Comments on: Race in Games: The Unanswered Question http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/ art • games • change Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:54:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: dragonfire3333 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-39415 dragonfire3333 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:50:23 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-39415 perosnaly i really don't care what race or color a protagagists is as long as it has a good plot and good game play i don' think that anyone will care. but for why there aren't alot of black people in the games is probally becasue the game creaters design the characters after what kind of person they would lik eto be or it would be how they view other people and/ or there native peoples. at least that's what i think. perosnaly i really don’t care what race or color a protagagists is as long as it has a good plot and good game play i don’ think that anyone will care. but for why there aren’t alot of black people in the games is probally becasue the game creaters design the characters after what kind of person they would lik eto be or it would be how they view other people and/ or there native peoples. at least that’s what i think.

]]> By: Josh http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-39046 Josh Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:58:08 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-39046 I think the reaseon you dont see alot of black main characters in games is because most people of the race think its un-cool to play most games besides sports or shooting games. They think the only people that play games like finalfantasy or fable are unatractive white nerds with no social life. And most developers beleave the same thing. I think the reaseon you dont see alot of black main characters in games is because most people of the race think its un-cool to play most games besides sports or shooting games. They think the only people that play games like finalfantasy or fable are unatractive white nerds with no social life. And most developers beleave the same thing.

]]> By: Jon http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-23427 Jon Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:58:53 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-23427 Jason: from your last comment I'd like to leave an answer coming from a die-hard African American gamer. Yes, creating a character like the player gives the player a sense of immersion and yes, some people make completely different characters to explore new things. Sadly I've seen some blacks who feel better if their character is white so they put on this "mask" if you will, to feel accepted. This is also seen in society. It's a pretty deep concept to grasp but ALL of this is really psychological. There is no logical answer because there are so many possible answers from so many different perspectives. Jason: from your last comment I’d like to leave an answer coming from a die-hard African American gamer. Yes, creating a character like the player gives the player a sense of immersion and yes, some people make completely different characters to explore new things. Sadly I’ve seen some blacks who feel better if their character is white so they put on this “mask” if you will, to feel accepted. This is also seen in society. It’s a pretty deep concept to grasp but ALL of this is really psychological. There is no logical answer because there are so many possible answers from so many different perspectives.

]]> By: Bob http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-18491 Bob Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:16:00 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-18491 What I personally think is that race is linked into practically every video game and is thought of as a problem when it comes to the conflicts of reality . For example, the game Gta San Andreas ties many prejudices towards ethnicities into humor and violence for pure entertainment. The main character is a black gangster from east los angelas with black gangsters, hookers, and drug dealers surrounding the streets he travels in. This is considered racist because there are not only black gangsters in america there are white, hispanic, and asian as well which all three of those races are vaguely intertwined with the main story line. What is being stressed in the video game world is generally racism and violence affecting the youth and culture of the world. Up coming video games like resident evil 5 and manhunt 2 are being looked at as politically incorrect because it will poison our youth. First of all resident evil 5 seems like a very entertaining game but is being bombarded by the press that a game where excuting black zombies will make children who play this game hate black people which is totally false in my opinion because there are many other games where you kill black people and should it matter that the person is black white asian or latino that is doing the sensless killing in the game. Beyond the point any violent video game you play you are never thinking about race or gender you are in your zone trying to complete your level, mission, or objective. I for one totally disagree with rascism but in a reality sense of course. A video game is a fantasy world where you make up the rules, yet you should have an awareness to racism but it shouldnt be condemed and taken off shelves of stores because its about a white army commando killing zombie black villagers in africa. What I personally think is that race is linked into practically every video game and is thought of as a problem when it comes to the conflicts of reality . For example, the game Gta San Andreas ties many prejudices towards ethnicities into humor and violence for pure entertainment. The main character is a black gangster from east los angelas with black gangsters, hookers, and drug dealers surrounding the streets he travels in. This is considered racist because there are not only black gangsters in america there are white, hispanic, and asian as well which all three of those races are vaguely intertwined with the main story line. What is being stressed in the video game world is generally racism and violence affecting the youth and culture of the world. Up coming video games like resident evil 5 and manhunt 2 are being looked at as politically incorrect because it will poison our youth. First of all resident evil 5 seems like a very entertaining game but is being bombarded by the press that a game where excuting black zombies will make children who play this game hate black people which is totally false in my opinion because there are many other games where you kill black people and should it matter that the person is black white asian or latino that is doing the sensless killing in the game. Beyond the point any violent video game you play you are never thinking about race or gender you are in your zone trying to complete your level, mission, or objective. I for one totally disagree with rascism but in a reality sense of course. A video game is a fantasy world where you make up the rules, yet you should have an awareness to racism but it shouldnt be condemed and taken off shelves of stores because its about a white army commando killing zombie black villagers in africa.

]]> By: Bakerboi http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-18162 Bakerboi Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:51:22 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-18162 What you all are saying about japanese game makers not putting african people in games because there arent a whole lot in that country is just not true and evades the point. They usually model the characters in their games are their native peoples or caucasian westerns, and if they do that then they certainly know african peoples are out there. As few as we are represented in their games they still have time to recieve our music and know about our culture. Seems quite strange, this excuse you use for them. Yes, one does portray something that looks like them in art, but it never stops them from portraying monsters and using names and ideas from other cultures west of themselves now does it? It has been seen that in some MMORPGS and Other consoles games that when there is a lack of a dark-people in a game an abnormal race is there in their place representing their features similairly. Also, with Companies like Capcom who almost always has produced games with a multitude of races in them, that excuse just cannot be used as tempo. Its just the effort and the ego that determines whether or not to open that door and bring in something different. And as it's seen the dark people of the world just dont obtain that height of respect or recognition for say a company like, Square-enix, to not think twice about place an enthic character in a game that has a large part. In FFXII, however they have two african characters in the game. One, from a race of both dark skinned and light skinned rabbit-folk, and the other a human man. With this issue I've seen some fans of the game claim that she isn't black. The same has been claimed on a few other characters in anime series such as DBZ. What you all are saying about japanese game makers not putting african people in games because there arent a whole lot in that country is just not true and evades the point.

They usually model the characters in their games are their native peoples or caucasian westerns, and if they do that then they certainly know african peoples are out there. As few as we are represented in their games they still have time to recieve our music and know about our culture. Seems quite strange, this excuse you use for them.

Yes, one does portray something that looks like them in art, but it never stops them from portraying monsters and using names and ideas from other cultures west of themselves now does it?

It has been seen that in some MMORPGS and Other consoles games that when there is a lack of a dark-people in a game an abnormal race is there in their place representing their features similairly.

Also, with Companies like Capcom who almost always has produced games with a multitude of races in them, that excuse just cannot be used as tempo.

Its just the effort and the ego that determines whether or not to open that door and bring in something different. And as it’s seen the dark people of the world just dont obtain that height of respect or recognition for say a company like, Square-enix, to not think twice about place an enthic character in a game that has a large part.

In FFXII, however they have two african characters in the game. One, from a race of both dark skinned and light skinned rabbit-folk, and the other a human man.
With this issue I’ve seen some fans of the game claim that she isn’t black.

The same has been claimed on a few other characters in anime series such as DBZ.

]]> By: DaveDaGamer http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-12900 DaveDaGamer Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:14:35 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-12900 Thill said it "EXACTLY" Other cultures are not represented in videogames, because the creators are not of that culture. Many Asian games that are developed over there with Asian protagonists have been made Caucasian in the crossover because the publishers here are mostly Caucasian. It's like that in everything we do here in America. I'm in the New Media field along with video game content creation. We are usually the ONLY minority representation at events. There aren't even minority journalists and game show hosts to bring a different view on why people play games. Look at all the game programming on TV. You have the stereotypical nerdy (or borderline nerd but accepted host and a "hot" babe) That's because there just isn't a lot of minorities in the field. Take it however you want, thats the fact. Look at all the pictures of the development studios that they publish when they complete a game. You'd be hard pressed to find a minority in them. AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE They are racist, it's from a lack of applicants. Thill said it “EXACTLY” Other cultures are not represented in videogames, because the creators are not of that culture. Many Asian games that are developed over there with Asian protagonists have been made Caucasian in the crossover because the publishers here are mostly Caucasian.

It’s like that in everything we do here in America. I’m in the New Media field along with video game content creation. We are usually the ONLY minority representation at events. There aren’t even minority journalists and game show hosts to bring a different view on why people play games. Look at all the game programming on TV. You have the stereotypical nerdy (or borderline nerd but accepted host and a “hot” babe)

That’s because there just isn’t a lot of minorities in the field. Take it however you want, thats the fact. Look at all the pictures of the development studios that they publish when they complete a game. You’d be hard pressed to find a minority in them. AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE They are racist, it’s from a lack of applicants.

]]> By: Jason http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-10176 Jason Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:17:30 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-10176 Johny: Interesting point. I often wonder about how folks make decisions about how their character should look -- and what that means. Does modeling a character on yourself create immersion? Does creating a character very different than yourself express a kind of cultural exploration? Is there a space in-between? From what I've seen, it seems folks play at the extremes. They either create a character roughly in their own image or go completely to the other end of the spectrum, as shown in the recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/06/15/magazine/20070617_AVATAR_SLIDESHOW_1.html" rel="nofollow">NYT slide show</a> (from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1905712022/" rel="nofollow">Alter Ego</a>). I wonder what that means. Johny: Interesting point. I often wonder about how folks make decisions about how their character should look — and what that means. Does modeling a character on yourself create immersion? Does creating a character very different than yourself express a kind of cultural exploration? Is there a space in-between?

From what I’ve seen, it seems folks play at the extremes. They either create a character roughly in their own image or go completely to the other end of the spectrum, as shown in the recent NYT slide show (from the book Alter Ego). I wonder what that means.

]]> By: Johny Zuper http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-9922 Johny Zuper Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:14:35 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-9922 Playing Guild Wars Nightfall (filled with black characters, by the way), my (African American) wife and me noticed how most people's avatars seem to be white, even though there's plenty of opportunity in the game for creating black ones. I think the answer is simply that most people model their character after themselves and that most players are white. After all, not many Africans have access to this technology. And black people tend to be a minority in most rich countries. Playing Guild Wars Nightfall (filled with black characters, by the way), my (African American) wife and me noticed how most people’s avatars seem to be white, even though there’s plenty of opportunity in the game for creating black ones. I think the answer is simply that most people model their character after themselves and that most players are white. After all, not many Africans have access to this technology. And black people tend to be a minority in most rich countries.

]]> By: cesar blue http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-5609 cesar blue Sun, 08 Apr 2007 11:50:32 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-5609 yea i was wondering the same thing, cause all i see is white people be betrayed in every video game i ever played, i mean this is straight up so crazy, i glad you put this on the blog, i mean i'm black and i want to be the hero in the game but i have to be a white guy cause they won't make the black guy the hero just think about it, what black hero's do we have in video games you proably could name them on your hand, and i'm not talkin about cj from san andreas, really we need to start demanding these video companies to put in a feature were you can be white or black shit i stop playing certain games because of it, and i know most people are going to be it not a big deal, well if your black it is cause i want to be the guy blowing away white people in the game lol, but seriously they need to put a feature in there that let's us choice black or white, if you think about it we don't really have any games with black hero's or villians except spawn, one army game about vets and s boxer in a fighting game this shit is sad, let's start a boycott for real peace good blog yea i was wondering the same thing, cause all i see is white people be betrayed in every video game i ever played, i mean this is straight up so crazy, i glad you put this on the blog, i mean i’m black and i want to be the hero in the game but i have to be a white guy cause they won’t make the black guy the hero just think about it, what black hero’s do we have in video games you proably could name them on your hand, and i’m not talkin about cj from san andreas,
really we need to start demanding these video companies to put in a feature were you can be white or black shit i stop playing certain games because of it, and i know most people are going to be it not a big deal, well if your black it is cause i want to be the guy blowing away white people in the game lol, but seriously they need to put a feature in there that let’s us choice black or white, if you think about it we don’t really have any games with black hero’s or villians except spawn, one army game about vets and s boxer in a fighting game this shit is sad, let’s start a boycott for real

peace
good blog

]]> By: Jeriaska http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games/#comment-3530 Jeriaska Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:43:10 +0000 http://microscopiq.com/2007/02/race-in-games-black-white-and-technicolor/#comment-3530 Hi Microscopiq, I read your article earlier this month, and was inspired to write a companion piece for Square Haven called "The First Eleven Black Square Characters." Surprisingly, at least judging by your list, there are eleven black playable characters in the games of Final Fantasy distributor Square Enix dating back to the 8, 16, and 32-bit eras. I don't think our article managed to make people think about race differently, or inspired any kind of thought at all. It was one of our most unanimously ignored articles, ever. So maybe the lesson here is that game players today are less concerned with skin color than perhaps they once were. Or Square Haven is boring--maybe that's the lesson. http://www.squarehaven.com/news/?id=1219 Hi Microscopiq,

I read your article earlier this month, and was inspired to write a companion piece for Square Haven called “The First Eleven Black Square Characters.” Surprisingly, at least judging by your list, there are eleven black playable characters in the games of Final Fantasy distributor Square Enix dating back to the 8, 16, and 32-bit eras. I don’t think our article managed to make people think about race differently, or inspired any kind of thought at all. It was one of our most unanimously ignored articles, ever. So maybe the lesson here is that game players today are less concerned with skin color than perhaps they once were. Or Square Haven is boring–maybe that’s the lesson.

http://www.squarehaven.com/news/?id=1219

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