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Monty & Ciara talking about Dandara.

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Kellen & Monty discuss The Walking Dead.

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Ciara & Sage discuss Bioshock and its diversity.

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Diversity in the Gaming Industry

Video games represent a universe where we control a character that is immersed in a rich storyline. The players that we control in these games should be representative of the diversity that lies in game players, yet this isn’t always the case. From what we’ve seen in the past, many playable video game characters have been representative of one category: white cisgender males. This kind of character has predominantly been existent in video games for decades, and makes the idea of being part of this demographic the normative default. This excludes players from feeling as though they can relate to the character or storyline that they are supposed to be a part of through such an experience. Over the years, more video games have created protagonists that encapture a new demographic, setting the scene for a new era of diversity in video games. While full diversity is still yet to be achieved on a larger scale, we can look into the world of gaming to see what diversity has been lacking, and the solutions to help this change. 

From an arcade game like Super Mario Bros, to action games that feature a gun slinging hero who fights off villains or war enemies, we have seen a tremendous amount of games that feature white males as playable protagonists. For a long time, many games lacked the diversity that represented women and POC, especially women of color. A reason for this may lie within the video game industry itself. According to recent data, over 74% of game developers identify as a cisgender male, and 61% of game developers identify as white (Dellinger, 2020.) This means that the majority of those who design the games we play may base stories on what they identify with, and there fails to be a more diverse team that could think of more inclusive ideas with which others like them can relate with. This for example can be seen with how light skin tones are often set as default for many games. Another noteworthy feature of past video games is the representation of POC. Often, they have been portrayed solely in games that focus on violence and street culture, ignoring the possibility of representing POC characters in games that are more fantasy or adventure orientated. The same concept often applied to women in video games, where they were over-sexualized and solely made as love interests. These issues were used to appeal to a mindset held by white males, or the only group that the gaming industry tried to gain interest from for a period of time.

Luckily, this industry is rapidly changing. More games are beginning to feature a diverse range of protagonists of different genders, races, and sexualities. The game The Walking Dead features Lee Everett, a Black man, as the main playable protagonist. Another main character, Clementine, a young girl who travels along with Lee, is also Black. Another Series, Life is Strange, follows the story of female leads, both of whom are part of the LGBTQ+ community. In the second game in the series, the story follows two Mexican-American brothers, and the issues of racism and police brutality in this game can be seen by gamers. A game called Dandara features a black female lead protagonist in an indie sci-fi game, a feature that we can see shows how diversity can be used through different genres of games, and is more inclusive of POC women, which are not often represented as main characters. Other mainstream action games have included more POC men as playable characters, such as Watch Dogs 2 and Mafia III, when they have traditionally focused on white male characters as their default. A game titled Uncharted: The Lost Legacy even features two female main protagonists of color. 

Other indie games online tell the struggles and realities in the life of a Black woman directly. As an example, we can look at two games online titled Hair Nah and SweetXheart. Hair Nah is a simulation that shows the life of black women, who often face white strangers asking to touch their hair. SweetXheart on the other hand is a game that focuses on the daily life of a black young adult who experiences different interactions with her family and strangers, including comments about her race and gender. Both of these games incorporate the point of view of a black woman, and tell the story through a simple, yet clear style of gameplay. These two games allow for people of all races and genders to view life through a different lens or perspective that has often been overlooked in both indie and mainstream video games. 

While the industry is changing to be more inclusive with its characters, there is still a lot of improvement that can be made. More can be done to take the industry’s attention away from making stories centered around one type of overused character, and allowing gamers of all demographics to feel that their identity is seen. More games have allowed for customization of characters, and this is a great start to giving players freedom with how their avatar looks. More games can highlight the experiences of POC, as well as people of different gender identities and sexual orientations as well in a way that allows their stories to be told as a default as well, in all types of game genres. Once the industry allows different voices to be heard, more progress can be made to making a wider audience feel that they can relate to the tales being told. This progress will introduce us to a wide range of diverse and interesting characters that can change the way we see video games for the better.

Sources: Dellinger, A. (2020, January 24). A new report shows how far the video game industry still has to go on diversity. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.mic.com/p/game-developers-conference-2020-report-reveals-developers-attitudes-on-diversity-in-the-industry-21745574