dsheinem wrote:As a straight white male, I find it infinitely more fascinating and refreshing to play a game from another identity's perspective. Most recently this was the case when playing the "Left Behind" DLC for The Last of Us and the indie PC game "Gone Home" - both of which put me in the "virtual shoes" of a character who was different from me in gender, age, sexuality, or some combination of those things in a relatively "meaningful" way (at least, for a video game narrative). These weren't examples of "tokenism" by any stretch, they were games built around a kind of experience or kind of relationship I wouldn't ever have otherwise - they offered both escapism (which some people seek in all games) and a new perspective on the world (which too few games provide). There are far too many games with male protagonists and/or trope-filled stories about the great male hero who rescues the girl, saves the world, etc...
I agree with this and appreciate the video game medium as one where I can experience a world through the eyes of someone with a different perspective or background from my own. Through games, I have gotten to experience characters of varying races, age, religion, sexuality, physical capability, and gender, or even species or non-biological existence, across a variety of time and space locales. This is one of video gaming's greatest strengths, at least to me, that I could learn to perceive and deal with problems from entirely different perspectives because now the story is presented to me in a new way that did not match my previous experience.
Unfortunately it's not always a positive experience, as Dr. Brad Brusham of Ohio State has to say:
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture ... acism.html
Though his research is also not without rebuff, such as Ben Kuchera's response, with input from Dr. Tyler Black from BC Children's Hospital:
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/27/555413 ... he-science
dsheinem wrote:Jmustang1968 wrote: I just dislike the social justice view or complaint to take from one and give to another. Promote what you prefer but dont try to bring down the norm, if possible, at the same time. If that makes sense?
It doesn't, no
Games are a business, and like in any business the adoption of a wider range of representations isn't ever going to be about "social justice" or done at the expense of existing profits - it will be about attracting new audiences to new kinds of characters so as to remain viable amongst shifting demographics. Nothing is being "brought down" or "taken away from" as an act of liberal activist brainwashing; audiences will vote with their wallets, and companies will respond in like.
Well...not entirely. The worry is that, as video games diversify, the "Default Straight White Male worldview" will either vanish or become entirely vilified, creating the same problem of underrepresentation. You mentioned Hollywood earlier, and yes, Hollywood still has considerable problems with diversity within production. But they also now have the perception of "liberal activist brainwashing" through the perceived blacklisting of conservative actors and directors. So while Hollywood still suffers a lack of diversity behind the camera, they now suffer it in a new way in front of the camera and are still failing to be all-inclusive.
In short, what jmustang seems to be saying is that he wants more diversity, without the belief that to gain such diversity the "Default Straight White Male worldview" has to be sacrificed or discarded. And unfortunately, most reaction that he experiences against the "Default Straight White Male worldview" seems to be in favor of doing away with it, at least in his perception.
This is directly opposite of your belief, Ds, that some of it should be discarded if only because there is simply too much of it and you find it boring.
