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I am disappointed by the lack of diversity depicted in Squadron 42
- Thread starter Vela
- Start date
You just conflated affirmative action with hiring a diverse cast.
What is wrong with you?
There is no onus on potential consumers from NOT discussing how a main cast is made up of mostly white characters.
I'm sure there's some tokens somewhere in non prominent roles!
Don't worry, OP will not be allowed a second portion of desserts for this baseless, totally interesting observation.
Some people just really love white men in space universes. I think there's a Black Mirror Episode about this.
Now you're just misguiding people based on production schedules, totally unfair!!!1
It isn't.
The OP is expressing their disappointment.
And it's troubling that you think the inclusion of PoC characters needs story justification.
You might not see the issue, but there's a problem with this industry, and our society in general, viewing white males as the default for everything. And to you it's just a happy coincidence that means nothing, still.
OP it's one of the first things I look for in a piece of SciFi that has an Earth-based origin story. I'm almost always disappointed.
From Jennifer Lawrence as olive-skinned, black haired Katniss Everdeen onwards, there's a future out there and I ain't in it.
From Jennifer Lawrence as olive-skinned, black haired Katniss Everdeen onwards, there's a future out there and I ain't in it.
Having multiple playable rigs is never the priority in a development cycle, that doesn't make it an afterthought. It was always the plan.
I agree there is no problem with discussing this matter, I certainly didn't ask for the conversation to stop.
I didn't mean to offend with the comparison, I understand the need for affirmative action and agree with it, I just don't think you can demand and label creators racist for not having a diverse cast.
I wouldnt label an all black or all Asian creative work as racist.
We don't have to justify Aliens or their humanoid appearances...BUT people of color need to have a lore reason for existing.
Its reaaaally lame when your game is a space combat scifi affair and most of the cast is white AND male. Like honestly it doesn't make any sense, like at all.
Whatever floats your boat. It sure is more fun to jump to conclusions.
I'm so fucking tired.
The fact that you would equate these things, just tells me you don't understand why people make these complaints in the first place.
.
I'm sorry you have to endure people wanting to see better representation in video games.
So literally everyone that isn't a straight white man should only be there if the story "leads" them to being there.
Holy crap. Just, how do you write this post and not see how horrid it is?
Straight white men are not a human default. This implication that anyone that doesn't conform to that narrow slew of people need some kind of justification to exist is absolutely horrific.
A character can just, not be a straight white man, you know? It isn't hard.
Maybe I don't and I would be happy to engage with you to find out why?
I don't mean to be reductive when stating I have no issue with works that have cast all from (or mostly) racial group. I take each as it is.
One would be an active, conscious decision based on racism and xenophobia. The other is an unconscious result of people making a game full of characters that largely reflect the developers, backers and community, historically resulting in the origins of this project: PC space pilot games from the 90s, whose target audience was, you guessed it, extremely white and male.
You can rightfully point out that they're not doing enough to appeal to a larger, more diverse audience (minorities, women) two decades later, but conflating it with far right political racism is some insane shit.
OP
OP
lol that you don't get why that prioritization is sexist. female animation rigs...just too complicated you know. Better focus on more important things like eye-tracking with some expensive camera or motion cap some famous white dude or male animation rigs for that matter....
yeah you really didn't understand my point at all. Read this: https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/07/intentions-dont-really-matter/
Maybe I don't want to have this conversation on Era every single week. Like I did last week. And the week before. And the week before. And the week before. And the week before.
Without using Google, point me to one game with an all black or all asian cast.
Then use Google to find one.
And then for everyone one you fine, I'll show about 100 games that feature all white casts.
I mean thats pretty much any games convention outside of the FGC.On one hand, the OP is absolutely right.
On the other, this is the audience at CitizenCon:
I'm not sure one Asian woman in a cat of like 20+ white people is exactly hitting a home run on the diversity scale.
Yeah, I noticed that when I watched some footage of the character creator. They've had a 'playable' version of the game out there for backers since 2013 - starting with the Hanger Module - and the fact that 'we' - I haven't opened the client in years, but I'm technically still a backer I guess - still don't have the option to play as a woman, five years later, is a fucking farce. And, when you put that alongside this shite trailer, it really doesn't paint a pretty picture.
OP
OP
i'm sure that the central meeting place where all the devoted fans of this particular game will be very receptive towards criticisms of "their" game when it comes to politics and race. Let me just sign up and make a thread there and receive a lot of positive and compassionate replies from the Gamers.
In fact, maybe you should do the honors...
I think the cast of this game and not having female playable characters at launch aren't huge deals, but are definitely telling a story about the company making this game.
Oooooooooof
Literally just white people with token asian woman.
I assume its too late to fix this, right?
Literally just white people with token asian woman.
I assume its too late to fix this, right?
I didn't mean it like that, I never said white was the default. Maybe that's where the creator just happened to start, I don't know.
I know a character can be something other than a straight white man, in this instance it isn't.
The story would leads where it leads, I never said the default start would be from white.
Thing is, you write what you know, and I think that leads creators to start from themselves and work outwards. I think that's the same regardless of colour.
I wouldn't expect a black writer not to see the character through the lens of their life / persona and start from there. That's not inate racism.
Those are all real actors.
#9 isn't a white guy
But yeah it's pretty white reguardless
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt5194726/fullcredits/cast?ref_=m_tt_cl_sc
Actually going through the characters on there is a lot of POC. Just not the top billing.
#9 isn't a white guy
But yeah it's pretty white reguardless
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt5194726/fullcredits/cast?ref_=m_tt_cl_sc
Actually going through the characters on there is a lot of POC. Just not the top billing.
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OP
OP
yeah all that whiteness looks amazing huh. Just great with so many white people everywhere with little to no brown or black folks around. A Gamer's Dream Come True (or Chris Robert's dream game apparently).
I think it's worth highlighting is that science fiction, including even major work of pop sci-fi, have often been strong on diversity. It's because it's a natural result when a lot of them are looking at increased globalization and the like. Star Trek was influential for showing a multiethnic crew and for showing one of the first interracial kisses on television. I mentioned it before, but even Gundam - a show made by and for the extremely ethnically homogeneous Japanese audience - had a mix of ethnicities from its start in 1979, with a major black hispanic character in the main cast.
So this is even more jarring, that something in a genre that often goes "let's try to include a diverse future because that's what the future would probably look like" instead falls back.
So this is even more jarring, that something in a genre that often goes "let's try to include a diverse future because that's what the future would probably look like" instead falls back.
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I don't get your point. You will be able to chose your gender soon in Star Citizen and it's not even out of alpha yet.
You don't need expensive camera for face tracking and that has nothing to do with having a different playable rig,which is not too complicated, it just takes time. What's the point in developing two player rig at the same time if there's a chance they will both have to be replaced later in development by a better one? Now that their technology is in place and in a good state in that regard (player rig), they can iterate.
And they have been motion capturing female actresses too since the beginning. What are you onto?
I think it's amazing how much this thread is filled with derails about Kratos and people passive agressively ignoring your OP and commenting on the game.
You specifically took everyone that wasn't a white straight male and specified you're ok with them being there if the story leads to their inclusion.
Unless there's something different about white straight men, why would you not also include them in your point? Why specify everyone else?
Why specify that you'd "gladly" include them too, so long as the story lead there? Do you have an issue with them being there if the narrative doesn't specify?
Like, actually go re-read what you wrote. It's awful.
The fact that you automatically assume "straight white guy" as the human default is the core of what people refer to as "white privilege."
An all-black or all-Asian film cast isn't remotely comparable to an all-white film cast, because the underlying structure of privilege is not remote the same.
Media can either subvert or perpetuate those structures with the characters it portrays. By sticking with the "default" straight white guy that most people already have in their subconscious, it perpetuates the systematic privilege that causes so many problems for us as a society.
So yes, positive representation should absolutely be part of the creative process for any media creator working in 2018. To not participate is to basically say you don't care about minorities and are happy with the current structures of privilege.
this is one of the more lul worthy thing I have ever seen on this site.
Didn't notice it before, but you're totally right OP. Kind of bonkers this day and age to see a 16 person celebrity sheet with zero black people and just one visible minority in general. You can't tell me they couldn't get one black celebrity (A or B list). Sounds like they realized that after the fact too, but having POCs in less prominent roles is it's own problem. I'm not going to go as far as to call it overt racism (more of a type of unintentional racism), but it sure is hell is disappointing and is another example of white people being seen as the default. Even I'm guilty of that considering it took this thread to make me realize it in this case.
The lead is Ian Duncan who was born in South Africa. John-Rhys Davies likewise grew up in Tanzania which I think would shape your identity and experience to be quite wordly.
The other vanduul's, their leader's, actor is Patrice Naiambana, a Ghanaian-British actor who has played Othello previously. Appearances can deceive...
The other vanduul's, their leader's, actor is Patrice Naiambana, a Ghanaian-British actor who has played Othello previously. Appearances can deceive...
A white person that grows up knowing nothing but other white people is indicative of a lot of issues. The history of the place they grew up in, the way their town is today, their family attitudes.
And it's not a thing to be all "well, it just be like that sometimes, it has nothing to do with racism, it's just a coincidence."
Perpetuating that in media isn't good thing.
I've had several white friends who've told me "I never even saw a black person until college", had another friend who saw me at a college event and asked me "how my black event was" because I was sitting mostly near black people (it was a battle of the sexes game were playing for fun), or have white friends go to a movie and go "wow, there sure were a lot of black people in the theater". All of that is indicative of them rarely being around minorities or having exposure to their culture. And of course they're not going to see the issue with that, because to them, not saying the n-word is enough to not be seen as racist.
Whether you say it or not, the world does view white males as the default, and these suggestions, are how we get that to stop. And the annoying part is, if minorities do get their representation, it's still going to be white males at the face of everything so it's especially annoying to see people get so defensive about these issues.
Oh wow, you just shut everyone up with that. Okay, let's go home everyone, no need to comment on diversity in this game.
Anyone who asks for "lore reasons" for POC in space sci-fi with aliens is a fool of the highest order. They're humans, they came from earth, what else do you need to know?
Why are people citing God of War? Of course a game about Norse mythology isn't the same as a sci-fi epic in space. Comparing them is beyond disingenuous.
This is amazing. Carl Sagan remains the GOAT.
This is amazing. Carl Sagan remains the GOAT.
LOL this game...$200 millions over 7 years and a sci-fi setting... and non-white, non-male characters are an afterthought at best? This is so very pathetic.
On-topic, you're right OP, entertainment absolutely influences the way we see the world and what we want the future to look like, so this is definitely a dropped ball.
Off-topic, holy smokes this is probably the game with the most stars I've recognized that I've ever seen.
Off-topic, holy smokes this is probably the game with the most stars I've recognized that I've ever seen.
I think I understand why people shake their head at these type of threads on Gaming side, holy shit. "Innate racism" talk and defining which Mediterraneans could pass for white, lots of cast praise, instead of actually addressing the topic's question.
METHINKS THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH
METHINKS THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH