Tired of talking gender? Let's tackle race!

[MrPopo]

Since when has race ever been resurrected as a valid concept?

?

I think he's saying that dividing people by race is fallacious.

[cward24]

I have been a lurker on this site for five years now and never posted anything. So this is my first post ever. I love video games. I have for over twenty years. I am also a black person. Only a few times that I thought that maybe in a final fantasy game it would be nice to be able to "role play" with someone that would actually reflect me. I knew that this was not going to happen. So I concentrated on games that actually have good game play, story and charater development.

I guess I am not the stereotype "black person", I do listen to old school rap but I am married (16 years as of next week) and I have both a bachelor's and masters degree. The race issue seems to be a part of everything these days. It should not be but unfortunately it is. I beileve that dialogue is very good on this subject as I would hope that it would promote understanding.

[Ack]

Hey cward, welcome to Racketboy! I hope you stick around and continue posting.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

I have been a lurker on this site for five years now and never posted anything. So this is my first post ever. I love video games. I have for over twenty years. I am also a black person. Only a few times that I thought that maybe in a final fantasy game it would be nice to be able to "role play" with someone that would actually reflect me. I knew that this was not going to happen. So I concentrated on games that actually have good game play, story and charater development.

I guess I am not the stereotype "black person", I do listen to old school rap but I am married (16 years as of next week) and I have both a bachelor's and masters degree. The race issue seems to be a part of everything these days. It should not be but unfortunately it is. I beileve that dialogue is very good on this subject as I would hope that it would promote understanding.

Just echoing what Ack said - welcome! We hope you stick around and keep active on the boards, be sure to swing by here and [re]introduce yourself

[Erik_Twice]

Only a few times that I thought that maybe in a final fantasy game it would be nice to be able to "role play" with someone that would actually reflect me.

Sorry, but you need at least thirty zippers for that.

Welcome to the forums, mate

Since when has race ever been resurrected as a valid concept?

?

I think he's saying that dividing people by race is fallacious.

I think we all considered him knowledgeable so as to not assume he thought that way.

[gtmtnbiker]

Only a few times that I thought that maybe in a final fantasy game it would be nice to be able to "role play" with someone that would actually reflect me.

My daughters have refused to play some games because they could not be a female character. They have Dragon Quest IX and are looking forward to the upcoming Wii X version. But I have given them the older games but they did not want to play them because there was no female option.

[captainhavoc]

Only a few times that I thought that maybe in a final fantasy game it would be nice to be able to "role play" with someone that would actually reflect me.

My daughters have refused to play some games because they could not be a female character. They have Dragon Quest IX and are looking forward to the upcoming Wii X version. But I have given them the older games but they did not want to play them because there was no female option.

How old are your daughters? I used to throw fits about stuff like that too when I was five, but I got over it pretty quickly.

[gtmtnbiker]

How old are your daughters?

They'll be 12 & 9 next month.

[guruofreason]

Black people in video games do tend to be stereotypes. As a black person myself, I don't think that there is malice on the part of game developers. One major problem is that the game development industry is overwhelmingly white, and Asian. Black people seem almost non-existent by comparison.

I believe that we can go a long way towards fixing these problems by having more African American game developers. So if you are one, and are a hardcore gamer, then maybe trying to get into the industry would be a good idea.

Another problem is with the fact that video games are a commercial enterprise. It is my observation that when media and culture become a commercial product, people tend to stick to stereotypes more. Take Hip Hop, for instance. When rap first came out, you actually listened to the real voices of real black people who grew up in the inner city. Today, however, hip hop is commercialized to the point that there is no longer anything authentic being put out by mainstream (read: non indie/underground) labels. It is nothing but bullshit designed to get the most money out of people as possible. Movies and television are the same way. As a result, at least in American film and television, you will not see any portrayals of Asian men that are not either nerdy brainiacs or karate fighters. And they NEVER get pussy either.

If you want to move beyond stereotypes in media and culture, then abandon all thought of commercialization. When you look at black literature, it tends to be dominated by novels similar to "How Stella Got Her Groove Back". Commercialization is responsible for this. The authentic pieces of media/culture are the ones where the purpose of creating the work is "self expression" rather than "making money". If you want to see accurate portrayals of black people in video games, then the black character should be a result of expression rather than finding someone who powerful executives believe will bring in the most dough.

I am putting this in practice. I am an indie game developer and am developing a science fiction JRPG (gameplay modeled most after FFIV) that features a black male character...that is, if I can ever get this game finished. The screenshot is VERY early in production, so it will look better by the time it is finished.


I will give props to Namco for creating Zasalamel, who is not a stereotype, and is modeled after Africans who lived in West African ad North African empires during the ancient and medieval periods. Zasalamel is the type of black person you almost never see in even movies, and are rare even in books. Well done, Namco.

[Menegrothx]

I think no one mentioned Michael F. Stoppe of Maniac Mansion yet