Connor,
Thought I would reply to you as a private message, as I felt that made the most sense.
For the process so far, we have used an internal process or research and checking to make sure that, as far as we could tell, we had used the artwork correctly and had not misrepresented the culture. As mentioned on the KS campaign page, that effort was led by myself (the person writing this), who is a PhD student in the humanities, so I have good access to academic sources and generally well honed research skills. So what we have done so far has been an internal matter.
we have reached out to a few cultural insiders who are also experts in the area, and we will not finalize anything until we have their feedback. I don't feel comfortable sharing their identities with you, since I don't know if that is something they are comfortable with.
Finally, we are working to find some ways we can use the game to support the local cultures financially if possible. This would include for instance possibly selling some stock at cost to cultural centers if they were interested in carrying it, etc.
Please let me know if you have any followup questions
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my query. While I think accuracy is important, I believe your response actually underlines my concern. First, I don't know who's writing this and it seems like you're going out of your way to veil the conversation.
Second, and more importantly, while accuracy is vital and appreciated, it's not the true issue. You say you've reached out to folks who are experts, but you not only don't name them, you don't say if they are Indigenous or from what tribes. And even then, it doesn't explain why you don't have credited Native designers, consultants or artists proudly attaching their names to the project from the start.
If you're interested in financially supporting local cultures, the best way to do it is to hire the people in those communities. Frankly, portraying someone's culture, making money off of it and then offering to sell your portrayal back to them as a way to help them is a little insulting.
I'm not approaching this as a torch and pitchfork moment. I'm not necessarily saying this game shouldn't exist. But you have 7 days left in your Kickstarter and you have the opportunity to not only do the right thing, but to make your game better. I promise you that hiring people with direct cultural knowledge will improve your games in ways you haven't thought of. It's a win for everyone.
Lastly, while I appreciate you reaching out to me privately, I will be making your email and my response public. These kinds of conversations should be held out to the community and discussed openly.
Thanks for your time,
Connor Alexander
We'll see if there's any follow up.
