I think everyone has heard of the scandals at some of the largest game studios. Sexism, emotional abuse, gaslighting, and toxic working conditions were just some of the stories that have come to light. Many smaller developers have been extraordinarily vocal at denouncing these studios at GDC and online.

Fast forward a year or two, and now we’re finding out that some of the most vocal Indies are turning out to be as bad, if not worse, than those they were complaining again.

Some of them have had major allegations by dozens of former employees and partners – allegations that have now been confirmed as they have stepped down, issues apologies, and are being stripped of the very awards against abusive environments they claimed to be against.

This isn’t to denounce these particular people – but to point out that abuse can happen anywhere and everywhere. Anyone or any group that pretends to be superior than others are almost certainly putting themselves in a position to become hypocrites. After all, we’ve seen these issues from triple A studios to indies to Linux kernel development to world renown peace and love artists like John Lennon.

(Sidebar: John Lennon, known for his songs about peace and love, has been repeatedly and brutally denounced by his own son as being a hypocrite as his father abused, abandoned, and then physically assaulted members of his family.)

Warning: this might be a little hard for some to watch. It talks about some serious emotional abuse by trusted leaders.

Links:

• https://www.thegamer.com/indie-developers-abuse/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/th4yo8/investigating_three_indie_superstars_accused_of/