Post by Woo on Nov 14, 2008 17:21:20 GMT -1
So yeah I was wondering why aren't there more black main characters, or heroes from a different ethic background in computer games?
In video games the only main black character I can think of is Carl Johnson from San Andreas (funny how the most controversial series ever is one of the very few to have a black main character. It also has a lead from an Eastern European country too.)
It seems that in nearly all games from Japan the main characters are always Japanese- Ryu, Jin Kazama, Lui Kang etc. Now this could simply be a case of Japanese developers thinking "well since we are making the game why shouldn't we cast ourselves into the lead role? But since Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid have Americans in the lead, and are made by Japanese developers Konami and Capcom respectively, why not cast black main character?
Speaking of Resident Evil the 5th game in the series, which features a white American killing hordes of black virus-infected zombies, has been called racist by some critics. While that logic does seem flawed (what- racist against zombies? Really?!) the argument may now have raised had there been video game heroes from a more diverse background. In fact following the RE5 race row Capcom have included a black African sidekick to the game.....though in typical gaming style the African character in question is a scantily-clad female, but it's something right?
But should it really take a massive argument about race for developers to sigh and through gritted-teeth go "fine...lets add a black character to out game"?
We have had heroic hedgehogs, bandicoots, dragons, lemmings, Italian Plumbers (oooh, migrant workers! That's actually pretty cool! I hope he had a visa though..), Tasmanian tigers, worms, aliens, beach balls, dominos and even a glove.... yet you could probably count main black characters in games on one hand.
So do you think there is a problem with race in games or am I just making an issue out of nothing?
In video games the only main black character I can think of is Carl Johnson from San Andreas (funny how the most controversial series ever is one of the very few to have a black main character. It also has a lead from an Eastern European country too.)
It seems that in nearly all games from Japan the main characters are always Japanese- Ryu, Jin Kazama, Lui Kang etc. Now this could simply be a case of Japanese developers thinking "well since we are making the game why shouldn't we cast ourselves into the lead role? But since Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid have Americans in the lead, and are made by Japanese developers Konami and Capcom respectively, why not cast black main character?
Speaking of Resident Evil the 5th game in the series, which features a white American killing hordes of black virus-infected zombies, has been called racist by some critics. While that logic does seem flawed (what- racist against zombies? Really?!) the argument may now have raised had there been video game heroes from a more diverse background. In fact following the RE5 race row Capcom have included a black African sidekick to the game.....though in typical gaming style the African character in question is a scantily-clad female, but it's something right?
But should it really take a massive argument about race for developers to sigh and through gritted-teeth go "fine...lets add a black character to out game"?
We have had heroic hedgehogs, bandicoots, dragons, lemmings, Italian Plumbers (oooh, migrant workers! That's actually pretty cool! I hope he had a visa though..), Tasmanian tigers, worms, aliens, beach balls, dominos and even a glove.... yet you could probably count main black characters in games on one hand.
So do you think there is a problem with race in games or am I just making an issue out of nothing?
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