PrimePlus assesses the current state of black characters

by Alexander Sliwinski on Feb 9th 2009 2:59PM

PrimePlus has a fairly interesting piece about the current state of black characters in video games. The editorial maintains a very moderate approach to the charged subject, covering the differences between Western and Eastern development, along with how black characters have been portrayed over the years.

The piece mostly focuses on upcoming titles and games from the last decade, like Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, Gears of War and GTA: San Andreas. Without getting "politically correct" or preachy, the editorial notes that representation isn't an "exclusive concern to the population of black individuals." It points out that "more socially imaginative avenues of inspiration" would be welcome, which is something we can agree about.

[Via Edge]

Source

Tags: african-american, black, culture, gears-of-war-2, half-life-2, mass-effect, minority, race, resident-evil-5

Reader Comments (102)

THE TRAINS AT HOME ON THE RAILS BABY!!!!

More South Asian characters plz? : )

Being a black guy I feel we are way past the days of pretty bad stereotypes from Japanese developers with characters like Barret and Deejay. Also i type this while eating kfc and drinking a grape soda. Go figure.

It's no worse than counting money and wishing that someone would make a likeable Jew that didn't whine.

It seems to me that a lot of characters in Japanese games have a softened edge to whatever ethnicity they are and sometimes tend to have a more Japanese profile than anything else. I don't complain when guys with white names in games look Japanese-ish.

I've yet to see a British character in a game yet who isn't a stereotype. The funniest has to be the bad guy in Uncharted, who looks exactly like David Gilmour:

http://www.zmemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/david-gilmour.jpg

Oh, so its not true that the English all speak posh ho?

Oh deary dear, and what about tea drinking fine lad, is that too a stereotype?

I never understood what was wrong with Barret. Cid acted more "black" than Barret did and all anyone can bring up is how stereotypical Barret acted.

I guess it's stereotypical of a black guy to care for his daughter and fight for a better future....too bad.

Angry black man, in fact the only black man on the planet, lol

I don't agree with OP's comment about Deejay. Deejay from SF2 was Jamacan. How else is he supposed to be portrayed as? Asian or American? The developers did a good job with their characters.

All I want is to have the option of brown skin in MMOs for the human (or chaos for that matter.) Even elves. I'm tired of people hiding behind "oh well they're ELVES" when there's dark elves, wood elves, high elves, half elves, pretty much any kind of elf, but they're never black unless they're blue-black. F that.
When I start an MMO, I cycle through the palette. Either they give me the choice of brown skin and I play, or I pick some stupid orc or furry - and then get bored.

The only real problem with race is pointing it out.

Racism is only racism when you make a distinction between the two, positive or negative.

Celebrating diversity isn't racism. Should I not point out that I like Mexican and Italian food?

In Crackdown, the default character (who is the "good guy") is black.

At least they are in video games, not a lot of Hispanics

Thats true. Except crackdown. Which were all made out to be terrible!

Los Muertos!.

lol. Great game by the way.

Don't forget Ding Chavez...or Dom Santiago, for that matter.

Oh, and the dude from Total Overdose!

And everybody's favorite Manny Escuela from GTA IV.

Also I'm pretty sure Toad from Super Mario Bros is Puerto Rican.

What about good old Carlos from Resident evil 3?

Yes, I would like there to be more Hispanics in games that wern't gang members or other non-entities. But on the other hand, I play games for the fun, and not to find how I should act. That said..."DIABLO TIME!"

@ Butanenko:Toad...WHAT? I've never seen him around here. Maybe you're thinking of THAT take on Luigi where he's a half Colombian, Half Puerto Rican...

That's because they were all turned into zombies.

Morir es vivir, morir es vivir.

I dont get it hispanics are going to become the majority in America and yet we are not as represented like African Americans,

not a lot of brown people either, i cant even choose to be brown in Saints Row 2 (though i didnt mind being a fat black guy)

Speaking as a Mexican-American / Latino / Hispanic / whatever other dumb PC name people can come up with out of fear of what I can only assume is hurting my sensitive feelings, I really could not care less about how my race is portrayed in video games, movies, comics, etc.

The only think that bothers me is when a person makes a direct assumption about me based on my ethnicity. But truthfully, it only bothers me as much as it does when someone calls me a name like "stupid" or "fat ass" in which case, I either know it's not true, or know it is but just don't care.

Why they hell should anyone be more sensitive about something beyond their control, like what race they are, than about something within their control? If someone calls you stupid, do you get personally offended, or are you offended on behalf of stupid people everywhere?

I was about to say the same thing. I NEVER see any Mexicans in my games. It was kind of refreshing to be able to choose to be Latina in Fallout, even though it has no effect on the gameplay itself whatsoever.

I would just like more diversity in American-set games period, because when I think of an "American," I don't necessarily think of a middle-aged white male. That's the beauty of living in a place that isn't completely homogeneous (I'm looking at you, Japan).

Let me just say that after *finally* getting around to finishing HL2 and HL2:EP1 last weekend Alyx Vance is by far one of the most compelling AI companions I've ever accompanied in a game regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. Glad she's getting some sort of props. Plus, she's hella handy with a shotgun!

Oh my god - go beat episode 2! Every time I am reminded about it, I recall it being the best hours of gaming of my entire life! And the ending!? Holy crap!

Also - Alyx Vance is fantastic, for all the reasons you mentioned and the PrimePlus article mentioned as well.

Isn't episode 3 coming this year?

When we get a trailer I'm gonna JIZZ IN MY PANTS

Usually when there is a black character in a game the only question I ask is..."Would I hit it?"

...I usually ask that same question for other races as well though...hrmmm...

Japanese developers do NOT know how to portray black people.

Okay, let's get the full story. Tell us exactly how a specific ethnicity should be portrayed.

Oh wait, that would be RACIST.

My potentially offensive comment has been removed and this wonderful message has been left in its place. To quote one of the people below me that said something hilarious:

"sinai doesn't care about black people."

That really isn't the point of the article.

Wow. I think that whole article went right over your head. That comment makes you sound incredibly ignorant.

sinal doesn't care about black people.

sinai wants to run up to young black children eating candy and shove them to the ground. Once they have been shoved he will steal their candy and laugh.

Sinai...no one here's "cried" about "[that] s***" as you say. What are you talking about?

Personally, I don't care about the representation of nationalities or depictions of realistic cultures in videogames, more so because I see games as a way to escape from the real world; akin to reading a good book and temporarily leaving reality. However, new characters like Sheva Alomar in Resident Evil 5 are refreshing to see, as well as Faith from Mirror's Edge, a leading Asian-American female heroine (or hero if you must be politically correct). Sheva's hot...or "fine" as some might say, LOL!

What Shmil said...

Good job reading, "PrimePlus assesses the current state of black characters" and firing a shot out of fear and angst.

Honestly, the race card is used often in/with media, but it is not common. I don't know where the fuck you are from, but what "shit" is that black people always crying about?
Actually, hold that response, no one cares...

good read, my only argument was when he asked why Gordon Freeman wasn't black. My guess would be that most of the guys that developed the game were white and it just came natural to them back in the days of HL1.

Great write up. I agree. I wish developers would get out of their comfort zones and incorporate more ethnic characters into their games.

Why do we only care that varying races get equal representation? Why not fat people, dumb people, and ugly people? Why do you get special treatment for race alone?

If your answer is because no body wants to play a game as a fat / dumb / ugly person, how is this discrimination any different? A racist would tell you that they didn't want to play the game as a non-white person. Which types of discriminations are acceptable?

That's a good point. I've never really considered that. This is just my opinion but those types of discrimination are very different. I think discrimination according to race is much stronger, more prevalent, and a heck of a lot easier to notice.

@NoughtSoClever:

The reason your argument is fundamentally unsound is because you're comparing a variable descriptor to a static one. Race, or "skin color", can not have an opinion made about it--you just are whatever race you are. "Stupid", "ugly", "dumb" are all descriptors that could vary from person to person. So you can't discriminate against stupid people, or ugly people.

Thank you Trey. I appreciate you consideration. I understand your point and it is a good one. I might retort though by stating that racism is when a person forms a subjective opinion on what you call a static descriptor. Discrimination against a characteristic such as weight may be a judgment against the person's willpower, but discrimination against intellect is more akin to discrimination against race, as it is beyond the persons control and is unlikely to change.

Here is what I find interesting. Racism is generally accepted as inappropriate behavior and is drastically frown upon by the moral majority. It is taken very seriously. While there may be groups that defend against certain forms of discrimination, such as against overweight, or old people, there is not nearly the amount of support from the masses for any issue other than racism, and maybe religion. Never in the history of man has there been a riot started where thin people feuded with fat people.

My intent is merely to point out the disparity between tolerances for certain types of discrimination. But I will concede that not all forms of discrimination are equal. In fact, I think that is the point.

Eli fucking Vance.

That is all.

This will be a long ass comment trail...

Anything involving race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation AND console wars will get you that.

You would know being the resident racist sony fanboy around these parts now wouldn't yah?

So, a gay asian Hindu follower from Latvia walks into a bar with his rrod 360 and a says...

Wait, what were we talking about?

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PrimePlus assesses the current state of black characters

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