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Gamers Smacks AAA Company EA As Narrative Designer Dani Lalonders Admits to Racist Hiring Practices

March 13, 2024 by Eddy Brock Leave a Comment

Dani Lalonders
EA
Cliffhanger Games
Discriminatory Hiring Practices
Marvel's Black Panther Game

A narrative designer currently employed by Electronic Arts (EA) subsidiary Cliffhanger Games has sparked controversy after admitting to discriminatory hiring practices on a previous project. Dani Lalonders, who is working on the upcoming Marvel’s Black Panther game at the EA studio, revealed during the 2021 Game Devs of Color Expo that she intentionally avoided hiring white individuals for her indie visual novel ValiDate out of a stated desire to create a “safe environment.”

“We have no white people on our team. I did that because I wanted to create a safe environment, and I know the best way for an environment to be safe is to be around people who are just like me,” Lalonders told attendees.

RELATED: Former Blizzard Dev Grummz Details Gamergate 2 Erupting As The Woke Agenda’s Tentacles Strangle Video Gaming

The shocking admission highlights an alarming case of blatant racial discrimination under the guise of promoting diversity and inclusion. Lalonders defended the decision, stating, “Sometimes it is hard to work with white people because they think that something may be okay, but it was really a microaggression.”

This is Dani Lalonders, a nonbinary game developer. She was hired by @CliffhangerDevs to create a game based on @Marvel's #BlackPanther.

She says she doesn’t hire white people because they’re unsafe and it’s hard to work with them and only hires people of color.

Is this… pic.twitter.com/zVodAvagLN

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 12, 2024

ValiDate, dubbed a “video game developed by Tumblr,” is a dating sim that explores different relationship dynamics through a cast of diverse stereotypical characters. Despite its progressive themes, the 21-member development team featured no white individuals by Lalonders’ own admission.

The controversial developer has shown no signs of walking back her discriminatory views. In a recent online exchange, Lalonders dismissed criticism around potential racism towards white people, stating, “I just stopped taking y’all seriously when y’all start running around saying white people can experience racism.”

Now she is attacking her Game Industry colleagues for not supporting Sweet Baby Inc.

NOTE: the small Narrative and Consulting studio whose employee encouraged doxxing their customer base pic.twitter.com/SvoiaH72H5

— packergirl (@p9cker_girl) March 12, 2024
Source – X.com – @p9cker_girl

RELATED: The Sweet Baby Inc. Files, Part III: The Maya Kramer–GamerGate Connection

Lalonders’ unrepentant stance has raised concerns within the gaming community and industry about promoting truly inclusive environments without resorting to divisive and legally dubious practices that only breed further discrimination.

As an EA subsidiary, Cliffhanger Games has so far declined to comment on the controversy surrounding one of its narrative designers. With Marvel’s Black Panther still in early development, it remains unclear how much influence Lalonders will have on the high-profile project’s narrative direction. EA is certainly couplable, as well as Cliffhanger, for allowing a blatant racist to work for them, and there is no doubt her vile opinions shaped the structure of the company.

I always knew Marvel is racist, didn't know how racist until I saw you hired Dani Lalonders a Sweet baby Inc racist pic.twitter.com/xAQCIHnGkB

— Vigo Delafonte (@msms_hacks) March 13, 2024

The incident has reignited a broader discussion around diversity efforts in gaming and how to constructively address representation issues without alienating or discriminating against other groups based on characteristics like race.

What are your thoughts on EA and Cliffhanger Games using racist hires? Let us know in the comments!

NEXT: Kotaku And The Mainstream Media Get Rekt On The Importance of Ethics in Journalism From Gamergate 2.0

Filed Under: Pop Culture, Video Games Tagged With: racism, Sweet Baby Inc, Video Games

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