Poll: Would you play a game about non-Americans?

The Last Melon

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Mar 19, 2012
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This is just a random thought of mine, but it occurs to me that the gaming industry is oriented almost entirely around male Americans, at least in terms of its protagonists. I don't think I need to list examples, but the going theory seems to be that the average consumer would be scared off by a game that wasn't focused on the United States in some way or another.

I have to wonder: is there actually such a real demand for America-oriented products? Is your average Massachusetts twenty-something committed to playing only Navy SEALS, or would he be willing to try something like a game about the French Foreign Legion or Joint Task Force 2 (the Canadian special forces)?

Part two! I remember that games in the Call of Duty series have a reasonably good record of branching out a bit to other nations in a way that I particularly appreciate. I enjoyed the Canadian and Polish sections of CoD 3 considerably (the former largely due to rampant patriotism on my part). Are there any other games that do anything interesting like this, or is it all Americans or space marines with American accents out there?

[EDIT: Wow, did I get drowned in titles here. I was referring largely to military shooters in this context, and was thinking specifically of some of the hoo-rah of the Modern Warfare games.]
 

Ryotknife

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Oct 15, 2011
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Well...americans are not a race, but a group compromised of every race on the planet.

I would not mind playing a non-american in the slightest as long as the game is not full of cultural references i have no way of understanding. Like you said, CoD has a history of putting you in the shoes of non-americans. in fact the russian sections of the world war 2 CoD were probably my favorite.
 

DJjaffacake

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Jan 7, 2012
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Wasn't there a feature on one of the SOCOM games where the protagonists were from the country where you bought the game. Also, It's true that most shooters feature mainly Americans, but characters in fantasy rpgs usually have mainly British accents. But actually, I don't mind playing as an American as long as they are an interesting character. I'd much rather a thoughtful and imaginative portrayal of a (yawn)Navy SEAL or US marine than a lazy stereotype of a South African (chosen for example purposes only)
 

pure.Wasted

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Oct 12, 2011
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Commander Shepard has a (slight) Canadian accent, and no one seems to mind.

Most of the cast of DA:O speaks with a Brit accent, presumably the (human/elven) protag would too, if he spoke at all.

Shadow of the Colossus is considered one of the best games of the last decade and it doesn't take place on Earth, the main character has like 2-3 lines in the entire game, and he looks distinctly non-American.

CoD and Battlefield, two of the best selling FPS titles around, make it a point to devote sections of the game to Brits, subtitled Russians, or other forms of non-Americans.

So no, I really don't think this is a concern, unless you're planning on doing an entire game with subtitles or something.

P.S. a certain mutual acquaintance wanted me to refer you to a website that would get my account banned faster than you could say Heil Hitler. Let's say I did that.
 

Scow2

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Ryotknife said:
Well...americans are not a race, but a group compromised of every race on the planet.
But we still have a distinct culture and distinct accents.
 
Aug 20, 2011
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Uh, sure. I'm actually pretty turned off by militaristic nationalism in games, so I'm probably not going to play a game about the glorious russian army anymore than I will play CoD or Battlefield. I don't really care about the protagonists country of origin, though. I'm playing Dreamfall: The Longest Journey right now, and so far it's set in Casablanca. It's pretty cool to see a different culture portrayed in a game.
 
Dec 14, 2009
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How is this even a thing?


I very much doubt that there are any sensible American gamers who wouldn't play a game because the protagonist wasn't American.

That's just silly.
 

Strain42

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Mar 2, 2009
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I play the MegaTen franchise, which almost always has people from Japan.

I love Saints Row 2 and 3 where I chose to make my main character British.

And Pokemon are from a land of magic and enchantment :p

So yeah, I'd say I play a lot of games about non-americans.
 

Emiscary

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Sep 7, 2008
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Thank you for so elegantly illustrating what annoys people about the 'States by dividing the world up into: "Americans" and "Non-Americans".

And also for subtly reinforcing stereotypes by failing to mention any game that wasn't centered around shooting people in the face with an AK/M14/etc.
 

fireaura08

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Apr 10, 2012
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Already have, since I've played Metro 2033. Generally, where the protagonist comes from doesn't really matter to me.
 

Hazy992

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Aug 1, 2010
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What? There's loads of games where you don't play as an American!
 

bobmus

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May 25, 2010
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I suspect that lurking behind the 'No' is either a troll or the person I would least like to talk to about patriotism, ever.
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
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uhhhh....assasins creed anyone? the fact this question has to be asked is downright insulting..to everyone

oh and Mass effect..what edidence is there to suggest any of the charachters are american? hell the climax takes place in london, no reason why just london (I think thats cool though)
 

Goofguy

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Nov 25, 2010
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I think you're looking at this the wrong way. I sincerely believe that most gamers are willing to try new games because the genre/gameplay/setting interest them, not because of the nationality of the main character. Realistically, how many people would have a problem playing as a, say, Sri Lankan protagonist if the game itself is innovative and fun?
 

TehCookie

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Sep 16, 2008
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Is this even an issue? I play a lot of fantasy so most my characters aren't American or any nationality we have. As for looks, I suck at telling races apart and American isn't even a race.
 

LilithSlave

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Sep 1, 2011
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I am an American. So therefor playing as an American bores me. I get enough exposure to being an American simply by nature of being an American. I don't play video games to get a boring experience like that.

Not to say all settings about America are boring and not fun for me to play. But I typically play video games because I want something a little more exotic in my life than that.