Whiteness in Videogames

I am on my way to sleep, but I just wanted to say that overall your arguments are well put.

-Yes, I read the disclaimer on Muslims, but I think you could substitute any group and the argument would still apply.

-As Wiki states:
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found that penalty-enhancement hate crime statutes do not conflict with free speech rights because they do not punish an individual for exercising freedom of expression; rather, they allow courts to consider motive when sentencing a criminal for conduct which is not protected by the First Amendment.

Hate crime legislation is intended to discourage systematic discrimination like the attacks on Arab-Americans and Arab-looking Americans after 9/11 or homosexuals throughout the country. As Chief Justice Rehnquist has stated, "this conduct is thought to inflict greater individual and societal harm.... bias-motivated crimes are more likely to provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and incite community unrest," i.e. Rodney King and the riots that ensued in Los Angeles.

However, I must concede that labeling hate crimes theoretically appears to cause greater divides between groups of people and perpetuate further civil unrest.

Sometimes the best of intentions can cause the worst of results. Hate crime legislation along with affirmative action both can cause a jaded feeling among a large amount of white's in the US, while both legislation have good intentions, the results of their actions could very well be up for debate.

I would also agree that a hate crime itself doesn't inflict with freedom of speech, it just seems wrong to me. Would have to think about it in other constitutional terms, but I don't see it violating the constitution currently.

Maybe yellow ink costs more then white ink

Perhaps the influence comes from the massive shifts in Japanese culture following the end of WW2 with very heavy American influences on their life style. Something in the form of suddenly "Japanese want to make America their new emperor?"

Can't imagine why a Final Fantasy game, mostly influenced on European culture and storylines (castles, dragons, etc etc etc) thru a Japanese publisher would mostly focus on having whites and Asians.

Also, to note to the person race-bating in this thread: I've played 3 black characters in RPG's. 2 Asians. I think Jack is the second white man I've ever played.

Oh, before I forget, I have to do the usual cover-your-own-ass detail that I usually have to do....my first girlfriend/sexual partner was black, (in fact, my entire relationship history would be best akin to the "It's a Small World" Disney ride), my wife is from Cuba, my son is therefore half Hispanic/Half-White...blab blab blab.

Now that I have settled in some degree that I am not some race-hating Right-Winger, I can really get a-crackin at this bullshit.

Game sites don’t report on things like this because they’re not political. I beg to differ. Many game sites publish stories on workers and developers getting overworked, underpaid, and exploited by corporations. That is absolutely political. And I’m glad that they do – these stories need to be heard. My point is, there are different political stories and discussions happening on game sites all the time – but people still shy away from race issues.

It's because people don't like dealing with people like you trying to defend that they are or are not racist. It gets old. Fast. Really fast. 60's are over, in case you haven't noticed. Things are starting to get right, Japanese Americans got reparations for the US government being dicks to them (in their own lifetime, I note), African Americans got something like reparations with all the welfare and Affirmative Action tidbits which slowly buy surely are starting to come irrelevant (which is good, I note. It shows how far we've come as a society). That about does it for us. Although, you note, there is a lovely website called Game Politics. Perhaps, you, the author, would be well to explore and make posts there.

It’s fantasy, it’s not real. Exactly – fantasy is only limited by our imagination. If we are free to create entire worlds and characters, why do we only create ones that look white?

One could argue about making it simply because white people are a majority in the world, it could be all about the profit. But, for the sake of argument, let's say you're right: it's all about appeasing white people. Last time I checked, and seeing as those in power haven't screwed us quite yet we are a capitalist system. Profit FTW. Immerse yourself into the story, and not worry about how white your character is. Try to just focus on, well, plot. It's a story. Unless the characters go about their day discussing about how great it is to be Whitey McWhiters in the bright white sunlight with a white piña colada in their hands, it shouldn't be too hard to just focus on plot.

Gamers don’t want to think about politics. I hear all the time that gamers bemoan the stereotypes placed on them – that we’re all a bunch of straight male losers living in our parent’s basement, living off of junk food and deathly scared of having a conversation with a woman. I hear that gamers and game developers want to be taken seriously, and that games should be respected as a form of legitimate entertainment. Well, one thing that adults do is consider seriously these issues of race, gender, and sexuality. If gamers and game developers have indeed grown up as we keep demanding we have, then we can’t dismiss or deride any discussions on race, gender, and homophobia the way that they have been.

While I mostly agree with you here, I do note that adults generally have better things than if this character is too white. Or not gay enough. We're usually busy paying bills, raising children, and thanking whatever God you want to worship that we're able to have time to play a game and relax for a hour or two.

You’re making something out of nothing. This is actually a part of racism: white people think that they’re the ones that get to tell us whether something is racist or not. People think they can dismiss racism, sexism, and homophobia by blaming people of color, women, and GLBTTs for being ‘overly sensitive.’ That’s like me coming over to your crib after you haven’t eaten for a week, listening to you say “damn, I’m hungry,” and insisting, “no, you’re not hungry,” then preventing you from eating. Which leads to the argument that usually follows:

While, yes, I did see the South Park episode about this, and that I will never, ever, ever understand what it's like to be a minority of any kind, it's mostly because me being white couldn't be a more irrelevant fact in my life. While I can't speak for every white person in existence, it's a pretty safe assumption that most of my generation couldn't give a rats ass what the color of your skin is (if anyone wishes to say otherwise, feel free). But it is relevant to you and to others, which is why I don't openly tell every single person how I feel about yours or others absolutely absurd love or hatred of yours or other people's randomly determined genetic coloring, because my ass would get into fights.

My best friend/girlfiend/wife/boyfriend/game designer is Asian and says it’s not racist, so you’re wrong. So by this logic, if I polled my white friends and got them to say it IS racist, I would win? I don’t hide behind my white friends, why should you get to hide behind your Asian ones? Don’t hide behind your friends: argue the points.

Most of your white friends would probably say so, mostly because some people just reek of white guilt...for some reason. But yes, I agree, arguing the points is very important.

It’s not about race, it’s about money. This ignores the fact that some of these blockbuster Japanese franchises made tons of money in Japan, with Japanese audiences, before they were exported here. And even if it were true, then can we have a discussion on how the exportation of culture, the massive wealth and power of U.S. western media makers, is gendered and racial as well as economic?

I kinda mentioned this already, but capitalism is all about stuff like this. Once again assuming that your argument is 100% valid, appealing to a market that is extremely huge in order to turn a profit is not necessarily a bad thing. Also, and I'm sorry to utilize your argument that you just...refuted(?), but utilizing your that it sells well in Japan...wouldn't that kinda prove that most of Japan doesn't actually find it racist? So, I ask, if my best friend/girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/game designer alone doesn't work, how about instead the country that the game was made in?

It’s escapism – why do you want to play someone who looks like yourself? I don’t. When I get the option to create someone, like in Mass Effect 2, I make someone who looks a hell of a lot better than I do. In ME2, my character looks like what would happen if Daniel Dae Kim had a love child with Denizen Kane and was born with a lifetime gym membership. Anyway, people who ask this question really show their privilege: white people don’t worry about this because they take for granted that the vast majority of games made out there gives them AT LEAST one option to play someone the same race, gender, and sexual orientation as them. Put that into context: how many games out there, especially the ones with strong narratives and iconic characters, allow me to play an Asian male? Or a Black, Native American, Latina, or Arab woman, if I so chose?

Once again utilizing the "We're the majority, stupid." card, your typical cookie-cutter person would be, in fact, a white male. Since, once again, there are so many of us, it's pretty easy to assume that any Joe Blow off the street would be, in fact, white. Unless you live in a neighborhood around others of your same race, the chances of you looking out your window and seeing Whitey McCracker and his wacky whitey cousins walking by are pretty high. So why is it so hard to see that your usual "John Doe off the street is the only one capable of saving the world" is white?

Race is not important in video games . If this was true, then there would be a lot more diversity in terms of stories and characters. Because if it doesn’t matter, then why not have more games where there’s an Asian protagonist? Why wouldn’t games made by predominantly Asian men, feature at least one or two Asian men as characters? Look at the gaming climate today – maybe we should ask ourselves, why do game developers only seem to think that white characters make compelling characters? Why are the vast majority of games being made ask us to relate to a white narrative and character? And even if race or gender or sexual orientation doesn’t matter to you, can it matter to someone else?

Maybe if the games that focus on different races as lead protagonists didn't suck as often. True Crime, for instance, comes to mind. Although the main character was amusing, the gameplay...well...yeah. I didn't even bother finishing it.

I suppose Assassin's Creed is a good example of one too that did really well. And it didn't seem like too many people gave a crap that they were playing a Arab, as the game did very well in sales and performance, prompting a prequel, a sequel, and a third one on the way.

Sure, that is one example of such a thing, but what I'm trying to point out is that despite the fact that people were playing a Arab assassin going around, killing a buncha white people didn't seem to bother gamers. Although I'll note that no really big Arab pride groups said too much about that. Nor any white pride groups, for that matter.

Games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Age are based in European folklore and there were no people of color in Medieval Europe. Actually there were people of color in Medieval Europe. You know what? There were more actual people of color in Medieval Europe than there were REAL FIREBREATHING DRAGONS OR PEOPLE WHO COULD SUMMON MOTORCYCLES OUT OF THIN AIR WITH THEIR MAGIC POWERS.

I'm going to play the "We're the Majority, Stupid" card again and move on.

Japanese people shouldn’t be limited to making games that only have Japanese people in them. I agree completely! As artists and creators, empathy and creativity, including stepping out of your own shoes and exploring the lives of others, is important. I’m not saying that all Japanese games should be required to have Japanese characters – I’m asking why so few of them do. And also, why is it that those of us who are people of color are continually asked to relate to someone who is not from our own race? Why can’t people see that we have far fewer opportunities to see representation of people who are from our own race in pop culture and media?

"We're the majority, stupid." Create your own game to best represent your feelings about the subject if you worry so much about it. Although, if you think about it, most games that involve black people that are really good involve them shooting people, doing drugs, and working with gangs...you could be on to something. I guess you should be thankful that they don't have your characters act like Mr. Miyagi or some other huge stereotype.

If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. The problem with this is, it’s not like a movie where you can rent it or look at a trailer. You buy a game and you’ve invested $60 and a chunk of your time and energy to play it. And you can’t rely on reviews because, well, game reviews generally don’t talk about issues like racial representation. It’s not like if you read that Mass Effect 2 stripped away a bunch of its RPG elements and so you decide not to buy the game. If you’re a person who cares about this stuff, you’re on your own. I didn’t hear about Dr. Suchong before I bought and played Bioshock. I didn’t know that Ada Wong was a Dragon Lady stereotype until after I had bought Resident Evil 2. It’s not like you can take a game you bought back to Gamestop or Best Buy because you found some representations in it to be problematic. Can you?

Congrats, you're in the same block as the rest of us, hoping the games we want are actually good and not focus on such pointless things. You just worry if there's a accurate representation of your race there in addition to the content while the rest of us just just deal with the first part.

Some of these games feature American stories and characters, even if they’re made by the Japanese. This ignores the existence of people of color in America, including Asian Americans. American does not equal white, though this mindset says a lot about the idea that Asians are perpetual foreigners. Where are you from? Asians get this a lot. Plus, even if we went with this idea that America is majority white and that’s why the characters are, that hasn’t stopped white Western game developers from making a multitude of games set in Asia starring a white male protagonist.

"We're the majority, stupid."

Unless things have changed vastly in the past 10 years (since the last census), whites should still have that vast majority. Although, I do recall a comedian making a joke like that: "The Last Black Man on Earth starring Tom Hanks". Never really thought much about it, but it did strike me as Whitey McCracker sticking out there like a sore thumb in some things. But, as I said before, it's selling to the majority.

Despite the absurdity of having a story based on "Journey to the West" led by a white guy...

Japanese people do make games with people who look Asian, like (fill in blank). Of course there are some exceptions. But that’s just what they are: exceptions. Try this: list all the iconic Japanese games and characters out there that feature characters that are white. Now, create another list – with ones that are Asian. See?

"We're the majority, stupid."

They’re not supposed to be white or Japanese, the characters are in a fantasy world where they’re just human. If this is the case, then isn’t it a little odd that we equate human with light hair, pale skin, and blue eyes?

"We're the majority, stupid."

And this even proves my point from earlier. Think of the typical white person and you'll probably think light hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Or any combination of the three.

Is race all you care about? If so, I would have stopped playing a long time ago. I care about all the other things that gamers obsess and flame about on the boards: I think Gordon Freeman is a vanilla character but thrill at Half Life 2’s stellar level design and pacing (special shout-out to Portal). I think Bethesda’s open worlds are breath-taking and mind-blowing, and yet I’m seriously irritated by their weight-based inventory system in their games. I’m one of those crazy people who prefer Saints Row 2 to Grand Theft Auto IV, because even though SR2 is more juvenile, messier, and offensive, it’s also more fun to me. And when I read about developers who get exploited by publishers, I get sad for them and their families and feel grateful for all the nerd sweat that went into making that snowmobile escape scene so exciting (and pretty) in Modern Warfare 2. I love games, for all their frustrations and myriad flaws. These issues of representation are just an added level of consideration for me.

Just to note, I also happen to be part of the Saints Row 2> GTA IV bandwagon. Represent!

You're allowed to care, but I'm allowed to think that you're fighting a pointless battle. Could be because I'm white, I suppose. Could be because I think that you choosing a game mostly on the basis of if the lead character best represents you and your ideals allows you to miss out on creative, well made video games as well, I suppose.

As I said to begin with, I can't pretend to know (and to be even more honest, I probably couldn't care enough to learn) what it's like to be a minority. We all have our burdens to deal with, our challenges, or problems. Yours is mostly a skin pigmentation. At least video games offers us a way out with that; to delve ourselves into a strange, exciting world filled with unknown journeys and discoveries, making the hours we play fly by because we are so enriched in the story we are witnessing.

Keep fighting the good fight, but I suggest you find something more worthy of your efforts. There are still plenty of people in this world who still actively think that their race gives them some sort of superiority.

Go change their minds.

Incase people think the article I posted a link too was just some random jack-off on the internet.

"I'm Matt Thorn, a cultural anthropologist who studies, teaches and writes about comics and other forms of popular culture. I live and work in Japan, where I'm an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Manga at Kyoto Seika University. "

I think people arguing the topic of this guy's article should really read the article I posted a link to. The person who wrote the article of FFXIII, as he said, is an Asian American who was raised in America.

Saints Row 2 was so much better than GTA IV.