The current state of DEI in Gaming is hurting/demonizing the LGBTQIA+ Community as a whole and needs to be overhauled completely...
Since it's Pride month, I wanted to talk about something that has been weighing on me as a LGBTQIA+ person, namely how DEI in Gaming is hurting us in the long run.
(This ties into writing self-inserts but that's another topic for another day)
So for context, look at games currently with heavy DEI consultancy and ignore the slop journalism, read actual reviews from real players, play those games yourself, research the real sales (not what the gaming outlets tell you) and you realize a disturbing pattern: All of these games are being advised by DEI consultant groups that have no idea how to write actual LGBTQIA+ storylines and characters. They're fantastic at being activists (we need that) but they cannot for the life of them write a good LGBTQIA+ storyline without maligning potential Allies.
The most egregious example is Taash from Veilguard. I've always wanted a nonbinary companion in Dragon Age but unfortunately Taash is a stereotypical girlboss (without the girl since they're nonbinary) and just reinforces why we nonbinary people get bad rep. And not only that, but it's also clear as day that whoever wrote them was on a power trip and wrote the most unlikable companion ever. That's horrible and just plain damaging to nonbinary community.
People talk shit about Dorian all the time, but consensus is that he's a well written gay character. He doesn't stick out like a sore thumb in the setting (you can even get rid of him if you want, you don't have to endure him if he's someone you dislike, that's the beauty of the old Dragon Age, the ability to commit evil deeds makes the good ones all the more satisfying) and he's not actively making you hate him, unlike Taash who just has no likable qualities (and I'm saying this as a nonbinary person myself, I hate Taash. Characters like them are the reason why nonbinary people like me are the laughingstock and pariahs of the communities.)
People need to understand something: Pride is about visibility and being your authentic self yes, it's about celebrating ourselves and fighting for our human rights, but it is also about winning people over as Allies.
We need Allies. Just like how dealing with Racism requires having white people on board to deal with the core issues and show the contrasts so others can understand (I'm South African. Apartheid ended because Black people and White people worked together to end it as peacefully as possible, it wasn't a one-sided thing. The gap needed to bridged or nothing would happen without violence), the LGBTQIA+ community needs it's Allies to help bridge the gap.
DEI in gaming is only widening the gap; it's not bringing people together. Instead, you have Reddit mod style dev teams who talk down to people and are utterly delulu lol when they shoot themselves in the foot and wonder why no one is buying their game. (I hate Reddit, a story for another day but I digress. Look up SaveAFox and Mikayla Raines if you want to know why I absolutely despise that site)
Look at 1348 Ex Voto. The game had a great premise (female knight presenting as male, etc) and had freaking Jennifer English (Shadowheart / Maelle, one of the top female VAs right now) as the love interest / villain (this was a shock and a really good piece of storytelling that got lost in the controversy, having the love interest be the villain was really cool!) and yet it silently flopped. Why? Because the devs decided it was more important to start a culture war with the "A Knight's Path" devs and other users on X/Twitter instead of improving their flawed game. I'm sorry but what sunk 1348 Ex Voto was not just the bad gameplay but the shitty attitude of the devs. Play with fire and you get burned. Cue Surprised!Pikachu face from the devs after.
I'm getting off point but basically what I'm saying is this: We need real LGBTQIA+ writers in the gaming industry, not DEI activists who write like fanfic writers (nothing wrong with that, I'm a fanfic writer too but fanfic writing is nothing like professional writing, apples and oranges, need to be in different bags). Activism is always needed but let the damn professional writers do the writing for goodness' sake!
Quality over quantity, please.
