Josh Sawyer Q&A Thread

[Sweeper]

Who laughs at the idea of defending the Russian monarchy?

Fags and cucks generally

Spoiler

 

[Dishonoredbr]

Just passing by to say that Josh is best girl and i would die for him. No bully vs him please. Have nice day/evening/night

 

[Quillon]

 

[Butter]

Seems bitter that everyone messages him to praise things he didn't do.

 

[AArmanFV]

Seems bitter that everyone messages him to praise things he didn't do.

Maybe they are insinuating something to him.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Finally, I think involving Native American consultants, especially from the American SW, at some stage would have been a good idea.

I take responsibility for the bad representation in HH. I think we did a better job in Deadfire because we did ask Asian devs within the studio to look at the Huana and Rauatai characters and their representation, but we should have also hired some Māori consultants specifically to look at the Huana. The Huana aren’t really Māori (just like the Rauatai aren’t really Japanese), but even a fictional culture that’s only “inspired by” a mix of real world cultures can still get into uncomfortable or outright bad territory.

"you know that one game we made that was well received?
we should have just ruined it like all of our other games."

 

[Ol' Willy]

Who laughs at the idea of defending the Russian monarchy?

As bad as Russian monarchy was it's still infinitely better than Bolshevism.

 

[Roguey]

I think the naming and speech patterns could use another pass to avoid falling into negative tropes.

Finally, I think involving Native American consultants, especially from the American SW, at some stage would have been a good idea.

I take responsibility for the bad representation in HH. I think we did a better job in Deadfire because we did ask Asian devs within the studio to look at the Huana and Rauatai characters and their representation, but we should have also hired some Māori consultants specifically to look at the Huana. The Huana aren’t really Māori (just like the Rauatai aren’t really Japanese), but even a fictional culture that’s only “inspired by” a mix of real world cultures can still get into uncomfortable or outright bad territory.

The "diversty consulting" thing is just one big grift. Yeah, needlessly spend your budget on things that don't matter and that almost nobody cares about.

Josh, pre-pozzening:

My friend is saying that your guys were insensitive in your jokes regarding Indians in the latest DLC. Thoughts?

I have no idea what jokes he's talking about, most notably since there aren't any Indians/Native Americans in Honest Hearts.

Well at least with the Dead Horses, there seems to be a lot of influence from Native Americans. And my friend was saying how she saw that "Two-Bears-High-Fiving" joke as being very insensitive. She took it as mocking the NAtive American naming culture.

Two Bears High-Fiving is a reference to a popular mod for the opening ink blot tests from Doc Mitchell. The tribes are influenced by a number of indigenous groups, not simply "Native Americans" (itself a very broad categorization of geographically and culturally diverse groups). The "ethnic" composition of all three of the tribes is intentionally mixed. There aren't Caucasian, African, Asian, etc. Dead Horses. There are just Dead Horses, with a thoroughly mixed background.

What English speakers understand of various Sioux, Cherokee, Sauk, etc. names is usually as literal a translation as they can manage because many indigenous American names are really, really long. Even so, there isn't a homogeneous indigenous American "naming culture".

Cultures based on European backgrounds may treat our names as sounds without meaning, but a lot of them are packed with the same sorts of sentiments -- animal names (e.g. Melissa, Bjorn), religious connections (e.g. Joshua, Johanna, Michael), etc. The names of individual tribals in Honest Hearts is intended to give them a sense of being "other" more than it is intended to evoke specific indigenous connections.

Joshua Graham elaborates on this a bit in his dialogue. The New Canaanites wear more clothing and understand more about technology than the Sorrows, but they're still a tribe.

What would your response to these statements be: "the super racist native american who thinks "casinos" are just places where the "white man flips over little pieces of paper""

Follows-Chalk isn't a Native American, culturally or ethnically.

Honest Hearts made me uncomfortable. What was the purpose of using every negative trope related to indigenous people in one game (cargo cults, mighty whitey, the ignorance and naivete of the NPCs and even naming a quest after the white man's burden)?

I don't think it would have been particularly interesting to suggest that, contrary to how the majority of various low-tech, low-contact cultures around the world have dealt with the arrival of cultures with significantly higher technology and scientific knowledge -- that the tribes of the Great Basin have some special psychological makeup that inures them to the same sorts of cultural processes.

What a loser he's become, retconning his own past.

Josh now:

This was again done to avoid having it be “two white guys saving Native Americans”.

Josh then:

there aren't any Indians/Native Americans in Honest Hearts.

 

[Peachcurl]

The "diversty consulting" thing is just one big grift. Yeah, needlessly spend your budget on things that don't matter and that almost nobody cares about.

If it is only that ("diversity consulting"), yeah... you certainly have a point.

But if writers have background in the culture they are describing, it could also add more depth and detail. Similarly to how a military background may help when telling a mil-scifi story. So I'd try to see the positive side of things. They may add something, rather than remove something from the story/characters. If you hire the right people, at least.

 

[Latro]

But if writers have background in the culture they are describing, it could also add more depth and detail. Similarly to how a military background may help when telling a mil-scifi story.

Which is why real writers do real research, not rely on some phony racket.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Unless you're aiming for complete historical accuracy(e.g., kingdom come: deliverance), it's probably going to make your product worse than simply relying on stereotypes and tropes.
In what possible way would Deadfire have been made better if they had consulted some Maori "expert" when writing the Huana?

 

[Alienman]

Since joining this forum I have learned that the creators behind all my favorite childhood games have become cucks. Just feels a bit sad that I missed the glory days of forum posting when you could talk about games and their creators without the risk of becoming disappointed in their cuckiness. Now it seems there is all there is

 

[vortex]

In what sense? You mean bringing politics and current culture war in Obsidian games and Pillars 3?
If they're compelled to bring politics in games simply replace current social structure names and political agendas with new ones in fabricated language. Don't even say what they are explicitly.
SJW, virtue signalling, divisive political environment break immersion, undoubtedly.
Hope that Sawyer's game won't be some modern one but violent medieval semi-historical fantasy where aggressive media isn't present.

 

[Payd Shell]

Indians hate it when you call them native americans, though.

 

[santino27]

Alternately, he could have, you know, designed factions for deadfire that weren't so obviously 'inspired' by cultures in our world and avoided the issue entirely (insofar as the issue is ever avoidable entirely).

 

[Mikeal]

 

[Peachcurl]

lol, I can read only about 50% of the handwritten part. Maybe less. Most of it just blends into something like "Dwmwmnnwnnwmwn Emwmwmn Jmwmwmn"

 

[Ol' Willy]

Most of my mom's family came to the US around 1860. My dad's side came between 1910 and 1923.

Does that mean he still has to repent for mistreatment of blacks and slavery like any other white American should? Just curious.

 

[Infinitron]

When you don't realize the recent past was a different country

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Nano]

What the fuck does that question even mean?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

that many people view as allegorical to western invasions in the Middle East, particularly US foreign policy

Wait what

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Roguey]

I haven’t been doing any Pillars TTRPG work lately. It’s just been difficult to find motivation, sorry.

Looks like we have a new The Black Hound.