...Whoops?
In yet another example of DEI-driven hiring undermining the integrity of the video game industry, Anya Chalotra, the main actress for Unknown 9: Awakening accidentally admitted to the truth behind her casting.
Who is she?
For those unfamiliar, according to Wikipedia, Anya Chalotra is a British actress, born in Wolverhampton, England, to an English mother and an Indian father. She grew up in the village of Lower Penn and attended St Dominic's Grammar School in Brewood. Chalotra discovered her passion for acting through school and youth theatre groups, later honing her craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She made her stage debut in 2017 in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe and gained much wider recognition for her role as Yennefer of Vengerberg in Netflix's The Witcher.
In Short(s)
In a series of shorts posted on the CGMonthly YouTube channel, Chalotra gave a cringy (and honestly extremely boring) interview that unintentionally exposed the ultimate 'hollow' nature of her involvement in the game, demonstrating once again how prioritizing diversity over skill is ultimately weakening the gaming industry.
Throughout the interview, while undeniably a beautiful woman, Chalotra struggled to even articulate what her role in the game actually even... was. Like a student who forgot to study for a test... Her disjointed responses and obvious discomfort displayed a lack of understanding or any kind of deeper connection with the project. She rambled on, stumbling over her words... about how she didn’t even audition but was simply offered the part—meaning she was hired not for any kind of proven expertise for a specific role or experience - but because of her identity, fitting neatly into the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) box that so many companies are obsessed with checking off these days.
I didn't audition. I was offered the opportunity, and I jumped at it.
She awkwardly mentions how she “jumped at the opportunity” and how it was her first experience doing motion capture. The comments were meant to show enthusiasm, but instead, accidentally revealed she was chosen specifically to fit the role created for her 'diversity'. She referenced being inspired by Andy Serkis and wanting to play an ape in Planet of the Apes—which, honestly, was a pretty bizarre and irrelevant comparison that further emphasized her confusion about her role in the first place. If you’re going to compare your experience to playing an animal, it’s probably not a good look when your character is... a human being.
The "Gamer" TM
It’s impossible for me to escape the conclusion that this specific casting wasn’t about talent or passion for the project—it was about meeting diversity quotas. Her awkwardness in discussing the role, her continued vague and aimless answers, and the fact that she was simply “offered” the position, scream of a DEI hire.
...and don't even get me started on how she responds to the question of if she plays video games:
And this, ultimately, is the core issue. Prioritizing DEI goals over hiring the best talent available is an extremely dangerous precedent for the gaming industry. When studios fill crucial roles in their projects with people who are not hired for their skill, passion, or understanding of the material, the result is... well... subpar content. Gaming, as an art form, thrives on talented individuals who understand and care about the medium. When those roles are handed out as tokens to check boxes, the quality of games... inevitably suffers.
Sweet Baby At It Again!
Unknown 9: Awakening is the brainchild of Kim Belair, an infamous 'advocate' for diversity in gaming through her company Sweet Baby Inc. It's clear to me that her priorities lie far from making a great game. Like, ok, obviously she WANTS the game they're making to be great (who wouldn't?), but that clearly isn't her top priority here. Instead of focusing on delivering compelling gameplay and an engaging experience, Belair's centered her attention on injecting DEI hires into the project, which has predictably resulted once again in a bland, boring, and generic story. The gameplay is equally uninspired, and worse yet, the game is marred with a host of technical issues, including bugs, glitches, and severe performance problems. Rather than striving to create a groundbreaking game, Belair’s approach has prioritized virtue signaling, and the result is a subpar product that fails to resonate with gamers. As Hypnotic found out early on:
In Unknown 9: Awakening's case, Chalotra's interview paints a bleak picture of a game that just can not meet the standards gamers have come to expect. Her obvious discomfort throughout the interview discussing the project speaks volumes about the current state of the industry, where checking the DEI box is more important than finding skilled and passionate individuals who truly fit the role.
Destined for Failure
The continued reliance on DEI to fill roles within the gaming industry threatens to undermine the quality and creativity that gamers deserve. When certain 'faces' are given roles with agendas in mind, the result is an all-too-often uninspired game that fails to capture our imagination. Unfortunately, this interview is just one more indication that Unknown 9: Awakening is yet another casualty of this misguided approach, leaving gamers with an underwhelming product driven more by corporate virtue signaling than anything.
~Smash
It's racist for them cast her in the game just because of her color her struggling to answer questions about her role in the game is proof enough. It's a shame because she's a good actress