Mynd Hed
12-03-2008, 12:32 PM
I read an interesting article (http://www.gameplayer.com.au/gp_documents/Racially-Motivated.aspx?Page=1) over on Gameplayer on the subject.
I dunno, on the one hand, it's pretty hard to justify characters like Barret from FF7 or Cole Train from Gears of War as anything other than blatant stereotypes. And I can sort of get the article's point that such stereotypes wouldn't be so bad if they were balanced with a couple of minority characters who DIDN'T fit the stereotype, which far more often than not isn't the case.
On the other hand, such "token non-stereotypes" can be pretty intrusive. Anyone here watch 30 Rock? They've got an educated, well-spoken black character named Toofer who is OBVIOUSLY there solely to provide a balance for Tracy Jordan, a walking, talking black stereotype of the first stripe. They're able to make him a pretty neat character nonetheless, but your average action video game has a lot less room for developing characters than your average sitcom.
I also take issue with the article's definition of the "usual racism" you see in video games as
defined by a “primarily white universe” in which protagonists and NPCs are “more often than not white”.
I mean, that's just logical: if you're talking about a game that was designed by an American developer, targeted at an American audience and set in the United States, where white people make up 76% of the population, then why shouldn't the majority of characters be white? They're called MINORITIES for a reason: statistically, there are less of them. Representing that in games is called "verisimilitude" and there's nothing wrong with it.
I think the more pressing issue is making sure that minority characters that are featured aren't depicted in offensive ways, and making sure that games with customizable main characters include enough ethnic variety that players of any ethnicity can, if they so choose, craft a character that they feel represents them. The fact that it's taken so long to include the option to play as women in games like Fable 2 and Fallout 3 is kind of disturbing. I mean, that should've been a standard feature in all games that allow character creation from Day 1.
I think the article makes a good point that many gamers have a knee-jerk reaction against charges of racism in games. Because our favorite hobby comes under fire for ridiculous reasons so often, we're sort of predisposed to reject all criticism out of hand, even if there might be some validity to it. There's also an attitude that as long as a game is fun to play, that all of the implications of its plot and setting become irrelevant, which can be a fallacy when taken to extremes.
On the other hand, when you've got people making an issue out of things like Resident Evil 5 ("There are BLACK ZOMBIES in a game set in Africa? And they're getting SHOT AT? OH NOEZ!") I think they're doing their cause more harm than good.
So that was a good seven paragraphs spent rambling without reaching any real conclusions, but even if there are no obvious and immediate solutions, I think the topic at least bears thinking about. What do you think?
I dunno, on the one hand, it's pretty hard to justify characters like Barret from FF7 or Cole Train from Gears of War as anything other than blatant stereotypes. And I can sort of get the article's point that such stereotypes wouldn't be so bad if they were balanced with a couple of minority characters who DIDN'T fit the stereotype, which far more often than not isn't the case.
On the other hand, such "token non-stereotypes" can be pretty intrusive. Anyone here watch 30 Rock? They've got an educated, well-spoken black character named Toofer who is OBVIOUSLY there solely to provide a balance for Tracy Jordan, a walking, talking black stereotype of the first stripe. They're able to make him a pretty neat character nonetheless, but your average action video game has a lot less room for developing characters than your average sitcom.
I also take issue with the article's definition of the "usual racism" you see in video games as
defined by a “primarily white universe” in which protagonists and NPCs are “more often than not white”.
I mean, that's just logical: if you're talking about a game that was designed by an American developer, targeted at an American audience and set in the United States, where white people make up 76% of the population, then why shouldn't the majority of characters be white? They're called MINORITIES for a reason: statistically, there are less of them. Representing that in games is called "verisimilitude" and there's nothing wrong with it.
I think the more pressing issue is making sure that minority characters that are featured aren't depicted in offensive ways, and making sure that games with customizable main characters include enough ethnic variety that players of any ethnicity can, if they so choose, craft a character that they feel represents them. The fact that it's taken so long to include the option to play as women in games like Fable 2 and Fallout 3 is kind of disturbing. I mean, that should've been a standard feature in all games that allow character creation from Day 1.
I think the article makes a good point that many gamers have a knee-jerk reaction against charges of racism in games. Because our favorite hobby comes under fire for ridiculous reasons so often, we're sort of predisposed to reject all criticism out of hand, even if there might be some validity to it. There's also an attitude that as long as a game is fun to play, that all of the implications of its plot and setting become irrelevant, which can be a fallacy when taken to extremes.
On the other hand, when you've got people making an issue out of things like Resident Evil 5 ("There are BLACK ZOMBIES in a game set in Africa? And they're getting SHOT AT? OH NOEZ!") I think they're doing their cause more harm than good.
So that was a good seven paragraphs spent rambling without reaching any real conclusions, but even if there are no obvious and immediate solutions, I think the topic at least bears thinking about. What do you think?