I'm a straight male gamer, convince me diversity in games is a good thing

CymbaIine

New member
Aug 23, 2013
168
0
0
BinDipper said:
Can't be bothered? Or just can't?
Nope I really can't be arsed sitting here having a debate about the meaning of the terms "gouging" and "exploitation" in this context and if I meant it the way you do, and if not who is correct. I really don't care, I am interested in what diversity means for gamers and how it's good/bad for games companies not who is the best at internet forum snarkery.

As for the rest, well other people are have covered what I would reply so I will leave it to them.

Have fun!
 

Stats ^1

New member
Aug 28, 2014
55
0
0
Because having 10000 grizzled white male characters is extremely boring character design. Just like how having token female or black characters is also bad character design.

The only issue with the gaming industry is a lack of good game designers.

However, there's a huge issue with the gaming community, and that issue is simple. A lot of the gaming community are morons.
 

Rayce Archer

New member
Jun 26, 2014
384
0
0
Well I suppose it's more accurate to say it doesn't hurt. I mean Samus Aran is a woman, and Metroid is awesome. Marlow Briggs is black, and Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death is two tons of kickass in a five dollar bag. Your character in Fallout 3 can be a retarded gay Hispanic prostitute cannibal for all the game cares and it's still a fantastic play. BJ Blazkowicz is a Polish-Jewish-American Nazi-killing wizard-hunter and WOLF3D -GOOBERS BLAM BLAM MEIN LIEBEN!

I think when we hear DIVERSITY! it's easy to assume that said diversity will be the point of a game, turning it into a VERY SPECIAL EPISODE in video game format, and that's not really true. A character's identity is just part of who they are, and we can use any component of it to make them unique, from skin color to gender to cannibalism. Creating a diverse landscape in games also encourages more people to play games which means more gaming is happening, more games get sold, and more games will get made, which I think we can agree is like 90% good at least.
 

Gronk

New member
Jun 24, 2013
100
0
0
@OP: Well no, if you don't see how diversity is a good thing in games already, I doubt you will change your mind from a discussion on the internet. So i won't even try. Cheers!
 

Fox12

AccursedT- see you space cowboy
Jun 6, 2013
4,828
0
0
Why is it a bad thing? You can ignore Gone Home just like I can ignore call of duty. Not everything has to cater to you. If it does, then the medium becomes sterile and loses all creativity and originality. We need people to challenge the status quo and question what games are capable of. That's how we got spec ops. Personally I loved Gone Home and To the Moon. You didn't. And you know what? That's totally okay. The real question is, why can't we both be happy? Diversity allows different people to play completely different games, and I like that. It allows things like Dark Souls to become mainstream hits. It allows for different groups to be included in my favorite pastime. I wouldn't want every movie to be transformers. Heck, I wouldn't want every movie to be Forrest Gump, and I love that movie. Without diversity gaming just becomes an echo chamber of people patting themselves on the back.

There are extremists, sure. Do I I think diversity should be forced on a developer? Of course not. Then we just have corporate suits filling out a diversity check list. But would I like a game where an artist shows me what it's like to be a black man, or a woman, or an Iranian? Sure, if that's part of their vision then I'm all on board. Diversity increases creativity, it doesn't stifle it, so I think it should be encouraged.
 

the December King

Member
Legacy
Mar 3, 2010
1,580
1
3
daubie said:
If you are willing to play as a humanoid insect, why are you not willing to play as a woman, or a black guy, or a liberal/conservative (whichever one you don't usually affiliate with), etc.? Your suggestions, in a way are diversity (though I'm not sure why a cyborg needs to brains unless you're going I, Robot on us), but there are more grounded examples that could offer just as foreign a game experience in their own way.
I have a thought on that - As a game developer, no one can tell me that an utterly alien or inhuman creature wouldn't behave like I want them to/dress like I want them to/say what I want them to. It's a cart blanche to explore a completely unmuddied history as I see fit- I even get to make up the baggage, racism/sexism, victories and defeats. I don't have to pander or consider anyone first, worry about offending in my portrayals, "getting it wrong", actual stereotyping, etc.

In a game wherein the narrative touches on or explores these things, then so be it- I'm not saying that diversity is a waste of time. But the reasons for creating and playing inhumans seems obvious to me.
 

ultratog1028

New member
Mar 19, 2010
216
0
0
Genocidicles said:
Normally I'm one to just stick my fingers in my ears and pretend everything is fine when discussions about diversity get brought up, but with all these articles about how the 'evil dudebro gamers' are dying off and how gaming will become more diverse and move forward as a medium (and how that's a good thing) have made me wonder:

Is this a good thing, for me? From where I'm standing, all diversity in gaming has brought us is shit like Gone Home. How can I get on board with 'diversity moving gaming forward', if it just means more crappy games I won't play on Steam? How is this a good thing exactly?
It gives you the chance of playing a non-straight white male in games. Roleplaying. The whole point of videogames is being something you aren't; the hero, the general, the villain, whatever. Why should what gender or race your character is be limited (on non-established characters)?
 

Dragonlayer

Aka Corporal Yakob
Dec 5, 2013
971
0
0
Inglorious891 said:
Dragonlayer said:
Inglorious891 said:
Dragonlayer said:
EDIT

Hell, I've just been enjoying the hell out of gaming diversity come to think of it: walking a fine path between conquest and extinction as a outnumbered and surrounded ninja clan in Shogun 2, destroying families and shattering dreams as a cog in the brutally uncaring totalitarian state in Papers, Please, stubbornly clawing my way to a bloody victory over the Communist hordes in Company of Heroes 2 and crying my eyes out in The Walking Dead: Season Two.
I don't think you realize how "diversity" works in gaming. It isn't games about different people with different cultures, it's about how many minorites in women you can have in your game when your game takes place in predominantly white countries. So Shogun II, Paper's Please, and CoH2 don't count since they either take place in mostly white parts of the world with little to no minorities and women, or take place in countries completey comprised of another race.

I really, REALLY wish I was kidding with this but since mostly people react to "diversity" with the idea that it's removing white men from media and not the actual definition of diversity where you have that aformentioned different people from different cultures (even if those cultures are from in Europe).

i have the sinking feeling I'm going to get banned with this comment
I fully understand how "diversity" works in gaming, that's why I specifically said "diversity in gaming genres and the such". In light of the current context, I felt it was more helpful to post a positive comment about the hobby we enjoy instead of being drawn into the screaming match on one side or another. Plus it was a deliberate choice to avoid walking into the trap set by the OP of assuming diversity can only mean increased non-white character participation.

And while you make an excellent closing point, those three games you highlighted *do* contain a multitude of ethnic minorities and women: ethnic Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, French, British, American in Shogun, a variety of Eastern European/Asian analogues of multiple gender identities for P,P and Germans, Russians, Ukrainians and women of various USSR identity in COH.
Again, you make the critical error of realizing diversity includes white people. I'll give you Paper's, Please because of the Asian countries, but Shogun II doesn't count due to all of the "diversity" being white men, and CoH2... ok, I've never played CoH2 but seeing as it's a WW2 militarty shooter I doubt there are enough women to satisfy most people who clamor for "diversity" in gaming, and I highly doubt there are any non-white minorities.


[small]Don't ask me why I'm still talking about this; I honestly don't know why.[/small]
Eh, the people who demand "diversity" when they really mean "just the specific ethnic/gender identity that *I* want" aren't worth listening to in my humble opinion.
 

Inglorious891

New member
Dec 17, 2011
274
0
0
Dragonlayer said:
snippy snippy snip
Yeah, I agree with you that they aren't worth paying attention to, it's just that, well, I've been paying attention to gaming politics and actual politics for years now, and you're the only person I've seen that actually has this opinion. To ignore people that use the shitty definition of diversity is to ignore 99% of the people that have opinions about diversity.
 

Dragonlayer

Aka Corporal Yakob
Dec 5, 2013
971
0
0
Inglorious891 said:
Dragonlayer said:
snippy snippy snip
Yeah, I agree with you that they aren't worth paying attention to, it's just that, well, I've been paying attention to gaming politics and actual politics for years now, and you're the only person I've seen that actually has this opinion. To ignore people that use the shitty definition of diversity is to ignore 99% of the people that have opinions about diversity.
I know, that's why I'm largely silent on these topics: let the pro and anti-whatever sides scream themselves hoarse in completely pointless arguments while I enjoy some games and talk to people who also enjoy games. I can't wait for some actual releases because then the site can talk about something else for a pleasant change.
 

Jake Martinez

New member
Apr 2, 2010
590
0
0
This is easy.

Ahem...


And...



And...



Honestly, I'm almost 40. I can't imagine what my childhood would have been like if I hadn't had games by Roberta and Jane and Lori. Well, yes I can, a lot more god damn boring.