Why Straight White Guys Shouldn't Always Play Games As Themselves
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I think that's more a writing problem in general.
I mean, the thesis is problematic here as it assumes playing as someone else is limited only to skin color or orientation, when the reality is, with the exception of actual soldiers playing call of duty, there probably isn't an example of any game character that resembles the player to any great detail. I mean, yes, visually I'm a straight white male, but how many games star 30 something office clerks with minor weight issues? We play precisely for the different experience: to be the soldier, the warrior, the adventurer, the survivor, the hacker, the alien, anything we aren't.
The experiences you talk about have to be part of the narrative, not the external features. I can play an Asian character easily enough by slipping in a dynasty warriors game, but there's no part of the game where that impacts the experience. People seem to clamor for a female link, but to me it'll just be the same poorly written justification for a fetch quest with a different batch of polygons. Hell, what was the Assassin's Creed thing about: fucking multiplayer where there is no story and appearance literately changes nothing. Meanwhile the opposite can occur even with white characters: wondering if the gang lords want to blast your lily white ass in Far Cry 2, or being an elf or mage of any color in Dragon Age, or being the upstart human (siding with the dangerously pro human movement) in Mass Effect.
Since most games' stories and characterizations exist purely to move the plot along, nuance like that even getting attempted is rare, ultimately reducing diversity to the pallet swap that separated Mario and Luigi at first. What you want requires two tings: the first it fixed characters. We can't have character customization and have sweeping differences to how the story plays out based on appearance and orientation without a metric fuckton of extra writing, voice recording and programming. The other is talented writers that can portray such nuances without coing off like a captain planet script, or "pity me" self insert fanfiction. Cultural politics stops informing and starts being humorous if you deal with one dimensional overt prejudice. Part of what mae the Lee / Larry dimanic work that way way is could be racial, but is also might not have been and as the player, do you take it personally, or you you realize you're a recently convicted murderer and someone that knows that has every right to pre-judge you.
Just to end on an example: in comics I liked the character Steel one of the replacement Supermen after his death. He was black, but he grew up in the projects, lost his parents during a demonstration and brother to gang violence, and had a unique view of the world and life that impacted the book and how he handled things. You don't get that by just making Clark Kent black and telling the same story trying to slip in a scene of racially based bullying.
I mean, the thesis is problematic here as it assumes playing as someone else is limited only to skin color or orientation, when the reality is, with the exception of actual soldiers playing call of duty, there probably isn't an example of any game character that resembles the player to any great detail. I mean, yes, visually I'm a straight white male, but how many games star 30 something office clerks with minor weight issues? We play precisely for the different experience: to be the soldier, the warrior, the adventurer, the survivor, the hacker, the alien, anything we aren't.
The experiences you talk about have to be part of the narrative, not the external features. I can play an Asian character easily enough by slipping in a dynasty warriors game, but there's no part of the game where that impacts the experience. People seem to clamor for a female link, but to me it'll just be the same poorly written justification for a fetch quest with a different batch of polygons. Hell, what was the Assassin's Creed thing about: fucking multiplayer where there is no story and appearance literately changes nothing. Meanwhile the opposite can occur even with white characters: wondering if the gang lords want to blast your lily white ass in Far Cry 2, or being an elf or mage of any color in Dragon Age, or being the upstart human (siding with the dangerously pro human movement) in Mass Effect.
Since most games' stories and characterizations exist purely to move the plot along, nuance like that even getting attempted is rare, ultimately reducing diversity to the pallet swap that separated Mario and Luigi at first. What you want requires two tings: the first it fixed characters. We can't have character customization and have sweeping differences to how the story plays out based on appearance and orientation without a metric fuckton of extra writing, voice recording and programming. The other is talented writers that can portray such nuances without coing off like a captain planet script, or "pity me" self insert fanfiction. Cultural politics stops informing and starts being humorous if you deal with one dimensional overt prejudice. Part of what mae the Lee / Larry dimanic work that way way is could be racial, but is also might not have been and as the player, do you take it personally, or you you realize you're a recently convicted murderer and someone that knows that has every right to pre-judge you.
Just to end on an example: in comics I liked the character Steel one of the replacement Supermen after his death. He was black, but he grew up in the projects, lost his parents during a demonstration and brother to gang violence, and had a unique view of the world and life that impacted the book and how he handled things. You don't get that by just making Clark Kent black and telling the same story trying to slip in a scene of racially based bullying.
There are 2 types of people in this world:
1) Those who role play their characters and couldn't care less about their race, gender, species, sexuality, ect... so long as the character is well written capable of sucking them into its universe.
2) Those who play games as themselves and get broken out of the game if it strays too far from their own reality. Weather they're straight while males (thank you title) or black bisexual women they demand the game be tailored to their own lifestyles backstories.
Group 1 will be happy with most games which are well written where player character is something they want to be/experience, and being suitably hyped up also helps. They also like games where the player character is a blank slate they can project and properly role play with. They are the primary demographic because they're actually quite easy to produce for.
Group 2 will never be happy with anything because no character will ever be 'their' story. They will constantly demand more games made with their specific rage/gender/sexuality/weight/looks options even if the player character is a blank slate, yet past attempts show that these groups are either too small, unfocused, or cheap to actually support games development.
As for the article, it seems like common sense. If the writer didn't choose to make it click-bait by claiming only 'straight white males' can be effected by these changes of character viewpoint it might have even been readable. Come on escapist, that's racist as fuck and editors should be catching this shit. You're either suggesting only straight white people can be uneducated about different perspectives or that everyone else is too dumb/uncultured to understand different viewpoints. Either way you're making a massive generalisation about a large percentage of the worlds population.
1) Those who role play their characters and couldn't care less about their race, gender, species, sexuality, ect... so long as the character is well written capable of sucking them into its universe.
2) Those who play games as themselves and get broken out of the game if it strays too far from their own reality. Weather they're straight while males (thank you title) or black bisexual women they demand the game be tailored to their own lifestyles backstories.
Group 1 will be happy with most games which are well written where player character is something they want to be/experience, and being suitably hyped up also helps. They also like games where the player character is a blank slate they can project and properly role play with. They are the primary demographic because they're actually quite easy to produce for.
Group 2 will never be happy with anything because no character will ever be 'their' story. They will constantly demand more games made with their specific rage/gender/sexuality/weight/looks options even if the player character is a blank slate, yet past attempts show that these groups are either too small, unfocused, or cheap to actually support games development.
As for the article, it seems like common sense. If the writer didn't choose to make it click-bait by claiming only 'straight white males' can be effected by these changes of character viewpoint it might have even been readable. Come on escapist, that's racist as fuck and editors should be catching this shit. You're either suggesting only straight white people can be uneducated about different perspectives or that everyone else is too dumb/uncultured to understand different viewpoints. Either way you're making a massive generalisation about a large percentage of the worlds population.
Spiders are highly underrepresented. The only game I know of where you play one was that one on the Wii.the December King said:
If they can make a Spider-man game about once a year, they can probably figure out how to make a game about the
Aw. Look at the babies.xD They will destroy their mother's enemies.
As for games made with human/humanoid protagonist. Making them female, a different race, or whatever shouldn't be nearly as challenging as making a game about a spider. Unlike non-humanoids, all you have to do most of the time is change the story a bit/plan the story out with this in mind.
The only reason it would be hard to do is if you already started making the game and are too far along to change it meaningfully. Or as Rath noted,
Perfect, this is exactly what I wanted to say.tzimize said:
The problem that we have now is that creativity is being stifled by corporate demand for something that will appeal to a broad demographic. The answer is not to change the demand, but to give freedom to the artists who make the games in the first place.
This is going to seem a bit odd, but if the option is given, I sometimes tend to play as a fat guy.
Maybe that's because I'm overweight myself...
>.>
Maybe that's because I'm overweight myself...
>.>
Neah..I tend to play myself as a character in RPG's because that's what I identify the most with really.
Maybe if the game is worth replaying then on subsequent playthroughs I will bother changing my race.
Maybe if the game is worth replaying then on subsequent playthroughs I will bother changing my race.
for reasons I can't truly explain, when given the option to make a customizable character I almost always end up making a smallish average built black guy, I've been doing this since... when did baulder's gate come out?
I think it's because in my mind the character is more fun if they're NOT me a giant blonde man.
I think it's because in my mind the character is more fun if they're NOT me a giant blonde man.
I think it is in fact strictly gameplay optimal to be a gay man in Fallout New Vegas.
Reason being that there are more male NPC enemies than female, and almost all of the very strong ones are male, so the 5% bonus damage to male NPCs is better, and Confirmed Bachelor actually has the most unique dialogue options of all the four gender preference perks.
Reason being that there are more male NPC enemies than female, and almost all of the very strong ones are male, so the 5% bonus damage to male NPCs is better, and Confirmed Bachelor actually has the most unique dialogue options of all the four gender preference perks.
Do you know who disgusts me just as much as those that think it's okay that the industry effectively 'white-washes' most game protagonists?
Those that think playing a game as a fiction character of a different sex, race, sexual preference, etc somehow enlightens them to the real world plight of those sexes, races, sexual preferences, etc.
I mean, seriously? For fuck's sake...
That said:
Diversity isn't inherently a bad thing. In fact, in most cases, it's a truly beneficial thing. As such, we should have more of it within the industry. Not always at the cost of artistic expression, mind you, but certainly far more than we have.
Those that think playing a game as a fiction character of a different sex, race, sexual preference, etc somehow enlightens them to the real world plight of those sexes, races, sexual preferences, etc.
I mean, seriously? For fuck's sake...
That said:
Diversity isn't inherently a bad thing. In fact, in most cases, it's a truly beneficial thing. As such, we should have more of it within the industry. Not always at the cost of artistic expression, mind you, but certainly far more than we have.
She is amazing- and look at all the little babies! Melts my heart, it does...Imp Emissary said:
xD They will destroy their mother's enemies.
I mean, I get that, on topic, a different point of view for a nuanced character, set in a relatable/comparable world narrative to ours, would make for inticing and engaging story-telling and subsequent role playing. A character that offers a different point of view and different values or priorities would be appreciated, especially if it is presented or handled in a competent manner.
Articles like this always seem like such projecting, I've never experienced acting differently just because of the race or gender of the character I play as, the only limitations are those the game puts in my way, when I play a male Shepard in Mass Effect for example, I play as a renegade infiltrator that romances women and yells at politicians, when I play as a female Shepard, I play as a renegade infiltrator that romances women, and yells even more at politicians, if I had played an alien I would probably be a renegade infiltrator romancing the female aliens and yelling at politicians
I always play games the way I find the most entertaining, in Last of Us for example I play as an stealthy murderer who takes down groups of enemies one by one, while in GTA IV I played as a loud, but still tactical mobster, and in Sims 3 I tried playing as a family consisting of a mother and three kids
I always play games the way I find the most entertaining, in Last of Us for example I play as an stealthy murderer who takes down groups of enemies one by one, while in GTA IV I played as a loud, but still tactical mobster, and in Sims 3 I tried playing as a family consisting of a mother and three kids
theluckyjosh said:Nah. You're not going to have an Interweb full of spiders telling you how wrong you've written your spider story. I'm sure 'Goat Simulator' got all kinds of things wrong, but on the Face of it, Tumblr is not all a'Twitter. >Imp Emissary said:
.>
I should go.
I'll let you off with a slap to the face this time, but next time...
I won't be a dog! ;p
xD Well that's true of pretty much everything though. Do all you can to make it good and baring unfortunate, or unforeseen events, it will be good.the December King said:She is amazing- and look at all the little babies! Melts my heart, it does...Imp Emissary said:
xD They will destroy their mother's enemies.
I mean, I get that, on topic, a different point of view for a nuanced character, set in a relatable/comparable world narrative to ours, would make for inticing and engaging story-telling and subsequent role playing. A character that offers a different point of view and different values or priorities would be appreciated, especially if it is presented or handled in a competent manner.
No guarantees, but you don't get many of those on things that don't come in boxes, and, well...
That's one of the reasons many games publishers want to move to digital distribution. ;p
"The best and worst thing you can say about someone is that they're human."theluckyjosh said:
I think Mark Twain said that, but I'm not 100% sure. Correct me if you know please.
The Shotgun/teleport jump can't compete with lining up a dozen headshots in a row, pulling out the giant caliber sniper rifle and sending a headless body flying down the corridortheluckyjosh said:Dude! WTF is wrong with you!?!?!?SNCommand said:
Vangard, baby; embrace the shotgun and feel the buuuuurn!
Tried playing as a Krogan vanguard in multiplayer, punching brutes to death is fun, but I've always preferred stealthy precision in Mass Effect, if not I choose the Turian Havoc Engineer and let loose with the N7 Typhoon machine gun combined with the deployable machine gun ability, nothing can escape the hellfiretheluckyjosh said:
Gamers have never tended to care what gender or race they played as long as the game itself was good.
This article does a lot of finger pointing and finger waggling at a generalization of an entire race/sexuality combo within a sub-culture and it's rather frustrating because this sort of stuff usually comes out of Kotaku or Cracked, which is why I've been with the Escapist so long.
I'm really disappointed.
This article does a lot of finger pointing and finger waggling at a generalization of an entire race/sexuality combo within a sub-culture and it's rather frustrating because this sort of stuff usually comes out of Kotaku or Cracked, which is why I've been with the Escapist so long.
I'm really disappointed.
Indeed, that would be neat.theluckyjosh said:
Also, don't worry about it. You're only human. ;D
P.S. Post 72 on this page. You may want to write more so you don't get a low content warning.
Edit: You can add to it by hitting the Edit button on your post.
Oh and nothing compares to flare in ME3! ;p
Absolutely, but I still believe celebrating our differences is just as crucial as celebrating our similarities.theluckyjosh said: