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P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
Also man I just wanna appreciate how, except for pronouns, Sonic Forces did everything perfect. You can wear any clothes you want as either gender model and people take the Rookie seriously
 

Fizz

Member
Jul 15, 2019
107
Ontario, Canada
Apologies if this has already been posted or shared, but this article was recently published and it feels relevant to this thread:

There's A Latinx Void At The Heart Of Video Games:
"Latinx art abounds: I found music I could listen to, books I could read, movies I could watch as I put myself back together to face the world and do my part. Here's what messes me up: I didn't know where to look for that in video games." [...] "but to be Latinx in America is to be ignored. You are perpetually a talking point in someone else's argument: Right-wing hysteria over migrants. Left-wing lust for votes. White opinions about the authenticity of a restaurant. Semi-regular debates over the service industry. Video games are not immune to this deep-seated ignorance. It can fuck you up. Make you want to check out. Why care about a video game industry that doesn't care about me? Or support other people like me?"
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
You know, since this is aimed at Squeenix, Bamco, and Atlus, I may as well quote my "you companies have five years to get it right" speech from another thread.
If Nintendo keeps up this baby steps thing... well, let me put it this way. I'm 21 years old. Nintendo targets their fanservice both genders to people my age, give or take 5 years. If I have to wait 20 years for these "baby steps", I'll be a 40 year old man right when they finally give equal representation to 20-year-old twinks that I will no longer be sexually interested in (well, unless they make the dad type units gay too). It is literally pointless for me to wait for representation from Fire Emblem in the future because I won't want it in the future. In 20 years using this awful "baby steps" idea, I will be too old to even remotely be pleasured by characters like Lindhart. So I need gay representation NOW. I'll settle for "within five years", but that is the absolute maximum time I am willing to wait for Nintendo to get it together.

I. Fucking. Want. My. Queer. Young. Adults. In. Nintendo. Games. Now.

Not in 20 years. Now. Five years tops.

Hell, that applies to you too Squeenix, Bamco, and Atlus. Five years.
 

Barrel Cannon

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,290
Seeing India represented in Lost Legacy's intro was so dope for me(brown dude here who's been to India a bunch of times growing up). It's rarely used as a setting, and to see it realized so nicely(although it still felt fairly Hollywood) was pretty nice. The game's overworld and temples were dope to see as well with the mixture of many different Hindu deities(stuff that would just look like a random statue to the majority of gamers). It's a farcry from the caricature that Dhalsim from SF2 was(although I still got love for Dhalsim as he was the first time I saw a brown guy in videogames and his stage and the fact that he was brown made feel included).
 

MainMain

Alt-Account
Banned
Jun 16, 2019
232
Shujin Academy

Looks alright, ain't much for me but I can see how people who have a western artist taste would like it. I'm more of a fan of anime-esque artists and support Japanese creators personally. One example I brought up in a previous thread was developing a relationship between Ryuji and Ren/Akira from Persona 5. Barley any actual cannon content exists because of Atlus's favoritism for hetero content, however the Japanese fandom comes to revive that hole of yaoi content. In fact, a lot of the anime guys are coded to be hetero, despite looking lanky and very feminine in nature. Look at characters like Pit from Kid Icarus, Rex from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, 9S from Nier:Automata, Link from Legend of Zelda (though BotW did introduce the Gerudo outfit which I personally appreciate), Male Corrin from Fire Emblem, and the previous character I brought up before Akira/Ren/Joker.
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
I've heard that the paired "living together" endings with the female party members are marriage but the male ones are platonic. Does this count as queer-baiting since the female party members set up an expectation of romantic endings?
 

Laiza

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,170
Sooo Epic Seven, a gacha game that I'm playing for god knows what reason at this point, finally released a muscular lady, but she's yet another muscular lady with big anime tiddies:
ef9mxaq3d2t31.jpg
Feels like a fuckin' monkey's paw wish. Like, yeah, I've always wanted some representation of ladies with bulk, but the fuckin' anime tiddies (and inappropriately thin neck) completely ruin any positive feelings I might otherwise have had from this inclusion. For some reason this specific instance hit me particularly hard, creating within me what I can only describe as existential angst of the highest degree. There's this crippling fear that the only such representation I'm allowed to have is of the type that's designed to appeal to heterosexual male observers first and foremost; that I am not at all a factor in the creation of these characters; that I am forever doomed to be left out unless I somehow get into the mix myself.

Mostly, there's this extremely raw disappointment that comes as a result of all of the above, plus all the people making creepy remarks over the character and making excuses over her big anime tiddies, as though any such excuses could erase my disappointment.

I'm sure to some folks I do look unreasonably distraught over something entirely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I wish I could impress upon people just how much it means to me to get some kind of representation. I've literally bought into games purely on the promise that I could make a character that represents me in all my weirdness. I'm beginning to think that character creation may very well be my only solace at this point. It's either that or somehow breaking into the companies that design these characters... hah, wishful thinking, that. if only it were so simple.

It's weird, you know, when I think about it. We have all kinds of female athletes, covering all kinds of different sports and professions. Mixed martial artists, runners, body builders, mountain climbers - all kinds of different reference points artists could take, freely, without even an ounce of effort. But instead what we get is: take exaggerated muscular build, add huge anime tiddies and generic anime face, bam. There's your rep. Literally the ONLY time I've seen a female character where I thought "yeah, they used an actual reference" is The Last of Us 2, and that's not even a reference, that's them literally putting a real person in the game. I mean, it's good that it finally happened, but that being the ONLY time I can think of where this is a thing is just mind-boggling.

I think it makes it extremely clear the mindset of the developers who make these games. They're not interested in women as aspirational figures at all. They're interested in women as decoration. First and foremost, that's their absolute highest priority. It's extremely transparent and I cannot tolerate people continuing to defend this unambiguously sexist bullshit.

It's obvious that the answer is to have more women on dev teams. But even just thinking about the shitshow that is game dev makes it extremely obvious why it's still a problem. Even for myself, with all my passion for the industry... I really have a hard time justifying any attempt to pursue getting into it. The stories that come out of it are simply too horrifying. And yet I want to change it somehow. Vexing.

I don't know what to do at this point. Everything just feels so pointless. Guess I'll pour some of my frustration into this tablet. Probably a damn sight more productive than wasting my time agonizing over things I have no control over.
 

Snormy

I'll think about it
On Break
Oct 25, 2017
5,114
Morizora's Forest
Sooo Epic Seven, a gacha game that I'm playing for god knows what reason at this point, finally released a muscular lady, but she's yet another muscular lady with big anime tiddies:
ef9mxaq3d2t31.jpg
Feels like a fuckin' monkey's paw wish. Like, yeah, I've always wanted some representation of ladies with bulk, but the fuckin' anime tiddies (and inappropriately thin neck) completely ruin any positive feelings I might otherwise have had from this inclusion. For some reason this specific instance hit me particularly hard, creating within me what I can only describe as existential angst of the highest degree. There's this crippling fear that the only such representation I'm allowed to have is of the type that's designed to appeal to heterosexual male observers first and foremost; that I am not at all a factor in the creation of these characters; that I am forever doomed to be left out unless I somehow get into the mix myself.

Mostly, there's this extremely raw disappointment that comes as a result of all of the above, plus all the people making creepy remarks over the character and making excuses over her big anime tiddies, as though any such excuses could erase my disappointment.

I'm sure to some folks I do look unreasonably distraught over something entirely unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I wish I could impress upon people just how much it means to me to get some kind of representation. I've literally bought into games purely on the promise that I could make a character that represents me in all my weirdness. I'm beginning to think that character creation may very well be my only solace at this point. It's either that or somehow breaking into the companies that design these characters... hah, wishful thinking, that. if only it were so simple.

It's weird, you know, when I think about it. We have all kinds of female athletes, covering all kinds of different sports and professions. Mixed martial artists, runners, body builders, mountain climbers - all kinds of different reference points artists could take, freely, without even an ounce of effort. But instead what we get is: take exaggerated muscular build, add huge anime tiddies and generic anime face, bam. There's your rep. Literally the ONLY time I've seen a female character where I thought "yeah, they used an actual reference" is The Last of Us 2, and that's not even a reference, that's them literally putting a real person in the game. I mean, it's good that it finally happened, but that being the ONLY time I can think of where this is a thing is just mind-boggling.

I think it makes it extremely clear the mindset of the developers who make these games. They're not interested in women as aspirational figures at all. They're interested in women as decoration. First and foremost, that's their absolute highest priority. It's extremely transparent and I cannot tolerate people continuing to defend this unambiguously sexist bullshit.

It's obvious that the answer is to have more women on dev teams. But even just thinking about the shitshow that is game dev makes it extremely obvious why it's still a problem. Even for myself, with all my passion for the industry... I really have a hard time justifying any attempt to pursue getting into it. The stories that come out of it are simply too horrifying. And yet I want to change it somehow. Vexing.

I don't know what to do at this point. Everything just feels so pointless. Guess I'll pour some of my frustration into this tablet. Probably a damn sight more productive than wasting my time agonizing over things I have no control over.

Hey Laiza

I actually haven't seen that character yet, I assume she is newly added. E7 and most gacha games I've played have mostly been pretty poor on the representation front. Epic 7 in particular seems to like big anime tiddies. As another player of the game I totally understand the frustration of being constantly disappointed in different aspects of a game you like and have invested so much time in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm usually feeling muscled women are such a minority that I can tend to appreciate most characters but that character is both comically busty and such a great example of what I dislike about Epic 7's designs. I don't even think sexualise is the word I'd use for it, some of the designs in Epic 7 I feel lean more and more into fetishization. I'll stop here on this tangent though because I think this discussion is better suited in the Why Women Criticise Sexualised Design thread.

On the topic of muscular women I'm keeping an eye on this VN as I enjoyed demo I played a while ago. I totally get that the genre and characters not being human might not be for everyone though.
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
I have a question about fantasy worlds - should they feel a moral need to contain equal straight/gay romance or should the creators feel free to do it 90% straight 10% gay like it is IRL?
 
Jan 11, 2018
9,848
In general I feel like if a game has a dating and affection point mechanic and there is no canon outcome, simoy don't gender lock the romance options. I don't think that's asking too much of modern games.
 

Pirate Bae

Edelgard Feet Appreciator
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,792
??
I have a question about fantasy worlds - should they feel a moral need to contain equal straight/gay romance or should the creators feel free to do it 90% straight 10% gay like it is IRL?
Huh?

You do realize a lot of LGBT are afraid to come out right? So it's a lot more than 10%.
 

JonnyDBrit

God and Anime
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,016
Also, kinda binary range, no? Like, the minimum 'need' is simply to consider it - whatever actual result they go for in the end is on them. Some games can have more options, others less, whether that's 50:50, 90:10, 33:67, or 55:45, but it would be nice if they at least had options. People advocate for 'more' right now simply because so often there isn't anything, and certainly by no means such a saturation that they can feel comfortable with any given title not being as accommodating. Especially if you factor in intersectionality as well; even if one had a game with 50:50 straight options to same sex options, how many of those are bi? Non-white? Ratio of lesbians to gay men, and what kinds of partners do they get?

It's not really a matter of what any individual game does - that sort of matter is one of overall industry trends
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
What's that figure from?
Huh?

You do realize a lot of LGBT are afraid to come out right? So it's a lot more than 10%.
My boyfriend. Believe me, I'm on the "It should be closer to 50%" side, so I'm not going to try and minimize the percentage or anything. Sorry if I was being insulting.

Also, kinda binary range, no? Like, the minimum 'need' is simply to consider it - whatever actual result they go for in the end is on them. Some games can have more options, others less, whether that's 50:50, 90:10, 33:67, or 55:45, but it would be nice if they at least had options. People advocate for 'more' right now simply because so often there isn't anything, and certainly by no means such a saturation that they can feel comfortable with any given title not being as accommodating. Especially if you factor in intersectionality as well; even if one had a game with 50:50 straight options to same sex options, how many of those are bi? Non-white? Ratio of lesbians to gay men, and what kinds of partners do they get?

It's not really a matter of what any individual game does - that sort of matter is one of overall industry trends
I was debating my boyfriend about how there needed to be more gay relationships, and he said that "it's okay that fantasy worlds like Zelda don't have equal straight/gay relationships/crushes because some developers want to be realistic about the percentage of gay vs. straight people". I'm on the totally opposite side that it should be equal in straightness/gayness since it's an UNrealistic world. I was coming here to see what the general public thought about each side, and whether I was being wrong.
 

JonnyDBrit

God and Anime
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,016
Yeah, somehow I don't think 'being realistic about ratios' was really the devs' concern when it came to Breath of the Wild. Otherwise, the framing of 'some developers' makes it seem as though there's a ready supply of alternatives to meet people's desires. There isn't, because we don't live in a theoretical vacuum; we live in an established industry with an established set of biases towards the majorities of three major markets. We've scarcely scratched the surface on having fantasy leads with more than a few drops of melanin in their skin, nevermind depicting the range of nuances in human identity and desire. We have a long way to go
 

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,464
I was debating my boyfriend about how there needed to be more gay relationships, and he said that "it's okay that fantasy worlds like Zelda don't have equal straight/gay relationships/crushes because some developers want to be realistic about the percentage of gay vs. straight people". I'm on the totally opposite side that it should be equal in straightness/gayness since it's an UNrealistic world. I was coming here to see what the general public thought about each side, and whether I was being wrong.

Sorry, but your boyfriend is an idiot, not least which because he's presupposing a motivation that simply isn't in evidence, because gay representation isn't anywhere near "10%."

Rather, Occam's razor would suggest that there's little-to-no gay representation because most game developers are straight men, as are most of their publishers and producers, creating an environment that's adversarial to queer inclusion, especially insofar as the content doesn't titillate said straight men. They don't even consider gay representation in most cases -- and in the worst cases, they consider it harmfully, like in the case of Persona 5, and/or mockingly.

Further, given the amount of games that aren't just unrealistic in general, but unrealistically showcase a straight male power fantasy, where women are wantonly objectified, the consideration of a "realistic ratio of sexuality" makes me laugh. It's an argument that's frequently brought up by ignorant straight men; I've seen it aplenty in the Fire Emblem fandom -- a series where, recently, the avatar can romance literally anyone of the opposite sex, i.e. a clear wish fulfillment fantasy, and yet detractors of further gay options (of which there are few, and of those all are bisexual, so as not to step on straight players' toes) are quick to cite ~realism~ with no self-awareness.
 

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
20,676
The debate about what percentage of LGBT people should be in games ceases to be relevant when the majority of games are still like 90% white without question despite this reality not lining up with population of most countries where games are developed or take place.
 

Urban Scholar

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,603
Florida
The debate about what percentage of LGBT people should be in games ceases to be relevant when the majority of games are still like 90% white without question despite this reality not lining up with population of most countries where games are developed or take place.

Whew the facts.

We got to really look at the white cis hetero normality
 
Aug 28, 2019
440
I have a question about fantasy worlds - should they feel a moral need to contain equal straight/gay romance or should the creators feel free to do it 90% straight 10% gay like it is IRL?

...

I was debating my boyfriend about how there needed to be more gay relationships, and he said that "it's okay that fantasy worlds like Zelda don't have equal straight/gay relationships/crushes because some developers want to be realistic about the percentage of gay vs. straight people". I'm on the totally opposite side that it should be equal in straightness/gayness since it's an UNrealistic world. I was coming here to see what the general public thought about each side, and whether I was being wrong.
Are we talking about player romance options? Heck, just make every option available to every player, as far as I care, unless you have a clear and specific reason not to. If you don't pursue a particular character in your playthrough, then in the story you created, whether that character was bi or straight or whatever probably never came up anyway. This is all just romantic fantasy, so why put up walls like that? It just makes the game less fun and fulfilling for a lot of people.

Or are we talking about representing queer NPCs in the game world? In that case, in any given fantasy world, why would only 10% of folks be queer? Even if we assume that 10% is broadly accurate on our own world, there's no reason to assume it's accurate on any other, let alone a fictional one. The divine, evolutionary, and/or social forces at work in a fantasy world are totally under the creators' control, so minimizing queer rep doesn't make the world more believable. It just makes it less colorful. Make lots of queer characters, from primary cast members to background extras. Why not?

Really though, if we're trying to be realistic about our made-up wizard-world, magical items that alter the wearer's sex or sexual characteristics would probably be hot commodities. The average NPC probably doesn't need a +4 shield, but you know there'd be a market for a Ring of Gender-Bending.

Incidentally, 10% is still a lot higher than most games bother with. It's usually closer to 0%, because representing real-world identities and relationships was not actually a priority at all.
 

BiohunterX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
761
so how do u guys feel about games that have a romance system like dragons dogma or dragon age 2 where u can romance anyone regardless of gender vs having limited options like da: origins or fire emblem 3 houses? Cause ive always like the former a lot more even thought the latter might have more lgbtq rep
 
Jan 11, 2018
9,848
I prefer the former if there is no canon romance and any romance is up to how the player chooses to experience their own adventure. There really is no good reason to limit the options. People who don't want to romance same-sex characters don't have to, and if you're gay you're not forced to romance people of the opposite sex.

And I think it's already been discussed quite a bit, but when it comes to games like Fire Emblem I wish they'd at least add some kind of diversity with the options for gay male romances. It seems to often be the guys that make straight men the least uncomfortable and straight women the least upset for losing out on them as partners. And they usually lack plot relevance and can thus easily be ignored. The lesbian options seem to be made with a straight male audience in mind, which is also an issue. At least it's not Atlus levels of bad, but still.
 

Deleted member 5086

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
4,571
I meant to post something back when the thread was first created, but I got sidetracked and forgot. Since the thread seems to be active again, I'll post it now.

I've always really really appreciated having women, people of colour and other minorities in games as it made the game considerably more enjoyable for me, particularly when it's a playable character. 9 times out of 10, if I can play as a woman of colour, I will, being one myself. But there was one instance of representation that hit me the hardest. And this is despite the character being both minor and non-playable.

horizonzerodawn.fandom.com

Samina Ebadji

Samina Ebadji was a member of Project Zero Dawn, serving as the Alpha in charge of the APOLLO subordinate function. As an accomplished specialist in the field of cultural heritage, she dedicated her life to preserving the history of the human species. Prior to the Faro Plague, Ebadji was a...

620

I'd never, ever seen someone like her in any game, or really any media that I can think of. A woman who was both black, and visibly Muslim. Who was incredibly intelligent, respected, kind, gentle, well loved. Just, nothing but positive characteristics and zero stereotypes.

This character just... really hit me hard. I teared up when I saw her, and still do sometimes when I think about her. And despite already being positively impacted by representation earlier in life, it made me realise just how important it was. And I knew for most people playing the game, she wouldn't register on their radar much, if at all. They might not even remember her. But she stood out to me. Because I realised that I never had any kind of role model like her to look up to in the media I consumed while growing up. And I realised how much that would have meant to me then.

Growing up, I'd have people assume that I couldn't speak English just by looking at me. That they should speak to the men around me (e.g. my brothers) instead of myself, because obviously I was subservient and couldn't speak for myself. That I was unintelligent, even when I was doing better than my peers. That I should be predisposed to rowdy behaviour because of my ethnic background, so it was confusing to them that I was well behaved. I'd even hear this kind of thing from teachers, let alone other children. And it's the kind of thing you have to shrug off and try to push past, but can have an insidious effect on your self esteem and self worth over time.

I never expected to see someone like her in a video game, especially in such a positive light, but I appreciate it more than I can say. I had some issues with Horizon gameplay-wise, but the representation is top tier. It's really the best example I can ever think of from a video game. So many great characters. I hope more games look to it as an example.
 

Deleted member 56306

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Apr 26, 2019
2,383
I meant to post something back when the thread was first created, but I got sidetracked and forgot. Since the thread seems to be active again, I'll post it now.

I've always really really appreciated having women, people of colour and other minorities in games as it made the game considerably more enjoyable for me, particularly when it's a playable character. 9 times out of 10, if I can play as a woman of colour, I will, being one myself. But there was one instance of representation that hit me the hardest. And this is despite the character being both minor and non-playable.

horizonzerodawn.fandom.com

Samina Ebadji

Samina Ebadji was a member of Project Zero Dawn, serving as the Alpha in charge of the APOLLO subordinate function. As an accomplished specialist in the field of cultural heritage, she dedicated her life to preserving the history of the human species. Prior to the Faro Plague, Ebadji was a...

620

I'd never, ever seen someone like her in any game, or really any media that I can think of. A woman who was both black, and visibly Muslim. Who was incredibly intelligent, respected, kind, gentle, well loved. Just, nothing but positive characteristics and zero stereotypes.

This character just... really hit me hard. I teared up when I saw her, and still do sometimes when I think about her. And despite already being positively impacted by representation earlier in life, it made me realise just how important it was. And I knew for most people playing the game, she wouldn't register on their radar much, if at all. They might not even remember her. But she stood out to me. Because I realised that I never had any kind of role model like her to look up to in the media I consumed while growing up. And I realised how much that would have meant to me then.

Growing up, I'd have people assume that I couldn't speak English just by looking at me. That they should speak to the men around me (e.g. my brothers) instead of myself, because obviously I was subservient and couldn't speak for myself. That I was unintelligent, even when I was doing better than my peers. That I should be predisposed to rowdy behaviour because of my ethnic background, so it was confusing to them that I was well behaved. I'd even hear this kind of thing from teachers, let alone other children. And it's the kind of thing you have to shrug off and try to push past, but can have an insidious effect on your self esteem and self worth over time.

I never expected to see someone like her in a video game, especially in such a positive light, but I appreciate it more than I can say. I had some issues with Horizon gameplay-wise, but the representation is top tier. It's really the best example I can ever think of from a video game. So many great characters. I hope more games look to it as an example.

Thank you for pointing this out and sharing.

The way that Horizon handled black skin and features was really beautiful. I kind of had a moment when the war chief's son was on screen because he actually looked like someone I could have grown up with. I think it may have been one of the first times I really felt like that.

I really should go back and play the DLC.
 

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,225
Canada
Thank you for pointing this out and sharing.

The way that Horizon handled black skin and features was really beautiful. I kind of had a moment when the war chief's son was on screen because he actually looked like someone I could have grown up with. I think it may have been one of the first times I really felt like that.

I really should go back and play the DLC.

I looove HZD for its NPC design
5370da3efe345fb6b0f4b7df14efec636407b52a.jpg
 

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
20,676
Horizon Zero Dawn was excellent in b that regard. My friend bought it near launch and invited me over to experience it. Hours into the game, in the middle of a conversation with an NPC, I nudged her and was like, "This game has a ton of black women and they get to exist as normal people without any bullshit attached." "Oh shit, you're right."

We stopped playing for a second to admire it. Will never forget that moment lol.
 

Deleted member 5086

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,571
Horizon Zero Dawn was excellent in b that regard. My friend bought it near launch and invited me over to experience it. Hours into the game, in the middle of a conversation with an NPC, I nudged her and was like, "This game has a ton of black women and they get to exist as normal people without any bullshit attached." "Oh shit, you're right."

We stopped playing for a second to admire it. Will never forget that moment lol.
Yeah, the fact that other characters don't draw attention to it... they're just awesome characters in their own right, while also being women of colour. It's just great.

Thank you for pointing this out and sharing.

The way that Horizon handled black skin and features was really beautiful. I kind of had a moment when the war chief's son was on screen because he actually looked like someone I could have grown up with. I think it may have been one of the first times I really felt like that.

I really should go back and play the DLC.

That's awesome. ❤ I just enjoyed all of the diversity, not just characters that were similar to me. And the representation of women in particular was just fantastic.
 

Deleted member 56306

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Apr 26, 2019
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Yeah, the fact that other characters don't draw attention to it... they're just awesome characters in their own right, while also being women of colour. It's just great.



That's awesome. ❤ I just enjoyed all of the diversity, not just characters that were similar to me. And the representation of women in particular was just fantastic.

Oh absolutely! I don't even remember there being one questionable design and women were just allowed to be characters.

Damnit y'all, have me asking my SO to reinstall :P.
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
Is there any way for me to express to Nintendo my disappointment that two of the main characters in BOTW had a crush on Link, but they were both women and there wasn't a dude or two to go along with that? It felt rather heteronormative.
I'm asking because I dunno how far just an email would go in getting my feedback heard...
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
Is there any way for me to express to Nintendo my disappointment that two of the main characters in BOTW had a crush on Link, but they were both women and there wasn't a dude or two to go along with that? It felt rather heteronormative.
I'm asking because I dunno how far just an email would go in getting my feedback heard...
Still wondering.
 

Gigan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
220
It has probably already been mentionned, but Murder by Numbers belongs to this thread ! Main character is a black woman, there are some great gay characters... There is even a whole discussion on gender. It was great to read ! I haven't finished the game yet that I'm already waiting for a sequel. <3

Is there any way for me to express to Nintendo my disappointment that two of the main characters in BOTW had a crush on Link, but they were both women and there wasn't a dude or two to go along with that? It felt rather heteronormative.
I'm asking because I dunno how far just an email would go in getting my feedback heard...

Can't help with that, but Sidon clearly has a crush on Link. Well if internet can be trusted. :P
Good thing is, even with Zelda and whats-her-face-Sheika-girl thirsting on Link, you're not forced to follow a romance path.
 

Deleted member 5086

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
4,571
It has probably already been mentionned, but Murder by Numbers belongs to this thread ! Main character is a black woman, there are some great gay characters... There is even a whole discussion on gender. It was great to read ! I haven't finished the game yet that I'm already waiting for a sequel. <3



Can't help with that, but Sidon clearly has a crush on Link. Well if internet can be trusted. :P
Good thing is, even with Zelda and whats-her-face-Sheika-girl thirsting on Link, you're not forced to follow a romance path.
Started playing that yesterday myself and I like Honor a lot so far.

murder-by-numbers-cover.cover_large.jpg
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
Can't help with that, but Sidon clearly has a crush on Link. Well if internet can be trusted. :P
Good thing is, even with Zelda and whats-her-face-Sheika-girl thirsting on Link, you're not forced to follow a romance path.
That's exactly what I want. Stuff like Sidon being canon like Zelda/Mipha instead of just on the Internet.

I need help on how to communicate this to Nintendo instead of just complaining on here. I'm gonna be shattered if it doesn't happen.
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
I know this is a bit of a hot take, which is why I didn't post it in the actual game's OT. But with Persona 5 Royal, I'm seeing a lot of people in that thread excited for it. Are they really so willing to forgive the game,'s homophobia?
 

P-Tux7

Member
Mar 11, 2019
1,344
Tekken designer responds to request for a Norse character by complaining about how he can't do that because SJWs are bullying him by criticizing uncreative, stereotypical designs. I can't make this up.
twitter.com

Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter

“I’ve become quite tired of trying to avoid causing potential offense issues. lol https://t.co/YieTaGnM55”
Sorry for linking the last tweet, but if I linked the first one the others weren't accessible, while doing this it can be accessed in reverse.
 

JonnyDBrit

God and Anime
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,016
Tekken designer responds to request for a Norse character by complaining about how he can't do that because SJWs are bullying him by criticizing uncreative, stereotypical designs. I can't make this up.
twitter.com

Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter

“I’ve become quite tired of trying to avoid causing potential offense issues. lol https://t.co/YieTaGnM55”
Sorry for linking the last tweet, but if I linked the first one the others weren't accessible, while doing this it can be accessed in reverse.

Fighting games end up in a particularly problematic area I find because of how they've relied heavily on stereotypical coding as a major part of character design from the outset. So it's not only a norm, but for some, it's part of the appeal, even though doing so often forgets the differences in dynamic when it comes to representation and power.
 
Jan 11, 2018
9,848
Does he mean Norse or Nordic? If the former, Tekken isn't SoulCalibur. Scandinavians haven't been vikings or believed in Norse mythology for... quite some time now. If he meant Nordic, there's always Lars even if he is half-Japanese giving them an excuse to sport anime hair and speak Japanese despite being raised by his Swedish mother in Sweden lol. There's nothing stopping him from making another Nordic character.

The issue I guess is that it seems by a "Norse" character he means a sexy anime valkyrie with bikini armour or a generic blonde bombshell with silicon tits and a stupidly exaggerated accent or some such nonsense, in which case that's not a good representation of Nordic people.
 

Deleted member 56306

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Apr 26, 2019
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Tekken designer responds to request for a Norse character by complaining about how he can't do that because SJWs are bullying him by criticizing uncreative, stereotypical designs. I can't make this up.
twitter.com

Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter

“I’ve become quite tired of trying to avoid causing potential offense issues. lol https://t.co/YieTaGnM55”
Sorry for linking the last tweet, but if I linked the first one the others weren't accessible, while doing this it can be accessed in reverse.

Sorry to bump this, but is it really that hard to just... Make a nordic person and put them in the game? Lmao
 
OP
OP
Oct 25, 2017
13,246
Fighting games end up in a particularly problematic area I find because of how they've relied heavily on stereotypical coding as a major part of character design from the outset. So it's not only a norm, but for some, it's part of the appeal, even though doing so often forgets the differences in dynamic when it comes to representation and power.

Yep, nailed it.

I almost want to see a FG dev tackle two characters from an underepresented nationality. Really get those creative juices flowing when they blow the stereotype load on the first one.
 
Oct 27, 2017
993
[...] I found these examples to be quite heartwarming. Some of the examples are things I might go by in a game without even giving them a second thought, and yet are quite important for other gamers. And thinking about it now, it is very clear why. And these gamers are not alone. There are so many moments, features or things relating to games being more inclusive that have a positive impact on players but simply aren't discussed enough and so, are in a way lost to those that didn't have a similar experience or relate in a similar fashion. My hope is that by sharing examples in this thread, we can highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion, both to each other and the industry at large. [...]

Great thread. To add a few examples, from a recent thread: one / two

Fighting games end up in a particularly problematic area I find because of how they've relied heavily on stereotypical coding as a major part of character design from the outset. So it's not only a norm, but for some, it's part of the appeal, even though doing so often forgets the differences in dynamic when it comes to representation and power.

Some posts from an old thread, on this subject: one / two.