exactly what it means.

 

[diffusionx]

Exactly! Do we really need devs announcing this every time they release their game?

Actually this is a good thing if you don't want this stuff in your game. Devs now see it as a sort of selling point to announce this ahead of time, instead of hiring Sweet Baby when they come knocking.

 

[BigBeauford]

That thread is embarrassing. I truly could not imagine a bigger collection of fucking losers. They are so disingenuous with the whole "what does DEI even mean" bullshit when anyone who's being honest with themselves knows exactly what it means.

Thousands of years of pattern recognition in the subconscious human lizard brain easily identify this stuff. It really is like porn: you know it when you see it.

 

[digital_ghost]

 

[Quartermuncher]

DEI isn't the existence of minorities. It's asking us to nod our heads along as a 95 lbs female wields a giant rocket launcher and orders grizzled, yoked military men around on the front lines, or features people of color as 1/2 of the population in a game set in 13th century England.

In short, it's asking (requiring under penalty of cancelation) to accept a warped reality that everyone knows is bullshit, in order to peddle a concept to grow an audience at the expense of the one they have.

Ever hear of suspension of disbelief? What game has that ever happened in? For that matter, name a game that DEI actually HAS negatively impacted. All i hear is bitching about its existence rather than it doing anything aside from HR being HR. What's the phrase, virtue signaling? Only this time, you've got the right wing cheering as opposed to rolling their eyes over the fucking nothing that it is either way, Left OR right.

 

[BigBeauford]

Ever hear of suspension of disbelief? What game has that ever happened in? For that matter, name a game that DEI actually HAS negatively impacted. All i hear is bitching about its existence rather than it doing anything aside from HR being HR. What's the phrase, virtue signaling? Only this time, you've got the right wing cheering as opposed to rolling their eyes over the fucking nothing that it is either way, Left OR right.

Do you think DEI has helped or hurt the following games:

Saints Row (exclusively minority characters)
Suicide Squad (gender and race swapping, pushing PoC characters no one cares about as opposed to the rich tapestry of available and know characters)
Dragon Age The Veilguard (sliders for transgender surgery, obnoxious nonbinary character and quest line, soft and feminized plotline)
Star Wars Outlaws (girlboss mercenary smuggler obviously stand in for Han Solo)
Assassin's Creed Shadows (97% Japanese country featuring black male protagonist)
Concord (DEI inspired character designs such as the tank being a giant female, no white male characters)

 

[Lokaum D+]

Make the game good first before worrying about these things, one of the worst Souls like i played 2023.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Edit : wrong topic

 

[Denton]

Hopefully this vibe shift really means that DEI is about to DIE, but I would not count chickens before they hatch - there is a lot of ideological brainwashing still being done at all levels of western world, academia and institutions alike.

 

[StereoVsn]

Exactly! Do we really need devs announcing this every time they release their game?

The question was asked during investor meeting. This wasn’t a dev statement release. But yea, reading OP is hard.

 

[Quartermuncher]

Do you think DEI has helped or hurt the following games:

Saints Row (exclusively minority characters)
Suicide Squad (gender and race swapping, pushing PoC characters no one cares about as opposed to the rich tapestry of available and know characters)
Dragon Age The Veilguard (sliders for transgender surgery, obnoxious nonbinary character and quest line, soft and feminized plotline)
Star Wars Outlaws (girlboss mercenary smuggler obviously stand in for Han Solo)
Assassin's Creed Shadows (97% Japanese country featuring black male protagonist)
Concord (DEI inspired character designs such as the tank being a giant female, no white male characters)

Neither.
Saint's Row's problem was the writing.
Same with Suicide Squad. Captain Boomerang with a gun, the hell?
Veilguard's problem was again, notably the writing, but the options for a character creator are just that, options
Haven't played or heard much about Outlaws to make a judgment, but crying about minority characters? Sounds like drumroll please, bad writing if that's the case!
AC Shadows isn't even out yet, but the chud outrage is free advertising thus far
Concord's character designs were less DEI inspired and more bland as hell in general. It got cucked the instant it was announced by Overwatch + Marvel

So far, if you replace all the whining about DEI in here, you're left with blandness, bad writing or decisionmaking and options to ignore in a character creator.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Neither.
Saint's Row's problem was the writing.
Same with Suicide Squad. Captain Boomerang with a gun, the hell?
Veilguard's problem was again, notably the writing, but the options for a character creator are just that, options
Haven't played or heard much about Outlaws to make a judgment, but crying about minority characters? Sounds like drumroll please, bad writing if that's the case!
AC Shadows isn't even out yet, but the chud outrage is free advertising thus far
Concord's character designs were less DEI inspired and more bland as hell in general. It got cucked the instant it was announced by Overwatch + Marvel

So far, if you replace all the whining about DEI in here, you're left with blandness, bad writing or decisionmaking and options to ignore in a character creator.

DEI is THE reason for atrocious writing and decision marking. The cosmetic aspects of the videogame is just the tip of the iceberg and I find it very disingenuous that this needs to be clarified in the year 2025 of our Lord.

 

[Zacfoldor]

 

[yogaflame]

Another win

 

[Quartermuncher]

DEI is THE reason for atrocious writing and decision marking. The cosmetic aspects of the videogame is just the tip of the iceberg and I find it very disingenuous that this needs to be clarified in the year 2025 of our Lord.

Replacing any of the above with generic white guys does what exactly? I have yet to play Veilguard and probably never will, but the issue with that is "conversations sound like they're with HR". As in Bioware's writing room sucks in general, regardless of the gender/race of the characters. "Generic White Guy" is a protagonist, alright, but "Generic Girl" gets boos and hisses and doesn't match up to the same imaginary BS standard. Let me know when it is some absolute game-ruining shit and not a sidequest I can ignore.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

Another one. The dominoes are falling quickly now

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/10/amazon-halt-dei-programs-.html

 

[Boglin]

All i hear is bitching about its existence rather than it doing anything aside from HR being HR. What's the phrase, virtue signaling? Only this time, you've got the right wing cheering as opposed to rolling their eyes over the fucking nothing that it is either way, Left OR right.

If it's fucking nothing, then why has it been pushed so hard the last 5-10 years?

I doubt you complained like this towards the people bitching and pushing for the DEI stuff in the past, like Anita Sarkeesian and those sympathetic to her cause have been doing for over a decade, because like most people playing the "both sides" card recently, you probably agree with the shift to leftist ideals and want it to remain the status quo.
People's bitching is only a problem to you now because it's coming from moderates and right wing people and you don't want to see a swing back in the other direction. Otherwise you'd be okay with letting people yell at clouds to their heart's content.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Replacing any of the above with generic white guys does what exactly? I have yet to play Veilguard and probably never will, but the issue with that is "conversations sound like they're with HR". As in Bioware's writing room sucks in general, regardless of the gender/race of the characters. "Generic White Guy" is a protagonist, alright, but "Generic Girl" gets boos and hisses and doesn't match up to the same imaginary BS standard. Let me know when it is some absolute game-ruining shit and not a sidequest I can ignore.

I think part of the whole DEI package isn’t just having diverse characters, it’s also portraying marginalized identities in the most sympathetic, stereotype-defying (and BLAND) way possible. And having others basically walking on eggshells and deferring to them.

Hell, Veilguard has a cringe-ass scene that’s like a PSA how to atone for misgendering a nonbinary individual.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Nah. Rub it in. Hard. My side is winning for the first time in over a decade. Just don't overdo it because then the counterculture rises...

Its gonna happen. Thats how it works. One side overdoes it, pisses off the other side, then the other side retaliates and tries to "rub it in".
Rise and repeat. No one wants to chill out.

 

[Quartermuncher]

I think part of the whole DEI package isn’t just having diverse characters, it’s also portraying marginalized identities in the most sympathetic, stereotype-defying (and BLAND) way possible. And having others basically walking on eggshells and deferring to them.

Hell, Veilguard has a cringe-ass scene that’s like a PSA how to atone for misgendering a nonbinary individual.

There's a sliding scale of things at play here. Saints Row was mentioned earlier, and you know what? I've played that game, and it's the perfect turn your brain off and turn the podcast on kind of open world shit I can enjoy for the podcast more than the game. Your main crew consists of a black nerd, a hispanic mechanic chick, and an asian guy who doesn't own a shirt.

In bringing up bad writing, those guys? Your Saints Row Crew is just there. Your Black Nerd character is forgettable. Not grating, really, just there. Like the other characters. This is less bad and more mid. Saints Row, the reboot, wasn't *BAD* but it was *FORGETTABLE*. I paid $10 for it, played it on PS+ and sold it for $15.

Compare that to Veilguard, which actually has bad writing. Less misgendering a nonbinary individual and more something something about elven gods?

 

[FunkMiller]

Danjin44 is saying that other devs would say nothing and simply release the game. I agree with that method of doing things, letting the work speak for itself.

There's no benefit as a developer to throwing yourself into the viper pit where both sides will rip you apart regardless of who you appeal or pander to.

This is all about garnering attention. The Lord Of The Fallen games have all been fucking mediocre, and he's trying to galvanise some kind of movement around the next one to increase sales.

All very transparent.

Make your game for the audience. Don't whine about doing it. Just do it.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Danjin44 is saying that other devs would say nothing and simply release the game. I agree with that method of doing things, letting the work speak for itself.

There's no benefit as a developer to throwing yourself into the viper pit where both sides will rip you apart regardless of who you appeal or pander to.

While I agree that a developer shouldn't say anything which would result in alienating potential customers - no matter who they are - I also agree that right now, pop culture needs to say that they are changing course in order to shut up some very bad faith actors who claimed that the industry NEEDED to 'force behaviors'.

When your kid breaks a vase at home, you don't ignore it and hope it won't do it again. You make it a goal to point out the kid's bad behavior and expect it to say it won't do it again.

DEI is THE reason for atrocious writing and decision marking. The cosmetic aspects of the videogame is just the tip of the iceberg and I find it very disingenuous that this needs to be clarified in the year 2025 of our Lord.

EXACTLY! People don't seem to understand the problem isn't just the characters you watch being complete, unlikable asses - it's also the incompetent people who WROTE and DESIGNED them that way, and the people who GREENLIT all that.

It's ALL relative.

 

[Kacho]

What a fucking baller. Anti-woke is so hot right now.

 

[Stuart360]

Being anti-woke is becoming a marketing bullet point, and I love it.

Its getting to the point where having loopy leftists and the purple haired mob attacking your game, there is no better advertizing you could get.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Its getting to the point where having loopy leftists and the purple haired mob attacking your game, there is no better advertizing you could get.

- one of the best games of the year -- chudgaming.co.uk
- tremendously fun, absolutely addicting -- thatparkplace
- blacklisted on ResetERA from day one -- trumpgaming

 

[March Climber]

While I agree that a developer shouldn't say anything which would result in alienating potential customers - no matter who they are - I also agree that right now, pop culture needs to say that they are changing course in order to shut up some very bad faith actors who claimed that the industry NEEDED to 'force behaviors'.

When your kid breaks a vase at home, you don't ignore it and hope it won't do it again. You make it a goal to point out the kid's bad behavior and expect it to say it won't do it again.

None of the kid example stuff matters here. They are wanting to sell a product to as many people as possible. The smartest move would be to not engage in social discourse and instead make a good video game. They make soulslikes, which puts them in an even easier position with the public. No matter how you want to paint it, this is nothing short of a needless move.