Gears criticised for stereotyping

[theRepublic]

crumas2 said:

Non Sequor said:

His point was that if they can depict a hispanic main character in a sensible manner, then why did they make the black supporting character a retread of an obsolete stereotype? He also points out that this stereotype doesn't even make sense within the setting that the writers established and that cringe-inducing black characters have become depressingly common in video games.

I think the fundamental problem is that game writers tend to blindly create characters out of scraps of pop culture and characters from other games. The result is that every black character falls into one of the following four categories: "cool" tough guy who uses bizarre slang, thug who also uses bizarre slang, amalgamation of Samuel L. Jackson characters, and amalgamation of Morgan Freeman characters.

I really don't understand this.  Were they supposed to make Cole a dandy?  I thought most of the characters represented hardboiled men who survived largely due to the tough environments they had existed in for years.  Marcus Fenix runs around making nothing but short tough-guy statements that make Arnold S's characters seem enlightened, but that's okay. 

Most of the people buying these games (males between 18-25 years old) want to role play as one of the roughest of the rough, able to take on anything, possibly as a result of living mundane, unexciting lives.  This is the market.  The last time a publisher tried to focus on "leveling" the games available (I believe it was Purple Moon) by creating games targeting just girls, they failed miserably.  Why?  They exist in a market, not a sociology class.

In an "idea" world, everyone gets along, there is no racism or bigotry toward those who are different: black white, short, tall, athletic, studious, quiet, boisterous.  And it would be nice if we could move closer to that ideal.  However, it can become a nightmare when society decides to force the issue and ends up creating deeper rifts than they fill.

So... let's solve this in an American way.  I challenge anybody who feels this inequity is a terrible blight on society to go out and start a games company or become a part of an existing games company and make sure games are made that "do it right".  And I don't want to hear any excuses about how that's too hard or only "rich" people or "lucky" people can start companies or make a difference in the company they work for.  Bullcrap!  Instead of whining about it, do something about it instead of complaining that no one else is fixing the problem.

*getting off my soapbox before it collapses*

 

 

So you're telling me 18-25 males can't handle intelligent black men or complex stories and characters.  I for one, resent this.  Developers don't need to focus on games for girls, they just need to stop being covertly racist.  That's what everyone needs to do if we are going to move toward that "ideal" world you speak of.