Most video games star white males.

[Bocaj2000]

Really? No one posted the- fuck it:
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/diversity

When was that done? because I can think of I think 3 people in Fallout:NV that are openly gay? That just jumped out at me just wondering?

This came out before Fallout:NV, but the point made is still valid.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that Fallout:NV handles homosexuality maturely without using flamboient or nymph stereotypes. Congrats! The list is still small.

Last time I heard anyone say this, It was on a youtube comment where someone posted "Watchmen is Racist because it doesn't have any black main characters". If the most important thing in a video game to you is the skin color of the main character, you are either playing the wrong type of games, or are in fact a racist yourself.

Or maybe the person is black.

Hell, I bought GTA: The Lost and Damned just because the main character is Jewish. I honestly cannot name ONE other game that has this.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I personally believe that when buying a game the most important thing should be how much fun it is, not the ethnicity/religion of the main character. Also, the ethnicity of the buyer in comparison to a game protagonist shouldn't be a factor in deciding to get the game, and a black person not liking a game protagonist because they are white is just as racist as a white person not liking a game protagonist because they are black.

Also, I do feel like some games can add extra depth to a character by adding a differing religion, sexual preference, or race (Prey and Persona 4 come to mind), but I also feel that developers often just add a race to a character as an afterthought to make the game more politically correct.

I never said that race is a deciding factor, but it can be important if the buyer is a minority. I also buy games based on my biased opinion on "good." We agree on this. However, your "racist" argument is very nieve. THE ISSUE IS NOT a conspiracy of how the entire game industry is racist for having a predominately straight, white, male cast of protagonists. The issue is simply the fact that there are very few games with diversity (and no, making a white character darker doesn't count). The issue is that the industry is limiting itself to "blank-slate" characters instead of diving into some ethnic related issues. It's about taking risks. Also, as black gamers, it would kind of suck to grow up not being able to project themselves onto this "blank-slate."

How come every time race is brought up, WASPS dismiss it as "political correctness" instead of having an actual conversation? Political correctness and diversity are NOT interchangeable words.

My comment was harsh, and I apologize if I offended you. My argument was mostly against the idea that a form of media is bad if there isn't X amount of an ethnicity in it, but being a member of the race that is catered to the most, I was naive in thinking that I knew what other people were thinking.

I apologize; I'm just reading these ignorant comments and happened to take it out on you:/
You have a legitimate opinion compared to the rest of these people.

 

[chadachada123]

Most gamers are white males... it's called appealing to your demographic.

Yes but don't you think that's damaging creatively.

Nope, not unless the publisher forces it on the developer. If it's the developer's choice, it's probably because most game developers are also white males.

Well yes...but don't you see that it maybe limits the scope of creativity in gaming that they are playing it safe and making practically the same guy because of demographic?

Well, as soon as Amazonians start developing games, that might change, but it takes more minorities and women getting into the field to change that. I don't need to hear minorities and women complain about it, when they could remedy it by actually getting jobs in the sector. And we all know that females and minorities tend to be very creative, so just get involved.

Oh, so it's the minorities faults that they aren't well represented?

Listen, these developers with the privileges that make them choose white/male/cis/het as the default character design are the ones at fault here. It is hardly unreasonable to expect that the people who are acting on their privilege to correct their own privilege. Blaming minorities for not correcting the privileged is just silly.

At "fault" here? At fault for doing what? If I live in a country with 70%+ of the population having a certain skin color, one that matches my own, and a vast majority of gamers (for a particular type of game, like shooters) are male, like myself, how is it worthy of fault if I develop my game with a white male protagonist, like myself? Most of the time, it's probably not even much of a conscious decision, and when it is, is generally of the form "we want a character that gamers can identify with."

Yes, it is not particularly creative, which is being worked with right now (see: Portal 2, etc), but it isn't the fault of the developers, as if they have some form of negative intent. It's just a lack of creativity, or a lack of seeing a need.

If there was a female majority in gaming (notice, I mean actual gaming, not the 40% figure that the ESA has by including anyone that plays solitaire occasionally on their iPhone), you'd see a majority female protagonists, and if we lived in a black-majority country, games developed here would have far more black representation. And there is no inherent problem with that, except, as you've said, perhaps a limit on creativity, something that can't be solved by yelling at them for misrepresentation.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Most gamers are white males... it's called appealing to your demographic.

Yes but don't you think that's damaging creatively.

Nope, not unless the publisher forces it on the developer. If it's the developer's choice, it's probably because most game developers are also white males.

Well yes...but don't you see that it maybe limits the scope of creativity in gaming that they are playing it safe and making practically the same guy because of demographic?

Well, as soon as Amazonians start developing games, that might change, but it takes more minorities and women getting into the field to change that. I don't need to hear minorities and women complain about it, when they could remedy it by actually getting jobs in the sector. And we all know that females and minorities tend to be very creative, so just get involved.

I'm pretty sure men are capable of writing characters other than 30 something brown haired guys. There are plenty of novelists (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Henry James, Thomas Hardy) that have written really quite effective female characters so why are games developers magically unable too. Hell, even Stephen King; famous for his 30 something, brown haired, writer protagonists is capable of writing a book from the point of view of a 13 year old girl lost in a forest.

It's not really an effective excuse.

snip

Perhaps they would get a larger demographic, and more money, if they struck out a little. I tend towards games where I can play as a woman because I feel more immersed.

It's also no wonder women don't get involved with a hobby that includes advertising using only a pair of woman's breasts is it? There is probably a reason why women would rather play bejewelled than soul calibur and it's nothing to do with difficulty. But I guess that's an issue for another time.

 

[SoetSout]

lol its quite simple.
Gaming has moved from fun market, to money market. every second game gets stakeholders, investors etc.

sorry but this is a fact, majory of rich people are white, thats not racism that is a FACT!!!

so if you have ti impress your investors wouldnt you try to make it connect with them in your presentation, IE give them somebody of same race, clean hair... etc.

im white, and if you give me a presentation on two games and in the one i play as black and other as white, then i would end up choosing the white cause there is a connection to myself in some manner.


Developers are usualy white, and the company CEO is nearly always white(i have done my research on this fact). Dont know if you are in a working environment, but you have to make what makes the boss happy.

but i can tell you this, if 10 black developers come together the game will most likely have a black protagonist. but that just doesnt happen...

And like many said before majority of gamers are white males.

and the point you made regarding it being racist to choose not to waste my time with people from other race, well i dont neccesary social with blacks,religious people, Culture people, and idiots(yes if i have to explain myself everytime im gona go mad). now what does that make me? propably a cynic, but none of my friends can regard me a a cynic, so its not that either.

point im trying to make is you can choose to avoid groups just because you dont want to talk to them. no need to label it under racism, that makes me think you havent grown up yet.

i live in SA and the racism is opposite, out government is black, white people that studied in college and university for jobs gets kicked out for room for black people(regardless the fact that some of these people have NO qualification). My previous black president said that to cure aids you need to shower, my minister of health took garlic and beetroot to an aids convention.

Racism is not in the video game industry. its in my country, but not in the video game industry.

 

[DeimosMasque]

Really? No one posted the- fuck it:
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/diversity

To reverse it... no one has posted this? http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-32-i-heart-bayonetta

 

[Omnific One]

Most gamers are white males... it's called appealing to your demographic.

Yes but don't you think that's damaging creatively.

Nope, not unless the publisher forces it on the developer. If it's the developer's choice, it's probably because most game developers are also white males.

Well yes...but don't you see that it maybe limits the scope of creativity in gaming that they are playing it safe and making practically the same guy because of demographic?

Well, as soon as Amazonians start developing games, that might change, but it takes more minorities and women getting into the field to change that. I don't need to hear minorities and women complain about it, when they could remedy it by actually getting jobs in the sector. And we all know that females and minorities tend to be very creative, so just get involved.

I'm pretty sure men are capable of writing characters other than 30 something brown haired guys. There are plenty of novelists (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Henry James, Thomas Hardy) that have written really quite effective female characters so why are games developers magically unable too. Hell, even Stephen King; famous for his 30 something, brown haired, writer protagonists is capable of writing a book from the point of view of a 13 year old girl lost in a forest.

It's not really an effective excuse.

Okay, I'm not sure why you are still debating this. It's a fact that a) most game developers are white males and b) most gamers are white males. I seriously don't care if it would be more "politically correct" to do otherwise, but they are just practicing good business. The sad truth is that many games that don't star a white male protagonist sell far, far less than those that do. That's just how it is. Either get more females and minorities involved on both ends of the situation, or it's going to stay like that. Period.

 

[AMMO Kid]

In all the games I play, games like Mass Effect and Skyrim and Dragon Age, you can be whatever color or sex you want to be. I don't know why anyone would want to play something else at this point

 

[LHZA]

Though I would like to see more non white male protagonist in video game, I wouldn't go so far as to say the apparent lack is racist. Prejudice maybe, but I hardly think developers are doing so to deliberately discriminate. I think it's, like someone else mentioned, a certain lack of creativity, a ploy to appeal to a key demographic, and also most video game writers, character designers, whatever, are probably mostly white males. It's natural for people to want to create characters that they themselves can strongly identify with, and appearance is one way of doing so. Perhaps a lazy, superficial way, but understandable none the less.

 

[Spookimitsu]

The average gamer is a white male, and most white male gamers prefer to play white males. Hence the most profitable strategy is to make your game start a white male.

:/ it must be nice in your world. Lonely, but nice. I'll assuming you aren't trolling on purpose, but rather you like pulling paper thin premises and conclusions from your @ss

 

[Spookimitsu]

Actually, your entire problem seems to stem from a childish, Sesame Street-like ideology that we should just put different ethnicities in stories for the sake of them being different, so we wouldn't highlight their differences, which, ironically, is just as racist and even offensively condescending because it relies on that entire attitude of you being somehow better than others and necessary in protecting them.

why are you insisting that all non-white roles have to be black? There are many more races and ethnicities around the world. Think: Street Fighter character selection.

just sayin

 

[LilithSlave]

Goodness, there's way too much at this point for me to immediately respond to. And doing so would likely just end in a wall of text of responding to lots of people's saying "you're silly" and me saying "nuh-uh". I have to say that I'm fairly disappointed in the ignorance and even support of, white privilege around these parts. It seems that the typical Escapist likes to think that racial issues do not exist, and that non-whites do not still face discrimination in almost every walk of life, but they do. Also, white privilege isn't an accusation at an individual, it is a cultural facet.

Allow me to respond to one thing that is first and foremost on my mind, thought not as relevant to the immediate topic as it should be. Saying that being attracted to certain races and unattracted to others is not the same as being homosexual and heterosexual, because there is a lot of evidence that what gender you are attracted to is a biological non-choice. While there is no evidence that being attracted to certain races and not others is a biological non-choice. Furthermore, there is a suspicious tendency for Westerners to regard black women as "unattractive". Again, much like video games, there seems to be blatant evidence of white privilege in play here.

I am also not saying that media needs a token minority and that individual video games need a certain racial quota in order to not be racist. I am saying that the tendency, the discrimination, whether because of a conscious racist choice like "I think most video game players are white and that non-whites aren't as interested in video games" or a subconscious discrimination that goes unnoticed, it is decided white privilege and decidedly racist that non-whites are discriminated against in media.

 

[DasDestroyer]

The average gamer is a white male, and most white male gamers prefer to play white males. Hence the most profitable strategy is to make your game start a white male.

:/ it must be nice in your world. Lonely, but nice. I'll assuming you aren't trolling on purpose, but rather you like pulling paper thin premises and conclusions from your @ss

So, why do you think it is that most video games have white males as the main character? A global racist illuminati conspiracy?

 

[LilithSlave]

It's erroneous to assume that white males make up the vast majority of gamers. Furthermore, if most people prefer to play as a white character, that is white privilege and that is racist. Kind of like the study where a bunch of black children were asked which children's doll was the prettiest and invariably chose the white doll. The millions of black Americans who play video games don't count? The millions of Asians, in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, who play video games? Not that it excuses things, but I'd like a source to the extraordinary claim that "most video game players are white".

Most of these examples being said as to why this disparity is not racist, are not proof that it is not racist. The examples are racist themselves. The assumption that gamers are white males and pandering to them is just marketing sense and that's okay.

Furthermore, noticing the disparity against people of darker skin in video games is not racist. And by the logic that noticing it somehow makes me racist, certainly it would be moreso applied to "noticing that gamers want to play games as white people and relate to white people more" and making games with white protagonists with that in mind, is certainly racist. It's racist to notice the racial disparity in video games, but making games with white protagonists based upon the idea that white people prefer to play as white characters isn't racist? Noticing that there is a disparity in racist, while preferring to play as a white character is not?

How does supply and demand somehow justify racism? Nobody said I was just putting blame squarely on developers and developers only.

"Discrimination against non-whites people is okay because Capitalism". What? Also, a lack of discrimination against non-whites is not discrimination against white people. Claiming that I want discrimination against white characters and token minorities is a horrid strawman, misrepresentation of my argument. If anything, the token minority is racist because it implies that said person will discriminate against black people unless undermined and pressured to create a non-white character just for the sake of creating a non-white character. And has no interest in creating non-white characters otherwise.

People shouldn't have an active interest in creating non-white characters for the sake of creating non-white characters or anything like that. They merely should not have a lack of interest in creating non-white characters to begin with. It's not "affirmative action" or shoehorning in non-whites where they "don't belong". Just a lack of discrimination against black characters, conscious or subconscious. Not all racism is conscious, by the way.

 

[Spookimitsu]

So, why do you think it is that most video games have white males as the main character? A global racist illuminati conspiracy?

Not quite. Classic video games and literary characters aside (i.e. I dont expect them to make Bruce Wayne latino, or Luigi and Mario Vietnamese) but it could be that writers have an easier time writing white males into roles.

But what do I know? I am potentially just as poisoned and conditioned as the rest of the populace. Maybe it is thought that writing roles for the historically disenfranchised doesn't make for IP's that are very fun, or sell very well. Although I would definitely play a game based on a Native American warrior seeking retribution by walking back up the Trail of Tears, God of War fashion, till he ultimately kicked the diseased imperialists off of his land. Fun! I'm lookin at you Capcom! (I like the MT framework engine)

consider this (and this may be far reaching. It's the end of the work day here) I will admit I watched the Last Samurai and found no fault in it (I felt the title referred to Ken Watanabe as the last samurai, while i heard people bemoan the movie, thinking the title was in reference to Tom Cruise being the titular 'last' of the warrior class). Take this how you will. As in most things, it depends on your perspective, and we all do ourselves a disservice by not trying to look at things from all angles. I found it agreeable seeing Tom Cruise in such a role. I also thought Idris Elba was excellent as Heimdall in Thor. ok i'm outta heah see ya tomorrow

 

[DasDestroyer]

So, why do you think it is that most video games have white males as the main character? A global racist illuminati conspiracy?

Not quite. Classic video games and literary characters aside (i.e. I dont expect them to make Bruce Wayne latino, or Luigi and Mario Vietnamese) but it could be that writers have an easier time writing white males into roles.

But what do I know? I am potentially just as poisoned and conditioned as the rest of the populace. Maybe it is thought that writing roles for the historically disenfranchised doesn't make for IP's that are very fun, or sell very well. Although I would definitely play a game based on a Native American warrior seeking retribution by walking back up the Trail of Tears, God of War fashion, till he ultimately kicked the diseased imperialists off of his land. Fun! I'm lookin at you Capcom! (I like the MT framework engine)

consider this (and this may be far reaching. It's the end of the work day here) I will admit I watched the Last Samurai and found no fault in it (I felt the title referred to Ken Watanabe as the last samurai, while i heard people bemoan the movie, thinking the title was in reference to Tom Cruise being the titular 'last' of the warrior class). Take this how you will. As in most things, it depends on your perspective, and we all do ourselves a disservice by not trying to look at things from all angles. I found it agreeable seeing Tom Cruise in such a role. I also thought Idris Elba was excellent as Heimdall in Thor. ok i'm outta heah see ya tomorrow

The fact that it is easier for the writers to make a white character is probably a factor in this too, but I still think it is mostly because of the gamer demographic.

I never said that no white males would play any game with a black/asian/etc main character, but most, if given the choice, would prefer to play as a white character. Hell, whenever I get to create a character, I make a white one, even though I'm totally fine with playing any other ethnicity in a game with no character creation.
If I remember correctly there was quite the outburst when people found out that Heimdall was being played by Idris.

 

[PhiMed]

I think that's a terrible idea. When the protagonist is fully customizable, he/she/it loses their CHARACTER. Quick... who's your favorite Mass Effect character? I guaran-fucking-tee you didn't just say "Shepard". Wanna know why? Because Shepard has to be a boring wet blanket in order to fit everyone's idea of who that person should be. Bioware games have their place, but I'm glad there are games that don't adopt that model and actually tell a concise story.

On the other hand, quite a lot of us who play as FemShep are very attached to Commander Shepard; it's a rare occasion for us to be a female action hero with real agency and personality. Plus, Jennifer Hale's performance as the voice of FemShep is just that good.

Shepard only has the personality that the player chooses to project onto him/her. Because the character's personality (not RESPONSES... PERSONALITY) changes drastically based on player choices, the character literally has no personality unique to him/her. Players can choose to make the player a saint, an asshole, conflicted, or wildly inconsistent. There IS NO personality inherent to the character Shepard.
If the only thing required for you to become attached to a character is "agency" (God, I hate that word...) and the lack of a Y chromosome, then enjoy your mysandry, I suppose.

 

[ms_sunlight]

Spoiler: spoilered for brevity

I think that's a terrible idea. When the protagonist is fully customizable, he/she/it loses their CHARACTER. Quick... who's your favorite Mass Effect character? I guaran-fucking-tee you didn't just say "Shepard". Wanna know why? Because Shepard has to be a boring wet blanket in order to fit everyone's idea of who that person should be. Bioware games have their place, but I'm glad there are games that don't adopt that model and actually tell a concise story.

On the other hand, quite a lot of us who play as FemShep are very attached to Commander Shepard; it's a rare occasion for us to be a female action hero with real agency and personality. Plus, Jennifer Hale's performance as the voice of FemShep is just that good.

Shepard only has the personality that the player chooses to project onto him/her. Because the character's personality (not RESPONSES... PERSONALITY) changes drastically based on player choices, the character literally has no personality unique to him/her. Players can choose to make the player a saint, an asshole, conflicted, or wildly inconsistent. There IS NO personality inherent to the character Shepard.
If the only thing required for you to become attached to a character is "agency" (God, I hate that word...) and the lack of a Y chromosome, then enjoy your mysandry, I suppose.

I'm sorry you feel that way, because it sounds like you had a lot less of an engaging and consistent experience with ME2 than I did. I felt that whatever way I played my Shepard, the voice acting, visual presentation, animations etc. led to a presentation of a believeable and compelling character.

I don't know why you think I'm misandrist; I like men well enough. I'm married to one, and I like him enormously. I also have no problem with games where you have a pre-defined male character, like DE:HR or TW2. I just like playing as a woman sometimes, is all, and as a PC FemShep rocks.

 

[AusGamer44]

I don't think EVERY game should have a fully customizable character,although I think in Mass Effect's case both Shephards were pretty good in fulfilling their role as wish fulfilment avatars.You're right,at the end of the day,character is the most impt thing.This was just one solution I proposed to redress the balance.I would just love to play as a REALLY awesome female character.Perhaps another idea is that until more developers are brave enough to invent and give the lead to a cool female hero,they could give supporting female NPCs who worked really well and resonated with the public titles of their own.I would LOVE to play as Alyx in Half Life 2!
Perhaps in the end,we need not just to encourage women to play games,but to CREATE them.When I was in animation class in art school in 1992,only 2 of us of the 25 students in the whole faculty were women.(Our computer animation classes were in their infancy,and only ONE guy was really wanting to be a games developer.How times change!)I have no idea how many women are learning computer animation these days,but I hope it's more than in 1992.I guess really,like all the other arts,until women invade in decent numbers,the 'voice' of that art will be one sided.