Little Devil Inside has some troubling African caricatures [up: developer response, see threadmarks]

[Yasuke]

In what was otherwise an extremely diverse console reveal from Sony yesterday, this unfortunate fact slid under the radar for me and many others in what looks like a pretty great game. I'm disappointed now that it's been brought to my attention.

Seems like it's always something.

 

[Deleted member 6263]

I...don't get it. They look like clowns.
Edit: I'm kinda getting it.
Edit 2: Okay I got it.

 

[Loudninja]

Yeah they have to change that shit for sure intentional or not.

 

[DarkFlame92]

what ?

 

[RROCKMAN]

I...don't get it. They look like clowns.

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Clowns don't typically wear dreads and masks my guy.

I dunno what to say now honestly

 

[signal]

Are those blowdarts are joints

 

[Deleted member 6263]

Clowns don't typically wear dreads and masks my guy.

I dunno what to say now honestly

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Oh I just noticed the dreads. But the masks look like clown masks. Isn't that what it is? Almost like a cardboard version of a clown face.

 

[Deleted member 5865]

They got the dreadlocs too, oh lord

 

[THE210]

I thought the same thing when I saw it yesterday. I was hoping I didnt see what I thought I saw.

 

[HebrewHammer]

The mask lips are definitely a questionable choice.

 

[ExoExplorer]

Oh I just noticed the dreads. But the masks look like clown masks. Isn't that what it is?

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Blackface is also very similar to that. It's not a great look for those designs

 

[Jave]

This is a clear case of "How did no one during development noticed this was a bad design choice?"

 

[formasymphonic]

Yeh, I was loving everything about the trailer until I got to that part. Definitely leaning into that old "savages" trope.

 

[Daniel Westlake]

Wasn't really paying attention to this but yeah that's as bad as it could be. The fuck were they thinking

 

[Ferrs]

smh. Here's hoping they change that shit.

 

[AndyD]

I thought they were African masks? Like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/e2LnAv9DoFhWuZJJA

 

[Lord Fanny]

Oh I just noticed the dreads. But the masks look like clown masks. Isn't that what it is? Almost like a cardboard version of a clown face.

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Nah, they look like African tribal masks, which were often used in pretty racist portrayals of like African savages and stuff in movies.

 

[Deleted member 6230]

The sambo lips really did it

 

[Joltik]

I missed this part in the trailer, but that is definitely a bad look.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Are those blowdarts are joints

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I hate that I laughed at this 😂😭

 

[wartime]

This is a clear case of "How did no one during development noticed this was a bad design choice?"

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Its a fairly small dev team (12), and if they are all from similar backgrounds and have a similar perspective, they may not have realized that these may be perceived as problematic caricatures. This is why diversity in development is important, though that can be difficult with small teams. In this case, Sony probably should have caught it.

 

[Slacker247]

I thought they were African masks? Like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/e2LnAv9DoFhWuZJJA

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This is my thought too. The guy at the back has a different design.

 

[nelsonroyale]

As a person of colour, I get the reference...but I am not sure if this instance should be taken necessarily too seriously. for instance, you could say some of the tribal imagery in Zelda makes light of indigenous type iconography. But I wouldn't necessarily agree. Without more context, I consider this reaching

Also, yeah the masks bare resemblance to masks I have seen originating in parts of the African sub continent, which like many masks have exaggerated various features.

 

[Nimby]

Stood out to me immediately, charming game but I was out when I saw that

 

[Renteka-Bond]

Caught it immediately when watching the trailer. Was definitely a bruh moment and it didn't really damper the interest that had been building, since I started the trailer not really caring about the game at first, but definitely not a good look, especially timing wise.

 

[Glio]

I thought they were African masks? Like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/e2LnAv9DoFhWuZJJA

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African masks don't have big red lips (usually. And not like that)

 

[Flex1212]

Yikes...they def need to fix this shit.

 

[dep9000]

Ohhh.I did not notice the dreads at first. Yeah, that's bad. Hopefully they change it

 

[Deleted member 30077]

African masks don't have big red lips (usually. And not like that)

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Click the link.

That said it would be smarter to just avoid it.

 

[Dynamite Ringo Matsuri]

I thought this game was a highlight yesterday but man, yeah, they should alter those designs

 

[Servbot24]

Definitely reminds of African "generic tribal" designs. Whether that's a problem I will leave up to others, but I get why it could make someone uncomfortable.

 

[ciddative]

I ignorantly didn't notice/subconsciously dismissed this detail at the time.

it's problematic for sure

 

[PancakeFlip]

This is a clear case of "How did no one during development noticed this was a bad design choice?"

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Yeah I saw it a split second during the trailer and was like... "Not good..."

 

[Rats]

Yeah, that's not great. It doesn't feel overt or intentional to me, but they should definitely address it.

 

[Thera]

Oh no...

 

[Darrilium]

In what was otherwise an extremely diverse console reveal from Sony yesterday, this unfortunate fact slid under the radar for me and many others in what looks like a pretty great game. I'm disappointed now that it's been brought to my attention.

Seems like it's always something.

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I think they look like tribal masks and I don't want to be too offensive but I don't see the problem...?

 

[Deleted member 5028]

Yeesh. They've been working on this project for 4 years now - perhaps longer, you'd think they'd get stuff like this right. (And Sony in the current climate by showing it while protests are ongoing)

Guys I loved the trailer and I'm looking forward the game but this

Really looks like this

Which is another game, it's Below by Capybara

This is just an example but there are MANY other things quite similar in the UI...and by similiar I mean the same.

Am I missing something?

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Add stolen art assets to the list of things this game is doing wrong. Gonna be a messy promotional cycle.

I think they look like tribal masks and I don't want to be too offensive but I don't see the problem...?

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Implication that black people are tribal savages not obvious enough?

 

[TeenageFBI]

Oh man, I caught that during the presentation. I was all "did I really see that?"

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Yeah, that sucks. Wish we could move past these shitty tropes

Also, prepare for the same type of defence of this trash that cropped up in response to RE5's "tribal" enemies.

 

[udivision]

I noticed that too.

Oh, the dread.

 

[purseowner]

Is this E3 2020's milkshake duck indie?

Yikes. And it looked good too. Shame it has to take the troubling whiteness from Wes Anderson's stuff in addition to the other influence.

 

[Rommaz]

As an African, I'm now surprised I Didn't notice this at when watching the stream. But yeah this is not good and should be removed.

 

[Deleted member 66837]

Yeah hype I had for the game took a hit

 

[deftones r cool]

I thought they were African masks? Like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/e2LnAv9DoFhWuZJJA

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This.

Is Aku Aku also offensive now?

 

[Deleted member 46489]

Oh wow, this is hugely problematic. Hopefully an ignorant mistake that can be corrected rather than something that reflects the beliefs of the devs.

 

[KatieKatsup]

Noticed it when watching the stream, audibly "ooff"-ed when it popped up. Not great despite the game other wise looking interesting.

 

[FormatCompatible]

Oof, it's like something right out of those old racist cartoons. Completely unnecessary and distasteful.

 

[TojoT]

Didn't notice it when I saw the trailer for it yesterday. Was the only game that really grabbed my attention too... Hopefully they'll acknowledge the issue and rework the design.

 

[Deleted member 6230]

As a person of colour, I get the reference...but I am not sure if this instance should be taken necessarily too seriously. for instance, you could say some of the tribal imagery in Zelda makes light of indigenous type iconography. But I wouldn't necessarily agree. Without more context, I consider this reaching

Also, yeah the masks bare resemblance to masks I have seen originating in parts of the African sub continent, which like many masks have exaggerated various features.

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Are you black?

 

[MatrixMan.exe]

This is a clear case of "How did no one during development noticed this was a bad design choice?"

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Because there likely weren't any black people involved in making that design choice.