Push for diversity now gaining traction in the video game industry

A push to make the video game industry more diverse is underway. But is it enough?

I believe that Anime is too Japanese-centric. The themes, characters and concepts used to create them follow the same formula which lacks diversity. Moreover, since many people outside Japan are interested in Anime and contribute to the industry in some way, shouldn't those who create Anime have a responsibility to provide themes and characters that are more representative of the diversity of its readership? I really feel that non-Japanese people are being left out and feel alienated by these actions. It's time to progress.

After you are done laughing your head off at me for this suggestion, can you not now see how hypocritical the constant push for diversity in predominately white countries/industries happens to be, when diversity is not expected or forced on any other group?

Is it so preposterous to suggest there might be a coordinated agenda taking place?

a reply to: Dark Ghost

After you are done laughing your head off at me for this suggestion, can you not now see how hypocritical the constant push for diversity in predominately white countries/industries happens to be, when diversity is not expected or forced on any other group?

I am not sure it has anything to do with diversity, it has everything to $$$ and making more of it, the reason white countries as you put it are diversifying is because a very large percentage of the market are not white.....

The only "forcing" that is going on is getting you and joe blo next door to pull out the credit card

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
I am not sure it has anything to do with diversity, it has everything to $$$ and making more of it, the reason white countries as you put it are diversifying is because a very large percentage of the market are not white.....

The only "forcing" that is going on is getting you and joe blo next door to pull out the credit card

If this push for diversity were confined to the video games industry, you might have a point. However, we can see it in many other areas — Hollywood is too white, TV is too white, high level jobs are too white, too many white university graduates, too many athletes are white etc.

While extra money might be the incentive of the game creators, there is really more to the issue when you look beyond the surface...

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Nearly every game I've ever played the character is right-handed, the more recent resident evil games you could change the camera angle but never a leftie... It's a conspiracy

a reply to: Dark Ghost

I can see the push in the media, but I don't see that it has anything to do with money. I don't know why they are pushing personal diversity so much, when financial diversity pisses people off. "Those damn 1%ers.......arrgghh!!"

I can accept if a person is gay but don't expect me to embrace them, because I won't. By the same token, I can accept if a person has a different sized bank account than mine, but don't expect me to give a #, because I won't.

Detached acceptance is the way to go.

There is strides in innovation in the game world. Triple A developers are looking at indie developers alot lately, the 2 most innovative games inspired by indie was silent hills pt and the new resident evil teaser imo. You also have to remember the corporate structure is slow in embracing change and innovation they have to crunch numbers and have meetings then the investors etc etc. The real innovators don't answer to corporate masters and are free to try new and interesting things.

Some games it would not work so well like a black PacMan.

Some people want more female protagonists for reasons of diversity, equality... etc and think gamers are against this because they all inherently mysoginistic.

Jokes on them, I welcome female protagonists because staring at a female butt for hours is better than staring at a male one; strong women also tend to be sexy so... Despite their belief that gamers want everything to be a power fantasy(which at the end of the day, all the "biggest" games are) it's only once again the smallest of vocal minorities throwing up any opposition.

The real problem with the "diversity movement" are aspects like what happened with Ghostbusters. Remaking things just because or forcing female, homosexual and other non-traditional characters into roles for no purposeful reason. If you can make the protagonist a gender-queer trans female adult baby for reasons that compel the story and character development forward go for it. If your doing just for press, you're a terrible writer.

Miyamoto and Kojima two of my favorite game programmers and designers guess what they AIN'T white. I see this as a Null issue.

Those who choose to do the jobs and have the ability to do those jobs and show the talent for those jobs are the ones who should be doing those jobs no matter their Age,Sex,Color,National Background.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

OP are you one of those people pissed because the new Battlefield has a black person person on the cover art? Pissed about watch dogs 2?

Get over it.

originally posted by: Dark Ghost
I believe that Anime is too Japanese-centric. The themes, characters and concepts used to create them follow the same formula which lacks diversity.

However, many of the anime is English speaking and the story, acted out on Japanese streets is quoted as happening world wide as well.

Take 'AJin' on NetFlix for example. The story is naturally based in Japan yet it is a world-wide phenomenon with Djinn located in every country.

IMO, i see nothing wrong with it.

Ongoing push for diversity? Not only money is at stake but indoctrination. Every country has there own agenda to instill in its population. Most are the same, loyalty to the state, obey the laws, and earn, consume.

The only diversity you have is your own decision to leave the genre behind.

Whatever genre they aspire you to.

Will stick to games from japanese developers . Better quality and no pc western bull# in them . Not to mention far more fun than the pay to play rubbish thats western games .
Alot of good game developers in japan and korea even a couple in china that put western game developers to shame .

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Anime seems pretty diverse to me and none of the shows my son watches seem to even have Japanese looking characters. Silly example.

Gamergaters are a sick, selfish bunch of overly sensitive, entitled snowflakes.

Oh no a woman critiqued the damsel in distress trope!
Let's send her rape threats and doxx her!

Brown is an avatar shade!
My gaming is ruined! Everyone's an SJW!

Fragile little boys trembling in fear and rage that a market has grown beyond you... how fking pathetic.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

First, diversity is not the homogenisation of all things. Diversity insists that difference be embraced, not merely absorbed.

Second, it is not realistic to come up with an argument against diversity which amounts to "Until XYZ nation and ABC culture starts diversifying, I don't see why my nation and culture ought to." This is precisely as stupid as suggesting that just because there are countries on the planet which allow torture of suspects in criminal matters, that all nations should allow it until all nations do not, simultaneously. It is nothing more than a path that leads to no change, stagnation, rot, and the eventual death of the species of which we are all a living part.

Third, diversity is good for the human race on a genetic, political, and social level. The societies which oppose it most strongly are either at constant war, limiting their citizens survival rates, or simply dying out through lack of social and financial mobility. Those nations which have most strongly embraced diversity, are not in such an awful position. The difference between North Korea and the US, should be aparant to anyone with any world view worth a damn. North Korea is a country of limitations, rigid social models, and hyper traditionalism. There is no room for error, invention, progress or advancement, because there is no room for diversity there. Any diversity. Diversity of thought, of leadership, diversity of ideas and beliefs.

The US, for all that it has its flaws, as any nation does, could not be more different. Diversity, although meeting pockets of outmoded resistance, is everywhere. People hailing from every corner of the globe, thoughts and ideas free to roam and either gain traction or puff out of existence at the merest whim of the thinker, progress made possible by the freedom to move, to exist, to change things around oneself, to move forward. Don't get me wrong, it's a rough ride, but diversity has healthier outcomes than rigidity and a refusal to move through time together, as one, no matter the divisions between people.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

You are complaining that Japanese media is too Japanese? So Japanese media should be what? More American? Just watch American media.

Go spend some time on the BioWare forums and tell me that being inclusive doesn't spawn issues all its own.

I have no problem with well-written characters I enjoy, and for that reason, I tend to love BioWare games no matter what the characters tend to be. But, because BioWare tends to be inclusive, it attracts a certain fanbase which demands all manner of fan service in the name of that ideal.

And sometimes, it's hard to tell with certain characters if they actually have a purpose to the game and its story or if they're just there to serve as said fan service. Case in point, there was a transperson in the last Dragon Age whose purpose was to basically stand there and discuss the role of transpeople in Thedas ... and nothing else. That character had more lines of dialogue assigned to it than most of the other characters on its level. Seems to me a pretty clear case of fan service.

Another case in point, is that in Mass Effect 3 you escape earth with a few soldiers on your ship and the two most noteworthy ones both happen to be gay ... when such things are so very low percentage. Now, I have less problem with this because I liked both characters, but it was only done that way in order to satisfy the homosexual romance crowd and balance out the number of both gay and straight character romance options which was an artificial "fairness" tally rather than simple character writing.

And I guess that's all a way of saying, let a story be a story and develop organically as the writers desire instead of sitting down at the outset and setting a whole bunch of artificial criteria that have to be jumped through. Well-written stories and characters will take care of themselves IMO no matter who or what they happen to be.

originally posted by: Tsubaki
OP are you one of those people pissed because the new Battlefield has a black person person on the cover art? Pissed about watch dogs 2?

Get over it.

Umm, no. Why would I care about those? I didn't even know that about Battlefield...

I have played games with minority/female character leads before that I rather enjoyed. Their race/ethnicity/gender made no difference to the game play because they were quality games.

Have a look at the article that I linked in the opening post.

You completely missed the point of the thread.

a reply to: ketsuko

Those that demand more or tailor made scenarios etc certainly aren't exclusive to non-white straight males and furthermore are completely over shadowed by meltdowns.

originally posted by: Kali74
Gamergaters are a sick, selfish bunch of overly sensitive, entitled snowflakes.

Are you implying that I am a gamgergater? That's quite an implication to make, hope you have some proof to back up your implication.

Your continual use of the word "snowflake" throughout many threads is humorous, but bordering on obsessive. Did somebody call you a snowflake in the past and now you are on a mission to desensitise others to the pain it initially caused you?

Oh no a woman critiqued the damsel in distress trope!
Let's send her rape threats and doxx her!

I don't condone anyone that does that. But nice try at attempting to categorise me as one of them.

Brown is an avatar shade!
My gaming is ruined! Everyone's an SJW!

Ok...

Fragile little boys trembling in fear and rage that a market has grown beyond you... how fking pathetic.

People that swear are either likely to have become overrun by emotion or have nothing intelligent to say. I'll wager your replies fall into both categories.