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[Mandoric]

I think there would be a fear of being called racist if you portrayed the character wrong.

If you did, then maybe you are! If you literally can't find a single person of the relevant group to give you a sniff test on the idea during an AAA project's year-plus alpha cycle, you probably are!

"The best possible excuse for my behavior is that I'm Siddharta Gautama age 28-tier sheltered and I want to stay that way" is really BM and goes back to that ~honor~ obsession which drives these roles in the first place. It's people more unhappy that their secret shame will be revealed than that they have a secret shame to begin with, and more concerned with hiding it than sucking it up and leaving their self-centric bubble for a short time.

 

[moribund112]

The same logic can be applied to developers in other countries, as well. There are certain aesthetics that are reflective of 1) the cultural norms of the developers, and 2) the market these companies are trying to attract to gain the most profit for their investment. I am quite certain you will find varying design choices among Japanese, Korean, and Chinese developers, the latter of which produce an incredible amount of RPGs that never see the West and, for the most part, feature...wait for it...decidedly Asian protagonists.

I am constantly struck by the wilful blindness these alleged SJWs employ to get across their poorly made points. Video games are a platform that has already gained wide acceptance, and may reflect social disparities, but the root of these problems do not lie in video games themselves, they lie within economic disparities that are as much a result of historical events as they are an effort on behalf of some people to maintain the status quo.

If I believed racial and ethnic minorities were underrepresented, I wouldn't question the design and marketing motives of companies that are out to appeal to their biggest and largest fan base and/or potential market. I would question why they are underrepresented as a whole in the industry. The answer to that question is a lot more difficult to express than bombarding game companies for character design choices.

Simply my two very, very dirty cents. Everybody deserves a platform, but I would like real social and economic disparity to be eradicated by addressing the difficulties inherent in a multiracial, multiethnic society, rather than making our hobby the scapegoat.

 

[SodiumChloride]

Games don't only cater to men.

That's not for you to decide I'm afraid. It's for the creators of said game. If they want to target exclusively white males ... that's their business (literally).

 

[Shadowplay1979]

We should give Anita a couple hundred thousand dollars so she can make a few videos and figure it out.






Like others have said, plenty of games have female leads coming out of E3, the climate has changed and will continue to as more women make their way into the industry in general.

Those who arent women will also continue to make games that star women, we do this sometimes.

 

[captainpat]

Like others have said, plenty of games have female leads coming out of E3, the climate has changed and will continue to as more women make their way into the industry in general.

Define plenty.

 

[SodiumChloride]

I think there would be a fear of being called racist if you portrayed the character wrong.

Is the racial diversity of their staff so low that they can't find a Black/Asian/whatever to get involved with the project to help write the character?

 

[soulassssns]

Why is this an issue at all?

 

[soulassssns]

Define plenty.

Should there be a required minimum or maximum amount?

 

[SodiumChloride]

Why is this an issue at all?

It isn't. Some people are just miffed at not being catered to by the vast majority of the industry. Understandable, but not an issue.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Why is this an issue at all?

It isn't. Some people are just miffed at not being catered to by the vast majority of the industry. Understandable, but not an issue.

Oh, okay. I see now

 

[Coolwhip]

Play more Nintendo games.

 

[martino]

If you step outside the mainstream shooter market, things look a lot less bleak.

this.
Is it realy a problem of diversity at disposal or a large audience choice ?
Can we force this choice ?

Imo we don't look at the right place...consequences are not root of problems.

 

[ScatheZombie]

Define plenty.

Pfft, obviously there's Uncharted-with-Boobs, DMC-with-Boobs and Running-with-Boobs.

The worst part of this joke ... is you can probably tell which 3 games I referring to.

 

[captainpat]

Should there be a required minimum or maximum amount?

Not looking a qouta if that's what you;re trying to get at. It's weird have articles of devs being forced into making their playable character a white dude, or having to lessen the roles and appearances for their female characters. Yet the people wanting more diversity in videogames are the ones "forcing it".

 

[Tetranet]

A lot of it is sadly money. Most of the richest countries are places with a white majority. And the global corporations from those countries favor white people and white culture, and they try to spread that to the rest of the world. Where people of colour have to abide by it and have to do their best to work within that system. Two rich countries like Japan and South Korea aren't enough to change that. And their global influence is really resisted because a lot of these corporations don't want to promote their culture. And a lot of rich white countries like the United States, Great Britain, and Australia, don't promote their culture. A lot of people on the right wing find their culture strange and not patriotic, and a lot of people on the left wing discourage the spread and acceptance of their culture with ideas like cultural appropriation and fetishization.

A lot of people are right that a lot of people do mock and marginalize other cultures by mocking them and "appropriating" them. And that a lot of people fetishize other cultures in bad ways that aren't helpful to their cultures. But in the process a lot of people are helping to keep cultural imperialism the status quo an discouraging multiculturalism. And are actively preventing the situation from changing, to where that people of colour and their culture from being popular worldwide.

I agree with this.

When I take the bus every morning and see multiple accessories featuring the Union Jack, Great Britain's flag, as a symbol, I feel baffled. Promoted culture right down to the flag.

And on the internet, everyone assumes that when talking about the US, everyone knows what they're talking about.

American and English-speaker culture in general is exploding worldwide since the 20th century, quickly assimilating less influential cultures. This is a different topic though, and very extensive.

 

[Shadowplay1979]

I left out remakes and ports and games that didnt really use characters

You can see that in general games are largely moving towards a less character locked direction

im aware this isnt every game

Assassin's Creed Unity -- October 28, 2014 - a dude
Battlefield Hardline -- October 21, 2014 - dudes ( if you are the 1% who cares about sp)
Bloodborne -- early 2015 - if its like DS, no main characters and prob can choose women
Dead Island 2 -- spring 2015 - prob has playable women like 1, no single "main" character

Destiny beta -- July 17, 2014 - women available
Entwined -- already available - i dont think you are human
Infamous First Light -- August 2014 - main character female
Just Dance 2015 -- October 2014 - im sure theres females here and no main people
LittleBigPlanet 3 -- November 2014 - sackboy and girl im sure
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty -- July 22, 2014 - you are a dude alien
Rise of the Tomb Raider -- holiday 2015 - woman main character
The Crew -- November 11, 2014 - you are a car ( prob m and f avatars)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End -- 2015 a dude



Fable Legends beta -- holiday 2014 - male and female available
Forza Horizon 2 -- September 30, 2014 -you are a car
Halo 5: Guardians beta -- December 2014 - dude
Inside -- early 2015 - young boy i think
Just Dance 2015 -- October 2014 - male and females
Killer Instinct: Season 2 -- fall 2014 - male and females
Ori and the Blind Forest -- fall 2014 - you are an alien
Rainbow Six Siege -- 2015 - dudes
Tomb Raider : osiris-- holiday 2015 - a woman
Sunset Overdrive -- October 28, 2014 - prob male and females

Wii U


Bayonetta 2 -- October 2014 - you are a woman
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker -- holiday 2014 -a dude
Hyrule Warriors -- September 26, 2014 - male and female
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse -- 2015 - a dude i guess maybe
The Legend of Zelda (tentative title) -- 2015 - a dude ( possibly a female as well)
Mario Party 10 -- 2015 - male and female
Star Fox (tentative title) -- 2015 a dude, who knows maybe both
Super Smash Bros. -- holiday 2014 - male and female
Yoshi's Woolly World -- first half of 2015 - a yoshi dude ( but he lays eggs, who knows)
Xenoblade Chronicles X -- 2015 - male and female main cast
splatoon = female and male
alien isolation = female main

male def main cast = 10
female def main cast = 5
male and female = the rest

most of the games starring males are sequels to games that have already defined male leads in them

 

[captainnapalm]

As I'm sure has been said a million times over in this thread, it's just business.

 

[Night Angel]

Just looking at the responses to this post tells you why...white men have a self worship issue.


(Worship at the alter of self or your idealized self and everything will be fine and dandy)

Yikes. So racism/generalizations are cool as long as you're doing it toward white people, eh? The hypocrisy is astounding.

Imagine if your post had any other group replaced with "white." Still sounds ok?

OT: I'm glad people are talking about this. It's a good discussion to have. However, veering into shaming/guilt territory does no good whatsoever. It doesn't sway the people who are dismissive of the issue, and it actively repels people who might be somewhere in the middle that suddenly find themselves under attack.

 

[Randam]

why are there still so many female swimmsuit models?

 

[Tetranet]

Yikes. So racism/generalizations are cool as long as you're doing it toward white people, eh? The hypocrisy is astounding.

Imagine if your post had any other group replaced with "white." Still sounds ok?

OT: I'm glad people are talking about this. It's a good discussion to have. However, veering into shaming/guilt territory does no good whatsoever. It doesn't sway the people who are dismissive of the issue, and it actively repels people who might be somewhere in the middle that suddenly find themselves under attack.

The entire approach that "White Males are the big baddy against everyone" does exactly that, and it is perpetuated by so-called beacons of equality.

This is no way to approach the issue, it polarizes and segments people, creating camps, tribes.

If people feel that firing blame left and right, being confrontative and antagonistic is better than banding together and tackling the issue, what can I say, Cthulhu save us.

In the real world (that is not the video game industry or the internet), the right-wing is experiencing new-found prosperity (especially in Europe), and all sorts of horrific things I don't want to mention are becoming popular. In society, you're not fighting gamers, you're fighting people with actual authority and power, people that can vote and be voted, and this way of "combating" their notions only makes them stronger.

Just look at France's elections, or Greece's, or Britain's. The climate in the US doesn't reflect the world, by the way.

 

[unclethursday]

People do realize how horrible the notion that white males will outright refuse to play a game that does not star them is, right? Further, people realize how awful the idea that nothing should be done to change this is, yes? Lastly, surely people know that saying it's okay to take a "fuck 'em" attitude to women, different racial and ethnic groups, and LGBT people who want more representation in a medium they enjoy because we should be bending over to intolerant jackasses is just plain sick, right?

Like, people have to realize that. They just have to...

I have never had an issue playing someone not of my gender, race, or fuck all even species.

I don't feel the need to somehow 'connect' with a game protagonist. They're fictional avatars. I also don't feel the need to somehow feel 'connected' to any protagonists in any other entertainment medium.

If I needed to 'connect' with a protagonist, I'm sure I'd be in a huge minority, because I'd need to find a slightly overweight white guy (read: super pale, the sun is my enemy) with strawberry blond hair, red beard who is of English, Irish, French and Russian Jew descent. Last I checked, there are about 0 protagonists like that.

Should I try to get SJW's to help me demand characters that represent me?

It's not that there shouldn't be more diversity, but diversity for diversity's sake is just as bad as no diversity at all. If the narrative doesn't have specifics needed for a protagonist, then, sure, go hog wild with the customization options. Let people make bisexual polar bears that worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster if people want to make that. If the setting and narrative call for something else, then deal with it.

Do I care if the only way to play Tomb Raider is to play a woman? No. That's the character. If I had a PS Vita and was interested in the Assassin's Creed for it, would I care that I'm playing a black woman? No.

It's, of course, ironic that Anita's tweet has a scene from GTA V as the preview pic for the video... because I'm fairly certain if Rockstar made a GTA game where it was a woman as the main protagonist, running around killing people, etc. she'd decry that just as fast as being a blatant misrepresentation of women.

If a game was made where all the cannon fodder enemies were women, even if it is a women doing all the killing of them, there would be cries about glorifying violence against women.

That's the problem with diversity for diversity's sake. It tries to please everyone, but will still somehow offend someone. And then people will complain about how the new diversity is somehow misrepresenting a race/gender/sexual preference/religion/etc.

It's a battle that cannot be won. Diversify just to make people happy, and you'll piss off just as many as you made happy.

 

[Beefy]

Just looking at the responses to this post tells you why...white men have a self worship issue.


(Worship at the alter of self or your idealized self and everything will be fine and dandy)

Umm what? I think you need to look at yourself before having a go at " white men".

 

[PdotMichael]

A male dominated industry panders to the male demographics. Shouldn't be a surprise.

And I don't think games like Bayonetta and Mirror's Edge do have significantly larger female player base - espencially Bayonetta panders to an even more male dominated niche market.
There are many studies show that there is an extremly large female group (44% of the total market in Germany) but they do play different kind of games. The lifestyle games on Wii was a large female dominated market or all the social and mobile games.

It's maybe a little bit more complicated than just if lead roles are male or female dominated in AAA games.

 

[Beefy]

I get what anita is saying. It would be good to play a different race/sex etc instead of white guy. But I still feel the way she goes about saying her opinions is wrong.

 

[DrunkDan]

Games are aimed at making profit, and white males are the largest audience. Makes sense from a business standpoint even if it's not inclusive of everybody.

But when does anything totally cater to everybody? There will always be someone offended by something, that's just the way it works.

I'd like developers to create the best games and stories they can and include whoever the hell they want but until attitudes change slightly they will continue to take the safe option.

 

[RooMHM]

I don't really think that's racism. It's more of an observation of a disparity.

I know that people have different definitions of racism. But whether you mean systematic oppression or just being mean and inconsiderate. It isn't very hostile towards white people. I think it's a good question that looks at the privileges white men have.
And I don't mean that in a hostile way.

Ask the question all you want but the sentence that is the title is offensive. Tbh I don t really care it s just that if it was towards a minority, people would shout and cry because of the offensiveness.
I m for discussing every topic even if touchy, but I ve already been proven that GAF (and I mean the organization) isn t on the line as I.

 

[Ivory Samoan]

As a male, I prefer playing male characters.

When a game comes along like Tomb Raider, where there is no choice but to play as a female, that's fine: and I'll happily play as Lara...but if I had the choice, I would always pick a male.

This is partly due to my preference for RP and immersion (as much as I'd like to, I can never immerse myself in a character that's not my gender for some reason), if it was based purely on aesthetics; I like the look of both genders as protagonists, so my choice is deeper than that.

Also, I'm guessing white/20-40 something males are the biggest purchasers of games (a guess, could be completely wrong) so it's a safer bet for publishers I'm thinking.

 

[sixpackrules]

I have never had an issue playing someone not of my gender, race, or fuck all even species.

I don't feel the need to somehow 'connect' with a game protagonist. They're fictional avatars. I also don't feel the need to somehow feel 'connected' to any protagonists in any other entertainment medium.

If I needed to 'connect' with a protagonist, I'm sure I'd be in a huge minority, because I'd need to find a slightly overweight white guy (read: super pale, the sun is my enemy) with strawberry blond hair, red beard who is of English, Irish, French and Russian Jew descent. Last I checked, there are about 0 protagonists like that.

Should I try to get SJW's to help me demand characters that represent me?

It's not that there shouldn't be more diversity, but diversity for diversity's sake is just as bad as no diversity at all. If the narrative doesn't have specifics needed for a protagonist, then, sure, go hog wild with the customization options. Let people make bisexual polar bears that worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster if people want to make that. If the setting and narrative call for something else, then deal with it.

Do I care if the only way to play Tomb Raider is to play a woman? No. That's the character. If I had a PS Vita and was interested in the Assassin's Creed for it, would I care that I'm playing a black woman? No.

It's, of course, ironic that Anita's tweet has a scene from GTA V as the preview pic for the video... because I'm fairly certain if Rockstar made a GTA game where it was a woman as the main protagonist, running around killing people, etc. she'd decry that just as fast as being a blatant misrepresentation of women.

If a game was made where all the cannon fodder enemies were women, even if it is a women doing all the killing of them, there would be cries about glorifying violence against women.

That's the problem with diversity for diversity's sake. It tries to please everyone, but will still somehow offend someone. And then people will complain about how the new diversity is somehow misrepresenting a race/gender/sexual preference/religion/etc.

It's a battle that cannot be won. Diversify just to make people happy, and you'll piss off just as many as you made happy.

Pretty much this, you can´t please everyone, and i´m all in for options whenever are available, but you know money talks, and for much i liked gone home, or the new tomb rider, or a lot of different games in wich you can choose, the TES games, mass effect, if you are gonna play a military shooter or a crime game such as GTA, you pretty much know what you are gonna get, i love playing with my daughter and we play a lot of co-op, and she really likes playing as wonder woman in the lego games, or the women in divekick, there has been a lot of improvment and certainly can be a lot more, and i´m gonna welcome it, i want my hobby to be as inclusive as it can be, but you can´t please everybody

 

[mechphree]

A male dominated industry panders to the male demographics. Shouldn't be a surprise.

And I don't think games like Bayonetta and Mirror's Edge do have significantly larger female player base - espencially Bayonetta panders to an even more male dominated niche market.
There are many studies show that there is an extremly large female group (44% of the total market in Germany) but they do play different kind of games. The lifestyle games on Wii was a large female dominated market or all the social and mobile games.

It's maybe a little bit more complicated than just if lead roles are male or female dominated in AAA games.

It's not just about population though.,,considering globally whites around the world are the "minority". It's more so I feel people choose the white male as the default. He is considered the norm. A woman or different race is considered exotic or something else usually.

I agree Bayonetta panders to a niche gamer class but it's platinum who is over sexualizing her and whatnot. For me a good female lead would be the actress who played Lara croft in the latest Tomb Raider. I think that's closer to a female lead done right.

 

[funkypie]

When I take the bus every morning and see multiple accessories featuring the Union Jack, Great Britain's flag, as a symbol, I feel baffled. Promoted culture right down to the flag.

Nothing wrong with promoting your own culture in your own country. Britain would be a more pleasant place if British culture and values were imprinted on migrates from the 50s right up until the present. Instead we have completely segregated areas and such messes like tower hamlets.

 

[mechphree]

Games are aimed at making profit, and white males are the largest audience. Makes sense from a business standpoint even if it's not inclusive of everybody.

But when does anything totally cater to everybody? There will always be someone offended by something, that's just the way it works.

I'd like developers to create the best games and stories they can and include whoever the hell they want but until attitudes change slightly they will continue to take the safe option.

Yea but they are loosing out on billions if not trillions of dollars not diversifying them selves. Minority's are eventually going to be the majority (at least in America ) and if you only focus on the demographic that isn't expanding you stand to loose out. People can talk that population game all they want but at the end of the day if it was really just about population then the games would be more diverse. Considering the minority's population is expanding at a much faster rate then the current majority. Having diversity shouldn't be seen as a hindrance...it should be seen as a chance to make even more profits...

 

[melman101]

where's mexican men in videogames?

Guacamelee

 

[JimmyRustler]

I left out remakes and ports and games that didnt really use characters

You can see that in general games are largely moving towards a less character locked direction

im aware this isnt every game

Assassin's Creed Unity -- October 28, 2014 - a dude
Battlefield Hardline -- October 21, 2014 - dudes ( if you are the 1% who cares about sp)
Bloodborne -- early 2015 - if its like DS, no main characters and prob can choose women
Dead Island 2 -- spring 2015 - prob has playable women like 1, no single "main" character

Destiny beta -- July 17, 2014 - women available
Entwined -- already available - i dont think you are human
Infamous First Light -- August 2014 - main character female
Just Dance 2015 -- October 2014 - im sure theres females here and no main people
LittleBigPlanet 3 -- November 2014 - sackboy and girl im sure
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty -- July 22, 2014 - you are a dude alien
Rise of the Tomb Raider -- holiday 2015 - woman main character
The Crew -- November 11, 2014 - you are a car ( prob m and f avatars)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End -- 2015 a dude



Fable Legends beta -- holiday 2014 - male and female available
Forza Horizon 2 -- September 30, 2014 -you are a car
Halo 5: Guardians beta -- December 2014 - dude
Inside -- early 2015 - young boy i think
Just Dance 2015 -- October 2014 - male and females
Killer Instinct: Season 2 -- fall 2014 - male and females
Ori and the Blind Forest -- fall 2014 - you are an alien
Rainbow Six Siege -- 2015 - dudes
Tomb Raider : osiris-- holiday 2015 - a woman
Sunset Overdrive -- October 28, 2014 - prob male and females

Wii U


Bayonetta 2 -- October 2014 - you are a woman
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker -- holiday 2014 -a dude
Hyrule Warriors -- September 26, 2014 - male and female
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse -- 2015 - a dude i guess maybe
The Legend of Zelda (tentative title) -- 2015 - a dude ( possibly a female as well)
Mario Party 10 -- 2015 - male and female
Star Fox (tentative title) -- 2015 a dude, who knows maybe both
Super Smash Bros. -- holiday 2014 - male and female
Yoshi's Woolly World -- first half of 2015 - a yoshi dude ( but he lays eggs, who knows)
Xenoblade Chronicles X -- 2015 - male and female main cast
splatoon = female and male
alien isolation = female main

male def main cast = 10
female def main cast = 5
male and female = the rest

most of the games starring males are sequels to games that have already defined male leads in them

Great post. Really puts the whole topic into perspective. People need to calm down.

 

[Xplatformer]

Because that's the main audience and devs don't want to take any risks. Most devs are also white males so it makes sense that they'd want to make games for white males. I see nothing wrong with this (I say that as a non white male).

You are not alone. I understand a woman's wish for diversity, but I also understand why most companies don't take risk and prefer selling to the largest group of individuals that purchase a particular type of game.

And yes, there are still men out there that don't wish to play a woman lead in a game. It's wrong, but it's out there. Just as there are white men that would prefer to not play as a black male, and women..who if given the choice, would prefer to play with the lead character being a woman.

We all have preferences. No?


I support representation. I also support a game creators right to choose who their protagonist is regardless of who I might want it to be.

As a male, I prefer playing male characters.

When a game comes along like Tomb Raider, where there is no choice but to play as a female, that's fine: and I'll happily play as Lara...but if I had the choice, I would always pick a male.

This is partly due to my preference for RP and immersion (as much as I'd like to, I can never immerse myself in a character that's not my gender for some reason), if it was based purely on aesthetics; I like the look of both genders as protagonists, so my choice is deeper than that.

Also, I'm guessing white/20-40 something males are the biggest purchasers of games (a guess, could be completely wrong) so it's a safer bet for publishers I'm thinking.

I feel this way too. Only difference would be my preference would be to play a black male.

 

[SodiumChloride]

Oh, okay. I see now

It's annoying, yes. But it's not an "issue".

I like Sashimi, but the restaurants near my place don't serve it. Do I kick up a fess, and start naming and shaming, over not being catered to? No.

If no one is serving a product you want, that's no one's problem but yours.

 

[xBladeM6x]

We need a new Perfect Dark to save women.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

western games are usually at the fault of this

Lol. Actually, if you look at the Japanese side, you basically have non-humans and technically 8 caucasian/caucasian-looking characters, so..............



Also, the primary reason diversity is still lacking IMO is because developers both Japanese, American, etc feel that they are the least riskiest and most marketable characters that make them the most money. Unfortunately, developers consider women and even non-white characters risky and choose to stay with what they think is most acceptable to gamers. I would love to see more diversity also. It is getting a little better though, but it still has a ways to go.

 

[captainnapalm]

You are not alone. I understand a woman's wish for diversity, but I also understand why most companies don't take risk and prefer selling to the largest group of individuals that purchase a particular type of game.

And yes, there are still men out there that don't wish to play a woman lead in a game. It's wrong, but it's out there. Just as there are white men that would prefer to not play as a black male, and women..who if given the choice, would prefer to play with the lead character being a woman.

We all have preferences. No?


I support representation. I also support a game creators right to choose who their protagonist is regardless of who I might want it to be.

This is the realistic, pragmatic view to take, even though it must be frustrating at times to not have your race/gender/creed/sexual persuasion be represented enough.

The reality is, if you look at that America/Canada/Europe/Russia/Australia block of buyers, it's just undeniable that there are a lot of white guys supporting the $60 game industry and games are marketed primarily to them.

I'm pretty sure there must be a lot more non-white men buying games now than there was at times in the past, though, so hopefully these things will start to change more and more in a natural way. I want other groups to be represented. And if the games are good, you bet I'll be buying them as well.

 

[PdotMichael]

It's not just about population though.,,considering globally whites around the world are the "minority". It's more so I feel people choose the white male as the default. He is considered the norm. A woman or different race is considered exotic or something else usually.

I agree Bayonetta panders to a niche gamer class but it's platinum who is over sexualizing her and whatnot. For me a good female lead would be the actress who played Lara croft in the latest Tomb Raider. I think that's closer to a female lead done right.

Well, I share the opinion that developers shouldn't be forced to use white male characters just because the marketing departmant wants it.

But the AAA games are highly isolated and regional limited market - even within of the toal game industry. North America and Europe are the both only markets where an AAA game can make profit - and both markets are dominated by a white, young and male target group

 

[DrunkDan]

Yea but they are loosing out on billions if not trillions of dollars not diversifying them selves. Minority's are eventually going to be the majority (at least in America ) and if you only focus on the demographic that isn't expanding you stand to loose out. People can talk that population game all they want but at the end of the day if it was really just about population then the games would be more diverse. Considering the minority's population is expanding at a much faster rate then the current majority. Having diversity shouldn't be seen as a hindrance...it should be seen as a chance to make even more profits...

I agree that diversity shouldn't be seen as a hindrance but until the minority becomes the majority (or at least equal) then shift won't happen.

Just in general there should be more equality in games (including females and gay characters) but I just can't envisage the huge change needed happening anytime soon.

As others have touched on in this thread, the problem is deeper than just aiming at the biggest demographic. I hope in time things change but it will take longer than most would like.

 

[King Mac of Furry Frog]

Why do people always have to focus on what makes us different? Stepbackwards.

 

[Usobuko]

I think there would be a fear of being called racist if you portrayed the character wrong.

Most of the other races are subjected to comedy slapstick caricatures for side characters anyway, just like Hollywood.

 

[Sakujou]

They should have named the nfamous game first daughter

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Look at that variety

I remember seeing the team picture when Spain won the World Cup and thought "well there you go". Everyone had the same stubbly faced, cropped hair look and looked like the videogame everyman. There is no anti-feminine, racist conspiracy here. It's just that a large chunk of the world looks like that and is easily marketed towards. But there is a wealth of indies and even bigger budget games that feature more diverse roles these days than ever. Especially now compared to then.

I also think that I'd find it very easy to tell when a game forces diversity for diversity's sake. Sleepy Hollow (the show) is fantastically diverse and feels genuine. The Last of Us' DLC (and by association, the main game), while great, feels a bit too purposefully anti-tropey if that makes any sense.

 

[Masquerader]

Most of the other races are subjected to comedy slapstick caricatures for side characters anyway, just like Hollywood.

To be honest, I only view non-human characters seriously. Everyone in videogames is a caricature to me, now.

 

[Wiktor]

I think to some degree it's natural. I mean, one shouldn't really expect as much variety in lead characters as there is in american society because many modern games, even those actually set in Ammerica, are made in other countries, with smaller minorities.

That said, look at Hollywood, those are all made in USA and yet the movie business is even worse when it comes to non-white protagonist than games.

 

[unclethursday]

Yea but they are loosing out on billions if not trillions of dollars not diversifying them selves. Minority's are eventually going to be the majority (at least in America ) and if you only focus on the demographic that isn't expanding you stand to loose out. People can talk that population game all they want but at the end of the day if it was really just about population then the games would be more diverse. Considering the minority's population is expanding at a much faster rate then the current majority. Having diversity shouldn't be seen as a hindrance...it should be seen as a chance to make even more profits...

Caucasians (white European descent people) according to the last US census make up about 72% of the US population. That eventually is a long way off. That's not to sound mean, but it's basic math.

• European American 223,553,265 72.4 %
• African American 38,929,319 12.6 %
• Asian American 14,674,252 4.8 %
• Native Americans or Alaska Native 2,932,248 0.9 %
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 540,013 0.2 %
• Some other race 19,107,368 6.2 %
• Two or more races 9,009,073 2.9 %

And, even if the population of Caucasians is reduced to, say, 49% of the population, they still wouldn't be a minority unless another single race had somehow become the other 51% of the population.

It's like in business. One person could hold less than 51% of the total shares in a business, but if that one person controls the largest single percentage of shares, that person is still the majority shareholder.

It's not that it won't happen, but I wouldn't hold your breath expecting it to happen within our lifetimes.

 

[Kiriku]

You can see that in general games are largely moving towards a less character locked direction

male def main cast = 10
female def main cast = 5
male and female = the rest

most of the games starring males are sequels to games that have already defined male leads in them

But even in games where you can play as both genders I feel publishers are trying to 'hide' their inclusion of females the best they can in their marketing and boxart.
Still, I think things are at least moving in the right direction, slowly.

 

[Wiktor]

But even in games where you can play as both genders I feel publishers are trying to 'hide' their inclusion of females the best they can in their marketing and boxart.

Well..why wouldn't they? Everything we know shows that gamers of AAA titles generally prefer to play as males.

 

[MrBadger]

You can't just make a handful of videos discussing tropes, then expect the gaming industry to change overnight. Nor can people expect classic characters like Link to have their genders swapped just because. While I do think more people are becoming aware of this, at the end of the day, the biggest developers are going to target the most people who will buy their games.