[List] TTRPG Guide to Woke Companies

Hopladamus · June 10, 2022, 06:36:20 PM

I'm a bit surprised that Vincent Florio and his Wild Games Productions are not on the green list. These are the guys who made Mazes & Perils. Vince has been pretty outspokenly against SJWs and you can look at the disclaimer at the bottom of his website to see where he stands:

http://www.wildgamesproductions.com/

RPGPundit · June 11, 2022, 03:15:32 PM

True.

arctic_fox · June 12, 2022, 04:50:59 PM

Had anyone here played Symbaroum or Vaesen? Both games presentation looks amazing but i want to know about the content itself and couldn't find it on the list. Has any form of wokeness injected on it? Or it is safe to buy?

bromides · June 12, 2022, 06:22:02 PM

Vaesen?

Not particularly woke. There's a paragraph on gender roles (males and females, not any non-scientific extra definitions). The paragraph basically says historical Sweden was "patriarchal", and "there's no reason" to follow this "injustice" and forbid female player characters in your game of Vaesen.

Other than this, I don't think Vaesen is particularly woke. There aren't 51% Black and Arab Swede player character illustrations, for instance. (The illustrations all look like stylized White people.) There doesn't seem to be anything about transgender ghost-hunting Swedes.

I don't have Symbaroum.

DeeEmm · June 13, 2022, 09:41:37 AM

Any info on this dude? Apparently he joined Pinnacle Group Entertainment as 'Line Developer'. He worked for Ulisses Spiele which are yellow.

oggsmash · June 13, 2022, 09:45:14 AM

Quote from: DeeEmm on June 13, 2022, 09:41:37 AM
Any info on this dude? Apparently he joined Pinnacle Group Entertainment as 'Line Developer'. He worked for Ulisses Spiele which are yellow.

To be honest, I do not go and seek information about creatives/developers. Unless he decides to broadcast with a bullhorn, repeatedly, I really do not care. Even then, he is going to have to make it a point to piss me off, and I think most are not going to do that and will stick to the signals that allow them to work mostly unmolested.

THE_Leopold · June 13, 2022, 10:02:11 AM

Quote from: DeeEmm on June 13, 2022, 09:41:37 AM
Any info on this dude? Apparently he joined Pinnacle Group Entertainment as 'Line Developer'. He worked for Ulisses Spiele which are yellow.

PEG is already questionable, is this guy now talking on behalf of PEG and spouting nonsense?

rgalex · June 13, 2022, 10:05:04 AM

Quote from: arctic_fox on June 12, 2022, 04:50:59 PM
Had anyone here played Symbaroum or Vaesen? Both games presentation looks amazing but i want to know about the content itself and couldn't find it on the list. Has any form of wokeness injected on it? Or it is safe to buy?

I ran a one-off of Symbaroum a few years ago. I don't recall anything overtly woke in the book but it depends on how sensitive you are. Does the fact that the kingdom is run by a Queen bother you? If not then the game should be fine, but I know some that would see that as a warning sign.

That's the downside to all these years of wokeness. Things that wouldn't have been seen as problems before, such as female leads, have now become suspect.

THE_Leopold · June 13, 2022, 10:09:10 AM

Quote from: rgalex on June 13, 2022, 10:05:04 AM
Quote from: arctic_fox on June 12, 2022, 04:50:59 PM
Had anyone here played Symbaroum or Vaesen? Both games presentation looks amazing but i want to know about the content itself and couldn't find it on the list. Has any form of wokeness injected on it? Or it is safe to buy?

I ran a one-off of Symbaroum a few years ago. I don't recall anything overtly woke in the book but it depends on how sensitive you are. Does the fact that the kingdom is run by a Queen bother you? If not then the game should be fine, but I know some that would see that as a warning sign.

That's the downside to all these years of wokeness. Things that wouldn't have been seen as problems before, such as female leads, have now become suspect.

That doesn't bother me at all if it's story/narrative driven. Female Leaders exist everywhere in all parts of life and in games, it's part of Nature in some species that the female side is dominant.

The part that would get me is if there is Zero story, it's a "WOMEN RULE CAUSE MYSOGINY SUCKS!" , and it's shoehorned in the setting with a Vorpal Jackhammer of Wokescald +5

rytrasmi · June 13, 2022, 11:04:38 AM

Women have always been leaders so this should't bother anyone. Not as common as men, but there have been some very powerful and influential woman leaders. Try telling Tomyris she's not fit to be queen and you'll end up like Cyrus the Great.

Tait Ransom · June 16, 2022, 04:32:29 PM

Should probably include 9th Level Games in the red zone. They identify their space opera game Rebel Scum as The Anti-fascist Space Opera Zine. Here's some of what they noted on the Kickstarter:

QuoteOver the last few years, there has been a startling rise in the number of people that are willing to SPEW HATE. These people believe in white power, and fill the internet with nativist, racist, fascist crap. Quite a few of these evildoers are deeply entrenched in the various FANDOMS that us nerds adore. Very specifically the fandom of a certain space opera franchise that we love with our whole hearts has too many sad bad guys.

We are making REBEL SCUM as a way to re-discover the roots of the original message - how some scrappy, anti-fascist heroes can fight back against a government with unlimited power (including giant lasers and space magic). There is something refreshing and healing about getting to punch space nazis in their faces in a game, while we are living in a time when we have once again been called on to fight ACTUAL fascism in the real world (not just in our space operas).

Emphasis added.

They also made a point of naming the bad guys The Republik, and note in the game that this was an intentional choice so people can talk about punching Republikans during the game.

Pity - it looked like a fun little game I was about to drop some cash on this afternoon.

Plotinus · June 16, 2022, 08:45:57 PM

Quote from: Tait Ransom on June 16, 2022, 04:32:29 PM
Should probably include 9th Level Games in the red zone. They identify their space opera game Rebel Scum as The Anti-fascist Space Opera Zine. Here's some of what they noted on the Kickstarter:

QuoteOver the last few years, there has been a startling rise in the number of people that are willing to SPEW HATE. These people believe in white power, and fill the internet with nativist, racist, fascist crap. Quite a few of these evildoers are deeply entrenched in the various FANDOMS that us nerds adore. Very specifically the fandom of a certain space opera franchise that we love with our whole hearts has too many sad bad guys.

We are making REBEL SCUM as a way to re-discover the roots of the original message - how some scrappy, anti-fascist heroes can fight back against a government with unlimited power (including giant lasers and space magic). There is something refreshing and healing about getting to punch space nazis in their faces in a game, while we are living in a time when we have once again been called on to fight ACTUAL fascism in the real world (not just in our space operas).
Emphasis added.

They also made a point of naming the bad guys The Republik, and note in the game that this was an intentional choice so people can talk about punching Republikans during the game.

Pity - it looked like a fun little game I was about to drop some cash on this afternoon.

A $15,355 kickstarter? Lol. No.

Come on guys, you've got to stop proposing complete nobodies who do not and will never matter. You're just giving them attention.

RPGPundit · June 17, 2022, 12:39:48 PM

Quote from: Tait Ransom on June 16, 2022, 04:32:29 PM
Should probably include 9th Level Games in the red zone. They identify their space opera game Rebel Scum as The Anti-fascist Space Opera Zine. Here's some of what they noted on the Kickstarter:

QuoteOver the last few years, there has been a startling rise in the number of people that are willing to SPEW HATE. These people believe in white power, and fill the internet with nativist, racist, fascist crap. Quite a few of these evildoers are deeply entrenched in the various FANDOMS that us nerds adore. Very specifically the fandom of a certain space opera franchise that we love with our whole hearts has too many sad bad guys.

We are making REBEL SCUM as a way to re-discover the roots of the original message - how some scrappy, anti-fascist heroes can fight back against a government with unlimited power (including giant lasers and space magic). There is something refreshing and healing about getting to punch space nazis in their faces in a game, while we are living in a time when we have once again been called on to fight ACTUAL fascism in the real world (not just in our space operas).
Emphasis added.

They also made a point of naming the bad guys The Republik, and note in the game that this was an intentional choice so people can talk about punching Republikans during the game.

Pity - it looked like a fun little game I was about to drop some cash on this afternoon.

I've never heard of them, and the rule should be that non-prominent wokists shouldn't get on the list to avoid drawing attention to them.

Thorn Drumheller · June 17, 2022, 12:43:27 PM

Quote from: Plotinus on June 16, 2022, 08:45:57 PM

A $15,355 kickstarter? Lol. No.

Come on guys, you've got to stop proposing complete nobodies who do not and will never matter. You're just giving them attention.

Agree, they're a nobody. Probably hoping they'd make "The List(tm)" lol

Tait Ransom · June 17, 2022, 05:46:01 PM

Quote from: Plotinus on June 16, 2022, 08:45:57 PM
Quote from: Tait Ransom on June 16, 2022, 04:32:29 PM
Should probably include 9th Level Games in the red zone. They identify their space opera game Rebel Scum as The Anti-fascist Space Opera Zine. Here's some of what they noted on the Kickstarter:

QuoteOver the last few years, there has been a startling rise in the number of people that are willing to SPEW HATE. These people believe in white power, and fill the internet with nativist, racist, fascist crap. Quite a few of these evildoers are deeply entrenched in the various FANDOMS that us nerds adore. Very specifically the fandom of a certain space opera franchise that we love with our whole hearts has too many sad bad guys.

We are making REBEL SCUM as a way to re-discover the roots of the original message - how some scrappy, anti-fascist heroes can fight back against a government with unlimited power (including giant lasers and space magic). There is something refreshing and healing about getting to punch space nazis in their faces in a game, while we are living in a time when we have once again been called on to fight ACTUAL fascism in the real world (not just in our space operas).
Emphasis added.

They also made a point of naming the bad guys The Republik, and note in the game that this was an intentional choice so people can talk about punching Republikans during the game.

Pity - it looked like a fun little game I was about to drop some cash on this afternoon.

A $15,355 kickstarter? Lol. No.

Come on guys, you've got to stop proposing complete nobodies who do not and will never matter. You're just giving them attention.

Perhaps. However, I only suggested them because I saw Rebel Scum at my FLGS, and it does not have a particularly broad selection. I figured if it's there, it must not be that hard to find.

I think not listing someone because it would give them publicity is at cross purposes with the list's reason in the first place - to enable consumers to have more information in making their purchases.