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“Generic white dude video game protagonist.” How does this trend/phrase make you feel?
- Thread starter Spring-Loaded
- Start date
I don't like the trend, it also extends past whiteness and maleness to generally humanness. No matter how fantastical the universe you always get cast as a human. Even games where you'd previously only control a vehicle with no visible people you now get a visible generic dude avatar.
As a white cishet dude, white cishet dudes are the most boring possible videogame main characters. I don't play games to be and do what I already am and do in real life. Hell, any game that lets me play a nonhuman, I'll play that.
Again I don't see how Arthur is "boring" he is southern, has a Cajun accent and rockstar doesn't make "boring" protagonists. Based on the trailers there is nothing that shows Arthur is anyway "generic"
The problem is not that the protag is white, it's that he is a generic forgettable with no characterized features and looks like an average guy who you can't remember their name because he's so generic
Maybe it's the lack of single player games or that I have been playing more Indy games but I'm struggling to think of upcoming games Ive been keeping up with that have generic white protagonists. I guess if you count these as generic
-Leon
-Nero
-Sekiro Guy
-Spyro
-RDR character
Maybe it's good that games are focusing on multiplayer so you get diversity in your choices of characters COD for example has choice with their Specialist characters that includes minority and women characters. Battlefield has women characters and that sorta has single player. I guess Spider-Man still had you playing as a white guy. Peter can be pretty generic.
-Leon
-Nero
-Sekiro Guy
-Spyro
-RDR character
Maybe it's good that games are focusing on multiplayer so you get diversity in your choices of characters COD for example has choice with their Specialist characters that includes minority and women characters. Battlefield has women characters and that sorta has single player. I guess Spider-Man still had you playing as a white guy. Peter can be pretty generic.
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The point being that there should be more diversity in the design of characters, right?
It doesn't bug me. It's a real thing, and it's getting really annoying. Arthur Morgan has nothing that sets him apart from any other character out there, which is part of why (the other part is the fact it's a prequel) I'm planning to skip RDR2 for the time being.
I don't NEED diverse protagonists in order to be interested in a game, but it helps sometimes. More than anything else I just want actually compelling characters, designs and personalities, and generic-ass dorks like Morgan don't accomplish that for me.
I don't NEED diverse protagonists in order to be interested in a game, but it helps sometimes. More than anything else I just want actually compelling characters, designs and personalities, and generic-ass dorks like Morgan don't accomplish that for me.
That's your opinion but none of them were anywhere near "generic"
It's not exactly a trend. It's the mainstream. White dudes make up a disproportionate number of video game protagonists and that's not dope. That doesn't mean I never want to play a game staring white dudes again. My favorite games from this year are likely to star white dudes: God of War, Spider-Man, and RDR2. And the one white girl from Celeste.
I just want to see more of humanity in my games. There's so much that the medium is just leaving on the table, and being somebody who loves video games I want the medium to be as varied and expressive as possible.
I just want to see more of humanity in my games. There's so much that the medium is just leaving on the table, and being somebody who loves video games I want the medium to be as varied and expressive as possible.
Well, if you're not a cishet white dude, it's you who are supposed to not care that the main character isn't like you; if you do, it must be that you're lacking in empathy. When it's white dudes having to play anything but white dudes, their issue is not empathy, it's diversity and PC gone mad and being shoved down their throats. I mean, many of these dudes have no problem playing a woman once every ten games (as long as she has breasts bigger than their heads, the face of a supermodel, and less cloth in their entire attire than a handkerchief, of course), so surely if they can do it once in a while, you can do it... all the time, right?
/s, obviously, but just in case
Don't worry, the reasonable ones among us have two eyes and realize the widespread malewhiteness of main characters. You'll always have my support.
He's a southern cowboy, he had a Cajun accent which you don't see a lot in games plus the fact that you think rockstar who had a pedigree of making amazing and interesting protagonists is suddenly going to make Arthur generic is quite odd
I actively avoid games featuring white dude protagonists. It's an uphill battle for any to convince me otherwise.
I've been playing games my entire life.
I'm done putting my money into an industry that for the most part insists on pretending I don't exist. I'm not with that shit anymore. At the very fucking least, give me an option.
White female protags are heading the same way for me.
I've been playing games my entire life.
I'm done putting my money into an industry that for the most part insists on pretending I don't exist. I'm not with that shit anymore. At the very fucking least, give me an option.
White female protags are heading the same way for me.
I would rather the protagonist be literally anything other than who he is. A bounty hunter with a hazy record with the law. Bonnie MacFarlane. A low-level sheriff's deputy trying to make a name for himself.
I have zero interest in John Marston: Beta Test Edition.
Actually a compounded issue is that when a game's main character is a white male, it's because they want it to be the most generic, focus-tested character possible so as not to alienate anyone in their core audience. So it's not just that they're white and male, it's that they also tend to be far blander and nondescript for the same reasons that they're white and male.
Yup, great post.
I was gonna say that it's totally not just videogames.
Movies are just as guilty of it and probably have even less of an excuse for it.
I remember a few years ago I had my Apple TV hooked up and the screensaver came up that just shows a bunch of random movie posters of movies they have on the store.
It was fucking embarrassing that everything was like 98% white white white white white white white. It was annoying as hell actually.
Yeah and I get how the bottom line might call for that, but from a socio-political-artistic perspective it's zzzzzz
I guess I don't know tbh I was just naming the protags of upcoming games Ive been keeping up with mainly. I was gonna put the protagonist of the upcoming Just Cause game but I don't he's white I remember them speaking Spanish in that trailer a lot.
i'm saying my issue is not limited to generic or male
white but cajun accent
white but biker
even white but female
nothing can counteract my disinterest
Sorry but I don't see how you think Arthur is anything like John. John was an aging ex-outlaw who had developed a cynical view of the world. Arthur is the lead enforcer of Dutch's gang at the height of their time, who still believes in the ideals of Dutch. There completely two different characters l. I mean you can not like that they went with a prequel. But I rather Houser and Rockstar do the stories they want or feel comfortable with the. Try to do something "new" and falter
It was really bad in the ps360 gen, but I feel like we moved away from it pretty much. Non of the AAA games I played lately had generic characters (Peter Parker notwithstanding). Of course I'm steering clear of serialized stuff, but still. No more white grizzled (space) marine.
The only publisher that actively annoys me is Ubisoft, because they almost always do that generically ethnic half Hispanic brown haired character that is like you're watching an American commercial. The greatest common denominator could be south American, north American, Mediterranean, middle eastern, squint and a bit of Asian looking characters.
I know I have no place to be annoyed as a dirty blonde, because blondes are greatly overrepresented, but still, try something less middle of the road please.
The only publisher that actively annoys me is Ubisoft, because they almost always do that generically ethnic half Hispanic brown haired character that is like you're watching an American commercial. The greatest common denominator could be south American, north American, Mediterranean, middle eastern, squint and a bit of Asian looking characters.
I know I have no place to be annoyed as a dirty blonde, because blondes are greatly overrepresented, but still, try something less middle of the road please.
I was basically saying he's essentially just Marston before he had his falling out with Dutch, hence the beta test bit. They didn't need to come up with a new character to do the "Dutch is going too far!" thing. We already saw that in the first game.
I still don't see it. John was cocky and arrogant. We don't know Arthur's personality it's way too early to judge
I never saw it as being that simple. I always felt that it wasn't just that they were white dudes, but also that their characters were similar. I remember the term "brooding" coming up a lot in description of these characters. So I always saw the writing of a character as playing part in the "generic white dude" description.
I like racial diversity a lot and support it in games. Not just racial, but gender and sexual diversity as well are really important. Give us more color, more representation, more types of people!
Now, I agree that Generic White Dude game protagonists get painted with a wide brush; There are certainly some great Gruff White Dude protags in games. Big Boss & Solid Snake, York, John Marston.
However the issue is that these characters are standouts that helped create the trope that now is used as a template. In fact, their greatness as protags was a contributing factor to the problem, because everyone wants to have a protag with as strong a following as Big Boss, or Marston. Everyone wants that cash. We can certainly think of cool White Gruff Man protags, but think about how many you don't remember.
Diversity itself doesn't necessarily create a good character. The thing is, going for something different and unique opens up new paths from which to create more interesting characters. Honestly, by falling so hard in line with tropes like that, designers and writers end up actually restricting the stories they tell, because they have to fit such a mold. This obviously can happen with characters of any race or background, but getting out of the template mindset often comes with the willingness to experiment and explore new stories. That's why I want more diversity in games. I want more stories told, about people that aren't just like me, and aren't just like Big Boss. Even though he's one of my favorite video game characters ever.
Now, I agree that Generic White Dude game protagonists get painted with a wide brush; There are certainly some great Gruff White Dude protags in games. Big Boss & Solid Snake, York, John Marston.
However the issue is that these characters are standouts that helped create the trope that now is used as a template. In fact, their greatness as protags was a contributing factor to the problem, because everyone wants to have a protag with as strong a following as Big Boss, or Marston. Everyone wants that cash. We can certainly think of cool White Gruff Man protags, but think about how many you don't remember.
Diversity itself doesn't necessarily create a good character. The thing is, going for something different and unique opens up new paths from which to create more interesting characters. Honestly, by falling so hard in line with tropes like that, designers and writers end up actually restricting the stories they tell, because they have to fit such a mold. This obviously can happen with characters of any race or background, but getting out of the template mindset often comes with the willingness to experiment and explore new stories. That's why I want more diversity in games. I want more stories told, about people that aren't just like me, and aren't just like Big Boss. Even though he's one of my favorite video game characters ever.
User Banned (Permanent): History of trolling and inflammatory false equivalencies surrounding racism and race representation.
So again, youre being racist by saying youre sick of seeing the white skin colour. That is racial discrimination period. You directly said you're tired of white people so let's not pretend otherwise.
How would your post have been interpreted if it was the other way around and you said the reverse? You'd have been dogpiled to hell and back and perma banned. So why is it different to say that of a person with white skin?
I am a minority, and I don't have any negatively around playing white male characters.
I've played many white male and female character across many genres of gaming throughout my gaming career, it doesn't affect me.
They are just character within the game.
If I have to play a white male to enjoy the story, so be it.
It is just like reading a novel, I am not going to make a fuss about it.
Edit: Ironically, I actually like playing as a white character because as a minority, it is something different to see and have all the white power and privilege you might expect of a white person as you self-insert yourself into the game as one of them.
I've played many white male and female character across many genres of gaming throughout my gaming career, it doesn't affect me.
They are just character within the game.
If I have to play a white male to enjoy the story, so be it.
It is just like reading a novel, I am not going to make a fuss about it.
Edit: Ironically, I actually like playing as a white character because as a minority, it is something different to see and have all the white power and privilege you might expect of a white person as you self-insert yourself into the game as one of them.
But it's not the other way around.
Because white people aren't under-represented in entertainment.
Dry your eyes, take a breath, and try again.
Rockstar just strikes me as a company that doesn't really care about these types of debates .There going to do the characters they want to do which means gta 6 could have 3 white guys if that's the story they want to tell
Yes I'm aware of that massive problem. It's been a problem since forever and needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.
My issue is the fact that saying you're sick of white skin regardless of gender is blatant racial discrimination. It's apparent that that poster is one of those who thinks you cannot be racist towards white people. Look at his post history. Calling Lara a white saviour and now this isn't screaming racist trash to you?
If we're to combat racism, we should stamp out ALL racism.
User Banned (Permanent): Harassment in PMs, dismissal of inclusivity efforts, history of severe infractions. Junior account.
It's not racism, but it shows an extreme lack of thinking, intelligence and reasoning if you judge a character solely by his or her melanin count
ITT: People purposely misinterpret the use of 'generic' to fit a personal narrative.
It's boring (that is, the ubiquity of white, male protagonists). I'm way more interested in experiencing crafted stories about people who don't look/act/think like me because I already know how I look/act/feel and I don't need it magnified and reflected back to me ad nauseam.
There are endless white characters who serve absolutely no narrative purpose in being white. Developers have a multitude of opportunities to simply depict other races/genders and then, for whatever reason, default to a white man. It's incredibly boring and unimaginative.
It's boring (that is, the ubiquity of white, male protagonists). I'm way more interested in experiencing crafted stories about people who don't look/act/think like me because I already know how I look/act/feel and I don't need it magnified and reflected back to me ad nauseam.
There are endless white characters who serve absolutely no narrative purpose in being white. Developers have a multitude of opportunities to simply depict other races/genders and then, for whatever reason, default to a white man. It's incredibly boring and unimaginative.
Judging someone due to their skin colour isn't racism? Wtf am I reading right now. Come on Calypto, that IS racism man.
It's an important discussion to keep in mind because of the self-perpetuating nature of who gets to be protagonist. Time and again AAA games are made with the common stereotype in mind and then when they sell (because of course they do, it's AAA gaming) this is used as justification for continuing the trend, because of course few people want to play anything other than a white man protagonist right? Billions on the line, PLAY IT SAFE FOLKS.
It was the same in Hollywood. Then finally a black superhero movie is made and makes a billion dollars and idiots in Hollywood look at each other like they just solved quantum mechanics. You mean underserved markets might over-represent (or properly represent) when given their due? You mean the majority market might find something different refreshing? Weird!
It was the same in Hollywood. Then finally a black superhero movie is made and makes a billion dollars and idiots in Hollywood look at each other like they just solved quantum mechanics. You mean underserved markets might over-represent (or properly represent) when given their due? You mean the majority market might find something different refreshing? Weird!
"What if people pointing out the widespread racism in media were the real racists?!"
"What if there was a paralel universe where whites were the discriminated minority and blacks dominated the media? Wouldn't it be racist to say you're tired of seeing black dudes?"
I'm sure you can figure out this one yourself, mate.
Again you are classifying all these characters with arbitrary categories like "white" and "male" and saying ah ha there all the same. For example you cannot group Niko Bellic In with Michael or Trevor they are all completely different characters with their own motivations and background. It's simpistic reasoning
Just as an FYI Latinos can be black, white, etc. I'm a white latino.
But since the dude is Latino he's anything but generic.