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Alright y& #39;all, let& #39;s talk about sensitivity reading and cultural consulting (I& #39;ll be using the terms interchangeably, even though there are those who would use them for separate things). Because there& #39;s an issue here that we keep glossing over in the conversation.
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A sensitivity reader can do a lot of wonderful work for your project. I recommend @LulaVampiro& #39;s "The Giant Robot of Offense" and "Best Practices for Historical Gaming" if you want a quick and simple breakdown of the kind of things sensitivity readers can do for you.
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What they cannot do, however, is salvage something broken from the start. It does not matter how much you want me to read and critique a fundamental aspect in your fantasy world if that aspect is in and of itself a problem.
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The best you& #39;ll get is "you& #39;ll need to hire (1-100) people to fix this." The worst you& #39;ll get is "take this out entirely; it is insensitive to its core for these reasons, and anyone who says they alone can fix it is going to be costly or is lying to you."
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That being said, there& #39;s a particularly easy way to nip this all in the bud! That& #39;s right, for only *checks notes* the same amount of money you already pay your team, you too can learn the secrets of diverse design!
Onboard. Diverse. Designers. And then listen to them.
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Onboard. Diverse. Designers. And then listen to them.
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Having a diverse perspective is important; a solid sensitivity reader draws upon both a degree of academic knowledge and lived experience. Having the latter built into your team goes a long way to making something authentic in a way that pure research won& #39;t.
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