Why are there still so many white men in video games

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If you notice that there is more of one colour than another... you're more than likely the racist. Who really gives a SSHH what colour people are anymore?

As for women being the lead role in games - Games are generally played by men more than women - and as a man, I would rather my character be male - I'm more likely to relate to the story if I can put myself in my characters shoes.
Come on, have the gumption to say "who gives a shit" if your argument is who gives a shit/why does anyone care about minorites in games. Which, interestingly enough, is one of the quickest ways to a grey name.

See, I would identify better with a gay male, which is why I'd like more in games. So ironically you've already answered your own question about why it matters. But since I'm a minority I guess I don't matter.
 
If you notice that there is more of one colour than another... you're more than likely the racist. Who really gives a SSHH what colour people are anymore?

As for women being the lead role in games - Games are generally played by men more than women - and as a man, I would rather my character be male - I'm more likely to relate to the story if I can put myself in my characters shoes.

oh boy, i can tell this is gonna be a good one.

"im not racist, the ones who talk about race are racist! we should just ignore it... as long as all the characters are white and male because i can relate to them better."

people can not be this dense, can they? is
empathy such a rare trait? oh who am i kidding, we have an entire political party who thinks this way -_-
 
*yawnnnnn*

Here comes that raise card again.......

I got 99 problems and people raise isn't one!!!

I'm trying to think of one game where there is only white people in, can't think of one to be honest?
 
*yawnnnnn*

Here comes that raise card again.......

I got 99 problems and people raise isn't one!!!

I'm trying to think of one game where there is only white people in, can't think of one to be honest?

If you are gonna be dismissive, maybe find a topic more relevant to your interests.

PS, it is Race.
 
Video games are a form of escapism, and because of this most people would generally choose for their avatar to reflect themselves as much as possible. The same will be the case when developing games - what would developers and writers know best? And from what perspective are they most likely to be successful portraying? Themselves and from their own perspective.

Nowadays, the types of games you’re likely thinking of are big-budget titles developed in America, the UK or Europe, and likely by guys who happen to be white. It’s not discrimination, it’s just statistics.

ubisoft-toronto.jpg

This is the problem at its core, really. Games are made by white guys, for white guys, and hence, lots of white male protagonists. What we really need is more diversity in the people who are making the games, then we'll see more diversity in the games themselves.
 
How would having a minority character change their suitability for a story? How many games use a character's whiteness in any way, out in what ways does it suit a story? What about their gender?

Why is it this bullshit about suitability or having to fit the story only apply or come up when it's about minorities? Why do minority characters always have to justify their existence, to the story, game, everything but that isn't true for straight white males?

That's because a story is almost always rooted in reality, and since it's mostly white men who has written our history for at least the last 1000 years(in the west), it just automatically happens I would say. For example. I like the famous explorer Dr Livingstone, a white English dude, so if I were to write an adventure script, that's where I would start my research and writing. To make him into a black character could prove problematic as it's written from a white persons perspective who travels to exotic places EDIT: (within Africa). A black protagonist probably wouldn't find Africa nearly as exotic as a white person.
 
If that's a serious comment, and you think that's a fair and valid generalization of what people arguing for diversity and inclusiveness want from every game, then you're either not reading what people are actually posting or being intentionally disingenuous.

Actually, Burger King Kid's club is about as stereotypical a selection of characters as it gets. You got the token black guy, what I assume is a hispanic kid, then a larger selection of white people, fewer of which are female.

Okay. Actually it's fair. Apparently the African American population in the US is 12 percent. Burger King Kid's club is being generous to their audience by including a complete black individual in their club of 7 people. The gender thing needs work though.


Look. I want more diversity. My argument is simply that you won't have that kind of diversity until the field of designers is more diverse. It's just not going to suddenly happen, even if designers challenge themselves more. At least there's strong diversity in supporting cast, even if the protagonist is still a white man. That's a small victory and I feel that trend will continue.

Technology fields have traditionally been populated by white men. But as with everything else, we're seeing more women, more growing racial diversity, in a healthy upward expansion. I think there's reason to celebrate what diversity there is rather than criticize what we have.
 
TitanFall - (Haven't played it, but is there a main protag in this? From trailers seems the cast was diverse.)

It's a multiplayer-only game with limited character customization, but gender can be chosen.

I like to point out the lack of female enemies in games, so I'll point out that all the NPC grunts in Titanfall are male, so it's not that diverse.
 
If you are gonna be dismissive, maybe find a topic more relevant to your interests.

PS, it is Race.

Look buddy im the type of person who walks down a street and doesn't even notice the colour of people's skin

It shouldn't even be an issue in the year 2014 as sure anyone in last 30 years has been brought up by all is one colour and everyone is as equal

Do I play a game thinking Nahhh I'm not playing that because of there colour, nope I don't even notice the dam colour
 
It's a complex topic. Hollywood has the same problem.

While it might be a complex issue, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about. Walls don't get tore down by not talking about it, it does by confronting them.

but I can see why when you look at some of the arguments presented by people against more inclusion of non white males.I remember when they cast Jaime Foxx as Electro or even Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, people on forums were mad angry because in the comic book for electro he was white. ironically for Nick Fury they used the Ultimate version of nick fury, but the ones complaining never stop to realize that they reason why Electro could be any race was because his characterization is not related to race.

So I guess it is a complex issue, but only because they either a lot of dumb or racist/sexist people. I think a lot of people don't realize that you can be a racist or a sexist without actively trying to be either of those things.

Look buddy im the type of person who walks down a street and doesn't even notice the colour of people's skin

It shouldn't even be an issue in the year 2014 as sure anyone in last 30 years has been brought up by all is one colour and everyone is as equal

Do I play a game thinking Nahhh I'm not playing that because of there colour, nope I don't even notice the dam colour

Is this is joke? Are you blind? You should notice someone's color because we are not all the same race but given how you spell the word color you probably are from a region where they are only whites, right?

Not noticing someone's color makes you a blind person and you should go have your eyes check.
 
If you notice that there is more of one colour than another... you're more than likely the racist. Who really gives a SSHH what colour people are anymore?

As for women being the lead role in games - Games are generally played by men more than women - and as a man, I would rather my character be male - I'm more likely to relate to the story if I can put myself in my characters shoes.
Lived1000lives
All of them male, possibly white and straight too
(Today, 09:40 AM)
 
She's right. Additionally it's a bit sad how many of the last/current-gen character share a lot of physical traits.

Short-haired white-skinned brooding men with "cool" clothes is the default, or only options for most games.

Say what you will about furries but at least in the 16 and 32bit days we had a lot more diversity, if not of genders then at least of species/character design. It seems that the less restrictive our technology becomes for developers, the less diverse our games become graphically.

You still find this diversity in indie development. Where artists and developers are free to be inspired, and can run wih their inspirations free of creative restriction.

AAA games will continue to have white males leads and generic designs because that's simply what sells.

There's no point voting with your wallet, because there are too many people who will just keep buying.

This won't shift until society shifts, we might see small improvement here and there but I doubt we'll see true representation or balance for a while.

I'm studying game design, and I'm going to write my stories based on the people I know. Men, women, all races, all ages. My protagonist will be Male most likely because I am Male and I'll be writing from a perspective I'm comfortable with, and I won't write In tokens for the sake of it, but in my mind the characters can only be what I know, and that's diverse.

The main character certainly won't be cool. The girls are going to be more than background, and won't be any more sexualised than the males. But then the story I'm going to tell suits that kind of diversity.

Action games set within the confines of a realistic setting are going to have male characters as leads more often simply because male physicality suits that more. There's an element of realism required to make a character feel grounded just enough for the story to be plausible.

For example: GTA style games suit male protags more simply because the kind if crime is male dominated, and women play a sexualised role in the real world examples so their depiction is realistic in context. Of course there are exceptions, and they should consider these, but shoehorning them in could be awkward. You could always do something subtle like Bill's sexuality in TLoU, it doesn't have to be overt (and shouldn't unless the story requires it, this kind if thing should never be a waving flag either way IMO), but maybe they don't want to even risk alienating markets.

The issue here isn't that there are too many male leads imo, but hat developers are too comfortable wrong the type of stories where they more sense as protagonists.

The actual stories need to be more varied, that way we can include more diverse characters and protagonists while keeping their inclusion meaningful and not just reactionary, and we wouldn't have to shoehorn stuff in or make overt reference to sexuality just to show we're including it to be fair. It would just be a natural part of the story, a non issue. Not something to focus on either way. Natural. That's what we need.

Of course. You could just write pure sci-fi and fantasy and negate real world worries, but if you have a specific idea for a setting that won't always be possible.

But, again, it's what sells. And AAA gaming is about what sells.

Anyway, it would be wonderful to see more character diversity. The brooding 30 something male is getting dull, and I'm a brooding 30 something male. I'd really like to experience some different perspectives that were well written. Not only would it be refreshing, but if written well enough would provide insight into diverse chavrater types that I don't have interaction with enough to understand on a personal level. That could only be of for my own development as a person.

-

I agree with the Tweet's premise, but I don't always agree with the way the writer presents her ideas. She seems to cherry pick parts from games to dirge the points while ignoring that the same game actually supports the things she calls for.

The video she produced regarding women as background objects, she used an example of female prostitute NPCs from New Vegas, completely ignoring the fact there were male prostitutes too. The game's tone and setting suited the idea of prostitution, that people were desperate in this world enough that they would resort to it, or find a proficiency they could exploit to survive, and the game fairly represented that with both genders.

That kind of tactic or oversight seems to be present in much of her work, and it dilutes the impact of her points (which I understand an agree with).
 
Look buddy im the type of person who walks down a street and doesn't even notice the colour of people's skin

It shouldn't even be an issue in the year 2014 as sure anyone in last 30 years has been brought up by all is one colour and everyone is as equal

Do I play a game thinking Nahhh I'm not playing that because of there colour, nope I don't even notice the dam colour

I'm not your buddy.

"Privilege means there are inequalities you will never experience because of who you are. You'll need to step outside yourself to see them"
 

Your my best buddy <3

And nah I don't accept that statement, I prob don't live in a place where you obviously have issues with the colours and nationality

In my world all is one, if anyone thinks there better or below someone then that is a personal issue

Bollocks to anyone that makes your smile turn upside down, I just push them away and carry on with my day
 
While it might be a complex issue, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about. Walls don't get tore down by not talking about it, it does by confronting them.

but I can see why when you look at some of the arguments presented by people against more inclusion of non white males.I remember when they cast Jaime Foxx as Electro or even Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, people on forums were mad angry because in the comic book for electro he was white. ironically for Nick Fury they used the Ultimate version of nick fury, but the ones complaining never stop to realize that they reason why Electro could be any race was because his characterization is not related to race.

So I guess it is a complex issue, but only because they either a lot of dumb or racist/sexist people. I think a lot of people don't realize that you can be a racist or a sexist without actively trying to be either of those things.



Is this is joke? Are you blind? You should notice someone's color because we are not all the same race but given how you spell the word color you probably are from a region where they are only whites, right?

Not noticing someone's color makes you a blind person and you should go have your eyes check.

I'm saying its complex because there are many layers--developers are mostly white males, similar to Hollywood. Those who do the focus testing and marketing are most likely white males in this industry. The fact that most protagonist are white males is not an accident. It's based on market research, which I believe is BS as well.

Some people mentioned getting more minorities in game development will help, but that will take some time. Universities already have trouble attracting minorities to computer science. So it's complex in that it is multi layered. And the solution will need to be multi layered as well.

Hollywood is still mostly Caucausian as well. There are only a handful of black actors who get consistent billing.
 
Your my best buddy <3

And nah I don't accept that statement, I prob don't live in a place where you obviously have issues with the colours and nationality

In my world all is one, if anyone thinks there better or below someone then that is a personal issue

Bollocks to anyone that makes your smile turn upside down, I just push them away and carry on with my day

lmao

"this problem doesn't seem to affect
me in any way, it probably doesn't exist!"
 
Apparently some white males: "Fuck you, got mine."

Seriously. "I am already being catered to, so I don't see why it's all that important". How blatant could that be?
 
Look. I want more diversity. My argument is simply that you won't have that kind of diversity until the field of designers is more diverse. It's just not going to suddenly happen, even if designers challenge themselves more. At least there's strong diversity in supporting cast, even if the protagonist is still a white man. That's a small victory and I feel that trend will continue.
Other industries are dominated by white men, yet are more capable of telling diverse stories or having diverse characters than gaming. The lack of diversity in the field is an issue, but you're selling creators short if you think they can only write themselves.

I think there's reason to celebrate what diversity there is rather than criticize what we have.
Why can't we do both? I'm happy to celebrate inclusiveness and diversity strides being made, but why should I then stop saying "there's further room to go"? If you're all for more diversity, why would you want to stifle the conversation by which we acknowledge more progress to be made and work to highlighting where it can be made? Saying " you shouldn't criticize anymore because we've made some strides" just seems misguided.

That's because a story is almost always rooted in reality, and since it's mostly white men who has written our history for at least the last 1000 years(in the west), it just automatically happens I would say. For example. I like the famous explorer Dr Livingstone, a white English dude, so if I were to write an adventure script, that's where I would start my research and writing. To make him into a black character could prove problematic as it's written from a white persons perspective who travels to exotic places EDIT: (within Africa).
Not all stories need to be rooted in reality, not should they. And pointing to a history predominated be exclusion to justify future exclusion is both gross and nonsensical.

A black protagonist probably wouldn't find Africa nearly as exotic as a white person.
I'm sorry, but what the actual fuck?
 
Shit that hasn't come on right at all... apologies. Really should have read that back but being at work got pulled away. I didn't mean how that came out. I would edit it but let it remain a gravestone of a stupid comment.

Now I have more time I will ellaborate... I meant that as long as games are not specifically causing racial hatred or promoting it in any way then why should it matter what character is what skin? Pointing to say, Final Fantasy IX, should a character in the main party have been of black skin? (Vivi doesn't count) Should that have mattered?

Should there really be a racism/sexism member of the team who evens out numbers of party members to represent every race/creed/skin colour? Or should we just leave creative control to the guys/gals making the game?

Did anyone notice when Barret was black in Final Fantasy VII and would it have changed the viewpoint of him had he been a big white guy with a gun arm? Not really...


Let me put it this way: if I showed you racist or at least eyebrow-raising racially-charged imagery in Nintendo games (like the mammy boss in Kirby or the fact that all the without-a-doubt black NPCs in Pokemon Black and White are breakdancers or athletes, Gym Leaders / E4 notwithstanding), would you admit they're questionable, or would you just write it off as a "Japanese company having trouble appealing to Western audiences?"

This is the problem at its core, really. Games are made by white guys, for white guys, and hence, lots of white male protagonists. What we really need is more diversity in the people who are making the games, then we'll see more diversity in the games themselves.

The problem with this mindset is that it's a halfway street, you can't just tell the excluded to "do better." That's basically like going back to pre-emancipation-era United States and saying "we need more black slaveholders and white slaves, then we'll see more racial equality."
 
Equality does not mean dividing precisely down the rainbow.
Who's asking for that? Who exactly is asking for quotas or trying to force developers to do anything? Can you kindly point it out? I'm truly tired of people addressing arguments from imagined specters seeking to be statistically inclusive for everything ever.
 
lmao

"this problem doesn't seem to affect
me in any way, it probably doesn't exist!"

Unfortunately, this is the reaction most will have.

I don't think racism is that rife any more in my experience, but I'm a white male from a middle class background. On a day to day basis I don't experience any racism, and the black people I meet seem just like everyone else.

Of course, I am not black. I don'texperience the things a black person does every day andthe way others interact with them. I can't possibly understand that unless I'm told, and if I'm never told I can only see what I see.

My girlfriend often tells me about sexism in her industry, and how males talk to her at clubs or in the street. I'm not a sexist person, and I don't see other women as sex objects, so while I'm aware sexism exists it doesn't affect me on a day to day basis. I understand it on a day to day basis because my girlfriend tells me and I have empathy.

Linking this to the topic, diversity in games would help this kind of perception greatly if the characters and stories were well written and not just diverse to suit a checklist. If we saw real people being represented in games, if the stories covered more ground, they could teach us all some valuable things.

Resistance to that seems to be resistence against an idea the person resisting is clinging to, or maybe just the laziness and comfort of just buying in to what we already know.
 
Ughhhhh the underlying point of that quote is so true it hurts. As a white male I don't know why everyone is so upset, everything is just perfect, I don't see any problems?............

Have you read that persons twitter?

She is so racist towards white people it's untrue!

Sad that she has the following she has, really just a nasty circle to be held in

The world is such a massive place, why keep yourself confined to such as small reality of it
 
Ughhhhh the underlying point of that quote is so true it hurts. As a white male I don't know why everyone is so upset, everything is just perfect, I don't see any problems?............

Social education and empathy.

Most are too comfortable to bother trying to develop both outside of their direct social circles, and if that's the case why would someone who wants to reach as many people as possible produce a product that includes more diverse content than is required?

Especially if that content could potentially alienate the people they're trying to reach.

Catch 22 maybe, for large developers who have to consider sales numbers as part of the design process at least.
 
Catch 22 maybe, for large developers who have to consider sales numbers as part of the design process at least.

This is the real point of discussion. How large developers can go about integrating ideas of inclusion into their games (in all respects, ethnicity characters, sexual orientation, themes, places, ideas, etc) while being able to not impact sales negatively so they can continue making more such games.
 
Unfortunately, this is the reaction most will have.

I don't think racism is that rife any more in my experience, but I'm a white male from a middle class background. On a day to day basis I don't experience any racism, and the black people I meet seem just like everyone else.

Of course, I am not black. I don'texperience the things a black person does every day andthe way others interact with them. I can't possibly understand that unless I'm told, and if I'm never told I can only see what I see.

My girlfriend often tells me about sexism in her industry, and how males talk to her at clubs or in the street. I'm not a sexist person, and I don't see other women as sex objects, so while I'm aware sexism exists it doesn't affect me on a day to day basis. I understand it on a day to day basis because my girlfriend tells me and I have empathy.

Linking this to the topic, diversity in games would help this kind of perception greatly if the characters and stories were well written and not just diverse to suit a checklist. If we saw real people being represented in games, if the stories covered more ground, they could teach us all some valuable things.

Resistance to that seems to be resistence against an idea the person resisting is clinging to, or maybe just the laziness and comfort of just buying in to what we already know.

you bring up a lot of important points, and i think you're spot on: these threads, these discussions are important because they highlight race and gender issues to those who otherwise wouldn't experience them. in that discussion, i hope some people become more empathetic towards others'
 
Other industries are dominated by white men, yet are more capable of telling diverse stories or having diverse characters than gaming. The lack of diversity in the field is an issue, but you're selling creators short if you think they can only write themselves.

...


...

I'm studying game design, and I'm going to write my stories based on the people I know. Men, women, all races, all ages. My protagonist will be Male most likely because I am Male and I'll be writing from a perspective I'm comfortable with, and I won't write In tokens for the sake of it, but in my mind the characters can only be what I know, and that's diverse.

...

The evidence is right here, and I wouldn't say I'm selling him short, or that he's any less of a creator because he's more comfortable designing his protagonist from his perspective. Clearly he's interested in diversity, but here's a game designer who is still going to have his main character be more like himself because it's what comes naturally to him.

I've got a short comic sort of thing in the works..... long story short, the character I suppose is a white guy with brown hair.. It's just what's gonna happen, and it's not because I don't want to feature other diverse casts so much as I'm sort of seeing myself in the role of the character. Writing, even thinking of what these characters might feel is difficult for me. I don't think I'm a born writer. I still want to create though, and be it damned, my character is a bit of a reflection of my self, and I'd be uncomfortable trying to force something else.

.. I also have a game I've been designing on paper over the last year or so... The playable characters aren't human though, so thankfully I won't have the problem. Yes, it feels easier to write for non human animals.
 
I'm saying its complex because there are many layers--developers are mostly white males, similar to Hollywood. Those who do the focus testing and marketing are most likely white males in this industry. The fact that most protagonist are white males is not an accident. It's based on market research, which I believe is BS as well.

Some people mentioned getting more minorities in game development will help, but that will take some time. Universities already have trouble attracting minorities to computer science. So it's complex in that it is multi layered. And the solution will need to be multi layered as well.

Hollywood is still mostly Caucausian as well. There are only a handful of black actors who get consistent billing.
I know that, but my point still is we should talk about that is one of the ways progress happens. Saying it is a complex issue doesn't really add to the discussion because if it were simple, it would be done.

I mean look at all the progress MLK made for example in a system that was dominated by white males. The point being saying it is a complex issue and saying that hollywood is dominated by white male which is true, doesn't add any meaningful discussion and only serves as a justification for the current system.
 
This is the real point of discussion. How large developers can go about integrating ideas of inclusion into their games (in all respects, ethnicity characters, sexual orientation, themes, places, ideas, etc) while being able to not impact sales negatively so they can continue making more such games.

For sexuality, subtlety would be the best bet.

TLoU style.

I mean, we don't really need to wave a flag as I said before. Many games don't ever have obvious references to things like sexual preference anyway, so we don't even need to make a big deal about it.

Gender and race are different, it's going to be a tough sell to the money people. Why take the risk?

The sad part is, I don't even think it's even that much of a risk. If a game is amazing and has good marketing, it's going to sell. What we really need is an AAA dev or two to step up and show that big sales and diverse characters can happen.

If Watch_Dogs 2 was about a 40 year old black gay Male, and the game was exceptional, does anyone really think it wouldn't sell buckets?
 
For sexuality, subtlety would be the best bet.

TLoU style.

I mean, we don't really need to wave a flag as I said before. Many games don't ever have obvious references to things like sexual preference anyway, so we don't even need to make a big deal about it.

Gender and race are different, it's going to be a tough sell to the money people. Why take the risk?

The sad part is, I don't even think it's even that much of a risk. If a game is amazing and has good marketing, it's going to sell. What we really need is an AAA dev or two to step up and show that big sales and diverse characters can happen.

If Watch_Dogs 2 was about a 40 year old black gay Male, and the game was exceptional, does anyone really think it wouldn't sell buckets?

GTAV was about a 40 year old, a black guy, and an everything-that-moves-sexual and was the fastest-selling piece of media entertainment in history, so it's clearly possible to make it work.
 
This is the real point of discussion. How large developers can go about integrating ideas of inclusion into their games (in all respects, ethnicity characters, sexual orientation, themes, places, ideas, etc) while being able to not impact sales negatively so they can continue making more such games.

When will it happen?

Probably around the same time when the majority of gamers don't care about the accidental attributes of the characters they are playing as.
 
Thought this might be relevant to the discussion:

Percentage of Female Developers Has More Than Doubled Since 2009

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pe...as-more-than-doubled-since-2009/1100-6420680/

The IGDA's 2014 Developer Satisfaction Survey is described as the "evolution" of the group's previous Quality of Life and Diversity surveys. It was conducted with research partners M2 Research and the University of Western Ontario. More than 2,200 developers took part.

It found that 76 percent of the workforce is male, compared to 22 percent female. That figure is on the rise, however, as women made up only 11.5 percent of the workforce in 2009, according to their previous study.
 
When will it happen?

Probably around the same time when the majority of gamers don't care about the accidental attributes of the characters they are playing as.

I'm sure there are plenty who don't care right now, publishers are just irrationally cagey about things.
 
Who's asking for that? Who exactly is asking for quotas or trying to force developers to do anything? Can you kindly point it out? I'm truly tired of people addressing arguments from imagined specters seeking to be statistically inclusive for everything ever.

What was the title of this thread, again?
 
What was the title of this thread, again?

Wanting more prominent character who don't belong to the group that's currently best represented is not a demand for developers to "divide evenly down the rainbow."

If my roommate and I eat pizza for dinner six out of seven nights every week and I suggest we try something else, I am not saying that we need to have a completely different type of food for every meal.
 
GTAV was about a 40 year old, a black guy, and an everything-that-moves-sexual and was the fastest-selling piece of media entertainment in history, so it's clearly possible to make it work.
And then it got critised for not including a woman. While people here say that they don't ask for devs to work off a checklist, some of the criticism sure comes off as that.
 
Other industries are dominated by white men, yet are more capable of telling diverse stories or having diverse characters than gaming. The lack of diversity in the field is an issue, but you're selling creators short if you think they can only write themselves.

Curious what you mean by this. Of course many industries in North America are dominated by white men, but I can't think of a parallel in any story-telling industry that really corresponds with the game industry. The movie industry has many celebrity minority and female figures, both in front of and behind the camera. The book industry has plenty of minority figures. The music industry has plenty of minority figures. In all these industries, you have minority figures who have a vested interest in representing their experiences and their culture and have found that there is in fact an audience for that. The industries may be dominated by white men, but that in no way implies that white men are responsible for the diversity in those industries.

I'm not saying that white creators can't create convincing diverse characters, but that for the most part they do not and, historically, they have not. The difference between the gaming industry and all of these other industries is simply that at this point in time, the gaming industry is missing these minority leaders that are creating the diverse content in the other industries.

I'm sure there are plenty of these people in school or trying to work their way up in the industry right now. Indies will probably explode with cultural diversity if they haven't already. As long as the audience exists and there are talented creators with an interest in speaking to that audience, these games will eventually be created and find them. That isn't to say we should just sit back and wait, but realistically the best we can do, besides voicing our desire as an audience for diversity (though I believe they will begin coming whether the desire is voiced or not—this is where people don't give creators enough credit!), is keep an eye out for these titles and support them.
 
Video games, regardless and irrespective of what some people might wish them to be, are big business. No more, no less.

They do not shape society; they reflect it. This thread is a riot of Band-Aids and Bactine.
 
What is it with people who feel creative freedom of developers threatened, when people demand more than white characters? Do they even realize what they say?
 
Not all stories need to be rooted in reality, not should they. And pointing to a history predominated be exclusion to justify future exclusion is both gross and nonsensical.



I'm sorry, but what the actual fuck?

I assume you are not the creative type, if you were, you would understand that creation is ALWAYS based upon something, and that is ALMOST always rooted in reality or it wont feel real to your audience. Also. it doesn't exclude anything about the future, but you overestimate yourself, if you think you can create anything without the support of any form of previous knowledge.


A black protagonist would probably feel more at home just because of his roots and heritage, just like when someone goes to their ancestral home regardless of the country they were born in.
 
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