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[FunkMiller]

Reached the point where ‘we don’t use DEI’ is an active sales tactic.

 

[delfrickintree]

It wasn't Schreier or IGN it was Venturebeat/Gamesbeat (home of Jeff Grubb at the time) and it wasn't so much about being "anti-woke" but more about the work environment being 'abusive' due to jokes like "killing jews with game development" and stuff like that. The article was probably written due to their departure from working with MS and why they were not part of the acquisition spree at the time.
In the article you can sense Mahler is a little more restrictive (or pushes back) to artistic input from other devs in the same studio let alone external sources. Especially the story about him wanting to add rape to the game and the other devs having to talk him out of it.

The original article:

Despite its beautiful Ori games, Moon Studios is called an ‘oppressive’ place to work

Current and former game developers at Moon Studios, the maker of the popular Ori games, said it is an oppressive place to work.

venturebeat.com

This was a crazy read.. way longer than expected but I recommend it if anyone wasnt aware of Moon studios controversy. Some literal laugh out loud parts.

"Mahler drew a giant penis over the top of Korol’s face as he was starting a meeting."

 

[Loomy]

This should be the right approach.

He also tweeted this


Unfortunately live in a world so divided with everyone fully dug into their side of things that now if someone does this, it is automatically seen as forced. We see this whenever a game is announced with a female lead and is automatically labeled woke regardless of how the creators landed on the character.

 

[Gamerfan81]

Uh oh! The purple forum and its few remaining members here are going to go after him and his family.

He's in great danger.


Good luck and Godspeed!

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

well considering how vocal is the other side its good to hear some people speak against it

Hey if you wanna hear it and all that have your fun. I'm just speaking from a personal POV. Just genuinely tired of this culture war stuff at this point, it's been getting boring (for me).

Maybe it is virtue signaling but I still think it’s important for people like him to speak up. It’s one of those things where probably most ordinary people agree with him but they’re afraid to speak up out of fear of being canceled.

Plus a huge portion of this industry lives in a bubble with people who still believe the DEI religion.

From that perspective I can see what you're saying and agree with you. A lot probably are afraid to speak about it, probably worried of being blacklisted.

You don't really hear too many devs making this statement in regards to DEI. I agree that you should let your work speak for itself, but this realization that companies like Sweet Baby are being hired for their "consulting" in games has only really hit the masses this past year. I think a lot of devs/companies are trying to sweep it under the rug and not acknowledge the impacts on their games' direction.

To me it's refreshing (and important) that Moon Studios are acknowledging the existence of this practice and putting their philosophy out there into the light for everyone to see. The result of making a statement like this could also educate other consumers that were not aware of the DEI implementations being forced into games. Also it could have a good effect on other devs that feel the same way but are afraid to speak up against it.

Well the action of speaking up itself could, yes. But the way it's done is just as important, arguably more important. There are definitely people who have developed extremely oversensitive reactions to stuff like DEI & LGBT, to the point where if they catch even a whiff of a character in a game that'd vaguely fall into either thing, they're going on rants about "woke this, woke that".

Mind, these could even just be games that have no far left-leaning political viewpoints whatsoever or Marxist elements; they just may have a character of color here or a character that happens to be gay there, but the color & sexuality aren't being forced onto people and they aren't the focus of those character's identities at all. Even games and other media like that, I've seen more & more anti-woke types basically vilify and claim are woke, coming up with nonexistent reasons when they really just want to say it's because there's a person of color or gay character in the game at all.

And if that sounded far-fetched, well it already kinda happened with that Tales of Kenzazu (or whatever it's called) game earlier this year. I'm still trying to figure out what was supposedly "woke" about it? It wasn't pushing far-leftists theories & agendas, it wasn't some weird anti-white soapbox piece, it wasn't pushing Marxism. It didn't have any race-swapped or gender-swapped characters, it wasn't someone taking a beloved known IP and defiling it with identity politics.

The only thing I could find was that SBI were at some point involved, but I don't think that was even in a significant capacity. Didn't stop Kabrutus or others from dogpiling it though. If it were just about SBI being present at all..why don't those guys boycott Valve's games? Valve's one of SBI's clients; if they took their beliefs to a logical conclusion shouldn't they have boycotted Steam?

That kind of stuff's really soured me on the anti-woke side of things the past few years. It definitely hasn't made me go back to the other side, because I don't like or agree with a lot of the extreme far-left ideology either. But I'm just having fun kind of just being a "normie" about it all again, but I can still spot the agendas and idpol messaging when it happens. So it's all been helpful for something and in that regard, maybe stuff like what Tom is doing ultimately serves a purpose for others.

That’s how he is, talking too much, and pulling strings. I assume he’s out of Resetera now so then he has longwinded talks on X instead, likely doing it to remind people that Moon exist now that they are out of the 1st party bubble with free PR and a big fanbase. No Rest for the Wicked is awesome, but it’s in need of a popularity boost from big updates or console versions, it’s not played much now going by Steam charts.

Yeah and that's kinda where the pandering comes in. These dudes know where their games are, they know what's a hot topic with the gaming community, they know what a large part of their audience where their game is wants to hear, so they say it. The ones saying it may or may not even genuinely believe any of the stuff they're saying.

It's actually more or less just like politics these days o.0.

This should be the right approach.

He also tweeted this


Unfortunately live in a world so divided with everyone fully dug into their side of things that now if someone does this, it is automatically seen as forced. We see this whenever a game is announced with a female lead and is automatically labeled woke regardless of how the creators landed on the character.

This is what I was just mentioning a moment ago, and you're right it's messed up that happens now. I think some of the blame has to be on some folks within the anti-woke side who have over-adjusted their sensitivity to a legitimate concern, by becoming too reactionary and too cautious to anything that doesn't have a straight white male lead (or has more than one non-white major character in it).

At the same time, we wouldn't see so many people overreacting this way if people pushing "woke" content stopped focusing on representation of skin color, gender & sexuality like it's the absolute most important thing entertainment needs. Because when they do that, they also seem to instinctively vilify....white people, specifically straight white men.

And funny enough, they'll actually erase the identity of non-straight white men who don't like the agenda-pushing, just to throw the same label on them!

 

[LegendOfKage]

When you make it a public statement, it just comes off as virtue signaling to me, regardless what side of the political coin you fall on. Because that's basically what it is: word salad pandering.

The best games in this regard, IMO, are the ones that just "do it", and whose devs don't have to use buzzwords in the culture war. Just let your work speak for itself.

While I might agree with you more if this came out of nowhere, it was basically in response to someone claiming they worked on a Moon Studios title when they didn't, and after saying some fairly divisive things on twitter. If you don't say something at that point, you're allowing those divisive statements to be associated with your company.

 

[finalflame]

based and artpilled

 

[MagusMajul]

I have just purchased both Uri Blind forest games

 

[LectureMaster]

When you make it a public statement, it just comes off as virtue signaling to me, regardless what side of the political coin you fall on. Because that's basically what it is: word salad pandering.

The best games in this regard, IMO, are the ones that just "do it", and whose devs don't have to use buzzwords in the culture war. Just let your work speak for itself.

As I mentioned in another post, I think what differentiates him from a "anti-woke" warrior was that he very clearly stated his reasoning for rejecting forced DEI, from a perspective of self claimed artist.

His view might now be almighty correct, but like you said, so far the two games from Moon Studios prooved his approach was viable.

The nuance is that Thomas, as well as many of us here are not against DEI, but rather how it is religiously forced by radical progressives. And I think this is the real issue of this ongoing culture war. I hope one day we are free to have hot chick like Eve, as well as engaging LGBT stories like Life is Strange. I'm just pessimistic this day won't come soon.

 

[PJX]

I agree 100% with him.

 

[Joramun]

Here's a reminder of Thomas Mahler destroying woke activist who pretends to be a gamer and a journalist - Ayssa Mercante. Oh, and she has an unhealthy obsession with Hasan Piker too.

 

[peter42O]

So Mahler is going to keep creating games in the way that they should be created. Awesome!! Can't wait for No Rest For The Wicked to hit consoles in 2025 as im very much looking forward to it.

 

[Edgelord79]

 

[Bernardougf]

Good lets achieve the point of NO FORCED DEI seal being a marketing strategy for successful games.

 

[MagusMajul]

Good lets achieve the point of NO FORCED DEI seal being a marketing strategy for successful games.

what company doesn't market it's product to a potential demographic?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Good lets achieve the point of NO FORCED DEI seal being a marketing strategy for successful games.

I say keep doing it.

Lesson learned and great laughs when the game or movie bombs!

 

[AJUMP23]

Pretty good in the replies.

The idea that you have to have lived something to be authentic is terrible. In fact if you are writing about personal and only personal experience and that beats everything else it stifles the ability to be creative and tap into research. It would also require Stephen king to be the sickest human on the planet, but maybe he is.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Pretty good in the replies.

The idea that you have to have lived something to be authentic is terrible. In fact if you are writing about personal and only personal experience and that beats everything else it stifles the ability to be creative and tap into research. It would also require Stephen king to be the sickest human on the planet, but maybe he is.

Not just reliving human life. All those animated movies with animals too. Whomever wrote Lion King screwed up the movie because to get maximum awesomeness you'd have to transform into a lion or hyena.

And people wonder why management treats many of their desk jobbers like a number or untrustworthy idiot.

Imagine having that dopey person talking business strategy in a board room meeting.

 

[mitch1971]

When you make it a public statement, it just comes off as virtue signaling to me, regardless what side of the political coin you fall on. Because that's basically what it is: word salad pandering.

The best games in this regard, IMO, are the ones that just "do it", and whose devs don't have to use buzzwords in the culture war. Just let your work speak for itself.

He got asked a question, he answered it. What's pandering about that?

 

[Bernardougf]

what company doesn't market it's product to a potential demographic?

At this moment? Several... from the top of my head, DISNEY, EA,UBISOFT, WB, SONY, basically all big western developers .... in fact they do market to a potential demographic.. they just chose a demographic that does not exist outside their purple brains/bubble.

 

[mckmas8808]