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[Lime]

http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/gaming-while-black-casual-racism-to-cautious-optimism/

Jessica Conditt wrote a very thorough article with a lot of key figures and comments from veteran game developers, writers and researchers familiar or experienced with the topic. There is so much great stuff in the article that I would strongly advise you to read it in full - in any case here are some snippets:

Developer statistics from the IGDA survey in 2014:

The IGDA found that 79 percent of respondents identified as white, while 2.5 percent identified as black. From a diversity standpoint, these numbers are better than the 2005 results, which found 83 percent of respondents identified as white and 2 percent identified as black. In nine years, the number of black developers in the gaming industry rose by just .5 percentage points. Compared to the numbers for women developers – 11.5 percent in 2005 and 22 percent in 2014 – this growth is particularly insubstantial.

On the dearth of Black voices in the industry and culture

"The games industry is hurting badly as a creative medium in terms of diverse voices," Treachery in Beatdown City developer Shawn Alexander Allen told me. "We don't see many prominent black or Latino (or really any other minority populace) representation in protagonists, critics, marketing or creators. I mention prominent because while many other cultural forms like music, movies and writing have a dearth of black voices, they at least have people who are out there making their culture better at all levels and are very visible."

On the online experience

"Most gamers of color have isolated themselves into private parties, private chats, or just don't engage verbally at all," Dr. Gray said. "And that's sad because they can't take full advantage of the gaming experience that they paid for. So what's happening is a virtual ghettoization of minority gamers. [...] Because a person's identity is automatically revealed when a person speaks, they are targeted. I call it linguistic profiling. As soon as someone hears how you sound, they engage in this practice. They hear how you sound and react based on that. So a lot of black gamers are called derogatory terms because of how they sound. They don't have to do anything but sound black."

"I'd love to say no, but the frequency with which I'm called a nigger by people while playing Counter-Strike begs to differ," he said. "It's worth noting that every slur thrown out on voice chat – 'nigger,' 'faggot,' 'pussy,' 'dyke' – is really code for 'different', in the same way that 'relatable' when spoken by a marketer is shorthand for 'straight, white and male.' But I don't think it's unique to the game industry at all. The racial issues we deal with are endemic in our society; just so happens the gaming industry is a part of society as well."

Dr. Gray's research agrees with that last bit.

"Gaming culture is a direct reflection of our society," she said. "The only reason racism and sexism run rampant in gaming is because racism and sexism run rampant in society. But in physical spaces, mostly, it's not overt. It's subtle. It's covert. So, yes, these issues manifest in a similar manner in gaming, but I contend that they present themselves worse. It's not subtle. It's in-your-face racism. A black person may not be called a nigger to their face, but they can almost guarantee it will happen in virtuality."

On video games reflecting society

"The issues facing black players are the same issues that have been facing black people for decades – misrepresentation, stereotyping and latent prejudice," Saint said. "When Jason Richardson won Philly Geek of the Year, he talked about the fact that black nerds are often introduced as 'the whitest black dude I know' – as if it was impossible to be both black and nerdy (no disrespect to Weird Al). So I think there's this kind of unspoken rule that once you're 'accepted' into nerddom, the experiences that led you there become irrelevant. That kind of whitewashing prevents a lot of black stories from being told, and it's hard for the community at large to pay attention to issues they aren't even aware of."

On apathy, inaction and how the issue is approached

"There's a sort of polite silence with regard to dealing with anything even remotely related to racial representation and hiring practices that might change the complexion of video games' pool of professionals," said Evan Narcisse, a reporter at Kotaku and previous contributor to Time. "People seem to think that Racism with a capital 'R' is this big problem that they can't offer any solutions to, partially because they're afraid of screwing up in public. That's the most benign sort of neglect. The more troubling kind is when apathy and inaction comes as a result of someone somewhere deciding that creating or recruiting black faces for their game or business isn't enough of a money-making proposition."

The low number of black developers in gaming might make sense if the market for video games was equally skewed, but it isn't. In 2008, the Pew Research Internet Project reported that 51 percent of black, non-Hispanic Americans played video games, the same ratio as reported for white, non-Hispanic Americans. In 2011, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that black players between the ages of 8 and 18 played games for 30 minutes longer than their white counterparts. The interest is there.

"Isolation and exclusion are the biggest issues facing black players and developers," Dr. Gray said. "It's a weird phenomenon. Women and racial minorities, particularly blacks, constitute a huge portion of consumers of video games. But the gaming industry doesn't reflect that. The fact that the gaming industry (developers) is predominately white (secondarily Asian) and male is problematic. They aren't doing a bad job. I buy these games. I play them all the time. But could they be better? Absolutely."

On covering race in video game culture and industry (I really like Fussell's final comment at the end)

"I've been writing about blackness and games for about two years now and a huge majority of the negative feedback I get boils down to this: Race doesn't belong in video games. White commenters tell me racism in games isn't a problem. Only attention-starved reverse racists, dragging it up for clicks from white-guilt-addled gamers, still want to talk about racism. This is the burden of being a black gamer: I love games, but if I want to talk about them critically, my motives are questioned, my social ties are strained and suddenly I'm a member of the 'PC Police' who wants to go around ruining everyone's fun."

Fussell continued, "I know that there's a space for black gamers who don't want to write and research extensively about blackness in games. And that's cool. Not everyone needs to be Langston Hughes. But what is it about the intersection of race and videogames – similarly, gender and videogames, etc. – that threatens these gamers?"

On the flip side, Fussell said that some people tokenized black or brown voices, seeking input from non-white people only at certain times. "In gaming culture, social evolution is only a concern when it fits neatly into the marketing schedule," he said.

When asked what one thing he would change in the industry, Saint echoed Fussell's thoughts on tokenization: "I would love to not be needed to comment on the status of black players and developers in games. I don't know the last white guy that was asked his opinion on how his race is portrayed in games or treated in the industry, and if he was, I certainly don't know anyone that'd listen to him as The Representative. To be seen as an individual, instead of a member of The Other – that's what I'd change."

On lost potential

"What I would urge for the gaming industry to do is to put on a different hat for a day," she said. "Imagine yourself as a woman or a person of color, or a woman of color. What do the games look like from that lens? Stereotypical. Sexist. Misogynist. Racist. Limited. Singular. I feel like they have adopted a template of what sells and just continue to replicate that. And that's a shame. In a medium where the options are limitless, they continue to restrict themselves to the same old narrative.

Much more at the link: http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/gaming-while-black-casual-racism-to-cautious-optimism/

 

[Memory]

Some good quotes, ill read this in full later.

 

[TeRey09]

Yea I almost exclusively only use party chat in mp games because I would rather not deal with the assholes in lobbies. The crazy thing is that I've become indifferent to being called a "nigger" but listening to people who are just plain pieces of shit is exhausting.

 

[Jeronimo Jones]

Thanks for posting. I don't have time to read it all now, but there looks to be some good stuff in here.

Edit: I don't usually communicate with randoms in online games, but not specifically for profiling reasons since I'm more of a lone wolf anyway. I'm more comfortable in a party chat with friends.

 

[JDSN]

Yep, I mostly avoid public lobbies or play with gafers or people from my same region, in public ones there are times they dont notice my accent, but the moment they know were im from (If its on my profile or the game shows it) they proceed with the slurs.

 

[cheststrongwell]

I hear nigger and faggot almost every Counter Strike match I play. I also change my accent. Being called a dumb redneck through the whole match sucks.

 

[udivision]

Maybe because I live in Nintendo land where voice chat is a dream, and communication for multi-player games is practically non-existant with strangers, but I don't feel like I'm missing out. Don't wanna put up with any of that BS, and hopefully I'll never have to.

 

[fader]

These were good quotes. I definitely will read the whole thing later. That online one struck home with me because I rarely voice chat online unless it's with close friends because I've been often mocked because of my "southern ghetto" accent.

 

[ISOM]

The n word is thrown around so much in FPS's it's not even funny.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

Being called a dumb redneck through the whole match sucks.

 

[Otakumegane]

Maybe because I live in Nintendo land where voice chat is a dream, and communication for multi-player games is practically non-existant with strangers, but I don't feel like I'm missing out. Don't wanna put up with any of that BS, and hopefully I'll never have to.

They should at the very least allow voice chat with friends.

But for the most part I agree, years of putting up with league made me sick of that stuff.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Good article. I've often taken to not engaging in voice chat entirely due to the racial slurs hurled at me from time to time. Just because i sound like i'm from the hood doesn't make me any less of a person than you majority folks. Especially the things some kids pick up is just really disgusting.

 

[Gold_Loot]

The n word is thrown around so much in FPS's it's not even funny.

Very true.
One good thing I noticed is many other players, black, white, and in between have been quick to shut them down, or boot them out of the lobby. At least in my experiences.

 

[atr0cious]

The internet is why I no longer have a Southern accent. Changing the way you talk just so people won't start saying stupid things gets easier every time, just sucks that you have to do it. I get more jobs now, though. That second interview, when they match the voice from the phone to the person, you can see it in their eyes. Love it.

 

[Camp Lo]

I haven't played an online game that didn't get racial. I remember playing poker on XBL back in the day. Can't even play cards without shit like that.

 

[Apath]

I am so thankful people cannot identify that I am jewish from my voice. I couldn't imagine the barrage of shit that is thrown your way if people can tell you are black in an online game.

 

[EscoBlades]

I don't speak in my natural accent as a direct result of linguistic profiling.

Really good piece.

 

[Gold_Loot]

On the topic of black voice actors. Can we get more of these so I can finally get my Shadow Man sequel please?

I would do it for free, but I don't think a white / Italian guy would make a good Shadow Man.

 

[vypek]

Interesting quotes. I'll be sure to read the full article later. It sucks hearing those hateful, annoying people in games so I often mute people in general. One game that I've not had to do it as much is Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Probably because the player base tends to be younger and generally less hateful.

I remember playing an FPS game where some guy tried to harass me because my character was black. I hate chatting in general in public chats so I will always avoid it. I probably get harassed less because I have been told I have a "white voice." Remember a pizza delivery guy saying "That was you on the phone? You sound like a rich, white guy." I'll probably continue muting everyone unless its a private party.

Side note: I think I know the "Philly Geek of the Year"

 

[NinjamicWZ]

The way people are forced to alter their whole identity in life and in games, to avoid consequences and judgement, can be a terrible psychological burden. Constant hiding and second guessing can eventually create detrimental, compulsive behavior in everything you do.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

I started playing Arma 3 Life yesterday. It's really strict about roleplaying. You aren't supposed to break character at all. You can't even preface out of character speech with OOC without breaking the rules and getting a temporary ban.

Anyways, my character is black. I'm not.
As soon as I signed on I was getting made fun of for being black. There was a group of like 12 people talking about me and laughing. One of then knocked me down and they made racist jokes. They ended up calling me Jay-Z and making fun of my lips. It was fucking disgusting.

Rather than roleplaying the game, I'm actually primarily roleplaying being black.

I know this is trivial compared to what its like to have this happen in real life (in game or not), but it was really bizarre to me.

:/

 

[bishoptl]

Very true.
One good thing I noticed is many other players, black, white, and in between have been quick to shut them down, or boot them out of the lobby. At least in my experiences.

Yes, I've noticed that more as well, which is nice. Mute buttons are pretty much standard options across the board now, which is a massive change from when I first started gaming online.

I started playing Arma 3 Life yesterday. It's really strict about roleplaying. You aren't supposed to break character at all. You can't even preface out of character speech with OOC without breaking the rules and getting a temporary ban.

Anyways, my character is black. I'm not.
As soon as I signed on I was getting made fun of for being black. There was a group of like 12 people talking about me and laughing. One of then knocked me down and they made racist jokes. They ended up calling me Jay-Z and making fun of my lips. It was fucking disgusting.

Rather than roleplaying the game, I'm actually primarily roleplaying being black.

I know this is trivial compared to what its like to have this happen in real life (in game or not), but it was really bizarre to me.

:/

You should start a blog on this. I'd be interested in reading about that experience from your perspective - a new-age John Howard Griffin.

 

[cheststrongwell]

I should make that my Steam pic and just embrace the redneck.

 

[RP912]

Online gaming I never dealt with much racism but seen it happened to one of my teammates in God of War Ascension. The moment the opponents found out he was black, they started all sorts of racial slurs. Luckily, me and the teammate wasn't having that shit and destroyed them to the point of rage quitting.

Other than that, I don't really deal with issues on a racial level concerning gaming. However, it's unfortunate that some people actually are mindblown that there's black folks that play Dota, Starcraft, and different games besides the stereotypical thoughts of Madden, COD, and 2k.

 

[SerTapTap]

Anyways, my character is black. I'm not.
As soon as I signed on I was getting made fun of for being black. There was a group of like 12 people talking about me and laughing. One of then knocked me down and they made racist jokes. They ended up calling me Jay-Z and making fun of my lips. It was fucking disgusting.

Rather than roleplaying the game, I'm actually primarily roleplaying being black.
:/

That would be fascinating if it weren't so horrifying

 

[Razzorn34]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

 

[Palette Swap]

The crazy thing is that I've become indifferent to being called a "nigger" but listening to people who are just plain pieces of shit is exhausting.

When you think about it, that's such a disheartening thing to read in 2015.
Obviously, I'm not blaming you at all, dude, "mute all" has been my default option for any public game for years now.

 

[GhostTrick]

Yes, I've noticed that more as well, which is nice. Mute buttons are pretty much standard options across the board now, which is a massive change from when I first started gaming online.


You should start a blog on this. I'd be interested in reading about that experience from your perspective - a new-age John Howard Griffin.

This thing changed my life.
Mute unwanted people on the go.

 

[studyguy]

This is why I try to avoid identifying as anything online other than just some guy.

 

[RP912]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

Yeah its truly annoying. My ex girlfriend at the time said "I should have been white", just because I speak a certain way and act "weird". God forbid a person of color can't shut down the stereotypes once and for all.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

That's our bane friend. It comes from centuries of being hit with accusation of being dumb primates, so that even certain sects of our own consider being educated being white. The script has been flipped where we(the black person)can only identify as being black by conforming to the negative stereotypes others have forced on us, so that we ourselves now conform to that stereotype.

I can't say i would fit in with your experience cause i'm about as far from sounding or looking white as possible on first glance, but its surely gotta be rough.

 

[carl32]

I never knew people even think about someones colour when playing games online. It's a sad world.

 

[hatchx]

I always mute people online unless I know them personally. I dunno, it just feels weird talking to strangers online with some crappy mic.

I've never understood the appeal. I'm not surprised there's a bunch of prejudice Americans spewing racism. Probably a lot of 11-16 year olds from the south, and I can't entertain listening or interacting with them.

 

[Lime]

I really think this quote hammers a key aspect home:

"It's worth noting that every slur thrown out on voice chat [slurs] is really code for 'different'

Because a lot of players are not usually exposed to anything that isn't White (or heterosexual or male) in their video games, they feel their virtual spaces are being encroached upon by anything that isn't "normal" in their video game experiences. Dietrich touches on this in her analysis on skin tones for character creations in MMOs:

Such limitations force an Anglo appearance on avatars that has the potential to reinforce a sense of normative whiteness (Garner 2007; McWhorter 2005; Ward 2008) and contribute to a virtual “white habitus” (Bonilla-Silva 2010; Bonilla-Silva, Goar, and Embrick 2006).

As Harwood and Anderson(2002) argue, media representations not only reflect the conditions of society but maintain them as well. These virtual white spaces, therefore, have consequences for racialized interactions within the virtual space and the potential to reinforce the existing ideologies of whiteness outside the game (Larson 2006; Wilson, Gutierrez, and Chao 2003).

Whiteness studies demonstrate how whiteness is rendered “ default” or “ normal” within the context of contemporary racial ideology (Garner 2007; McWhorter 2005; Ward 2008). Whiteness itself loses any categorization as a “ race” ; it simply is. As Garner (2007: 37) states, “Treating whiteness as a nonracialized identity conceals racialized power relations and the ideas and practices that sustain them.” Whiteness becomes a universalizing category whereby whites are viewed as individuals while non-whites are viewed as parts of groups (Farough 2004)

The most obvious consequences of this situation are that the vast majority of virtual worlds lack truly non-white (specifically black) characters; they simply cannot be made in those environments. It is one thing to live in a world where most white people live within a “ white habitus” sheltered from contact with racial and ethnic minorities, but it is quite another to explore, socialize, and play in a virtual world where one is not just isolated from non-whites, non-whites simply do not exist.

For whites, these worlds reinforce the existing themes of normative whiteness by presenting a world that is all white in a way that appears to be natural and unquestioned. For minority players, the message communicated is that there is no place for you in these worlds. To participate, minority players must create a white-looking character, in essence “ passing” for white in a virtual sense (Nakamura and Wirman 2005). Minorities learn that to participate in these virtual worlds, they must “ become” white, an attitude that reflects the privileged position of white Western culture in contemporary society (Rains 1998) but influences how these individuals may act outside of these virtual worlds as well.

 

[Floridian]

I used to play MMO's and the amount of casual activity of calling other people racial slurs and jokes in public chat lobbies was astounding. I'm used to seeing the N-word so many times i'm pretty much desensitized to those words. The best thing for me to do is not even give them my time and reaction that they expect, so I either laugh it off or just ignore it. It's funny because I befriended some people online over those games that would seem decent, but then once drama occured and I wasn't their friend anymore they would start calling me the N-word and other shit, like that was going to break me down. I just ignored them and was simply done.

 

[Bgamer90]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

I can relate. Never had any friends tell me that but I got the "whitest black guy" comment from a decent number of (silly) people in school.

Sometimes got stupid "Black people don't skateboard" remarks from others when playing EA skate games too due to me using my create-a-character (which I made to look like myself).

 

[captmcblack]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

This is my life, everyday.

Anyway, voice chat in games, and uncensored messageboards, have pretty much made me hard and cold to stuff like this. I log onto games w/this username and it's open season anyway. As I've gotten older, I find I have less and less patience for this and I won't even play a game or participate in the online chat if it's just gonna be slurs and dumb shit anyway. Didn't play DOTA2 again until a few weeks ago because the community was sooooo wack about dumb shit and racial shit. At least you can report people in that game.

 

[Lime]

However, it's unfortunate that some people actually are mindblown that there's black folks that play Dota, Starcraft, and different games besides the stereotypical thoughts of Madden, COD, and 2k.

I blame publishers, developers, game journalists, and perhaps mostly marketing for this constructed perception of the audience.

 

[Bgamer90]

However, it's unfortunate that some people actually are mindblown that there's black folks that play Dota, Starcraft, and different games besides the stereotypical thoughts of Madden, COD, and 2k.

LOL. Yes. So true...

 

[Apath]

Because a lot of players are not usually exposed to anything that isn't White (or heterosexual or male) in their video games, they feel their virtual spaces are being encroached upon by anything that isn't "normal" in their video game experiences. Dietrich touches on this in her analysis on skin tones for character creations in MMOs:

Are you sure it's that and not just kids being antagonistic assholes, latching onto anything to get a reaction out of someone?

 

[Pinko Marx]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

I can't stand being told I don't count as being black because I don't fit into stereotypes.

 

[Vicetrailia]

"Almost guaranteed"

Not hearing racist remarks online is the same as not reading racist remarks on YouTube.

The only way to not experience it is to turn off voices/not read the comments section.

 

[cheststrongwell]

I always mute people online unless I know them personally. I dunno, it just feels weird talking to strangers online with some crappy mic.

I've never understood the appeal. I'm not surprised there's a bunch of prejudice Americans spewing racism. Probably a lot of 11-16 year olds from the south, and I can't entertain listening or interacting with them.

You'll hear this shit from people from every part of the US and from non-Americans.

 

[joecanada]

Very true.
One good thing I noticed is many other players, black, white, and in between have been quick to shut them down, or boot them out of the lobby. At least in my experiences.

I feel that reporting doesn't do enough currently. These types should be banned from xbl, psn promptly... And this is from someone who never reports

 

[Messofanego]

This is great stuff, thanks Lime.

 

[Pinko Marx]

I always mute people online unless I know them personally. I dunno, it just feels weird talking to strangers online with some crappy mic.

I've never understood the appeal. I'm not surprised there's a bunch of prejudice Americans spewing racism. Probably a lot of 11-16 year olds from the south, and I can't entertain listening or interacting with them.

You can't talk about not liking prejudice and then throw out a stereotype for southerners.

 

[dralla]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOY9CbIK9zk

too real, fresh prince

 

[Floridian]

I identify with the "Black Nerd" comment. I get some flak from my black friends, but even from my white friends. I'm now the whitest black guy they know. As if being educated, and liking intelligent topics, somehow makes me less black.

Story of my highschool days

 

[Palette Swap]

I blame publishers, developers, game journalists, and perhaps mostly marketing for this constructed perception of the audience.

The underlying idea here (conveyed everywhere) is that some games are smarter or more refined. Combined with the very alive racist stereotypes described earlier, you get an absolutely racist result.

 

[Angelus Errare]

The comment section...dear god ...if I had the power of a deity, I'd be ejecting people into space at a ridiculous rate.