Biases Affecting The Gaming Industry Once Again
The gaming industry is supported by people with a variety of different backgrounds, genders, ages, and races. However, the differences are not demonstrated well enough, in the video games themselves. For instance, the lack of color in video games. Before it was brought to my attention, it never stuck out as a problem to me. But, after further research, I realize it is, in fact a problem. However, I am proud to say that I do not think it has stemmed from racism. People are naturally biased. Just think! Parents will tell anyone asking, that their kid is the best at what they do, but an unbiased audience may see that the kid is actually number two, three, or even the worst at what they are doing. This goes for video game developers. The ones creating the games are not aware that they are leaving out certain races, or just simply presenting them in a hurtful way. Even though it is unintentional, these habits are ones that need to be changed, for the better of everyone.
For a second, I am going to put myself in a video game developer’s shoes. When making a game, I would obviously want to make it the most successful game possible. To do so, I would make try and make the best graphics, have a good soundtrack, have unique characters, and logically, I would make a diverse set of characters to appeal to all gamers. After researching, I learned that black video game characters make up less than two percent of all characters in video games. This being said, 71 percent of the black community plays video games. So why would game developers not try to attract this community to play their games? That is an unanswered question. I would think that they are just unaware, but it is something that needs to be brought to their attention. Any logical thinking developer would want the black communities support.
Just like the lack of female developers, there is also a lack of African American developers. This by itself, could be the very reason blacks are inaccurately portrayed in video games. This leads me to believe that we just need to encourage more African Americans to become video game developers. Unfortunately, this will not entirely fix the problem. We cannot just put the blame all in one place. In the end, the industry needs to do a better job at putting each other in other people’s shoes. Before a game developer starts making a game, all people need to be considered. I do think we are close to getting there, based on other community’s recent trends. Social media is a big part of it. Everyone has a voice, and with a simple “retweet,” the entire world sees the message. Thus, I think that if this problem gets voiced enough, the problem will soon be fixed.
For its own sake, the gaming industry must start focusing on appealing to all gamers. The developers need to be confronted and need to be told that they are, unknowingly, leaving out a large portion of their supporters. If people step up and voice that they feel hurt or left out, I believe things would change in the near future. Just be simply tweeting, or using the platforms we all have access to, will go a long way in coming together as one, in the gaming industry. People are unaware of the biases they have. It is a fact, that is how it becomes a bias in the first place. Let’s simply voice our objections, and see a real difference.
Works Cited
Blackvity Team. (2017, July). This Black Woman Gamer Didn’t See Black People In Her Favorite Game, So She Put Them In Herself. Retrieved from Blackvity.com: https://blavity.com/black-simmer-amira-virgil
