Do you want another Gamergate? Because this is how you get another Gamergate.
To the surprise of no one, the mainstream press, as well as members of the overall Western video game industry, have responded to the recent and well-deserved scrutiny leveled at the work of “inclusion-focused” narrative consulting company Sweet Baby Inc. by doing their best to run defense for their ideological allies.
RELATED OPINION: Sweet Baby Inc. Is Not An All-Powerful DEI Supervillain – They’re A Symptom Of A Larger Problem
The circling the wagons around Sweet Baby Inc. first kicked off on March 6th when Kotaku published a piece by site senior editor Alyssa Mercante headlined ‘Sweet Baby Inc. Doesn’t Do What Some Gamers Think It Does’.
Therein, Mercante not only attempted to play ‘shocked victim’ after she was kicked from the Discord server for the ‘Sweet Baby Inc. Detected’ Steam Curator List whilst trying to dig up dirt on the company’s detractors (after all, what did she expect when she used her real name and photo on the profile she used to infiltrate the server), but attempted to portray the consultation company’s DEI work – despite it being highlighted at nearly every single turn on their official website – as nothing more than a miniscule, insignificant part of their of their operation.
“[Sweet Baby Inc.] ensure a game’s plot points make logical sense and are satisfying to players, and that characters speak and behave in consistent ways,” wrote the Kotaku editor, her use of vague and generic language ostensibly meant to obfuscate the company’s own self-declared mission to make the titles they work on ‘more inclusive’. “That means they ensure a game’s plot points make logical sense and are satisfying to players, and that characters speak and behave in consistent ways. Narrative designers may also provide a final round of polish, like a Hollywood ‘script doctor.'”
Following Kotaku’s stepping into the ring – and while Mercante turned her attentions to denying the existence of anti-white racism and condescendingly writing off YouTuber LaReinaCreole as a ‘pick-me girl‘ for daring to disagree with her – PCGamer‘s Harvey Randall entered the fray the next day, writing a piece for the outlet which framed the backlash to Sweet Baby Inc.’s involvement in recent titles as nothing more than infantile whining from the internet’s worst actors.
Admittedly beginning from with the correct assertion that “Sweet Baby is about as capable of ‘forcing’ a game developer to make grand, sweeping changes to its story and characters as a contracted artist, musician, or catering company staff worker for office birthdays is,” Randall eventually pivots to framing their work as ‘no big deal’ – though, hilariously, even he is unable to truly deny that while Sweet Baby Inc. may not have authoritative decision making powers on games, their work was clearly being listened to and sought after by developers.
“In that sense, Sweet Baby’s work is literally a non-event,” said Randall. “Not in the sense that its unimportant—I mean that its work is so normal that it should surprise no-one. Yes, Sweet Baby explicitly consults on issues including the accurate representation of marginalised groups. That is what it helps with. But if that wasn’t important to the people making the games they work on, then Sweet Baby just… wouldn’t be hired.”
Stepping into the ring the next day, The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald escalated the fight even further by outright declaring that, “It’s 10 years since Gamergate – the industry must now stand up to far-right trolls”.
“Ten years ago, it was female games journalists and critics in the firing line,” she declared. “This time, it’s narrative designers. But the conspiracists’ message is the same: diversity has no place in games. If you are a woman, queer or a person of colour working in this industry, you should expect the worst.”
Further attempting to frame Sweet Baby Inc. as the victim of a rising ‘Gamergate 2.0’, MacDonald ultimately asserted, “Nobody is forcing diversity into video games. It is happening naturally, as players and developers themselves diversify. Gamergate didn’t intimidate women out of video games 10 years ago, and we won’t be intimidated now.”
As noted above, it was not just the press who leapt to defend Sweet Baby Inc., as numerous members of the Western video game industry also saw fit to push back against the company’s critics.
“No, Sweet Baby did not kill your game,” declared Insomniac Games’ Associate Narrative Director Mary Kenny following a lengthy Twitter thread, as documented by our own Nerdigans Inc., in which she clarified the above point that it was the studios, not the consulting company, that had final say in game’s contents (and again ignoring that despite these studios having a say, they were clearly not choosing to exercise it). “If you have beef, it’s with us. Keep it with us.”
“If you’re mad about ‘DEI ruining games’, you need to grow up,” likewise asserted a Bungie Senior Narrative Designer who only identified themselves as @THICCEST_YOSH on Twitter. “You need to stop wasting so much time on grifters who are only there to manipulate you and milk your anger for engagement. You need to talk to people who aren’t like you a bit more. You need to stop falling for this.”
Authoring a piece for the founded-by-former-Kotaku-staff video game news outlet Aftermath, Nathan Grayson, who many may remember as having been one of the several journalists who gave Zoë Quinn’s Depression Quest positive coverage without disclosing their sexual relationship, dismissed the criticisms of Sweet Baby Inc. as nothing but the sad ranting of various trolls who were attempting to relive their glorydays
“Very few people who believe the Sweet Baby conspiracy – perhaps zero – will read the above facts and come away with their minds changed, because conspiracies are designed to metamorphose endlessly,” said Grayson. “This one in particular already has on several occasions, and it will likely continue to do so until its primary propagators get bored. But we’re talking about many of the same names that stewarded Gamergate forward back in the day – specifically the ones who failed to use it as a stepping stone to bigger stages and have been hunting feverishly for something like this ever since – and they seem to be having a great time playing the hits (gamers vs media, gamers fighting back, etc).”
Of course, these are only the ones who have responded to the situation thus far.
Given the very clear rallying happening around Sweet Baby Inc., it’s likely many more will offer similar takes in the coming months.
NEXT: Sweet Baby Inc. – The Company Responsible For Victim Mentality In Video Games