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[Lime]

Justin Clarke wrote a really good piece on Paste Magazine about representation of Black people in video games, how representation matters, and how Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry and Liberation serve as cathartic experiences. I put up some quotes with some of the excellent points throughout the piece, but if there are too many, let me know, and I'll edit the OP. You should definitely read the article in full here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articl...l-in-the-hour-of-chaos-assassins-creed-a.html

Take all of TV and film’s worst tendencies with diverse representation and condense them. That is videogames. If I don’t exist in pop culture at large, I might as well be an ancient myth in games. There are, of course, black protagonists, and after 40 years of games, you can count on two hands the number of them who aren’t streetwise, gun-toting, blatantly “urban” tropes or ridiculous expressions of exaggerated black features. If you take away Valve characters, you can probably do it with one hand. Much of gaming is meant to be a power fantasy, the laser-shooting, street-fighting, lightsaber-swinging dreamland of magic we all adore. In this fantasy, you can find 200 guys who act and sound like Dr. Dre to every one that acts and sounds like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and none of the above are what I’d call “celebrated”. Even as games keep trying to sidle up to movies in terms of how they express bigger ideas, they’re still unique in their ability to apply instant empathy. How do you reinforce basic empathy for the vast beautiful tableau of experiences on Earth when you’re never given the chance?

On AC: Liberation:

But it might be the most important full-fledged entry in the series. It uses the backdrop well, with the particular place and time offering the perfect opportunity to present Aveline as being able to have agency. But even more than this, Liberation is a power trip on three fronts: It turns Aveline’s cultural inferiorities as being black, being a woman, and being a slave right on their heads. If being able to leap from tall buildings and shank Templars for great justice felt great before, imagine knowing about your inferiority in real life from birth. If you’re black, in a black neighborhood, being taught at a predominantly black school, there’s a chance you know about slavery before you even learn Martin Luther King’s name. You end up watching Roots, or someone brings it up in casual conversation, or you see someone blame affirmative action on it. So imagine, for a brief time, getting to play as a black woman, where slavery is nothing but a Clark Kent disguise for a no-nonsense businesswoman, and a cunning, clever avenger of wrongdoing. White soldiers attempt to attack you in the street for no other reason than being black. And with the push of a button, the tables turn. The sugarcane machete you used in the fields now cuts down oppressors in an insane feat of acrobatics. The whip you were beaten with now disarms and disables anyone who dares cross you. And then you can walk off to your office, and organize a deal through the game’s business rivalry system that screws their rich, slave-owning friend out of their business.

On the cathartic nature of playing these experiences, i.e. AC: Liberation and AC: Freedom Cry:

This is not an experience that can be had anywhere else on the planet. This is more than power, this is more than the elucidation of pain. This is catharsis. It’s catharsis beyond the one gamers usually think of, of having a shitty day, taking it out on virtual puppets with extreme prejudice. It is having your racial identity, the large scale identity as a minority validated, and given the freedom no slave ever did. It is the ability to exert power over a cultural past that has and continues to affect us to this day. It is not begging for someone to give us, us free. It is taking it by right and force.

On media representation in general:

But there’s an inherent justice to be dealt in both titles, a sense of the horrors that created it all, and being given all the tools you need to help end it. It’s a power fantasy with a purpose. It serves the same purpose that Inglorious Basterds serves for Jewish people, and that white people get to find in hundreds of other pieces of media every year. But most importantly, it’s validation. It means that black people, their experiences, their ancestry exist outside of the encyclopedia.

It’s not an end. Just like electing a black President didn’t make the United States a post-racial society, a single black perspective in games doesn’t mean we’re here. There was a study done a while back showing that the stereotypical ideas people have about minorities tend to be reinforced if given the first chance. If your only idea of what black people are is coming from Kanye West and GTA, having games feed that idea back to you with no counterpoint is only confirming that. This is why there are so many minority voices pushing for representation. We are not our stereotypes. Our experiences matter. Those experiences being normalized matters. It takes no effort to simply write a white character, snap your fingers and make him or her black, while making no changes to dialogue, no attempts to shorthand their way into a culture, just like it takes nothing to do the same and make a character Hispanic, or Indian, or gay, or transsexual, or even just plain female, despite what Ubisoft’s said themselves in the past. It is frightening as hell to have a medium so beholden to delivering power fantasies, and that fantasy involving a dearth of minorities. It’s getting better. We are not there yet.

But it’s seen as a constant risk. The hope is that one day creators will snap to their senses and realize it’s not. The hope isn’t that white people are left out of every game. The hope is that, like my mother, everyone can look at a game and see something they’ve never seen before: Themselves.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articl...l-in-the-hour-of-chaos-assassins-creed-a.html

If you want to support Clarke, here's his Patreon

 

[shadowstar]

Very well written article. I know film and tv have covered this subject before games, but I think there is something powerful about getting to actually play out the roles yourself versus watching actors.

The way he writes about black representation in media is how I feel about Latinos in games and film. I'm tired of being either a Mexican wrestler or shooting Mexican gang members as the only representations of Latinos. In a way I feel Latinos are the forgotten minority when it comes to these discussions.

 

[Giever]

Funny that he mentions Inglourious Basterds as an an analogy to this catharsis in the film medium when Django exists, which is even closer. But I understand that it's to tie it in to a similar cathartic experience that another group of people have been able to have.

There really should be more games where you're mowing down slave-owners (of any era). Games seem to rely on (or at least have relied on) Nazis so much for guilt-free murdering, but really, slave-owners have to be right up there too. So satisfying.

EDIT: And I agree that we should see more representation of all sorts of groups, cultures, segments of humanity, etc. Calling for it and bringing attention to the lack of it, and the value of it, is, of course useful. But I do really feel like one of the most important ways this can start to change is for the demographics of developers to start varying more in their diversity. People of a certain race and culture are just going to be more likely to either: A) Have their characters and/or stories revolve around those races or cultures, or B) Attempt to include other races/cultures but fail in some ways due to lack of understanding.

 

[FranXico]

I have no numbers to look at, but I am under the impression that both AC: Liberation and AC:Freedom Cry didn't sell that much.

And that is very much a shame, as consumers we should encourage publishers to pursue more of this kind of story-telling and more interesting protagonists.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Nice writeup. Makes me want to play those games even though I've long ago grown bored and tired of AC.

 

[Lime]

Funny that he mentions Inglourious Basterds as an an analogy to this catharsis in the film medium when Django exists, which is even closer. But I understand that it's to tie it in to a similar cathartic experience that another group of people have been able to have.

He does mention Django in the piece. Read it in full.

There really should be more games where you're mowing down slave-owners (of any era). Games seem to rely on (or at least have relied on) Nazis so much for guilt-free murdering, but really, slave-owners have to be right up there too. So satisfying.

So true. It's one of the more justified reasons for killing virtual human beings. especially in comparison to something as trite as "they killed my niece so I am now justified in killing hundreds of people" (Watch Dogs)

EDIT: And I agree that we should see more representation of all sorts of groups, cultures, segments of humanity, etc. Calling for it and bringing attention to the lack of it, and the value of it, is, of course useful. But I do really feel like one of the most important ways this can start to change is for the demographics of developers to start varying more in their diversity. People of a certain race and culture are just going to be more likely to either: A) Have their characters and/or stories revolve around those races or cultures, or B) Attempt to include other races/cultures but fail in some ways due to lack of understanding.

Your final challenge in regards to failing to understand a culture or a demographic or an experience different from your own can be solved by simply bringing on board members, organisations or experts on the thing you are choosing to represent. Pick up the phone or contact someone over e-mail - it is as simple as that.

Ph.D. Elizabeth LaPensée also talks about this in her talk on Cultural Collaboration: http://vimeo.com/112193585

 

[OnimaruXLR]

It baffles me how little variety there is in video game leads, not just in terms of them all being white dudes, but them all being white dudes who are vaguely scruffy with short brown hair. If they won't even step outside of their comfort zone to depict other kinds of white dudes, what chance does anyone else have?

I'm burnt out on AC (And I've only played two out of the eight games) but I did think that out of all the settings the one in Liberation had the most potential. Too bad it was relegated to spin-off territory.

 

[MR BLACKMAGIK]

In this fantasy, you can find 200 guys who act and sound like Dr. Dre to every one that acts and sounds like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and none of the above are what I’d call “celebrated”.]

So true it's sad. On a side note, I never realized how many of the good black characters are of Valve's creation. Good on them. It might be a while before we start seeing more diverse and realistic depictions in games, but I think addressing the issue is the only way we'll get there.

 

[Lime]

Nice writeup. Makes me want to play those games even though I've long ago grown bored and tired of AC.

LIberation and Freedom Cry are both historically more interesting I think and they also contextualize their missions and plots much better. Of course, mechanically they are incredibly similar to the other AC games, but at least the motivations for playing these mechanics are much better justified and contextualized. The fact that Aveline uses "the whip you were beaten with now disarms and disables anyone who dares cross you." is a testament to how much more interesting the weapons are by virtue of of their signified nature.

Personally I think Freedom Cry should've been Black Flag instead - it's a much more interesting setting that in some ways treat the historical source material with care in some aspects, while in others it can be disappointing (cf. slaves as resources in Freedom, voodoo priest in Liberation).

But even more remarkable, in Freedom Cry and Liberation you actually scenes consisting of only two African-American characters who both talk to each other:

I think that's extremely rare in video games.

 

[Sabrewulf]

I think Liberation and Freedom Cry were weak design wise, but in terms of writing I felt satisfied.

 

[BTHR Zero X]

As a white male I would like to say this, I loved playing as Aveline de Grandpré and Adéwalé.

Because they are not the same bland characters we are used to these two where refreshing and new. I loved them and there stories so much. I hope they return in the series during its future or at least they try to do something similar with fresh characters.

I hope these two Charaters and this Article help bring more Characters like Aveline and Adéwalé to our screens. Not just in Ubisoft Games but is others Companys games as well.

Edit: I would also like to say I was not originally going to buy Black Flag until I bought the Solo Pack of Freedom Cry but Adéwalé sold me on it.

 

[a.wd]

Such an a good thread, but people are spending their time on GAF talking about grass...

 

[Angelus Errare]

We're totally never getting another game featuring Aveline. Ubisoft pls.

Such an a good thread, but people are spending their time on GAF talking about grass...

To be fair, chances are high some of those people aren't the ones you'd want in this thread.

 

[KePoW]

LIberation and Freedom Cry are both historically more interesting I think and they also contextualize their missions and plots much better. Of course, mechanically they are incredibly similar to the other AC games, but at least the motivations for playing these mechanics are much better justified and contextualized.

Personally I think Freedom Cry should've been Black Flag instead - it's a much more interesting setting that in some ways treat the historical source material with care in some aspects, while in others it can be disappointing (cf. slaves as resources in Freedom, voodoo priest in Liberation).

You are certainly free to have the opinion above, and there's nothing "wrong" with it.

However am I free to say that I have no particular interest in playing as black characters, nor the settings of Liberation / Freedom Cry? I liked Black Flag how it was.

I don't have anything against playing as black people, I'm just saying it's not any particular checkmark to me whatsoever.

I'm full-blooded Chinese, and I honestly don't care about playing as asian characters either. I liked Sleeping Dogs as a game, but not because I thought Wei Shen was personally special. I'm only in the hobby for gameplay, not social principles in video games.

 

[Giever]

He does mention Django in the piece. Read it in full.

Y'got me. Whoops. D:

Your final challenge in regards to failing to understand a culture or a demographic or an experience different from your own can be solved by simply bringing on board members, organisations or experts on the thing you are choosing to represent. Pick up the phone or contact someone over e-mail - it is as simple as that.

Ph.D. Elizabeth LaPensée also talks about this in her talk on Cultural Collaboration: http://vimeo.com/112193585

Well, obviously I wasn't trying to imply that it's not possible for a non-diverse team of developers to successfully include under-represented groups (hence the 'more likely' part of my comment). That's one way to resolve the issue, at least somewhat, and it would be nice if it would happen more often. I'm just saying the more people that we can get from different walks of life actually spear-heading game development with their own vision, the more diverse a landscape of games and representation-in-games we'll have.

While devs actually getting input from board members, experts, etc., will still be highly preferable to them not, I do think that that can only get us so far. It would be nice to have more 'auteur' type games (indies, probably) from some of those under-represented segments.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

You are certainly free to have the opinion above, and there's nothing "wrong" with it.

However am I free to say that I have no particular interest in playing as black characters, nor the settings of Liberation / Freedom Cry? I liked Black Flag how it was.

I don't have anything against playing as black people, I'm just saying it's not any particular checkmark to me whatsoever.

I'm full-blooded Chinese, and I honestly don't care about playing as asian characters either. I liked Sleeping Dogs as a game, but not because I thought Wei Shen was personally special. I'm only in the hobby for gameplay, not social principles in video games.

You didn't bother to read the article or the excerpt in the OP, did you.

 

[Slayven]

The hope is that one day creators will snap to their senses and realize it’s not. The hope isn’t that white people are left out of every game. The hope is that, like my mother, everyone can look at a game and see something they’ve never seen before: Themselves.

Sums it nicely, folks just want to see black people depicted fairly.

 

[KePoW]

You didn't bother to read the article or the excerpt in the OP, did you.

No I did not read the article, but I did read the first two quoted boxes in the OP.

Besides, my answer was specifically to Lime's two paragraphs that I quoted.

 

[Giever]

Ugh, this write-up and this thread is really making me want to try out AC: Liberation, but I don't have it, it was just on sale 5 days ago (which I missed, of course), and it seems like it's buggy according to the Steam Community page for it. D:

I'll probably pick it up the next time I see it below $10 anyway.

 

[Palette Swap]

Great read, thanks.

LIberation and Freedom Cry are both historically more interesting I think and they also contextualize their missions and plots much better.

Tangentially, Unity is a mess on the historical context front by putting most of it in side missions, so I had no idea who the Black guy was on the Assassins Council until I played a side mission that mentioned him more clearly. It turns out he's Thomas Alexandre Dumas, a guy with a very interesting life and father to Alexandre Dumas. That's a squandered opportunity. Then again, they do mess properly using a number of great figures by only mentioning them in passing.

 

[Lime]

Y'got me. Whoops. D:



Well, obviously I wasn't trying to imply that it's not possible for a non-diverse team of developers to successfully include under-represented groups (hence the 'more likely' part of my comment). That's one way to resolve the issue, at least somewhat, and it would be nice if it would happen more often. I'm just saying the more people that we can get from different walks of life actually spear-heading game development with their own vision, the more diverse a landscape of games and representation-in-games we'll have.

While devs actually getting input from board members, experts, etc., will still be highly preferable to them not, I do think that that can only get us so far. It would be nice to have more 'auteur' type games (indies, probably) from some of those under-represented segments.

Definitely! I totally agree. Have you heard about the game Never Alone and how it came about? Your post reminded me of that game. New Yorker had a piece on it: http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/never-alone-video-game-help-preserve-inuit-culture

You are certainly free to have the opinion above, and there's nothing "wrong" with it.

However am I free to say that I have no particular interest in playing as black characters, nor the settings of Liberation / Freedom Cry? I liked Black Flag how it was.

I don't have anything against playing as black people, I'm just saying it's not any particular checkmark to me whatsoever.

I'm full-blooded Chinese, and I honestly don't care about playing as asian characters either. I liked Sleeping Dogs as a game, but not because I thought Wei Shen was personally special. I'm only in the hobby for gameplay, not social principles in video games.

Of course, and that's totally fine. I was just stating my opinion about why I enjoy Freedom Cry and Liberation moreso than the other entries in the series. And Clarke also provides his reasons for why he (and his mother) enjoyed the representation of African-Americans in video games as main protagonists. It's totally fine you feel that way, while others feel differently. To some, representation matters, while for others it doesn't. And that's perfectly okay.

But it would help the motivation behind your post if you read the article

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

No I did not read the article, but I did read the first two quoted boxes in the OP.

Besides, my answer was specifically to Lime's two paragraphs that I quoted.

What you said wasn't even addressing what was in those paragraphs

You personally not caring about having representation as a Chinese person is your position to take but why present that as some kind of counterpoint to those paragraphs

Apathy is simply that

 

[BTHR Zero X]

Ugh, this write-up and this thread is really making me want to try out AC: Liberation, but I don't have it, it was just on sale 5 days ago (which I missed, of course), and it seems like it's buggy according to the Steam Community page for it. D:

I'll probably pick it up the next time I see it below $10 anyway.

I never had a Vita at the time of release, but I did get the HD Edition on my PS3 and loved it so much when I got a Vita and got it on there too and I am playing through it again

 

[Dr_LucienSanchez]

Fantastic article, thanks for sharing.

 

[HighResTomato]

Justin Clarke wrote a really good piece on Paste Magazine about representation of African-Americans in video games, how representation matters, and how Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry and Liberation serve as cathartic experiences. I put up some quotes with some of the excellent points throughout the piece, but if there are too many, let me know, and I'll edit the OP. You should definitely read the article in full here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articl...l-in-the-hour-of-chaos-assassins-creed-a.html

A black person is not necessarily an "African-American".

 

[Lime]

Ugh, this write-up and this thread is really making me want to try out AC: Liberation, but I don't have it, it was just on sale 5 days ago (which I missed, of course), and it seems like it's buggy according to the Steam Community page for it. D:

I'll probably pick it up the next time I see it below $10 anyway.

It is flawed and the HD port can't escape that it's derived from a portable game. There are plot gaps that make the experience seem disjointed, there are some performance issues in terms of the technical demands of a portable HD port, some of the polygon work is jarring, and it suffers from the same collect-a-thon stuff we see in other AC games. But I still think the experience is interesting and it's cool that it uses its historical backdrop and its identity play between different layers of society in a novel and fresh way. But be aware that it does have its flaws - there's a reason it's priced at 20 bucks.

A black person is not necessarily an "African-American".

Thanks, I know and I did think of how to put it. I didn't want to encapsulate Black people beyond the Americas, so that's why I wrote what I wrote. Thanks for correcting me and I'll keep it in mind from now on.

 

[atr0cious]

More representation is great, as long as that doesn't mean developers just keep using slavery as a jumping point. We've done more than live underfoot and in chains, so it'd be nice to be recognized for it.

 

[KePoW]

Of course, and that's totally fine. I was just stating my opinion about why I enjoy Freedom Cry and Liberation moreso than the other entries in the series. And Clarke also provides his reasons for why he (and his mother) enjoyed the representation of African-Americans in video games as main protagonists. It's totally fine you feel that way, while others feel differently. To some, representation matters, while for others it doesn't. And that's perfectly okay.

But it would help the motivation behind your post if you read the article

Okay cool, no problem then.

Assuming the article author is black himself, then I can certainly understand his personal motivations for liking Liberation / Freedom Cry.

I just hope other people can understand non-black people like myself who don't feel any connection to playing as black characters.

 

[EscoBlades]

Thanks for this thread.

 

[atr0cious]

I just hope other people can understand non-black people like myself who don't feel any connection to playing as black characters.

You have thousands of games to choose from, sorry you don't relate to a couple downloadable half assed games.

 

[Mortemis]

You have thousands of games to choose from, sorry you don't relate to a couple downloadable half assed games.

Lay off of him, he just "can't relate".

That was a good read, thanks for the link op.

 

[Doukou]

Misread thought it was the article not the OP.

 

[Malyse]

Article makes me feel good, tbh.
Good share, Lime.

 

[EscoBlades]

A black person is not necessarily an "African-American".

A good point. An increasingly major point.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Assuming the article author is black himself, then I can certainly understand his personal motivations for liking Liberation / Freedom Cry.

I just hope other people can understand non-black people like myself who don't feel any connection to playing as black characters.

For myself, a non-black and half-white, half-Asian American, I always enjoy playing non-male, non-whites in my games, even to the point of being drawn toward them because they aren't the norm. I don't feel a personal connection by skin color, ethnicity, nationality, or sex. If I find myself feeling any personal connection, it will be because of the game's handling of the characters, plot, and world. For me, it's not a novelty so much as the main attraction to experience new and different things through games...and hopefully, it's fun, too.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

More so than race or sex I think in just not interested in American representations in videogames.

 

[harSon]

Okay cool, no problem then.

Assuming the article author is black himself, then I can certainly understand his personal motivations for liking Liberation / Freedom Cry.

I just hope other people can understand non-black people like myself who don't feel any connection to playing as black characters.

And on what level do you relate with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a Muslim Arabic assassin?

 

[ChoklitCow]

I was just thinking about this the other day when I popped in GTA 5. You get hit with a very strong characterization of south-central gang life from the instant you put in the game immediately after the prologue and it left me thinking about how this portrayal matters. I didn't come up with any good answers when I thought about typecasting, it's impact, etc. As a young, scrawny little white kid growing up in the midwest, this gang culture always fascinated me. Did movies like Boys n the Hood, South Central, and Above the Rim glorify or educate (or both)? I guess I feel the same about games now.

Then I started thinking about games like Telltale's Walking Dead and The Last of Us and how their representation mattered. How games like these and those before them tell their story is very important yet sometimes I might not even gather it's importance because of where I am in life.


Evan Narcisse of Kotaku always rocks my socks with similar articles when he does them. His Freedom Cry article was on point. He also creates and retweets some pretty impactful stuff on twitter, so for those interested in some similar works I'd recommend him!

Either way, it makes me happy that my hobby creates a venue for discourse and changing worldviews. Pretty cool medium.

 

[TheBlackMarvel]

Good article.

It really is eye opening the things people can and can't relate to and how that impacts a hobby (at least partly) fuelled by escapism.

I was just thinking about this the other day when I popped in GTA 5. You get hit with a very strong characterization of south-central gang life from the instant you put in the game immediately after the prologue and it left me thinking about how this portrayal matters. I didn't come up with any good answers when I thought about typecasting, it's impact, etc. As a young, scrawny little white kid growing up in the midwest, this gang culture always fascinated me. Did movies like Boys n the Hood, South Central, and Above the Rim glorify or educate (or both)? I guess I feel the same about games now.

Then I started thinking about games like Telltale's Walking Dead and The Last of Us and how their representation mattered. How games like these and those before them tell their story is very important yet sometimes I might not even gather it's importance because of where I am in life.


Evan Narcisse of Kotaku always rocks my socks with similar articles when he does them. His Freedom Cry article was on point. He also creates and retweets some pretty impactful stuff on twitter, so for those interested in some similar works I'd recommend him!

Either way, it makes me happy that my hobby creates a venue for discourse and changing worldviews. Pretty cool medium.

This is a really good post.

 

[atr0cious]

Lay off of him, he just "can't relate".

That was a good read, thanks for the link op.

It's just kind of a ridiculous thing to write that you can't relate to a game with a minority character, in a thread about someone asking for more minority representation, as if there are a ton of games to choose from, and he's played them all. Although if he didn't like GTASA, I went hold it against him.

Besides the mentioned, how many games actually feature a black main character? How many games even have playable black characters? Now how many of those are well rounded and don't feed into some trope or another?

 

[bishoptl]

And on what level do you relate with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a Muslim Arabic assassin?

You'll be waiting for an answer on this for quite some time.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Nice read.

And on what level do you relate with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a Muslim Arabic assassin?

snap.

 

[Dice//]

It baffles me how little variety there is in video game leads, not just in terms of them all being white dudes, but them all being white dudes who are vaguely scruffy with short brown hair. If they won't even step outside of their comfort zone to depict other kinds of white dudes, what chance does anyone else have?

Definitely this. How boring the pool of MCs has become.
I truly hope that the skin colour and/or gender really isn't that big an influence in what games people pick up.

As much as I hated Desmon's character in AC, i love his hodge-podge ethnicity and appearance.
(still need an Asian assassin though...)

 

[EdwardTeach]

A black person is not necessarily an "African-American".

Yeah, quite an offensive generalisation.

 

[Mael]

I've yet to play a game where I can look at the main character and feel like it would be a good role model.
And I'm not talking about character created games.
Heck the closest I found was Zasch in FFXIII which is a shame because of how garbage everything else is in that game.
At least even in Pokemon now we have the choice to play something else than random white dude.

 

[someday]

I'm going to read this in full later, but this reminded me to buy Freedom Cry. I'll play this tonight after some Iron Banner.

 

[BumblebeeCody]

For myself, a non-black and half-white, half-Asian American, I always enjoy playing non-male, non-whites in my games, even to the point of being drawn toward them because they aren't the norm. I don't feel a personal connection by skin color, ethnicity, nationality, or sex.

Exactly. I find it to be a very shallow view. As someone who is partially Indian (Indian/English/Irish...yeah I know) I have little to no representation out of Dhalsim in Street Fighter. Can anyone actually name one? Yet, "more diversity" means "more black people". That being said I've never felt like a game should receive praise because it has a black/female lead nor that having a white lead is bad.

If I find myself feeling any personal connection, it will be because of the game's handling of the characters, plot, and world. For me, it's not a novelty so much as the main attraction to experience new and different things through games...and hopefully, it's fun, too.

Is, and always should be the point. Praising a character because they're "not straight white male" distracts away from the characters positive traits and characteristics.
It's like:
"I like Sazh Katzroy because he's black"
When it should be
"I like Sazh Katzroy because he's funny, charming, is a great Dad and keeps the story progressing in a positive path despite his doomed destined fate with his son....who just so happens to be black". Unfortunately, his character was met with salt, "Oh he has an afro, and guns, and he's black and he's the comic relief". C'mon.

 

[Malyse]

Definitely this. How boring the pool of MCs has become.
I truly hope that the skin colour and/or gender really isn't that big an influence in what games people pick up.

As much as I hated Desmon's character in AC, i love his hodge-podge ethnicity and appearance.
(still need an Asian assassin though...)

Yeah, about that... :'(

 

[Malyse]

Exactly. I find it to be a very shallow view. As someone who is partially Indian (Indian/English/Irish...yeah I know) I have little to no representation out of Dhalsim in Street Fighter. Yet, "more diversity" means "more black people". That being said I've never felt like a game should receive praise because it has a black/female lead nor that having a white lead is bad.


Is, and always should be the point. Praising a character because they're "not straight white male" distracts away from the characters positive traits and characteristics.
It's like:
"I like Sazh Katzroy because he's black"
When it should be
"I like Sazh Katzroy because he's funny, charming, is a great Dad and keeps the story progressing in a positive path despite his doomed destined fate with his son....who just so happens to be black"

But Sazh doesn't just happen to be black.

 

[Giever]

And on what level do you relate with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a Muslim Arabic assassin?

The dude did just kind of come in and needlessly add how black characters in video games are meaningless to him, as a player.

However, to be fair, it seemed like his original (unnecessary) point was that the race of the protagonist in video games doesn't matter to him: he doesn't care if the main character is black, but it doesn't put him off either.

So I assume he doesn't relate to Altaïr at all, but also doesn't care that he doesn't relate to him. If we're going to call him out on something, call him out on a useless and distracting drive-by post, not on being a hypocrite, because by what he's stated, he's not.