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Drawing minorities into gaming...

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Most RPGs let you choose skin and hair color.

One reason why some games only have one (white) main character is voice acting and cinematics.

If CGI cutscenes are created instead of using the in-game engine, a game developer would need to render 10 different versions of the same cutscenes to satisfy the "diversity" PC police. Say hello to (and open your wallet for) multi-DVD games.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
Originally posted by: Proletariat
Originally posted by: purbeast0
oh ... my ... god ...

that is one of the STUPIDEST articles I have ever read ... let me make a list.

1. There are plenty of blacks in video games. Check out any sports game. Check out Halo, the Master Chief's general is black, hell the master chief could also be black - we don't know. In Splinter Cell, the head guy who tells Sam Fisher what to do is black (its david palmer too heh). Check out any fighting game. Blacks are in ALL types of games.

And last time I checked, both GTA3 and GTA:VC dealt with white main characters. Oh no! Now every white person is a criminal because it said so in the fake-scarface game. 🙁

Apparently the people whom wrote this article didn't realize where GTA:SA was supposed to take place - in a ghetto where its a black community. Sorry if they didn't want to face reality and realize that places like that actually exist. why don't they go target movies like Hustle and Flow or Menace 2 Society or Boy s in the Hood?

2. 80% of game programmers are white. Did they not realize that the programmers don't design the games? Did they realize that the game designer probably doesn't even program at all? The game designer does just that ... designs, while the programmers do just that ... program. So having a white programmer has no affect on the actual game development.

This kinda crap makes me sick. Why do people take these so friggin serious ... its a GAME, nothing more.
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Calm down boy.

You named a bunch of secondary characters except for SA. Do you know the definition of hero?

And Carl is hardly a hero or role-model.
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He's the truth though.

This same thing could go for movies. The heros in movies are typically white, with the exception of Samuel Jackson, Will Smith, or Denzel. Where's the article trashing the movie industry?

It's just a stupid stupid article. Myabe the game developers are mainly white. Well if thats the case, then get this, some blacks can work hard and become a game developer and develop a game with a black hero if they really want to. Instead, I just hear the article crying out to change it without minorities going in and trying to get the game developer position.
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Hes the truth? <<<< Didn't understand.

You just named a decent amount of black heroes in movies. The gaming situation is much worse.
 


I want more white rappers. music is an art form and expressive medium and I don't want white people portrayed as unhip.

 
This same thing could go for movies. The heros in movies are typically white, with the exception of Samuel Jackson, Will Smith, or Denzel. Where's the article trashing the movie industry?
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Black people are only 12% of the population. How many black heroes do you want there to be?
 
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.

 
Originally posted by: amoeba
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.
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Well if you took economics in college you'd have learned that the market isn't always 'fair'.
 
Originally posted by: Koenigsegg
I saw the title of this thread and thought it'd link to some dumb newscaster wannabe blog, but CNN is covering this stuff? WHY!?
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Doesn't CNN have some sort of bullsh|t program where they talk about blogs now? So...same damn thing.
 
Originally posted by: Proletariat
Originally posted by: amoeba
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.
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Well if you took economics in college you'd have learned that the market isn't always 'fair'.
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that isn't a very clear explaination and it is unneccesary to preface your statement with "if you took economics in college" to lend an air of validity and perhaps suggest that I have not taken economics in college.


If you want to go out and make games with minority heroes. go for it. no one is stopping you.

Like in my previous example, there are more hip hop artists that are minority than white, does that mean that balance must be achieved there ?


I'm not sure what fair in quotes mean but yes market isn't fair. life isn't fair.

 
Originally posted by: Proletariat
Originally posted by: amoeba
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.
Click to expand...
Well if you took economics in college you'd have learned that the market isn't always 'fair'.
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Neither is life, whats your point?

Most people that play computer games and probably even console games are white or asian. People are going to be more drawn to characters that they can relate too. And all the white and asian designers are going to MAKE characters they relate too.

Whats next...we require painters to paint at least one hispanic guy, black woman and asian transexual portrait per month?
 
Originally posted by: Proletariat
Originally posted by: amoeba
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.
Click to expand...
Well if you took economics in college you'd have learned that the market isn't always 'fair'.
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Yes, companies should be required to spend tens or hundreds of thousands to render alternate CGI cutsenes and hire extra voice actors to enforce diversity.

FYI, almost all games that let you create your own main character let you pick the race and gender.

It's only games with a single, fixed main character that typically make the character a white male because that matches the majority of buyers and because it would cost too much to develop alternate content for every race and both genders.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Originally posted by: Proletariat
Originally posted by: amoeba
The whole thing is a pointless argument.

There would be more black heroes if the market demanded more black heroes. period.
Click to expand...
Well if you took economics in college you'd have learned that the market isn't always 'fair'.
Click to expand...

Neither is life, whats your point?

Most people that play computer games and probably even console games are white or asian. People are going to be more drawn to characters that they can relate too. And all the white and asian designers are going to MAKE characters they relate too.

Whats next...we require painters to paint at least one hispanic guy, black woman and asian transexual portrait per month?
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I can assure you, black and latino people play video games as often as you do =P
 
Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure
I can assure you, black and latino people play video games as often as you do =P
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If only 12% of the population is aftrican-american, then it's safe to assume only 12% of sales come from african-americans.

If you are a designer, and your budget only covers one set of main character 3D models, one voice actor, one set of CGI cutscenes, what do you do to make your game profitable? You pick the race of the character that will fit the game and appeal to the largest number of buyers.
 
Originally posted by: amoeba
I think there aren't enough fat protagonists in video games. what do you think?
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good point! I'm going bald, so I want all the leads to be Michael Chiklis from now on!

 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: amoeba
I think there aren't enough fat protagonists in video games. what do you think?
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good point! I'm going bald, so I want all the leads to be Michael Chiklis from now on!
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They should make a game of The Shield.

BTW, Unreal 2 has a black main character, and the other chick isn't supposed to be white i dont think, and the rest of the people are aliens, the only white people are bad guys.

This whole thing is stupid anyway.
 
Godzilla would be a cool hero. Although, his short arms would limit his ability.......but man those teeth are scary....

Dopey would be one too.....but he would just trip on his shirt all the time....


Martha Stewert would be great.....by whacking enemies over the head with afrying pan or giving inside info without getting caught.....


All these are very valid heroes, but still I would rather play a tough hombre, like Max Payne or Gordon Freeman, but Laura Croft doesn't hurt as eyecandy....:thumbsup:

I believe the game/storyline should decide what nationality the hero is, not politics (H. Clinton giving her $.02 on every subject) After all, can some see a 3' midget soaring slowly through the air and firing dual uzis at people twice his size? com'on....
 
I was tempted to take screenshots of every game that I could make a black hero in. But then I realized what a massive waste of freaking time this would be as it's not like it is going to change the writers opinions.
 
Pretty much all video games originate in japan then come to America, and since it is primarily white, they put mostly white people in games. its a racist world, and the only game i have ever known is GTA 2 and 3 to have a minority as teh main character.
 
You never see us Middle Easterners in video games. Well, unless we're the dudes you're supposed to be shooting. 😛

Really, who gives a f^&k? Vice City was a rip of Scarface, so playing an Italian lead was exactly fitting. Special ops troops in the West tend to be predominantly white, so no complaints there. If there's some game idea that warrants a minority lead character and we get some white dude instead, well, I still won't care but that would actually mean something. I hate this inclusion-for-the-sake-of-inclusion crap. The pandering is even worse than being left out.
 
If you don't like the current gaming situation, don't buy games with white heroes. If enough people are unhappy and stop buying them, game developers will start putting them in.

 
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