On #Cyberpunk2077 and why diversity consultants are amazing:

Main misconceptions about sensitivity/diversity/accessibility readers is that they exist to strip people's stories, make them "weaker", more "family-friendly", replace existing characters and so on.

They don't!

The only folks who treat them as an "enemy" are those who never worked with them - because once you do, you realize they're more like a best friend.

A friend who will notice your ass is showing and pull your pants up discreetly to save you from embarrassment.

Good accessibility consultant would tell CDPR "hey folks, amazing that you put so many accessibility options there! But hey, did your designer know that Braindance device is designed exactly like neurological device used to trigger epilepsy attacks?" https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-epileptic-psa

I'm 100% sure they had zero idea about it, because no developer - unless there's something majorly wrong with them - wants to design their game specifically to affect their player's health negatively.

And you don't need to know these things. That's why you hire a consultant.

A diversity consultant would point out that adding moko option on face won't make any Māori happy, and it can be easily fixed by moving it to the body, making it a kirituhi instead (as explained to me by NZ native - I'm not an expert on the subject). https://twitter.com/dreadconquest/status/1302257921758117888

This way, they could have both - great tattoos for everyone's use, and appreciation from Māori players. Nothing gets cut, character customization options are not limited, but it's made with a thought behind it, instead of just throwing stuff in.

And that's, ultimately, what diversity/sensitivity/accessibility consultants do for you - they give you educated, researched opinions on things you had zero idea about, not because you're "evil", but because you're an able-bodied person living in Poland who never researched this.

Moral of the story: don't be afraid to hire these people. They don't cost much in the great scale of things (especially in the scale of CDPR production), they won't "destroy your game".

They'll just make it better.