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Lime · Aug 15, 2014

A solid article by Robert Rath who brings up valuable points regarding play as being able to convey experiences some players are usually not able to perceive in their everyday life and why this is beneficial:

But diversity isn't just about the color of someone's skin or what language they grew up speaking at home. It's about a diversity of ideas and experiences, the unique cultural achievements and the challenges people face in our society - and that's often overlooked. It's crucial that games connect with minority players, but diverse protagonists are also powerful because they can foster understanding in those who aren't the same color, creed or sexuality as the character. Games have the unique ability to let us step into another person's shoes and - in a small sense - identify with problems we've never had to face. But we lose that opportunity when we play the same straight white guy over and over again.

I've written before that playing as a minority character is in itself a revolutionary act. Taking control of a character frees them from the constraints of their programming and gives them a role in their own destiny, making them an active participant rather than an NPC who's acted upon. But more than that, we also role-play when we control a well-defined character, with our own wants and even values commingling with the PC. I never ran riot over Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV, for instance, because it didn't seem like Niko would do that. What this means is that playing a minority character not only lets us tell their story, but that we subconsciously play from the character's perspective.

This combination can make us reconsider fundamental issues about race, class, gender and even sexuality. Take The Walking Dead, for example. While the game isn't specifically about race, the fact that you play as a black character in the South tints almost every interaction in the game.

Examples:

The Walking Dead isn't the only game to pick up this tool. There are several independent games that aim specifically to give the player a sense of a life they don't live. Cart Life helps you identify with the economically disadvantaged, and in one portion reveals the challenges new immigrants face when they arrive to a different country. Dys4ia, more than anything else, helped me grasp how it feels to be a trans person. Depression Quest does the same for mental illness and The Path communicates often frightening navigation from girlhood to womanhood.

And just an important reservation Rath makes about minority characters:

Understand, I'm not saying games starring minority groups should be created to educate straight white men, only that minority protagonists can benefit different people for different reasons. These experiences speak to players that come from that background, but they can also invite those who don't share that experience to see from another perspective and reevaluate their assumptions - and that's, in short, what art is supposed to do.

In conclusion:

We only live one life, and we spend it imprisoned in our own point of view. But art and play have the extraordinary ability to break us out of our own eyes and ears, and show us the world filtered through another life. Games can do this in a way different from any medium before it, and I think it's time we leveraged that.

I overall agree with Rath, but I would like to add that I think it's important not to make the viewpoints of PoC, LBGTQ, women Other, as if discrimination and marginalization are the only experiences they should be characterized as. E.g. it's crucial not to make a Black Woman "exotic" by having the game experience centering around being discriminated and marginalized, but (also?) simply make them normal human beings with everyday problems like everyone else. Game developers should refrain from only making minority characters interesting by virtue of their perspective as a marginalized individual, but make them appear as natural and "default" as every other person, meaning someone with individuality and common features and challenges, just like everyone else. That should also make players able to understand that people with different levels of melanin or a gender identity or a sexual identity share commonalities with them.

That doesn't mean that Rath is incorrect at all, as I totally agree that straight white dudes could benefit from understanding that people different from them don't possess the same privileges as themselves and that a marginalized individual's everyday experience can be incredibly different and difficult by virtue of their color, gender, sexuality, ability, etc. And play, especially roleplaying, can be a powerful tool to convey such experiences.

jon bones · Aug 15, 2014

Very, very good points but the kickback from the "lol tumblr i don't get why we need more female or minority characters" types is because they don't want to expand their experiences. They're comfortable and they'd rather reinforce their existing ideals instead of checking out a new perspective.

Regardless, I think as game development tools become more widespread, we'll see a more diverse cast of protagonists that can hopefully simulate some interesting life experiences for us all to play.

PdotMichael said:
Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their life's in a realistic way in the first place.

The game itself doesn't have to be realistic, it can be an allegory to some struggle that some real people have to deal with.

PdotMichael · Aug 15, 2014

Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their lives in a realistic way in the first place.

Monocle · Aug 15, 2014

I feel like that's a stronger argument for reading books than playing games with minority protagonists. The majority of games don't give players the opportunity to engage with new perspectives beyond a superficial level.

Mugatu · Aug 15, 2014

Not every one of us needs or wants those experiences conveyed in our games - many of us do live quite diverse lives and it's not a "revolution" for us to see things from other people's point of view.

I might be taking this too negatively and it's fine to do this, if this is what you want to do, but my problem is with the word "shouldn't." I should and will play however I want to, don't imply that I'm wrong or less enlightened for simply choosing a character, which usually makes no difference in the game anyway.

Lime · Aug 15, 2014

Monocle said:
I feel like that's a stronger argument for reading books than playing games with minority protagonists.

I think that's a topic of simulation vs. narrative and their inherent ontological differences, rather than a topic of media representation.

oneils · Aug 15, 2014

jon bones said:
Very, very good points but the kickback from the "lol tumblr i don't get why we need more female or minority characters" types is because they don't want to expand their experiences. They're comfortable and they'd rather reinforce their existing ideals instead of checking out a new perspective.

I don't really play games to challenge my perceptions or ideals. I play them as distractions or time wasters or to numb my brain. The games I have the most hours in tend to be fairly easy and repetitive (games like diablo III, and counterstrike).

I don't think I will ever really appreciate games for the reasons outlined in the op. For that kind of thing I read longform non-fiction or books. I find I get more than enough varying opinions and perspectives from that kind of thing so that I don't really need it in my gameplay.

Garrett Hawke · Aug 15, 2014

inb4 "saying that all straight white guys do this is racism!"

But yes, I agree that a character who is part of a marginalised group does not necessarily have to have a story that revolves around being part of that group. Like I would love to have minorities in gaming roles that don't revolve around them being marginalised. For example, a black Lara or a gay Nathan Drake. Just to show that being a minority is not all that their character is; it's just a facet of them the same it would be for a white person/heterosexual.

Also, for the luls:

Drencrom · Aug 15, 2014

PdotMichael said:
Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their life's in a realistic way in the first place.

Yup, in most games were you can choose sex/race etc you're just a faceless avatar anyway and you won't gain any new perspective because you're treated the same as any other generic avatar.

Marvel · Aug 15, 2014

You disappoint me, Dwayne.

I play as a girl from time to time if able, though not often

Fonds · Aug 15, 2014

It's not as if straight white guys by definition have the easiest lives. Very short sighted imho.

GhostTrick · Aug 15, 2014

Eh to be fair, while this guy point is pretty valid, he's choosing bad exemples imo. For exemple, The Walking Dead. When I'm playing such a story driven game, I don't really get into the character for a good reason: He has a name, a personnality, a background. I'm not into his shoes, I'm watching his story happening. As for the choices I make for the character, it feels more like acting as a conscience for that character rather than him.

Now, this point is fairly valid for games that allow character creation and with characthers without any lines or such. But let's be fair. In that case, any player would try to maje the character more to his likings. It's not about gender, sexuality or color skin.

Gustav · Aug 15, 2014

I find opinions that state "you should" or "you shouldn't", when not asked for, rather problematic, so, sadly, the author has lost me there already.

Manmademan · Aug 15, 2014

Plenty of straight white males played GTA San Andreas. Somehow we're still not living in a glorious post racial utopia

soulassssns · Aug 15, 2014

PdotMichael said:
Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their life's in a realistic way in the first place.

This post wins!

SJRB · Aug 15, 2014

I'll play whoever the hell I want to play as, thank you very much.

GhostTrick · Aug 15, 2014

tghm1801 said:
inb4 "saying that all straight white guys do this is racism!"

But yes, I agree that a character who is part of a marginalised group does not necessarily have to have a story that revolves around being part of that group. Like I would love to have minorities in gaming roles that don't revolve around them being marginalised. For example, a black Lara or a gay Nathan Drake. Just to show that being a minority is not all that their character is; it's just a facet of them the same it would be for a white person/heterosexual.

Also, for the luls:

True. The best way to write a character isnt to revolve around those criterias. Those should be wrote as normal things, not special or different aspects of the character.

LoveIsOver · Aug 15, 2014

How about I just play the game however I want regardless of my gender, race or sexual orientation?

Sheroking · Aug 15, 2014

My first playthrough with a custom character is always my avatar. So generally, white dude.

The second is whatever I'm feeling.

PrivateRyan · Aug 15, 2014

Gustav said:
I find opinions that state "you should" or "you shouldn't", when not asked for, rather problematic, so, sadly, the author has lost me there already.

Agreed - came here to post exactly that.

EmpReb · Aug 15, 2014

Meh if I have the option in a action game, TPS and/or Fighting most of the time I choose the girl. Probaly werid but its much more fun and pleasing to control a chick doing crazy things than a guy IMO.

Frumix · Aug 15, 2014

tghm1801 said:
inb4 "saying that all straight white guys do this is racism!"

Just because you put an "inb4" in your post it does not abolish you from responsibility that comes with making a sweeping generalization.

SeanTSC · Aug 15, 2014

As someone whose family is pretty much all Irish - the knock on Assassin's Creed as playing just another white guy comes off as pretty racist to me. Playing as Ezio, who is an Italian and in his home region, is not "just another white guy" to me. Neither will be playing as the Frenchman Arno in France. Not to mention Altair who was Syrian. The series gets some really unfair shit flung at it.

jon bones · Aug 15, 2014

CHusson91 said:
I'll play as who I want, thanks.

Gustav said:
I find opinions that state "you should" or "you shouldn't", when not asked for, rather problematic, so, sadly, the author has lost me there already.

SJRB said:
I'll play whoever the hell I want to play as, thank you very much.

LoveIsOver said:
How about I just play the game however I want regardless of my gender, race or sexual orientation?

PrivateRyan said:
Agreed - came here to post exactly that.

wow, i love how defensive some white dudes are getting already.

"shouldn't ALWAYS..." people... lol....

oneils said:
I don't really play games to challenge my perceptions or ideals. I play them as distractions or time wasters or to numb my brain. The games I have the most hours in tend to be fairly easy and repetitive (games like diablo III, and counterstrike).

I don't think I will ever really appreciate games for the reasons outlined in the op. For that kind of thing I read longform non-fiction or books. I find I get more than enough varying opinions and perspectives from that kind of thing so that I don't really need it in my gameplay.

yeah if you aren't playing games for a narrative then i'm not sure this really applies.

Lime said:
I think that's a topic of simulation vs. narrative and their inherent ontological differences, rather than a topic of media representation.

yeah, the interactivity is important in this case. games don't generally have as strong a narrative as books but the interactivity can do wonders for the topic if handled right.

Manmademan said:
Plenty of straight white males played GTA San Andreas. Somehow we're still not living in a glorious post racial utopia

i've seen plenty of posts from people who "couldn't get into san andreas" because they couldn't relate to the main character.

Hot Coldman · Aug 15, 2014

I played as a black lady in Pokemon X. Mainly because I could. I'm just getting bored of white dudes as player avatars after 20 or so years of them.

Basileus777 · Aug 15, 2014

If this is trying to say that developers should craft more games around people other than white men and we should play them, it has merit. If it's talking about what skin tone you use for a customizable player avatar, I don't think any of the points made hold any validity.

Lime · Aug 15, 2014

Gustav said:
I find opinions that state "you should" or "you shouldn't", when not asked for, rather problematic, so, sadly, the author has lost me there already.

"Shouldn't ALWAYS"

You didn't listen to your parents when they told you that you shouldn't always eat ice cream or that you shouldn't always sit by the computer?

SJRB · Aug 15, 2014

SeanTSC said:
As someone whose family is pretty much all Irish - the knock on Assassin's Creed as playing just another white guy comes off as pretty racist to me. Playing as Ezio, who is an Italian and in his home region, is not "just another white guy" to me. Neither will be playing as the Frenchman Arno in France. Not to mention Altair who was Syrian. The series gets some really unfair shit flung at it.

While also "conveniently" forgetting you play as a woman in ACIII Liberation and as a black former slave in ACIII Freedom Cry.

Abylim · Aug 15, 2014

I agree.

I dont really care who I am playing as, honestly. I play as a girl most of the time, if given the choice.

I wish we had a more diverse range of characters to choose from than generic Bald/Short Haired White Guy #0018

The Elite · Aug 15, 2014

Manmademan said:
Plenty of straight white males played GTA San Andreas. Somehow we're still not living in a glorious post racial utopia

It did give me some good insight into how African Americans live.

Jet packs and fighter planes. Living the high life. Everything seems ok to me.

I'll play as whatever the game offers me. If I get a choice I will play as whoever best fits the narrative.

Simple as that.

Garrett Hawke · Aug 15, 2014

SJRB said:
While also "conveniently" forgetting you play as a woman in ACIII Liberation and as a black former slave in ACIII Freedom Cry.

Shitty spin off and much, much better DLC. But still DLC. The fact that both of those games need qualifying statements like "spin off portable title" and "DLC" says a lot.

Seanspeed · Aug 15, 2014

Drencrom said:
Yup, in most games were you can choose sex/race etc you're just a faceless avatar anyway and you won't gain any new perspective because you're treated the same as any other generic avatar.

I don't know man. When I was an Argonian in Skyrim, the people of Windhelm could be straight dicks.

Duster · Aug 15, 2014

PdotMichael said:
Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their life's in a realistic way in the first place.

Yep, I often play as female characters of varying races when given the choice but I don't think I've learned anything from it because they usually make very little difference to the gameplay or story.

Frumix · Aug 15, 2014

tghm1801 said:
Shitty spin off and much, much better DLC. But still DLC. The fact that both of those games need qualifying statements like "spin off portable title" and "DLC" says a lot.

This is irrelevant.

CHusson91 · Aug 15, 2014

I'll play as who I want, thanks.

Venfayth · Aug 15, 2014

the people who need to hear this aren't going to be reading this article

Nebula · Aug 15, 2014

Seanspeed said:
I don't know man. When I was an Argonian in Skyrim, the people of Windhelm could be straight dicks.

Or a dark Elf. Damn harsh Nords.

Hot Coldman · Aug 15, 2014

Venfayth said:
the people who need to hear this aren't going to be reading this article

Better than not saying it at all! These things are usually written with "if you're reading this, you're probably already on my side, but maybe you'll know someone who isn't that you could share this viewpoint with?" in mind.

Ray Wonder · Aug 15, 2014

When I have the choice, I usually don't play as a white male character. Just to mix it up.

Hyun Sai · Aug 15, 2014

In the vast majority of the games, playing a minority character or a woman makes no difference. We are just mass murdering our way to the end.

What are the games doing this differently ?

Klyka · Aug 15, 2014

But if I want to play as the character I want to play as why should I not play as that chracter?

Garrett Hawke · Aug 15, 2014

Frumix said:
This is irrelevant.

No it's not. They clearly didn't have enough faith in either product to make them full $60 retail releases.
That's like saying "oh well this short film has a black person in it! So it doesn't matter that there are no summer blockbusters starring minorities."

SJRB · Aug 15, 2014

tghm1801 said:
Shitty spin off and much, much better DLC. But still DLC. The fact that both of those games need qualifying statements like "spin off portable title" and "DLC" says a lot.

It is you who is putting qualifying statements on either game. Liberation got an HD console port, Freedom Cry released on every playform. They are not throwaway products, regardless of how you feel about them.

Kinyou · Aug 15, 2014

PdotMichael said:
Well, there aren't many games which portraying characters and their life's in a realistic way in the first place.

Yeah, it's not like playing Ramirez in Modern Warfare 2 showed me what life is like for a hispanic in America.

Games with poor characterization will still have poor characterization.

Cheech · Aug 15, 2014

I used the female character in Mass Effect because the actress was far better than whoever voiced the dude.

Regardless, it's kind of a dumb article. Most of us with an ounce of empathy know how to respect other people without being force fed. That's the job of our parents.

MrT-Tar · Aug 15, 2014

Am I the only one who doesn't feel any different when playing as different characters no matter who they are?

I'm a heterosexual British male of Anglo-Indian descent, but playing as Mario doesn't feel any different as Samus, Link, Chun Li, Cloud, etc. That's not to say I don't support greater diversity, as I'm in favour of it; but I don't see how playing Metroid Prime or maining Kunimitsu in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 would make me feel any different about the challenges individual women may or may not face.

Garrett Hawke · Aug 15, 2014

SJRB said:
It is you who is putting qualifying statements on either game. Liberation got an HD console port, Freedom Cry released on every playform. They are not throwaway products, regardless of how you feel about them.

They are throwaway products in the grand scheme of Ubisoft. Do you really think those two titles combined cost anywhere near the amount of money required to develop a single mainline entry?
They didn't put much money into them, so they don't mind if they star minorities which are perceived as less "market safe".

Gustav · Aug 15, 2014

Lime said:
"Shouldn't ALWAYS"

You didn't listen to your parents when they told you that you shouldn't always eat ice cream or that you shouldn't always sit by the computer?

Yeah, but then I grew up.

RandyBobandy · Aug 15, 2014

It's not like you get a choice a lot of the time. I'd prefer being able to create a character and going from there

beasty · Aug 15, 2014

As a black male, this whole targeting "straight white male" blog culture is the weirdest thing ever. Honestly its kinda fucked up and makes a situation worse. I get why people feel the need to do this, but I just feel that the worst way to go about things. Offer people choices rather than guilt them into doing things.

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