Unless people are making definitive statements about the final product, you're working yourself up for nothing, but go on and do you.
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"Yet Another Generic White Dude" - A legitimate discussion on criticism regarding character design diversity
- Thread starter Veelk
- Start date
Unless people are making definitive statements about the final product, you're working yourself up for nothing, but go on and do you.
Is it weird that I always figured the Sandpeople were coded to be the natives of that area? I kind of always assumed the humans were the product of colonialism. I don't think any of that is correct according to the cannon, but that was always what it kind of read as to me.
Got a problem with Iowa!? Kidding.. You got an audible laugh out of me though. My stereotype is that every protag looks like they're from the UK.
In 2018 and 2019 there were a large amount where it matters, in big budget games by big publishers, and in award winning games like hellblade.
And given the games announced by xbox sony and some others that seems like its continuing into the future.
No. It was a well-written story, period. The reason I loved it is because of how New York he is in the film. And a lot of urban kids can relate. Me being from Harlem and Latino. I related to Miles because he reminded me so much of myself and my friends growing up. Doing Graffiti and being part of the Hip-Hop scene. But also going to a good school. Miles could have been Asian(Male or Female) with the same story and I still would have related with him. Regardless of the skin color a Latino or Black person from the hood is not the same as a Latino or Black person form the burbs. Due to the difference in the environment. But dealing with the police is a whole different story, unfortunately.
KOTOR is no longer "canon" but it portayed Tatooine exactly like that.
User Banned (1 Week): Dismissing concerns surrounding diversity and inclusivity efforts
This really seems like pre-mature criticism. Respawn just released a game where the playable characters are more diverse than the demographics of the two markets which'll be playing it (USA/EU). Token diversity is stupid (ex: female and/or PoC for the sake of being female and/or PoC) the character's origins/backstory should be driving factor in this kind of decision, and given Respawns' recent record I'm sure they did just that.
Were the stories revolving around them solely? i can count that on one maybe not even two hands. Between 2018 and 2019.
Also to my knowledge isn't the character in that white? regardless of female or male. Like there's never been less female leads it's more like, there's been very bad one's.
I actually don't mind that he is white, im disappointed that he is another human protagonist in Star Wars.
Can we get a female Twi'lek main character? They've earned the right after being stuck as the exotic supporting character and Star Wars strippers forever now.
3 main PT characters are human
3 main OT characters are human
The 3 main characters of the ST are human,
most of the Rebels cast is human,
Manalorian will be about a human(for the love of god have some supporting aliens)
this is human
Thankfully Resistance has an alien with the second most screentime but he is just comic relief.
Ahsoka was such a breath of fresh air.
Can we get a female Twi'lek main character? They've earned the right after being stuck as the exotic supporting character and Star Wars strippers forever now.
3 main PT characters are human
3 main OT characters are human
The 3 main characters of the ST are human,
most of the Rebels cast is human,
Manalorian will be about a human(for the love of god have some supporting aliens)
this is human
Thankfully Resistance has an alien with the second most screentime but he is just comic relief.
Ahsoka was such a breath of fresh air.
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Token diversity ? lol
What of the characters origin story and background forces him to be a white male ?
I only have seen the trailer but I doubt there are any story reasons that tied their hands in terms of how they designed the main character.
You would have more of a point if this was a already established character and they changed him just to appease minorites...but this is a new character.
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"diverse for diversity's sake" is one of the most disingenuous arguments there is. Nothing is diverse for diversity's sake. Things in the world are naturally diverse. People are diverse. Cultures are diverse. It takes a concentrated effort to keep things from being diverse. It takes wanting to appeal to a homogeneous look, wanting to appeal to the status quo, wanting to fit in with the majority.
If a developer decides to step away from the majority, that's the most natural thing they can do. And it'd be about time.
Exactly it's the same agrument folks are trying to use for Spider-verse.
That cause the barbaric Sand People are supposed to represent the Arab people.
...yeah
KoTOR might have the best depiction of the Sand People in Star Wars.
im not for "diversity for Diversity's sake" it has to be done well. that being said.. that was a bland ass trailer with a bland ass white guy, that can change but the onus is respawn, not I. First impressions count. they mean something. as long as i have eyes ill use them. and that trailer hurt to watch.
Look, I'm all for POC in games (loved Watch Dogs 2 mostly because of the MC, for instance) but I think people are overreacting a little bit just because 1) it's Star Wars and 2) it's indeed a somewhat generic looking character.
Take DMCV's V for example. White as fuck but no complaints whatsoever since his design was so well done.
Take DMCV's V for example. White as fuck but no complaints whatsoever since his design was so well done.
There's a very prominent racism academic in Brazil that says the following:
White 'race' fights day and night to be the norm. Whites can't and won't allow any kind of classification. That's why, for instance, when you want to point someone on the street you very rarely say 'look, the white guy with the red shirt' but you say 'look, the black guy with the red shirt' and also why the white hero is just 'hero' and the black hero has to have 'black' on his name. Because white exists as a no-thing while everyone else always get adjectivized. So, if white wants to be the norm in a video game, it will always be the generic option - Especially a white american in a game with global scale made by an american company.... (just put this here to remind us that the guy is not african-white, nordic-white, neither european-white.
So everyone that's calling the white guy generic is actually pretty accurate AND reproducing the status the white 'race' built for itself by raw power throughout history.
Sorry for bad english.
White 'race' fights day and night to be the norm. Whites can't and won't allow any kind of classification. That's why, for instance, when you want to point someone on the street you very rarely say 'look, the white guy with the red shirt' but you say 'look, the black guy with the red shirt' and also why the white hero is just 'hero' and the black hero has to have 'black' on his name. Because white exists as a no-thing while everyone else always get adjectivized. So, if white wants to be the norm in a video game, it will always be the generic option - Especially a white american in a game with global scale made by an american company.... (just put this here to remind us that the guy is not african-white, nordic-white, neither european-white.
So everyone that's calling the white guy generic is actually pretty accurate AND reproducing the status the white 'race' built for itself by raw power throughout history.
Sorry for bad english.
Honestly most of the responses were tame disappointment. The one's freaking out were the ones projecting their anger at people being disappointed about a design choice.
People who didn't care for the design weren't overreacting. People upset at people who didn't care for the design were.
Has there been a Star Wars game where the main character wasn't explicitly a generic ass white guy.
And I really hate the premise of this thread. Too many video games star generic ass white guys. Let people complain it's a valid point and a problem in the medium.
And I really hate the premise of this thread. Too many video games star generic ass white guys. Let people complain it's a valid point and a problem in the medium.
I was trying to do me, but you decided to butt in. Besides, I'm not working myself up, it's a legitimate point that you're just seeking to dismiss for no reason whatsoever. It's a very well understood fact that you judge something as a whole.
The 'diversity for diversity's sake' counter argument is so shallow at this point.
It's a universe filled to the brim with potential character setups, motivations, and backgrounds; literally filled with aliens and people of color. Its a fair criticism to levy at the game
It's potentially a new franchise, for starters. It's a story driven experience that fans have been clambering for. Arguing that other games lack diversity as a form of justification rings pretty hollow.
It's a universe filled to the brim with potential character setups, motivations, and backgrounds; literally filled with aliens and people of color. Its a fair criticism to levy at the game
It's not that huge a reaction, truth be told. Some people called the character generic, maybe one or two people said they were going to skip and all of a sudden, we were talking about Arthur Morgan, reverse racism, diversity for diversity's sake and how folks expected this on era. Honestly, the overreaction has been people bugging out because some posters didn't like the protagonist. It didn't have to be that big a deal.
the protagonist in BF2 wasn't. most of them were using characters from the movies, but games like the snes trilogy let you play as chewbacca. but original ones were mostly white dudes again.
edit: while I had the same reaction as others watching the trailer, I have to admit I didn't react the same way with the gameplay reveal of the cancelled version (that had a white protagonist, right?). but I was focusing more on the environment and was looking forward to explore those. I guess, it's more an issue with the presentation and how generic mcprettyface was the sole focus in that trailer. that's the only thing I can judge the game on right now, hence the disappointment.
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M8, they say Jesus was born in the middle east and he is represented as a white dude. Your chances to see a middle eastern as a protagonist of a video game are slim.
What a stupid post, are you saying Apex is more diverse than the US? wtf are you talking about, have you been in the US?
It's not a fact, just your opinion. If a trailer is released for something, people definitely provide reactions to what they've seen. If you're telling me people can't judge content they've seen before release, then that's pure horseshit. Whole point of a trailer is to sell you on something. Crazy how you went from supposedly providing an opinion to determining what's fact for everyone else. Expected though.
As an add on, I don't care for this narrative being formed by some, especially by the people actually freaking out over opinions on design choice, that people who don't like the design are in hysterics/super upset. Reads highly as some coded language that women and minorities are unreasonable and volatile.
No he isn't. His mom is Peurto Rican.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_characters:_M#Rio_Morales
Why is it that whenever it is literally ANYONE ELSE besides a white male, presumably straight, is featured or is asked or considered to be featured, sentences like "Diversity for diversity sake" or "token diversity" show up. This is not some historical representation of an insulated white tribe from Earth's ancient history.
Literally it is the most revealing of comments when it comes to unsuccessfully veiling personal racial biases.
You're twisting my words. I never used the lack of diversity in other games as a justification. I just said that the response here is absurdly skewed given my example and this game both belong to the same medium, and in my opinion, a result of both the "genericness" of the MC and the Star Wars franchise.
User Banned (1 Week): Dismissing concerns surrounding diversity and inclusivity efforts
Who cares if it's white black, woman or man? It has to be SOME gender and skin color. It literally means nothing, devs should make what they want. Story and writing is what needs to be on point
The people that are more concerned with him being a white male over the fact that he's a human look fairly silly to me. I think this game looks pretty interesting but if I had to pick a main character it would definitely have been Ahsoka Tano. I really hope she makes some kind of appearance in the game.
Is he though? Pretty sure I've heard Filoni say he's inspired by Ralph Macchio and the Karate Kid movies. Look at pictures of Ralph around the time he was Ezra's age. I could still see him being middle eastern though, so it could be a bit of both. The culture on his planet does feel more middle east inspired.
I mean representation does kind of matter. The perspectives media choose to promote impact the broader culture. Star Wars is meant to take place in a broad universe, but too often the central perspectives are the same. You say it means nothing, and that is probably true for you, but it is far from an absolute truth. The world creates heroes and cultural icons for a reason, we have mythology for a reason. It creates easy to digest templates, models for behavior, and ideals to follow. Is it so hard for you to understand that people want to see some element of themselves in these stories? That groups that have been marginalized or presented as ancillary to the broader culture would want a moment in the spotlight? Representation is important, and can have tangible benefits for people.