about dream catcher

[Ichthaeus]

hopefully the devs will read this.

first off, i really like this game. I find the combination of dungeon crawler and deck builder really entertaining and i think it's pulled off well here. I just had one note i wanted to give about the dream catcher. I think it's a really great item (i got one in my first run and wow is it ever useful and fun to have), but i'm a little put off by the name. In my experience in the US it's one the most commonly stolen items from native culture, and i hate to see that perpetuated here. Any chance you all would consider renaming/reskinning this item?

[ScrappoRaccoco]

support ^

[Ichthaeus]

sorry , i don't come around the steam discussion boards much. Does that mean i need to move my thread?

[Yung Cosmonaut]

Im sorry but i don't really see the issue here, it is an item that has an effect/power whilst you rest/sleep. Do you have an issue with the devs drawing inspiration from a culture not their own?

[Ichthaeus]

no i really don't. I just think that any time someone wants to borrow from another culture, they need to be sure to do so carefully. This is especially important when borrowing from cultures of peoples to whom history has not been kind.

[Yung Cosmonaut]

So why does the name need to change? It fits the card and what it does.

[az4a3l]

What makes you think dreamcatchers are from the native american culture only, there are versions from the aztecs and mayas, from africa as well, pretty much every culture has their own version of dreamcatchers.
You should educate yourself better before starting sprouting nonsense because you spend too much time on twitter.

[Ichthaeus]

i mean if you really want to get into it, "dream catcher" as a name is used specifically to refer to an object crafted originally by the ojibwe people who are natives to north america.

[SoM]

The game's setting is likely a post-apocalyptic world with very few historic records remaining. Even fruits are precious relics to the adventurers. I would say it's quite fitting that old artefacts could have misunderstood names and descriptions.

Also consider this: in game the dream catcher catches good things for you. It's already different enough to make any real-life connection to be reference in name only. Otherwise you are looking at tons of other relics that have their origins in Asian cultures (especially Buddhism-related stuff).

[KamLouBak]

The Dreamcatcher Relic fits its name very well. It does exactly what you would expect it to do.


I don't understand your displeasure towards it. If it's a cultural argument, then where does it stop? Are they not appropriating Japanese culture with the Shuriken and Kunai Relics? Why or why not? Should they reskin the Vajra relic because it has now been stolen from the Buddhist religion? The list goes on.


Right now the Dreamcatcher relic is appropriate for its effect. Your average gamer isn't going to care about the fact that its based on Native American culture, they will however care that it fits the effect.

[Anti]

When it comes to cultural appropriation I think that there's a big difference between merely borrowing from another culture and doing so in a disrespectful manner. Dressing up as an "indian" for halloween? I can see why that's offensive since it perpetuates hurtful stereotypes. In the case of dreamcatchers I don't see the harm.

[Ichthaeus]

KamLouBak i would say the cultural argument is simply to pay attention to the things you're borrowing. the cultural context of an object has a lot to do with whether it's cool to borrow and how to borrow respectfully. I wasn't yet aware of the vajra in the game, but looking into it it seems like it's sacred, so i think that also might be a bad include. If you really want to know my opinion i think the kunai and shuriken are fine because as far as i'm aware they're not in any way sacred or religious. they're just tools.

Hideous savior some people do feel that dream catchers do exactly the same thing.

More over to all of you who felt a need to tell me why i'm wrong for being concerned about this kind of thing: Why is it so bad to think maybe these things could be a little insensitive? I'm not saying the game is bad or you're a bad person for liking the game. I'm just saying it's important to think about where things come from and what they mean to the people you're borrowing from.

Why is that so bad?

[Xuande]

This game throws in a ton of corny references to things in general. I guess the question here is, does the item actually offend a sizable amount of people? I don't know the answer to that question.

[Horrow]

I fail to see why you or anything should take offense to this.

You're really just coming off as a troll.

[Tomasz79]

Seriously, it's just a name in a game... it's not like it's trying to make fun of the culture, people or original item, so what's the problem?

[Nonaloth]

Originally posted by az4a3l:

What makes you think dreamcatchers are from the native american culture only, there are versions from the aztecs and mayas, from africa as well, pretty much every culture has their own version of dreamcatchers.
You should educate yourself better before starting sprouting nonsense because you spend too much time on twitter.

Much agreed mate.