The Finnish game house Remedy collaborated with a consulting company specializing in inclusivity in the development of the Alan Wake 2 game. Some computer gamers see this as a sign of the rottenness of the gaming industry.
In the video game Alan Wake 2, there is a character named Saga Anderson. Saga is an FBI agent with supernatural abilities. He is the second playable character in the game. He is being played Melanie Liburdwho is a black woman.
Towards the end of last year, a few internet gaming communities began to pay attention to Saga Anderson. Some players wondered why the game character was a black woman.
Even before the game’s release, pictures and videos of Remedy Games’ Quantum Break, published eight years ago, were unearthed on the forums. One of the videos hidden in the game teases a sequel to Alan Wake. This video, which lasts a few minutes, shows an FBI agent named Saga Anderson. He is played by an actor Malla Malmivaara i.e. a white woman.
Quantum Break and Alan Wake are set in the same universe, or at least parallel universes (due to intellectual property and other legal issues), so there was undeniably a change in Anderson’s character. Originally, Quantum Break was supposed to be a sequel to the first Alan Wake, but after various stages, it was built into its own separate game.
In the discussion surrounding Saga Anderson’s ethnicity, many pointed out that during Quantum Break, the characters and story of the sequel to Alan Wake were hardly ready. The purpose of the hidden video was to give even something new to the players waiting for Alan Wake.
In addition, both games take place in a world where space-time does not obey the familiar laws of nature. Changes in the family trees of game characters would not be the most extraordinary events in that world.
Anger found its target in a consulting company
However, the feeling against Saga Anderson grew. The players soon discovered that Remedy had partnered with a consulting company called Sweet Baby. Sweet Baby is a small consulting studio that helps game companies build stories that appeal to different players.
In the case of Alan Wake 2, the company had offered Remedy help in developing the development arc of the characters and the tone of voice. Sweet Baby’s experience reader had also given his opinion on the portrayal of minorities in the game.
In addition to Remedy, Sweet Baby has collaborated with big game houses such as Sony and Ubisoft. When the shocked players found out that the gambling houses cooperate with a consulting company that promotes inclusivity, i.e. equality and non-discrimination, the conspiracy theory was ready.
In practice, it goes like this: Sweet Baby has infiltrated the gaming industry with the aim of pushing the so-called woke agenda and, on the side, ruining the games of white men.
Woke is a broad term that today includes almost everything that annoys neoconservatives. The rights of sexual and gender minorities, actions against climate change and even caps stuck on bottles can be part of the woke agenda.
So the general view became that without Sweet Baby’s involvement, Saga Anderson would have been a white woman. Directed by Alan Wake 2 Kyle Rowley is debunked this theorybut that hasn’t curbed the conspiracy theories.
Musk shared an article about the depravity of the gaming industry
At the end of February, a player who was angry with Sweet Baby created a list of games that Sweet Baby has been involved in developing on Steam, a website focused on the distribution of computer games. In connection with the list, it was advised to avoid these games.
The list and the conspiracy theory behind it rose to wider awareness when a Sweet Baby employee tried to report the list to Steam maintenance. The listing itself did not violate the terms of use and the company turned against itself. The list now has almost 300,000 followers and there is a lively discussion on the topic.
Over the past few weeks, gamers and veterans of the internet’s culture wars have been digging up tweets and interviews from former and current employees of Sweet Baby, using them as evidence of the company’s pernicious influence on the gaming industry.
Many gaming forums are starting to get tired of discussing the topic. Now American neoconservatives and right-wing influencers have taken over the drumming of the issue.
Billionaire from the beginning of the week Elon Musk added water to the mill republishing in X an article in which the awakening of the gaming industry was blamed on investment funds focusing on responsible investing. Musk shared the post with the catchphrase wow.
Angry players plan new harassment campaigns
As is often the case with internet uproar, outrage has led to harassment. Sweet Baby’s employees have said that they have been the target of rude messages and threats.
The campaign wrapped around Sweet Baby has been compared to the gamergate harassment campaign ten years ago, where right-wing conservatives attacked the feminism and diversity they saw in the gaming industry.
Gamergate’s harassment was especially aimed at women working in the game industry. Various conspiracy theories were developed in player communities to justify the harassment. The harassment was widespread and extreme.
The American right wing to spread misinformation next by Media Matters for America according to the game, hateful players have started to organize themselves on forums like 4chan and platforms like YouTube to now launch new harassment campaigns.
Listen to the cultural number one with Alan Wake 2 as the topic.