DANCE! Online being racist? Nah, just using workaround
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Apr 16th 2007 at 10:57PM }
Here's what we've gathered: Just launched in open beta (like, 3 days ago), Dance is operating without a fully-realized character creation feature. While it might have been an oversight to launch the beta with only white avatars, the developers are working to offer a diverse range of character looks, distinguished by categories like hairstyle and faces. One of the first, described by an Acclaim site administrator as "the African-American heads," was dropped into the game's store (pictured above) as if it were just another outfit. The new skins are purchasable for one game point (you start with 2,000 points), which can be earned through gameplay -- and not by credit card. As we understand it, placing new skins in the store is a workaround; the simplest way for the dev team to get players the content during beta. Despite Josh the moderator declaring that changing your character's white face "makes you STAND OUT," it doesn't seem that Acclaim intends to make the racist assumption that "white" is the normal way to look.
Let's wait until after the final version of Dance is released to raise our RED FLAGS.
[Via Broken Toys]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FSK405K @ Apr 16th 2007 11:10PM
Methinks there be no black programmers there.
samfish @ Apr 16th 2007 11:14PM
I don't think it's very smart to make players pay for black people...
I just...just CAN'T put my finger on WHY exactly, though...
Tom @ Apr 16th 2007 11:19PM
White people are cheap. REAL cheap!
Heliophage @ Apr 16th 2007 11:26PM
Wow...
He definitely could have worded that defense better. Like, "More pigment = more $$$. It's only logical" or "He's *black*? Oh, wow, I'm so socially advanced I hadn't even noticed!"
Grant @ Apr 16th 2007 11:29PM
i think his defense should be:
"white people are plain and boring, so they are easy to code. Your over-abundance of interesting cultural attributes take time to code in!"
Kaiju @ Apr 17th 2007 12:07AM
Wow. Josh/Coasterguy26 the moderator, needs to be fired, and an apology issued to the OP. The correct response should have been something along the lines: "any racial bias from making the default character white is unintentional and will be fixed on the next update when we include additional characters". The comment that black "IS a special feature. It makes you STAND OUT" is not going to sit well with management when they get wind of this.
KirbySS @ Apr 16th 2007 11:41PM
WARNING: INCOMING ****STORM.
Oniel @ Apr 16th 2007 11:47PM
I don't really care about this but I'm really offended. I want him to apologize then be fired.
Ralidore @ Apr 16th 2007 11:47PM
I've never posted on the Acclaim forums. Do the forums there have ITALICS or BOLD options? If there are, the MODERATORS and EMPLOYEES can't seem to FIN... yeah, that's enough.
Leggo @ Apr 16th 2007 11:49PM
Nappy-headed downloads?
...uh oh.
Rubang B @ Apr 16th 2007 11:50PM
Whiteness by default! Hahaha.
thebiggameover @ Apr 16th 2007 11:56PM
this game is BS. everybody knows white people cant dance....
Dan @ Apr 17th 2007 12:50AM
Obviously the intended interpretation is that black people are superior and therefore cost extra.
Mephistopheles @ Apr 17th 2007 1:20AM
I really don't think racism was the cause of this. More than likely, somebody didn't notice.
Slaziman @ Apr 17th 2007 1:21AM
Not only that, but they use the term African American? What if they aren't American, or African?
Eever @ Apr 17th 2007 1:39AM
i don't know if any of the above posters realize, but players aren't paying money for the black skin, they are paying 1/2000ths of the amount of points given to the player by default. And more can be earned through gameplay. This isn't racist, this is Beta programming. Although i do find it odd that white is default, since we all know how well whitey's dance...
ManekiNeko @ Apr 17th 2007 2:17AM
Man, that's pretty crass to offer an entire race as a microtransaction. Even from the guys who brought us advertising on tombstones.
JR
nithron @ Apr 17th 2007 3:07AM
This is made doubly nonsensical by the fact that white dudes can't dance
Cheezeman3000 @ Apr 17th 2007 3:23AM
It seems like you can't say or do anything these days without being labeled as a racist. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Sure, it's not good to segregate, but do you REALLY think they meant to throw punches at the black community by only releasing white skins at first? What about the mexican, asian, native american, etc. communities? To call this racist is complete BS.
Kye @ Apr 17th 2007 4:15AM
Everyone knows that a black dancer is just two white dancers duct taped together.
Joke! I couldn't resist.
Really though, I agree with comment #1. The programmers were just ignorant. They should have offered more clothes instead of more skins.
Jake @ Apr 17th 2007 7:36AM
You assign more worth to black people, people bitch. You assign less worth to black people, people bitch. You say they're the same as white, people bitch. You say they're different...
I dream of the day where something like this basically goes unnoticed and people don't give a crap. Seriously, you have a plain white dude then use points to modify his appearance. They should have allowed race to be the first choice and free. But, they didn't.
Ryuukuro @ Apr 17th 2007 8:07AM
Racist? Maybe not intentionally but it's so insulting that I don't care if it is or isn't. No player should have to unlock or pay for the ability to choose their (human) skin color and/or ethnic identity in a game.
And don't throw that rat Imus into this either. He doesn't need any more attention.
Steve @ Apr 17th 2007 9:01AM
You could easily say it's racist against White people because those flesh tones are considered plain while Black skin tones are considered so special that you must pay for them.
>> One of the first, described by an Acclaim site
>> administrator as "the African-American heads,"
>> was dropped into the game's store (pictured
>> above) as if it were just another outfit.
This is racist to all of the black people in the world who don't live in Africamerica. What if the player is an actual African? I know europe has a long history of xenophobia as shown by its being a cluster of tiny countries with their own languages and a tendency to go to war or engage in genocide, but you can even find a few people of African ancestory in europe. Therefore the game shouldn't assume that all Black people live in Africamerica.
Steve @ Apr 17th 2007 9:02AM
Nor should the game assume that all people of African ancestory are Black. Hello Egypt. Hello South Africa.
anonymouse @ Apr 17th 2007 9:07AM
#21: Yeah Jake you said it!!
Crono @ Apr 17th 2007 9:27AM
Is this seriously an issue? Have we become so petty that BETA software, by its very nature incomplete, gets railed against because the team of white nerds who programmed it programmed a white guy first (because they're all white programmers), and then release outfits and skins basically for free for the sole purpose of testing to make sure their customization code works?
This is racism. It isn't even being ignorant. Its a work in progress. Somebody had to get coded first, and they did a white dude. It doesn't matter. They're pixels on the screen. Its BETA software.
Chill out!
Todd @ Apr 17th 2007 9:39AM
I hope changing genders also costs extra.
sheppy @ Apr 17th 2007 10:13AM
1. This is only a race issue if you make it a race issue. And likewise, if it wasn't for the Imus thing going down, no one would have even noticed this shit. Aside from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. But they'll bitch about the color of sharpies nowadays.
2. This "option" doesn't cost you a damn dime. Seriously. You have 2000 points. This costs one. o2Jam has been doing the same basic thing for years except they actually charged real money to change ethniticity and it was a non-issue all these years.
3. This beta, last time I checked, was only open to US residents. Could be wrong though. And here in the states, if you don't use the term African American and use black instead, you best be sure you are black. In this country, everyone is so ready to throw the race banner up it's fucking disgusting.
Personally, I find it hilarious people are jumping Imus for nappy headed hoes when during that same program, he said "n****boos" which is much, much worse in my opinion. Should he be fired? Absolutely. But why is Jesse Jackson allowed to say someone white who was found innocent of a rape case against a black woman should still go to jail just because white people raped black people in the past?
Freedom of speech isn't free. Period. And if we're going to be outraged at every ignorant racists thing a white person says, let's start throwing the limelight on some of our more racists celebrities like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. I don't agree with what some people say, but if I still want the freedom to randomly call my friend a fowlfucker over a friendly game of pool in a bar without a government mandated fine, then I just have to suck it up each time I hear Al Sharpton or Don Imus speak. After all, during each instance, I have the freedom to walk away and those people make their fortunes on controversy.
Sidepocket @ Apr 17th 2007 10:58AM
LOL!
Even more proof that white skinny nerds desperatly want to be black. GTA, Saints Row, Def Jam, wtf. XD
sheppy @ Apr 17th 2007 11:18AM
Actually, when I played Saints Row, I made myself asian, purple hair to represent the row. My only disappointment, I couldn't create myself in Takeshi Kenishiro's image.
James @ Apr 17th 2007 12:13PM
Well if they were smart they would make you start as a black woman and you have to pay extra for being white and male. That way they target the main video game demographic with two microtransactions right from the beginning.
Brinstar @ Apr 17th 2007 12:47PM
It's a bit insulting to everyone for white to be the default race.
How could anyone claim that the developers for this game had "no racial bias" when white avatars are default?
Dave @ Apr 17th 2007 12:51PM
"It seems like you can't say or do anything these days without being labeled as a racist. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?"
Speech is still free. It's capitalism that costs money--and when your speech potentially costs the people that pay you, then they make YOU pay.
Personally, I'm not offended--but that doesn't matter. What matters is are a significant number of other people offended? If the answer is "yes", then the people running the show may decide to fire the guy--because it could end up costing them if they don't. Same thing with Imus--if he wasn't being paid with advertising dollars, then he could offend anyone without consequence.
sheppy @ Apr 17th 2007 12:52PM
"It's a bit insulting to everyone for white to be the default race.
How could anyone claim that the developers for this game had "no racial bias" when white avatars are default?"
Could it possibly have to do with the fact that a minority is just as the name implies? That many 3D programs with skin shaders default to caucasian? That a vast majority of the demographic FOR this game is typically a white male? Or could it just be you are reading waaaaaayyyy too fucking much into this?
Nope, obviously this is an racist issue.
The only true solution to this horseshit is making the default skin color fucking green. You're green. Would that make you happy?
sheppy @ Apr 17th 2007 12:57PM
And by the way, before anyone claims this was is a Dance Online only issue...
http://www.o2jam.com.ph/announcement_content.asp?gsection=events&id=12
This game has been around forever. Your default avatar is white. You PAY extra to change that. NOBODY has ever bitched about that. The difference? o2Jam is an asian game to an asian demographic. They don't try to find hidden meaning in petty shit. They have their own petty shit that's the issue.
Brinstar @ Apr 17th 2007 1:01PM
I'm not saying that the developers are racist, what I am saying is that racism is institutionalised in society to such a degree that when stuff like this happens, people (like you) don't see that there is a very real problem.
To hold that black people, or any other minority, as "special" or "other" is to exclude them. It's saying that they are "different" from the "norm" -- and the norm, which you have so nicely, but clumsily explained, is white and male, and everyone who is not white and male is not the norm.
ZeroCorpse @ Apr 17th 2007 1:09PM
Wow, sheppy. Seriously uninformed? Or just ignorant?
1. It's a race issue because of the attitude of the mod. If he hadn't been such a jerk about it, nobody would care. Saying it's an EXTRA feature to be black is clearly a way of saying it's not "normal" and is something that is considered out of the norm.
2. Making people pay for black characters when white characters are free is really, really tacky, and ignores all the black players completely, making them spend points -even if it is a small amount- to play someone like themselves. It's PENALIZING black people for wanting to play a character that looks like them. That's not exactly racist, but it IS insensitive.
3. You're an idiot. Every Black person I know says "African American" is stupid, and *prefers* to be called Black. You can be "African American" and still be white, as many South Africans are white, and come to America. Likewise, you can be Black, and NOT be of African origin, so "African American" is quickly passing out of the common vernacular. I've known Black people who get mad at "African American" because they're Jamaican, and don't consider African roots to be near enough in their family tree to be considered an identifying feature.
Finally, Imus is an entertainer who does parody skits, and as such shouldn't have been held to the fire like he was. He was no more guilty of being racist than Chris Rock or Dave Chapelle. Parody is protected speech in America, and though in bad taste, he was not speaking as a newscaster or a pundit, but as a comic radio personality.
Also, the word you're looking for is "Jigaboo" and not "niggaboo"... (I never even HEARD the word "niggaboo" before. It must be what stupid people say instead of "jigaboo") -- "Jigaboo" is an OLD slang term for Black people, and it's always been a disparaging term. It's origin is unknown, but when someone says it, they mean it in a negative way...
Here's the problem with your logic: It wasn't Imus who said that word. It was the other guy he was chatting with. Imus, being the more famous of the two, caught all the anger for "Nappy headed hos" while the other dude was essentially left alone for the far more inflammatory word "jigaboo", and that makes no damn sense.
The problem with nailing people for words is that you have to judge INTENTION and not the word itself. I wrote those words above to correct, define and illustrate, but not to disparage anyone. My usage is benign. "Nappy headed hos" was said in a comedic sense, and not to suggest that the women on that team were actually scraggy-haired prostitutes. It was a bad joke, but it was meant as a joke and had no specific racial slur ("ho" is a prostitute. "nappy-headed" is a description of bad hair, not necessarily Black hair. Phil Spector is technically a nappy-headed ho. So is Ryan Seacrest.)
"Jigaboo", as said by the other guy, was derogatory and racist, not in a comedic sense, and should have upset people a lot. It's simply a word that has NEVER meant anything but negative things, said by a man who has made racist statements in the past.
But THIS issue is not about those words. It's about a representative for a company who should be sent to sensitivity training for not knowing how to express himself properly to the public. He said something that was crass and insensitive, and as a representative for a company, he owes his employers better than to consider being Black something that is out of the norm. He should have been more thoughtful about his comments.
In short, he may not be a racist, but he *is* a complete prick.
Crono @ Apr 17th 2007 1:32PM
The sheer stupidity of peoples reactions to this is astounding. If people are so thin skinned to be racially insulted by beta software with only 1 default avatar, who happens to be white, then this country really is going to hell in a handbasket.
Get over yourselves.
Toothpick Guy @ Apr 17th 2007 1:46PM
Or maybe he's trying to make a statement about "white trash" and how we're not worth anything. I just owned myself.
People can literally take anything and twist it into being racially offensive. It's easy to get what you want if you act offended that you don't have it.
Just out of curiosity, is Joystiq going to cover every political story that has any connection with a game from now on?
Let the flamer's flames fly.
waLLy @ Apr 17th 2007 1:48PM
idiots
Dave @ Apr 17th 2007 2:14PM
Again--just as with Imus--this is a FINANCIAL issue...not a racial issue or a free-speech issue. If people are angry about a product or a representative of a network selling products, then companies stand to lose money. So, to avoid losing money, they fire the guy that said it or they fix the perceived "problem" everyone is complaining about in the product. Why? Because they're bowing to pressure from reactionaries? NO! Because they want to make money. Their goal is to make as much money as possible--not to make political statements.
sheppy @ Apr 17th 2007 2:50PM
People just really need to familiarize themselves with South Korean MMOs before they label this completely unfair or unjest. And I say that because that's what Dance Online, it's a localization of a popular Korean MMO.
If you want complete customization of your base avatar without it being considered a premium, LOTR came out today, $50 and $15 a month. This is a free game and default avatars in almost every other MMO I play are always pretty much just boy or girl and everything beyond that is a premium.