Yes, things are slowly starting to change, and that's awesome. I'd like to see it move along a little faster. But more than that, I'd like people who grew up seeing themselves represented in games, getting to play characters they could easily relate to, to understand that this is not the way it is for the rest of us. It's not just about how games are now, but how they used to be. It's about empathy. I don't want to get into a philosophical discussion about race and skin color. Yes, it's true that it's a made-up concept, but it's one that people largely buy into, so it's relevant. In shooting games, you're usually shooting at Arabs (or other groups, including white people -- but you don't get to be an Arab protagonist). Black and Hispanic characters are usually either criminals or stereotypes. White people won't even be the majority in America pretty soon, but there's a hugely diverse range of "white" characters and a very small fraction of truly believable, non-stereotypical "non-white" ones.
My point is, basically, if you've never seen a lack of diversity in games, it's because you're already represented in games. I'm genuinely happy for you. That must be awesome. But it's important to make more diverse characters available so that other people can have that experience, too. You wouldn't like always having to play a girl. Let's make sure girls don't always have to play either a boy, or a girl that is essentially a sex symbol and nothing more. It may be true that being a sex symbol wouldn't bother men. I'm not a man, so I can't say for sure. But I can say for sure that it's a huge problem for women. It bothers us. A lot. Enough to keep me from playing a lot of games I might otherwise enjoy. In the past, even when given a choice, I've often preferred to just play a male character rather than the female in the skimpy outfit, because I just couldn't bear seeing "myself," my avatar on the screen, looking like that.
And even more than just allowing more people to see themselves in games, it's important for white guys to learn to empathize with other groups as well. Games are an amazing tool for teaching empathy. You're controlling the character. You are the protagonist. Girls are generally very easily able to slide into a male character for a while, because we've been doing it through books, flims, and games our whole lives. It would be great if boys could do the same with girls, rather than seeing them as something "other" as is so often the case. A literature professor once told me, "in stories, women are Women. But men are just people." It's true, and even more so in games. It doesn't have to be that way. Playing a character that is different than you teaches you to empathize with people like that character. It's a powerful tool, and it's been largely overlooked so far.
And maybe everyone on Bay12 is already aware of all this, fully empathetic and only discussing how quickly things need to change. If that's the case, great. I haven't read the whole thread (and I'll probably stop reading soon because, as I've said, this subject is very sensitive and sometimes painful for me). But I posted in here to offer my point of view, to share my experience, and to try to help others understand. That's my primary goal, in life in general. If you can get people to understand each other better, things will be better for everyone involved. There can never be universal understanding or perfect empathy or world peace or any of that nonsense, but we can certainly do better than we've been doing so far. In my magazine editing job, I push for inclusion of material from all genders and races and other backgrounds. When I write books and short stories, I try to include as many diverse characters as I can (and I always research first by talking to people from groups I'm not a part of to make sure I don't screw it up too badly). When I see a thread on diversity in games, I feel I ought to try to make my point, so here I am. Films and TV need a lot of work as well (although Frozen was a big step forward).
It seems that things are slowly changing. I'm very pleased about that. And I can't influence game developers directly. I don't have the money to do much voting with my wallet (although I do so when I'm able). But if I can get other people to see my point of view here, to recognize that it does matter, and the studios start to hear not just from women and "minorities" but also from the audience they've been marketing to, then things will change a LOT faster.
Also, Vector: I want to hug you. You have a way of wording things so much better than me and making the same points without writing novels. : D
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Topic: Video Games and the Fun-Diversity Dichotomy (Read 23715 times)