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Neil Druckmann's Response To Uncharted 4 Black Character Controversy

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K

Kralamoonard

Member
[EDIT] Thought this comment from Kev was important to add. Please take note of it. [/EDIT]

Y2Kev said:
Guys, stop "one and done"ing like its a prize fight and he just knocked someone out. He saw a conversation and he contributed constructively to it. We should be very happy he addressed it as he did and it's an important conversation to have.

Frankly, I'm sorry Neil reads GAF against his better judgment. He's a highly respected figure here with highly respected ideas and highly respected works of art. I hope he can look past what he perceives as noise.
Click to expand...

Hey all,

I thought this was essential to post considering the sh*t storm that ensued on this thread yesterday; perhaps it can alleviate a few concerns that some posters had with the casting choice.

Here's the video which is from the Uncharted 4 panel recorded just over an hour ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T07IwsAuiDY

Personally, I never had much of a problem with the situation to begin with, but that doesn't mean this conversation cannot happen. However, although conversations like this should be encouraged, they should be done so in a respectful and thought provoking manner, that invites mature and proper discussions not reactionary sh*tposts or bigoted comments towards developers or people of a certain race.

Anyhow, I'm still happy with the candid response from Neil which provided some context and insight into the casting process for Laura. I hope you'll still visit GAF Neil :D

Also, for anyone who doesn't want to watch the video, here is a succinct summary provided, courtesy of -griffy-

-griffy- said:
  • Neil was up late reading GAF last night despite his better judgement, so he wanted to address it. Essentially, when they cast the role of Nadine they didn't even have a look for the character yet.
  • They auditioned actors of all ethnicities, American, South African, white, black, etc. Laura Bailey won the part. Laura was Nadine when she auditioned, so she won the role. Then they started capturing scenes, while still working on art.
  • Then a concept artist drew a piece of art of Nadine as a black character, and Neil thought it was great, and Neil though it was a great opportunity to have a strong, prominent black character in the game.
  • But Laura was white, and they had internal discussions about that and it inviting controversy. So they decided not to finalize the look until they could actually see it in scenes. Meanwhile they kept capturing scenes with the actors they hired for the parts.
  • Months later, when they finally started to get character designs and animations and stuff into scenes they captured and could actually see everything in context, they thought Nadine was a great character and Laura's performance vanished into the part and you didn't see anything but Nadine and Nate as characters, so they decided not to change the character to a white character.
  • There's also a prominent white character that they aren't ready to reveal yet that's performed by a black actor.
Click to expand...
 
N

NinjaCoachZ

Member
If it's true that Laura was cast before they decided to make the character black then all right.

I mean it's still jarring to hear such a distinct voice like hers coming out of the character but at least they had no malicious intent. And it's not like they could just chuck out all her work once they made the decision, so while it's not quite an ideal situation, I understand it.
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
There's also a prominent white character that they aren't ready to reveal yet that's performed by a black actor.
Click to expand...

Blam. Always great to end on a "done in one".
 
D

DICKS AHOY

Banned
Neil was up late reading GAF last night despite his better judgement,
Click to expand...
A great endorsement from an industry figure.

Also you have situations like Cree Summer voicing white girls in shows all the time. I get the concern of potential white-washing, but hopefully this direct and to the point response stops this drama from escalating.
 
P

prwxv3

Member
its fine to be disappointed but words like "white washing", "digital blackface", ect thrown around that other thread was over the line.
 
R

RK9039

Member
Wait... there was a backlash regarding the voice? wtf.

I couldn't even tell it was Chun Li, that's how good the performance was in that cutscene.
 
F

fernoca

Member
People trying to stir controversy...as always.

Sad that developers have to discuss ..well, every decision they make because someone somwhere is already starting a controversy around it.

Then some are surprised game reveals, previews and even review events are PR now.
 
S

Salex_

Member
NinjaCoachZ said:
If it's true that Laura was cast before they decided to make the character black then all right.

I mean it's still jarring to hear such a distinct voice like hers coming out of the character but at least they had no malicious intent. And it's not like they could just chuck out all her work once they made the decision, so while it's not quite an ideal situation, I understand it.
Click to expand...

If? You don't want this to be true, do you?
 
SRTtoZ

SRTtoZ

Member
I'm watching the VOD right now and its funny that he brought up GAF in regards to the controversy but he really put into light how casting isn't as black and white as you may think.

Druckmann put it perfectly. Well said if you're reading this Neil.
 
S

Scientist Supreme!

Banned
Wrote this in another thread

Scientist Supreme! said:
Glad someone brought it up and they actually discussed their reasons. Its great to hear that behind the scenes stuff. Still with no disrespect to the team or Laura, I find their answer/reasons disappointing but that's the end of it. Really respect them for responding and not being outraged like some on gaf when bringing up criticism.
Click to expand...

I hope people don't see this as a reason to disregard issues like this in the future but I'm afraid some have already done so.
 
SuitedforGaming

SuitedforGaming

Member
Speaking as a black man,
Who cares?

As developers, they have the right to take any artistic or technical direction they want without having to pander to any specific groups.
If a group of people demand some sort of accommodation, then they can feel free to develop the skills necessary to make a game, and put all the black/white/female/male/Asian/Latino characters they want.
 
D

DICKS AHOY

Banned
prwxv3 said:
its fine to be disappointed but words like "white washing", "digital blackface", ect thrown around that other thread was over the line.
Click to expand...
Referencing blackface seems the go to for a lot of arguments about racial representations nowadays. Hell, as shit as Big Bang Theory is, the constant 'nerd blackface' complaints it gets are dumb.
 
A

Auctopus

Member
Great answer by Neil, I'd surprised if this was put to bed though.

Shame Neil had to suffer like that though
enduring Greg Miller's terrible interviewing
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Nibel said:
Are you happy now ViewtifulJC
Click to expand...

Reasonable enough. Its not like they had a black character and found the best white person for the job. They had the idea of Nadine, cast the best actor from the audition, and months later after Laura and ND had been mocaping/acting/developing the character, they finalized the design like "hey what about this?"

nadine.jpg


they were like, "looks great, and now we can have a strong black woman in a prominent role in our megapopular video game, which doesn't happen very often!" Of course they were aware that Laura is, in fact not black, but the other option is "lets not have a strong black woman in our megapopular video game", and they figured the pros outweighed the cons. I watch this clip, I don't see Laura Bailey, she's just...Nadine Ross.

:kanyeshrug:
 
Y

Yabberwocky

Member
There's also a prominent white character that they aren't ready to reveal yet that's performed by a black actor.
Click to expand...

Awesome!

Cheers to Druckmann for the context and the response. I'm glad it was Laura casted -> then Nadine's amazing design, and it's good to know the ND really discussed the situation in development. As ViewtifulJC said above, the positives in the situation outweigh the negatives.

Honorio said:
neil druckmann should stop reading neogaf
Click to expand...

It's also nice to know even poor Niel is ensnared in GAF's thrall. Maybe one day we will all be free.
 
K

Kralamoonard

Member
Farks! said:
Wait, there was a controversy?
Click to expand...

RK9039 said:
Wait... there was a backlash regarding the voice? wtf.

I couldn't even tell it was Chun Li, that's how good the performance was in that cutscene.
Click to expand...

The Boat said:
I didn't even know there was a controversy and I still dont understand why there is one.
Click to expand...

Obliterator said:
I had no idea there was even controversy over this. Somehow missed the entire thing. Jesus Christ
Click to expand...

paragonpro said:
There was controversy? Really? Over what?
Click to expand...

Yep, in this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1150473&page=40

Unfortunately, the discussion steered away from discussing the game itself and turned into an absolute sh*t show with some racist and bigoted comments rather than having a constructive discussion. Fortunately some of those users were dealt with.
 
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