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kilomonster:

The stuff about the Arkh Project showing up on my dashboard is starting to get really offensive. Like really, guys. I’m having a hard time believing that the vitriol that game project is getting is solely based on poor organization and one of the promoters being an asshole anymore.

I haven’t seen any Arkh stuff on my dash other than this since the weekend but uh, with more details materializing like the master/slave romance between the two main characters in which one was given to the other as a “coming of age present”, the stolen dress design (which people have defended by saying “it’s going to be redesigned, that was a placeholder” even though that just means wasted art), and the whole portrayal of mental illness by having characters fight invisible monsters that only they can see and will sometimes have to harm civilians to get at; people are becoming increasingly skeptical.

I think it’s unfortunate that a project that has the potential to mean a lot to people is going this way. Personally I’ve seen more ire for the project coming from the various demographics the game is trying to represent than straight white cis people, because they’re worried it’s going to poison the well for indie projects that aim to target similar demographics in the future (of course I have no idea if that’s really the case, just what I’ve observed in my internet bubble).

On that note, actually, I remember a while back the Extra Credits guys were talking about starting their own production house with the extra money from their fundraiser to pay for their artist’s surgery. The system the proposed was kind of a “we’ll help you get off the ground, you own your whole creation, profits are split 50/50 with half going back to the label to fund future projects” deal. I think if they got that going and someone approached them with a pitch for a game that had a similar ambition to showcase underrepresented demographics as the heroes (though possibly with more of an emphasis on who they are as characters and how their journey plays out than their race/sexuality/gender identity first and foremost) they would make good mentors. They’re familiar with the game production pipeline and have tactfully discussed subjects like sexual diversity and multiculturalism in the past, so you know that they care about seeing a project of that nature succeed. They wouldn’t have creative control calling the shots, but I feel like they could steer the development team in the right direction to get some wind under their wings.

I dunno, just something I’ve been thinking about lately. I’m sure someone will see that as “trying to shoehorn cis white people into everything”, but I figure if you’ve got resources at your disposal to make a project come to life you may as well use them.