Comments on: The First 11 Black Videogame Stars http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/ art • games • change Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:31:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Gary K Martin http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-61040 Gary K Martin Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:15:26 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-61040 There's one I noticed you missed: The Suffering. The Character: Torque. Although the first installment they left the main character's ethnicity as ambiguous as possible (making him more of a neanderthal), they did imply that he was black in the beginning (a picture of his black wife and two black sons, and a black man on death row telling the story about how the protagonist "shived (stabbed) half the aryan brotherhood over at Eastern [correctional facility]". It isn't until the second installment, Ties That Bind. That the game openly admits that Torque was in fact, black. The storyline was somewhat interactive with moral challenges along the way that not only determined the outcome of the ending, but the psychotic powers you apparently posess. I will not ruin the game for you, it is very good, it's a horror-action game for the XBOX, PS2, and PC. Check it out! There’s one I noticed you missed: The Suffering.
The Character: Torque.
Although the first installment they left the main character’s ethnicity as ambiguous as possible (making him more of a neanderthal), they did imply that he was black in the beginning (a picture of his black wife and two black sons, and a black man on death row telling the story about how the protagonist “shived (stabbed) half the aryan brotherhood over at Eastern [correctional facility]“.

It isn’t until the second installment, Ties That Bind. That the game openly admits that Torque was in fact, black.

The storyline was somewhat interactive with moral challenges along the way that not only determined the outcome of the ending, but the psychotic powers you apparently posess. I will not ruin the game for you, it is very good, it’s a horror-action game for the XBOX, PS2, and PC. Check it out!

]]> By: SAM http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-57674 SAM Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:33:19 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-57674 What about Dr. J from One on One? a 1983 computer basketball game for the early era of home computers. It was developed by Eric Hammond and published by Electronic Arts (EA) and Ariolasoft in Europe. What about Dr. J from One on One?
a 1983 computer basketball game for the early era of home computers. It was developed by Eric Hammond and published by Electronic Arts (EA) and Ariolasoft in Europe.

]]> By: Dan http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-57255 Dan Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:26:01 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-57255 Don't you play a black guy in The Suffering? Left 4 Dead 2 has a few black characters too Don’t you play a black guy in The Suffering? Left 4 Dead 2 has a few black characters too

]]> By: Dann http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-53232 Dann Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:15:43 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-53232 Darci Stern Urban Chaos, She was a good cop Darci Stern Urban Chaos, She was a good cop

]]> By: Matt http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-51114 Matt Sat, 23 May 2009 10:58:32 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-51114 Ohhh, Moonwalker is hard to beat, but FIFA International Soccer came out in 1993 and that must be the first game with the most black characters on screen at any one time !!!! Ohhh, Moonwalker is hard to beat, but FIFA International Soccer came out in 1993 and that must be the first game with the most black characters on screen at any one time !!!!

]]> By: Free Online Games http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-49914 Free Online Games Sat, 02 May 2009 18:11:10 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-49914 You missed a game with a Black lead character...Bad Day L.A. in which you play a homeless Black guy that most save L.A form zombies reading the comments it seems that many people missed the point that this list is only for Black characters that are the main character in the game. listing the fact that their are token characters in fighting games doesn't count. @rmo rmo, Mike Tyson punchout doesn't count because you don't play mike you play a white guy. You missed a game with a Black lead character…Bad Day L.A. in which you play a homeless Black guy that most save L.A form zombies

reading the comments it seems that many people missed the point that this list is only for Black characters that are the main character in the game. listing the fact that their are token characters in fighting games doesn’t count.

@rmo rmo, Mike Tyson punchout doesn’t count because you don’t play mike you play a white guy.

]]> By: Godheval http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-45270 Godheval Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:20:30 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-45270 By the way, you forgot: Hugo from Suikoden III. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n291/celtic1962/hugo.jpg Apparently his ethnic inspiration is debatable, since he's done in an anime style, and because characters with dark skin and light hair are common enough in that medium. A friend of mine plainly denied that Hugo was of any African ethnicity. But I say he is - and moreso than Jade - because of his clearly Africanesque clothing, the hunter-gatherer culture of his tribe, that he's even IN a tribe, and...most importantly, the look of his mother. http://www.suikosource.com/images/chars/l/lucia04.jpg Since the release of the game, there has been a Suikoden manga, the artist of which has seen fit to eliminate any suggestions that Hugo is anything less than full-on Aryan: http://www.manga-news.com/public/images/vols/suikoden_01.jpg Much like what happened to Vanessa Lewis from Virtua Fighter... Gross. By the way, you forgot:

Hugo from Suikoden III.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n291/celtic1962/hugo.jpg

Apparently his ethnic inspiration is debatable, since he’s done in an anime style, and because characters with dark skin and light hair are common enough in that medium. A friend of mine plainly denied that Hugo was of any African ethnicity.

But I say he is – and moreso than Jade – because of his clearly Africanesque clothing, the hunter-gatherer culture of his tribe, that he’s even IN a tribe, and…most importantly, the look of his mother.

http://www.suikosource.com/images/chars/l/lucia04.jpg

Since the release of the game, there has been a Suikoden manga, the artist of which has seen fit to eliminate any suggestions that Hugo is anything less than full-on Aryan:

http://www.manga-news.com/public/images/vols/suikoden_01.jpg

Much like what happened to Vanessa Lewis from Virtua Fighter… Gross.

]]> By: Godheval http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-45081 Godheval Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:17:35 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-45081 Sounds like Jade from MK has an identity crisis! But really, that's just what happens when you have too many hands in the pot. You see the same kind of thing with comic book characters. Getting back to Jade from BG&E, I'm going to have to disagree with Jason on counting her amongst the first 11, for reasons I discuss here: http://godheval.net/black-white-and-jade-race-in-video-games/ Thanks for the inspiration to write that, Jason. Sounds like Jade from MK has an identity crisis! But really, that’s just what happens when you have too many hands in the pot. You see the same kind of thing with comic book characters.

Getting back to Jade from BG&E, I’m going to have to disagree with Jason on counting her amongst the first 11, for reasons I discuss here:

http://godheval.net/black-white-and-jade-race-in-video-games/

Thanks for the inspiration to write that, Jason.

]]> By: kejaris http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-45078 kejaris Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:34:13 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-45078 Birde from Street Fighter games chamges from a white guy to a black guy by the time he's in Street Fighter ALPHA. And Jade from Mortal Kombat changes 3 races, Dark-skinned black in MK3, Asian in the second MK movie, and Latina in MK Armageddon! What's up with that? Birde from Street Fighter games chamges from a white guy to a black guy by the time he’s in Street Fighter ALPHA. And Jade from Mortal Kombat changes 3 races, Dark-skinned black in MK3, Asian in the second MK movie, and Latina in MK Armageddon! What’s up with that?

]]> By: Godheval http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/comment-page-4/#comment-45067 Godheval Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:58:19 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/first-black-videogame-stars/#comment-45067 Hey Daryl, Vanessa Lewis from VF actually presents an interesting study in whitewashing. She WAS of some visible African descent in her original incarnation, but sometime afterwards - I think in VF5, she was transformed completely. Not only did they bleach her skin and thin out her lips, but they even changed her body type. If you remember, Vanessa had quite the set of hips on her. Now she's been slimmed down to a more generic - i.e. "white" - body type. Look at the image below. http://www.meionorte.com/imagens/forteens/vanessa%20lewis%20-%20virtua%20fighter.jpg So, while she may have counted originally, she doesn't anymore. And she highlights the problem with the lack of black female representation in games. As for Sheva from RE5, don't even get me started on her. Aside from vaguely "Africanesque" features, there is nothing about her that is "black". And it is not lost on me that the "good African" is light-skinned while the "evil" ones are dark. Hey Daryl,

Vanessa Lewis from VF actually presents an interesting study in whitewashing. She WAS of some visible African descent in her original incarnation, but sometime afterwards – I think in VF5, she was transformed completely. Not only did they bleach her skin and thin out her lips, but they even changed her body type. If you remember, Vanessa had quite the set of hips on her. Now she’s been slimmed down to a more generic – i.e. “white” – body type. Look at the image below.

http://www.meionorte.com/imagens/forteens/vanessa%20lewis%20-%20virtua%20fighter.jpg

So, while she may have counted originally, she doesn’t anymore. And she highlights the problem with the lack of black female representation in games.

As for Sheva from RE5, don’t even get me started on her. Aside from vaguely “Africanesque” features, there is nothing about her that is “black”. And it is not lost on me that the “good African” is light-skinned while the “evil” ones are dark.

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