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Gaming Journalists stepped in to defend Sweet Baby Inc. after curator page went viral

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calistan

Member
YwFPlPI.png
Weird Ghost and Sweet Baby are the same people, but why is Dragon Baby lumped in with them? Stupid name, sure, but there's no evidence beyond a mention of screening for 'cultural insensitivity'. And that can mean even between English-speaking countries (e.g. Mario Party 8 being recalled on the eve of PAL launch because someone noticed that the original US translation used the word 'spastic', which some Brits have deemed offensive).

I don't recall anyone complaining about the projects listed in Dragon Baby's portfolio page. It's worth checking before expanding the witch hunt.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Normal tactics... if you are a radical group fighting for craziness you make the propaganda machine convince the neutral that the other opposite side is also or more radical... once you do that its easier to persuade some public opinions, pages from the book of any radical group in history.
I understand what you are trying to say, I think, but I would caution about this “part of the solution or part of the problem” rhetoric as it is exactly what they use…
 


Stephen Fry, the voice of reason




Wonderful video. Thank you for posting it.


This is pretty much where I am. On a lot of social issues, I fall pretty far to the progressive side. I support trans rights and gay marriage, and I think that America could learn some things from Western/Northern Europe about how to pay for health care and education. But I also think that private property should exist, which makes me a supporter of "slavery" according to Real Leftists. I think Harvey Weinstein is a terrible person who should spend the rest of his life in jail, but I also think that human sexuality should be represented in film and culture (which means I can't be a Real Leftist now, I suppose). I also believe that people have a fundamental right to privacy and to control their own lives when it comes to their own beliefs, so I have a strong visceral reaction against people saying that they want someone to lose their job because they tweet that they attend church. We can support specific good policies and oppose bad ones without falling into their "heresy" bullshit that I see so much of.

I'm in my late 40s, and so much of what's coming from the left right now sounds like the worst parts of the Soviet Bloc (a comparison Fry makes himself makes in the video, when he references the Stasi), but what's worse is when I see leftists themselves endorse that comparison.
 
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Aces High

Member
GameStar, one of the biggest gaming sites in Germany:

BIG "One of the biggest Steam curators, 'Sweet Baby Inc detected,' is currently fueling a huge hate campaign on the internet."

small "We explain why a consulting firm for games like Alan Wake 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Suicide Squad is being massively threatened."

q1WEomA.png


Of course they deactivated the comments on this.
 
Stop calling them journalist. They are paid game bloggers, not journalists. Talk about game blogging, not journalists, we should not give them the privilege of using that word.

I like to think of them as marketers. I'm big into cars and it's the same way.

Any industry where a manufacturer gives a reviewer product is beholden to keeping the manufacturer happy. Hence, they're marketers.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
Injecting woke crap worked for most companies when it was done silently, not based on official "consulting" with an outside firm. My guess would be the owners of Sweet Baby will restart the company and this time they won't advertise the games they "helped" to create.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
GameStar, one of the biggest gaming sites in Germany:

BIG "One of the biggest Steam curators, 'Sweet Baby Inc detected,' is currently fueling a huge hate campaign on the internet."

small "We explain why a consulting firm for games like Alan Wake 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Suicide Squad is being massively threatened."

q1WEomA.png


Of course they deactivated the comments on this.

Gamestar is also hiding all critical comments under their tweets. This is so typical of the woke: they love to push their politic opinions any which way they can, but don't want to deal with the negative blowback.
 

justiceiro

Marlboro: Other M
Any of those said journalists could at least mention a game they were involved that turned out good?

Edit: seems like yes, ops, lol.
 
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Lucumo

Member
I meant to say about there being consultants, not about the quality of the work produced. Their headlines makes it look like it is the fact there are consultants at work that pisses people off.
I didn't post the link due to the quality of the work either (which is garbage anyway) but more about there being a more direct involvement. "Consultancy" can mean a lot of things but we are talking about direct involvement in design, writing etc here, to the point where some initial idea is completely changed and they get official credit even. So PC Gamer downplayed it in more than just one way.
 

stn

Member
Personally speaking, I'm on board with all people being represented in games. I've never cared about what skin color the characters in a game have or what gender they like to fuck. I just want a good game with a good story. As an example, Deathloop is a great game with two excellent black characters. As another example, Life Is Strange is one of my favorite games of all time, and
I'm pretty sure the main characters are gay, which is implied
.

What I dislike, though, is when developers basically just randomly insert stuff to fit an agenda. Spider-Man 2, while a very solid game, is full of political ideology. Miles Morales is black and a great character, we don't need agenda shoved down our throats to appreciate Miles. I do agree that there should be better representation in gaming (and media in general) but I think the way they are going about it is improper (also, some of the people at the forefront of this all are honestly mentally unstable, and pushing unhealthy and incorrect narratives "herp derp all straight white males are evil slave owners blah blah blah").
 

Tangerine

Member
I'm actually surprised he is going so hard on this.

Most of his vids I've seen passed around he usually does the both sides thing.
I've noticed him being anti woke a few times and I've watched maybe 10 tops of his videos. Obviously there's selection bias on my part, picking certain topics.

But good on him, at least YouTube exists. Even if it's flawed. Otherwise the gaming outlets might have convinced everyone with their fake ass stories.
 
Personally I think hiring a consultant group is fine if that's what those devs want. Fuck any group that uses threatening tactics to get what they want. Same goes with having a varied cast and the benefits that come from representation - but let's not pretend some really do think anything beyond white and straight is forced political diversity.

What's particularly odd to me about all of this is when people on those consultant groups have their own racists thoughts ruining their credibility on being inclusive to everyone and journalists (finger quote if you want) who who refuse to to point it out themselves when it's already all over social media. The worst being those who make the claim you can't be racists to white people. It's just fucking absurd.
 

Lucumo

Member
GameStar, one of the biggest gaming sites in Germany:

BIG "One of the biggest Steam curators, 'Sweet Baby Inc detected,' is currently fueling a huge hate campaign on the internet."

small "We explain why a consulting firm for games like Alan Wake 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Suicide Squad is being massively threatened."

q1WEomA.png


Of course they deactivated the comments on this.
Gotta love how everything is being misrepresented. And they don't put a name down for the article but it's posted by the "Redaktion" which on the other side means that all of them went off the deep end. Google'd them and it seems like they post general garbage (not just about games) as well. Sad to see what became of them, as they were, from what I heard, quite good in the 00s and possibly the 90s. But well, they are owned by the French these days, so that makes the rift between now and back then even larger.
 

Hudo

Member
GameStar, one of the biggest gaming sites in Germany:

BIG "One of the biggest Steam curators, 'Sweet Baby Inc detected,' is currently fueling a huge hate campaign on the internet."

small "We explain why a consulting firm for games like Alan Wake 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Suicide Squad is being massively threatened."

q1WEomA.png


Of course they deactivated the comments on this.
GameStar went to fucking shit after Gunnar Lott left. The GameStar right now is like the German Kotaku. Just with a higher budget.
 

tkscz

Member
If it isn't obvious this is their "GamerGate 2.0". Game Journalist are irreverent and were always just bloggers who try to persuade people into believing in their politics rather than report on the world of video games. Notice how they try to change the subject. Sweet Baby Games, and other companies like them, writing is just bad, and their suggestions always focus on the political even if it hurts the story and/or gameplay. That's it, that's the issue, but just like back in 2014 it's being taken out of context and twisted to something it's not. Difference is they don't have that reach like they use to.

In fact, I bet if you went to each of there articles, every single one will mention GamerGate.
 

Bernardougf

Gold Member
I understand what you are trying to say, I think, but I would caution about this “part of the solution or part of the problem” rhetoric as it is exactly what they use…
Oh I dont think there is a solution either.. not short term anyway ... what I do is try to ignore everything I think dont align with my beliefs and thats it ... is all I personally can and will do.

And in that point I think that a page saying what games these "people" had any imput is a good thing, and when you try to silence a simple factual reference post tells all I need to know about this group.
 

Alebrije

Member
Personally speaking, I'm on board with all people being represented in games. I've never cared about what skin color the characters in a game have or what gender they like to fuck. I just want a good game with a good story. As an example, Deathloop is a great game with two excellent black characters. As another example, Life Is Strange is one of my favorite games of all time, and
I'm pretty sure the main characters are gay, which is implied
.

What I dislike, though, is when developers basically just randomly insert stuff to fit an agenda. Spider-Man 2, while a very solid game, is full of political ideology. Miles Morales is black and a great character, we don't need agenda shoved down our throats to appreciate Miles. I do agree that there should be better representation in gaming (and media in general) but I think the way they are going about it is improper (also, some of the people at the forefront of this all are honestly mentally unstable, and pushing unhealthy and incorrect narratives "herp derp all straight white males are evil slave owners blah blah blah").
That is the point , there are cool characters of all kind of race, religión, sexual orientation, etc..

So why developers include on their games stuff like this :

3cdc7a9ad4b59e0f.png


There is no reason from a gameplay/story point of view those kind of coments. Developers are low of self confidence to let other people include politics agenda on a video GAME.
 
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Tangerine

Member
That is the point , there are cool characters of all kind of race, religión, sexual orientation, etc..

So why developers include on their games stuff like this :

3cdc7a9ad4b59e0f.png


There is no reason from a gameplay/story point of view those kind of coments. Developers are low of self confidence to let other people include politics agenda on a video GAME.
That's a for real quote? What game?
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
That is the point , there are cool characters of all kind of race, religión, sexual orientation, etc..

So why developers include on their games stuff like this :

3cdc7a9ad4b59e0f.png


There is no reason from a gameplay/story point of view those kind of coments. Developers are low of self confidence to let other people include politics agenda on a video GAME.
The reason it’s in is because video game and techie employees (and a lot of media people in general lately) are weird people who bring their miserable personal politics to work. Instead of keeping that stuff to themselves, they bring that stuff to their social media accounts and work. They seem to have a problem understanding the difference between work and home life. You’d think everyone would have an easy time telling the difference and everyone always promoting “don’t mix personal time and work” but somehow and some reason they do.

I don’t see coke tv ads or tin cans doing weird racial politicking, nor do I see a kitchen appliance company making handmixers and ovens doing it either. Technically, any company can flood their products and marketing and packaging with tons of social issue messaging. But the only ones who seem to do it are creative types and tech workers amped up on social media and algorithms.
 
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Braag

Member
I wonder if journalists in other fields are as corrupted by and large as in gaming journalism.
I think most gaming "journalists" are scared of getting cancelled themselves, they have to act and behave a certain way to be able to hold their job. No matter what groups like Sweet Baby Inc do or say, they are prohibited of going against them.

Essentially to become a gaming journalist, you have to first rid yourself of a spine and your balls (if you have them) and then you can start writing.
 
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Lux R7

Member
That is the point , there are cool characters of all kind of race, religión, sexual orientation, etc..

So why developers include on their games stuff like this :

3cdc7a9ad4b59e0f.png


There is no reason from a gameplay/story point of view those kind of coments. Developers are low of self confidence to let other people include politics agenda on a video GAME.

yeah, that phrase would still be ok without "white". I'm glad they didn't get my money.
 

NickFire

Member
Some entities / people never miss an opportunity to completely miss an opportunity. This feels like one of those times in my opinion.

They don't even need to take a side. Just be actual journalists and call it down the middle. On one hand you have companies being hired to influence game narratives in line with their political views. On the other hand you have a segment of the audience who wants to know if they were involved before they spend money on a game. If they want to go deeper great, but please be actual journalists. Let's see some stats and sales numbers for games (and movies) that these companies have been involved in, and compare it to those they weren't involved with.

Whatever, if they want to keep pushing their narratives so be it. It's not like any of the outlets preaching to this crowd have closed down or needed new revenue streams because they were too stupid to properly cover the biggest game of 2023.
 

Lucumo

Member
GameStar went to fucking shit after Gunnar Lott left.
Possibly, but he himself supports the "Gender" and "identity" bs exported from the US. And even before that, he was a feminist. I used to listen to Stay Forever and you can hear his opinion on Duke Nukem 3D and in Fallout with the example being that male gamers would have gleefully chosen the option of offering their body (female main character only) in one quest involving a slave trader. Basically, he was in the wrong circles and got easily Americanized, possibly due to a lack of maturity and/or his own self.
Jörg Langer on the other hand... https://www.gamersglobal.de/news/212769/langer-laestert-das-jahr-2021 (see "Juni 2021").

It’s the opposite - nobody wants to take responsibility for the article.
But that's the obvious "one side" I wrote at the beginning of the sentence. If on one side no one takes responsibility, then on the other side, everyone does. There never is any "no responsibility", unless it's completely out of human control. So it's either shared or full.
 

Hudo

Member
Possibly, but he himself supports the "Gender" and "identity" bs exported from the US. And even before that, he was a feminist. I used to listen to Stay Forever and you can hear his opinion on Duke Nukem 3D and in Fallout with the example being that male gamers would have gleefully chosen the option of offering their body (female main character only) in one quest involving a slave trader. Basically, he was in the wrong circles and got easily Americanized, possibly due to a lack of maturity and/or his own self.
Jörg Langer on the other hand... https://www.gamersglobal.de/news/212769/langer-laestert-das-jahr-2021 (see "Juni 2021").
Jörg Langer is still based, I see. And he's a father of at least one daughter. You might be right about Lott (and he's also a father of a daughter) but I see him still in the lower end of the spectrum. Certainly not as fucking batshit crazy as the people at Sweet Baby or Schreier et al.
 

Caffeine

Member
developers are not forced, and yet sweet baby's ceo has blackmailed ceos to force them to do stuff.


Remember when eurogamer refused to cover Hogwarts legacy?

Those pathetic leeches ignored a game developer because of the IP’s association with a "transphobe" but will come to defend some shit company that doesn’t even make games and just forces in their moronic points of view.

QYViaeL_d.webp
giving Hogwarts a fair shake is being inclusive regardless of the original creators personal views.
 
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