triplerainbowgames

[triplerainbowgames]

Representing Diverse Design

Diversity is a word that’s been seeing a substantial increase in usage these days [including on our own website, where it shows up at least half a dozen times!]. It’s for good reason, too - the world is collectively becoming more and more cognizant of how important diversity is, especially in communities with many members that span multiple areas of the world [like the gaming community]. As you may have already seen on the Triple Rainbow Games site, diversity is an integral aspect of both our game design philosophy and our business practices, and this article is going to outline why that is and what it means to us!

Before I dig in, I’ll explain what I mean by diversity so we’re on the same page: 

Diversity is the purposeful recognition and representation of the enormous array of humans that exist on any of myriad spectrums that define who we are, such as race, sexuality, gender identity/expression, religion, political stance, and so on. It’s critical to establish two things regarding representation here: the first is that I’m referring [now and for the rest of the piece] to positive representation of identities, ones that accept and celebrate them. The second is that I feel it’s not enough to mention something in passing or have miniscule side-character representation to display diversity in your game: it needs to be front and center, with meaningful characters and choices. 

Now that the foundation is set, let’s build the rest of the house :)

Diversity is an important and often-overlooked aspect of game and character design, and I feel strongly that it should be focused on more. This isn’t to say there aren’t already a number of games doing great work on the diversity front! It’s definitely been gradually improving over time, but I think we still, collectively - as the global game design community - have a ton of work to do. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Numerous psychological studies show that humans have a universal need for comfort. It’s hardwired into our brains from our evolutionary roots, and comes part and parcel with the need to achieve homeostasis. What creates that comfort is our psychological pull towards things we’re familiar with. When we interact with things that are familiar, it’s like a mental shortcut to achieving that comfort we all seek. 

A personal anecdote that illustrates this is my mobile phone. I’m an avid fan of the Android OS, but that love stemmed from several years of using version 7.1.2. When I had to get a replacement phone a couple years ago, it came with Android 8, and couldn’t be downgraded to 7.1.2. I could’ve just used the phone enough to acclimate to version 8, but grew increasingly frustrated [read: uncomfortable] with various design choices made in the newer version, including some that actively harmed me [the switch away from the dark mode menu to a white-background-dark-icon one was physically painful to my eyes after a time, for example]. In the end, what I ended up doing was researching what phones available could be downgraded to 7.1.2, and selling my new phone to replace it with the 7.1.2-phone. All that trouble, just to get back to familiar [comforting] territory!

This core drive of the human experience, this need to seek comfort, is especially important in the game design industry. Games are many things to many people, but two of the primary functions they serve are being intellectual stimulation and being an escape mechanism. To both these points, it’s more difficult to interact with games on these axes [which makes it more uncomfortable to play them] when you can’t relate to the materials they present.

EMOTIONAL RESONANCE

Many people love social deduction games, like Werewolf and Secret Hitler. I do not. I feel stressed out and alienated when I play them. This isn’t through any fault of their design, but simply how my brain responds to the stimuli and gameplay patterns of social deduction games. I’m on the autism spectrum, and part of what that entails is I’m not a person that can read subtext or tone well, and I have only rudimentary ability to read body language on the best days. Thus, I generally avoid playing social deduction games in general, and instead favor games that involve resource management, worker placement, and economy engines; they suit my brain much better because I’m able to understand those patterns, as that’s how my day-to-day brain functions. It’s what is most familiar to me, and thus, resonates with me more.

That concept - resonation - is a powerful driving force for what games people will continue to seek out, play, and love. The key is that it’s not just mechanics and systems that people resonate with, but also the art, characters, lore, and so on.

Circling back to my point about games being an escape mechanism: the more you can provide an intellectual/emotional safe haven for players, the more emotional resonance they’ll have with your game. That’s what leads to lifelong players and fans; the players that sing your praises from the rooftops, and try to get all their friends to play with them! This is magnified for players in marginalized and underrepresented groups, who often [always] have less privilege and fewer resources to access those “escapes.” Those things that are familiar and comforting, be they games or otherwise, are an integral aspect of feeling safe and cared for. When you see yourself represented in way fewer things than the majority of people, you can’t help but feel like an outsider. 

REPRESENTATION

With the percentage of people who identify as gamers/game-players increasing year after year and representative of many different demographics compared to outdated stereotypes, it’s critical that we as game designers ensure that we’re representing and celebrating as many different demographics through our characters and lore as possible. 

Representation is, at its core, acceptance of the massive range of identities one can possess. Especially concerning those that often feel like outsiders for not being part of the social norms they’re surrounded by, this is also a celebration of their identity. Celebrating those that are different from you is the first step in creating true equality, I feel! This is especially true in media and entertainment, where SO many things are made for and by the most privileged groups of the populace. Speaking from experience as a queer, nonbinary person on the autism spectrum, having any amount of entertainment celebrate your identity that is predominantly shunned elsewhere is a wondrous miracle!

Just like there’s a difference between diversity as token representation and meaningful diversity, so too is there a world of difference between passive and active diversity. A couple of side characters or passing mentions of marginalized peeps is better than nothing, sure, but it rings hollow if every playable character/game piece is a member of a privileged group. The best way to get people to care about your game isn’t just to let them SEE themselves, but let them PLAY themselves!

DIVERSITY BENEFITS EVERYONE

Here’s a slightly-paraphrased quote from Magic: the Gathering’s lead designer, Mark Rosewater, in his 2019 article Why Diversity Matters in Game Design where he talks about all the less-obvious benefits of diversity in game design: 

“It adds variety to your game. It makes things feel more unique. It also allows all of your players be exposed to things they might really enjoy. Everyone likes seeing themselves represented, but most people also find it freeing to see OTHERS represented too. Maybe it can educate them about something they were previously unaware of. [You might even show someone something that teaches them that they identify with this too, or helps them figure out a different aspect of theirself!] Possibly it can entertain them by allowing them to see things through a different lens. Diversity is not just about letting people see themselves, it’s also about allowing other people to see them as well.”

The enemy of understanding is fear, and people fear the unknown. In my time figuring out best practices to promote understanding and inclusion in my personal life after I came out as nonbinary, the primary conclusion I came to regarding diversity is that it must be based on normalization. When it’s the norm for every identity to be represented and none to be marginalized, it naturally creates a culture of acceptance and understanding. 

Media and entertainment that can expose people to genuine representation and celebration of both their own identities [to create that emotional resonance] and those of others [to educate them, and create emotional resonance and a feeling of empowerment for people within those identities] is, in my opinion, the biggest driving factor to promoting diversity in our daily lives. The more we can normalize identities that are currently marginalized and underrepresented, the more we can educate and empower people, create those safe havens for underprivileged demographics, and promote inclusion of, and for, everyone in meaningful ways. 

Games, in particular, are a powerful force for this kind of change; it’s one thing to be able to identify with a character you read about in a book or see on a screen, and it’s an entirely different tier to be able to represent the character in an interactive and repeatable manner. I believe games are one of the most effective tools we have in our culture today to spread this understanding, and Triple Rainbow Games is going to lead by example with their entries into the gaming world to forward our goals of diversity and inclusion.

Living in a more accepting world benefits everyone of every demographic. When the minority among people is disrespect of identities instead of the identities themselves, I’ll feel we’ve achieved our goals. Thanks for reading! <3, Jamie