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[AyaisMUsikWhore]

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

Well why is anyone making a character via a stereotype in the first place? Why is that the first thing a developer thinks about when they see ethnicity?

If I'm creating a black character, I'm not going to hire a stern sounding black women to play her. I'm not going to think of thug, rap star, old school 70's guy with afro. He or she can be just normal people working an every day job. He can we be a family man who lost his everything and on a path of revenge to get them back. She can be a hardworking mother who can save the day from an alien invasion. I could apply this to any character of ethnicity and would never be considered racist. Yet I still could capture all audience with something they can relate to with out generic defaults. Dead Island is a game that had pretty much a good set of diversed characters.

 

[danwarb]

That shouldn't be a bad thing if it's not exclusionary. There are white males. They are not all bad people.

Why not have more variety on top of that. There are plenty of games. We can make games, help game to get made and demonstrate that there's a strong market for other things.
Also, why are we so concerned about shooters/games primarily about killing lots people having mostly male leads?

I don't like her videos. Where are the solutions for people? The alternatives? Instead we learn that there are games with men in them.

 

[elelunicy]

If there are so many white men in video games, why can't I find a game featuring a young white male with light hair as the protagonist? And no, mid-aged white dudes with dark hair don't count.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

If there are so many white men in video games, why can't I find a game featuring a young white male with light hair as the protagonist? And no, mid-aged white dudes with dark hair don't count.

A few hundred Japanese games say hi.

 

[silva1991]

off the top of my head

Neptunia
Atelier Series
FFXIII
Biohazard Series (Claire, Jill, Sheva)
Bayonetta
Shion and kosmos
Lara Croft
Regina from Dino Crisis
Raiden in MGS2
Etna from Disgaea
Parasite Eve
Silent Hill 3 and 4
Fatal Frame
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Chun Li
Castlevania order of Ecclesia

Western AAA gaming doesn't represent all of video games.

Add rule of rose on ps2 and beyond good and evil

Raiden in MGS2

hahahahahaha

 

[Gregorn]

While I understand the point these images are making, I feel like they do the industry a bit of a disservice. I decided to make one that used some protagonists I really liked from the last few years:

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

I wanted to make a picture like this. I feel like there are loads of female characters in video games, it's just american action and fps games that tend to have plain men, which is a trope for every medium. This 'problem' will naturally solve itself as more women and minorities start making more games, there's nothing to argue or complain about.

If there are so many white men in video games, why can't I find a game featuring a young white male with light hair as the protagonist? And no, mid-aged white dudes with dark hair don't count.

Er..Link?

 

[Admiral Woofington]

As a minority, the white male protagonists don't bother me. Just give me a good story and fun gameplay and if it's a male I prefer that so I can immerse myself into the character, regardless of race.

Heck when character customization is an option, I tend to make the whitest character possible with white hair and red/pink eyes and call him "Al Bino"

 

[CrazyDogg77]

I find the whole white men can't identify with a non-white character argument rather disingenuous when women, minorities, and LGBT people have been doing it the whole history of video games

 

[espher]

There's not even a diverse representation amongst white males in video games, nevermind on a broader gender/race/ethnicity spectrum. It's like everyone's using a character creature that features one model with a slider on hair length and 'grittiness'.

 

[Tetranet]

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.

Too bad I'm not British, nor live in Britain.

 

[Kolgar]

Glad to see some common-sense posts in here.

Somewhat related, I was in a web meeting at work the other day. We pulled up another company's website and someone in the room said, "I like the diversity on this site. There's not one white male anywhere."

The person was earnest.

I don't think that's good, either.

 

[SmokyDave]

I find the whole white men can't identify with a non-white character argument rather disingenuous when women, minorities, and LGBT people have been doing it the whole history of video games

I dunno, man. I used to think so too, but I'm not sure it's that simple. Evidently women, minorities and LGBT people aren't identifying with straight white males, hence the current discourse. It's not exclusive to videogames either, people want to see *insert qualifier here* role models to inspire *insert qualifier here* communities all the time. Whether in sports, entertainment, academia or otherwise, everyone seems to want to identify with people like themselves. Perhaps that's the case for most straight white men too?

Given that I look like the default settings on any given character creator, I'm probably missing some fundemental point or other. Personally I'm quite happy to play as whoever the game dictates I play as. I've never felt the sting of under-representation though.

 

[SMOK3Y]

I can't believe this is even a topic...

 

[flatearthpandas]

Majority of video game writers, directors, and producers still white males? Yes?

Historically, the best minority and female representation in the arts comes from females and minorities. It isn't that white males are incapable, but there is a large element of write what you know and what you can relate to.

 

[Oersted]

Glad to see some common-sense posts in here.

Somewhat related, I was in a web meeting at work the other day. We pulled up another company's website and someone in the room said, "I like the diversity on this site. There's not one white male anywhere."

The person was earnest.

I don't think that's good, either.

Don't be afraid, it is still the exception. Straight white men are still rule and ruler. And that is what we are discussing here.

Majority of video game writers, directors, and producers still white males? Yes?

Historically, the best minority and female representation in the arts comes from females and minorities. It isn't that white males are incapable, but there is a large element of write what you know and what you can relate to.

How was Rowling able to relate to Harry Potter? Was it him being a magician? And who at Sony is a Greek God and a Racoon?

 

[caligula13]

Don't be afraid, it is still the exception. Straight white men are still rule and ruler. And that is what we are discussing here.

so, the topic of discussion is that straight white men are still the rulers but that videogames should show a world in which that isn't so because it is better to play in imaginary worlds where white men are minority?

 

[Authority]

so, the topic of discussion is that straight white men are still the rulers but that videogames should show a world in which that isn't so because it is better to play in imaginary worlds where white men are minority?

Majority of video game writers, directors, and producers still white males? Yes?

Historically, the best minority and female representation in the arts comes from females and minorities. It isn't that white males are incapable, but there is a large element of write what you know and what you can relate to.

Seriously do you even bother? This quote was literally 2 pages ago and her tweet account is there to be seen. My God how many "because the majority are white males" posts we have to see.

 

[Minion101]

How do you explain the meatheads then?

You mean the power fantasy of themselves?

 

[flatearthpandas]

How was Rowling able to relate to Harry Potter? Was it him being a magician? And who at Sony is a Greek God and a Racoon?

And yet my point still stands. Historically, in the arts, white males predominately write about white males. Female and minorities predominately write the best female and minority main characters.

I can jump in and give examples of female writing males, males writing females, and everyone writing animals, but the statistics don't change.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Seriously do you even bother? This quote was literally 2 pages ago and her tweet account is there to be seen. My God how many "because the majority are white males" posts we have to see.

I guess as many as it takes until people can get it through their heads why male characters dominate the industry?

It isn't the people who are giving the realistic answers that are being thick.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

why are there still so many female swimmsuit models?

...

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.

With you so far...

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?

Aaaand you lost me. It's not about having a character that's identically like you, for one. And the dismissive snark about "SJWs" is, well, uncalled for.

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.

How does that make any sense? What would be "diversity for diversity's sake" anyway?

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.

What if 95% or more of games featured characters like that? It wouldn't be out of this world to say "hey guys how about some more variety, this is getting annoying and boring"...

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.

Oh. I see. Well, good thing you already figured out exactly what she and other critics are going to say before they even say it, therefore you get to dismiss the criticism in advance and declare the "battle" impossible to win and end the debate. Let me know if you need some help taking down that straw.

 

[Jenenser]

The movie and TV industry is a lot more diverse now than it ever was before with hundreds of female actors in leading roles, etc. Why is it then that the gaming industry still stands still while all the other mediums like literature and movies embrace a more colourful cast of characters with people of all genders and ethnicities?

because its a fact that the mainaudience is male, just as the most developerteams and plublishers... i won't say anything to the fact that they are white. but that probably has the same reasons.

damn, first games i played had
an italian plumber, a blue robot that sounded like a girl (OT: with the most incredibel german intro for his tvanime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFEBaAxO7W0 )
, and a pink ball with eyes... ( >'-' )>

overal, gender shouldnt matter in a game, just as race shouldn't. but maby i am spoiled because most games cater to me.
i am a caucasian male and my opinion probably doesn't matter here as i am not offended.

only change that really could happen is a more diverse gamerbase and a more diverse developerbase.

 

[Minion101]

And yet my point still stands. Historically, in the arts, white males predominately write about white males. Female and minorities predominately write the best female and minority main characters.

I can jump in and give examples of female writing males, males writing females, and everyone writing animals, but the statistics don't change.

I love I when people point out exceptions to the rule. This topic is so obvious to me really. Creators and demographics dictate what we see.

 

[HitCtrlAltDel]

Equal is not always fair.

There are more than enough games that star females or have a female playable character represented at this E3. Id bet given the dollars spent on games between males and females on games it is proportianally close. Companies are looking to profit, they aren't looking to just make a statement.

 

[Crossing Eden]

While I understand the point these images are making, I feel like they do the industry a bit of a disservice. I decided to make one that used some protagonists I really liked from the last few years:



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

I love that image. It's so simple. Basically step out of the range of games with realistic american everyman protagonists and you get SO much variety in character design and styles. Not reusing the exact same character three different times also helps. In fact, i'd say that all you need to do is look at a best/most memorable video game characters of time list or even best of 2013 list and you'd see the variety that the industry is capable of.

 

[Laconic]

I guess as many as it takes until people can get it through their heads why male characters dominate the industry?

It isn't the people who are giving the realistic answers that are being thick.

.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Equal is not always fair.

There are more than enough games that star females or have a female playable character represented at this E3. Id bet given the dollars spent on games between males and females on games it is proportianally close. Companies are looking to profit, they aren't looking to just make a statement.

Ummm no.

Ubisoft just explained that making 1 female characters practically would cost them huge tons of money and time. They obviously are not the same according to them.

Secondly, Some games are constantly about making statements. Some of them are about telling a story that you can relate to. Some of them are about decision you have to make that will connect with you and you say this is all about profit?

So it's ok for blacks to continue to be stereotypical criminals, but it's not ok for us to have some diversity that doesn't represent people wrong? So it's OK for developers to make Asian people speak and act very stereotypical? It's okay for women to be nothing but sexual props for the hearty hero men? It's totally Ok for a man to be completely armored up for battle but a women is half naked on the same Battlefield? Come on... This thinking is why gaming can't reach a height that it wants. That's why gaming is considered bad or lame, because it teach nothing, it does nothing to change that perspective.

 

[whyman]

white straight white male characters

Wow your problem with white people in videogames is so big that you have to mention it twice?

Also why not if it fits the theme of the game?

Battlefield 5 with a black gay female would be interesting sure but it would not fit at all.

 

[Kater]

Equal is not always fair.

There are more than enough games that star females or have a female playable character represented at this E3. Id bet given the dollars spent on games between males and females on games it is proportianally close. Companies are looking to profit, they aren't looking to just make a statement.

Inclusion isn't some political statement but a basic human right. (Even if a lot of people believe otherwise.)

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Wow your problem with white people in videogames is so big that you have to mention it twice?

Also why not if it fits the theme of the game?

Battlefield 5 with a black gay female would be interesting sure but it would not fit at all.

Explain? Are we going to let their race and sexual orientation define the characters (to judge based on that)? or are we just going to write a story that the main character just happens to be those things? I mean it really isn't hard.

The main character is black, he's gay. He isn't going out there trying to have sex with the other men in his platoon, he's just an every day fighting guy trying to protect his country. See... Realistic.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Ummm no.

Ubisoft just explained that making 1 female characters practically would cost them huge tons of money and time. They obviously are not the same according to them.

No, you,(and tons of other people) misinterpreted their words. They stated that making a female avatar that projects to other players in ACUnity would cost them huge amounts of money and time. If the game was made with a female protagonist in mind from the start, then they'd have spent more or less the same amount of money developing a female lead, in which case developing a male avatar for other players to see cost them too much money and time.

 

[danwarb]

I guess as many as it takes until people can get it through their heads why male characters dominate the industry?

It isn't the people who are giving the realistic answers that are being thick.

It's not for all genres. The games I'm playing mostly (adventure/P&C/puzzle/RPG) have as many female lead characters, or both, or a choice. It's shooters and stealth murder games that are mostly dudes, as you'd expect.

People annoyed with male characters in games are big shooters fans, obviously.

 

[NEOPARADIGM]

Battlefield 5 with a black gay female would be interesting sure but it would not fit at all.

I don't see why not, honestly. I guess if it were shoehorned in it would be stupid and weird, but if the proper steps were taken to have the character make sense - you said yourself it would be interesting - it would work fine.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

No, you,(and tons of other people) misinterpreted their words. They stated that making a female avatar that projects to other players in ACUnity would cost them huge amounts of money and time. If the game was made with a female protagonist in mind from the start, then they'd have spent more or less the same amount of money developing a female lead, in which case developing a male avatar for other players to see cost them too much money and time.

We aren't bringing your favorite developers that not one can have an opinion on in this discussion but even so, a female vs male in terms of money obviously is a difference if yet again, a female in which they have only one concrete model they could have used would need to be retouched, re-animated which would have cost them more than the slate of other male characters they already have in development. It's easily why it's 4 guys with one model vs 1 female that's completely different. At the end of the day, it was cheaper

 

[kswiston]

I don't see why not, honestly. I guess if it were shoehorned in it would be stupid and weird, but if the proper steps were taken to have the character make sense - you said yourself it would be interesting - it would work fine.

Do they even get into the sexuality of characters in games like Battlefield (serious question, I haven't played the series since BF1942)? If it was never mentioned either way, maybe some of the past lead characters were gay? I don't see how orientation is relevant to a war shooter, and therefore it would be harder to work in naturally than ethnic diversity.

Games that are more character driven (RPGs, PnC, some adventure titles) do tend to have more diversity in that area. It could probably still be improved upon, but there's more than just 30-something white dudes based on soccer players or male models.

 

[Johnny]

Inclusion isn't some political statement but a basic human right. (Even if a lot of people believe otherwise.)

What do you propose then? Trying white, cishet game developers in The Hague for their human rights violations?

 

[Clear]

It's not for all genres. The games I'm playing mostly (adventure/P&C/puzzle/RPG) have as many female lead characters, or both, or a choice. It's shooters and stealth murder games that are mostly dudes, as you'd expect.

People annoyed with male characters in games are big shooters fans, obviously.

This is pretty on point. I just realized that the game I'm playing now (FFX-2) has all-female leads, as do the 2 games I'm likely to play next (Drakengard3, and Lightning Returns).

 

[III-V]

As a white male, I could care less what the progagonist looks like. Never has it either improved or hampered immersion.

Nathan Drake = Juliet Starling = Commander Sheppard = Doesn't matter to me

EDIT: this being said, there should be more diverse leads in gaming. Ubi's recent co-op fiasco really highlights this.

 

[Kater]

What do you propose then? Trying white, cishet game developers in The Hague for their human rights violations?

No, I certainly don't intend to do doing something like that. I was just reacting in my post to the sentiment that if devs do include minorities in their games that they make a political statement, which I find is an exaggeration. It's a nice gesture, nothing more. And a good step forward towards a more diverse video game characters palette.

 

[G.ZZZ]

You all realize that you can actually stop buying games that offend you? I did it long time ago. Same for movies, books, music etc... This kind of complaint remind me of complaining about consummerism and then drinking coca cola, or complaining about democracy or the political parties in power and then half the population vote for conservatives /Berlusconi. I haven't given a single penny to the FPS developers of the last two gens because i found their games 100% pandering shit. Only things i bought were the Galaxies, Dota, Metroid trilogy, Okami, WE and something else i don't remember. I understand it may be hard because it's something you like (and i grew up on doom and quake too), but if you are going to compromise then evidently it means that the marketing sectors are doing the correct thing because your "values" aren't values at all.

Being "against" things you buy it's a behaviour reserved for teens who believe that voicing dissent make them cool and then they're the first culprits of this shit show that's going around, in this case the game industry. And while the "white" male power fantasy of western developers may be annoying (mostly a reflection of the main movie industry), at least it's not creepy and offensive as that part of the japanese game industry revolving around little girls games designed for men in their thirties where women are not even depicted as human beings but rather as mindless drones.

/r

 

[Laconic]

Wow your problem with white people in videogames is so big that you have to mention it twice?

Also why not if it fits the theme of the game?

Battlefield 5 with a black gay female would be interesting sure but it would not fit at all.

White straight white male white character, with a [white] dash of white on the [white] side.

 

[The Technomancer]

I don't want anyone to feel alienated or marginalized. Everyone wants the same thing -- acceptance -- and fears the same thing -- rejection. So whatever their skin color, physical features, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, lifestyle, etc., they should feel accepted and cherished. So I'm all for diversity in games.

That being said, as a general rule of thumb, I'm wary about creative types feeling like they have to create something other than what they want to create, just to appease a perceived demand. I think it's good to show there's a demand for these things, and that we want to see these things. I'd just be wary of criminalizing them if/when they don't deliver, because for all we know, maybe what they give us is really the story they want to tell.

A bit late on this one but...its not like the latest Assassins Creed game or the latest Halo game is an auteur work driven by one creative visionary who's art is being compromised. These are teams with hundreds of people and everything is focus tested and decided by committee.

 

[Authority]

I guess as many as it takes until people can get it through their heads why male characters dominate the industry?

It isn't the people who are giving the realistic answers that are being thick.

You don't want to read,

Because you are assuming that white males is the dominant group and white males only want to play white males.
Because you are assuming that white males is the dominant group and that white males only want to play white males.
Because you are assuming that white males is the dominant group and only want to play white males.

2012-2013,

According to a report released this week by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 45% of the entire game playing population are women and they comprise 46% of the most frequent video game purchasers.

In fact, 38% of Xbox users are female and 51% of them have children.

Nintendo claims that 50% of its users are female as of 2013.

Game Player Data

48% - of gamers are female.

Right.

You seriously think not only really low of the white male population but also that white gamers population = white male gamers = dominant group. Explain to me which research or which evidence gives you the confidence to talk about dominant group. Explain to me which ratio gives you the confidence to talk about dominant group. The argument was never about color yet your argument is always about fitting color.

Bottom line

• If we had more games with female protagonists and as good as male protagonists (in case you try to twist the argument) we would have more female gamers.
• There is enough female gamers population to discredit the argument that there is not enough female gamers population to make video games or cater to.
• White male games have no issue to play female protagonists and gender swapping studies suggests that it is more likely for a male to play a female character when given the choice.

You just don't want to read because you are fixed on the idea that "They hate whites" and "I must defend the white population from extermination!". No matter how much I need to beat on the dead horse (no is saying it is wrong having many white characters but we are saying there should be more female protagonists) because the gender ratio of video gamers is 1:1 or close to that or will get to that in a few more years.

Get it?

No you don't or you will not because you are too preoccupied defending the honor/right of being white or a white male gamer as if someone is telling you that you should feel guilty for being white or guilty for being a white male gamer playing a white male character.

 

[unclethursday]

Aaaand you lost me. It's not about having a character that's identically like you, for one. And the dismissive snark about "SJWs" is, well, uncalled for.

So, everyone saying they can't 'identify' with a character because of their race, gender, religious beliefs or lack thereof, sexual preference, left or right handedness, height, etc., isn't calling for characters to be more like them for some reason or another?

And it's never uncalled for to be dismissive of SJWs and their ramblings being done from the protection of their keyboards without them ever really going out to do anything to change all the injustices they see. Plus, well, you'll see at the end of the post...

How does that make any sense? What would be "diversity for diversity's sake" anyway?

Affirmative Action is diversity for diversity's sake, as one example. Or in the context of gaming, a Polygon article talked about how there needed to be more women presenters... just to have more women presenters. Did it matter to the author if the women who did the presenting were in the gaming industry and had been for a while, and so were the men? No, she just said there needed to be 'more diversity in the presenters.' Why? You have the people who are the most knowledgeable about them and qualified to present the games to the public. Or in the context of Anita Sarkeesian, gaming changing to fit her views of what is acceptable, which doesn't always mesh with other gamers who happen to be female... she just wants it her way (and to keep making money discussing the subject while not actually putting out anything for months for something she was paid a ton of money to do a year and a half ago).

What if 95% or more of games featured characters like that? It wouldn't be out of this world to say "hey guys how about some more variety, this is getting annoying and boring"...

Now you're interchanging variety/diversity because it gets boring looking at similar characters all the time with the 'we need (insert X type of character here) because there's too many white male protagonists in games' argument.

As for if I would care if the majority of games didn't have white male protagonists, the answer is still no. Never have cared since the late 70s. Maybe that's why I have never cared; my age. Gaming, when I started, had pixels the size of smart phones to represent everything instead of pseudo-realistic graphics, so I never had a reason to identify with them. Man, I'm glad I never needed to relate to that blocky plane in River Raid, or that blocky tank in Combat, or, fuck, that blocky anything on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision and Colecovision systems.

But, to use your own argument on you... when it comes to sitcoms on TV, isn't it boring to always see the husband/father be a complete moron with stupid ideas that always backfire and the wife who obviously is a saint for putting up with him and still loving him always be there? Wouldn't more diversity be good? Or is it better to portray the men as the bumbling buffoons in sitcoms all the time?

Oh. I see. Well, good thing you already figured out exactly what she and other critics are going to say before they even say it, therefore you get to dismiss the criticism in advance and declare the "battle" impossible to win and end the debate. Let me know if you need some help taking down that straw.

You mean like the SJW who flat out told me (direct quote incoming) "Wouldn’t you want the characters in your games to look at least a little bit like you and your family? Wouldn’t you want your characters to in some way reflect the actual world around you? Of course you would."

Dude knows nothing about me and this was after I stated instead of caring what the main character looked like, people should go for the games they want based on the style of the game, the premise of it, potential for the game play and the story (if it has one).

But, remember, it's OK for SJWs to automatically assume they know everything about you when you disagree with them, or to make wide reaching remarks about you or what you must be like to make themselves feel like they have the moral high ground... but God forbid anyone disagree with them, or do the same thing to them. AMIRITE?

But, you know, instead of actually trying to do something to bring about the change, that SJW and people like him will keep on complaining on Tumblr. Because that gets anything done.

 

[Kinyou]

I find the whole white men can't identify with a non-white character argument rather disingenuous when women, minorities, and LGBT people have been doing it the whole history of video games

At the same time isn't it true that just both sides prefer to play as a character they can more identify with?

 

[Minion101]

I think we should spend more time encouraging females to pick up the programing books rather than change people who are already actually making games.

 

[ymmv]

In that way, video games are kind of like movies and music, most of the most successful and influential music and movies are from white men. And if you're a popular white entertainer, you get to be popular around the whole world. But if you're a person of colour, you're lucky if you get to be popular among your own country or among people of colour in your own country. Exceptions to things like that, like Gangnam Style, are sadly very rare.

White entertainers are popular all over the world. That's why so many Dutch, Belgian, Swiss, Polish, Ukranian, Russian, Romanian, Austrian, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Estonian, Latvian, Norwegian and Danish artists/bands have hits all over the world. Just take a look at the US/UK charts and it's like the Eurovision Song Contest all over again. No wonder Korean artists don't stand a chance.

 

[Beerman462]

Seems like a problem with video game writing, which in general is pretty terrible. If a developer made a game with a female protagonist and fucked it up the media would destroy them. Just look at all the shit that came out of Tomb Raider when the executive producer said "You'll want to protect her" everyone lost their shit. So while it's not impossible for a male game developer to create a good female protagonist. If you suddenly ask a bunch of male developers who are already writing mediocre male characters to write compelling female characters, the results would be pretty disastrous imo.

 

[Qassim]

The vast majority of the games we play are made in countries with a white majority. It's fairly simple - it doesn't necessarily excuse it - but I don't like what some people imply as purely malicious intention.

And they're made by men. It's unfortunate that our societies don't do enough to more women are educated to enter these industries - but I think the root of the problem is one that the games industry can attempt to help with. It's the fact that women aren't proportionally represented in fields that the games industry typically draws talent from (tech focused subjects like computer science), if a society doesn't do enough to encourage women to enter such fields then the games industry can't do much directly.

 

[ymmv]

It's not for all genres. The games I'm playing mostly (adventure/P&C/puzzle/RPG) have as many female lead characters, or both, or a choice. It's shooters and stealth murder games that are mostly dudes, as you'd expect.

Just like the vast majority of all Hollywood action movies have male stars with the female roles relegated to the sideline as the love interest or damsel in distress. So it's not surprising that AAA videogames (which could be described als playable action movies) also feature male lead characters. It's really not that surprising. A male lead fits better in a story where the protagonists murders hundreds of people in the most brutal ways.