Blog 2
I think that diversity, in all facets, is important for any kind of media, especially in video games. Video games reach such a wide range of audience in gender, race, religion, political views, everything so being that it is such a large platform, there needs to be representation of the diverse makeup of this world.
I remember seeing a video a month or two ago talking about diversity in film and television. It was about two Indian guys who were auditioning for a show. The show was about 4 friends living together. They say that you can’t have more than 2 black guys on this show, or else it becomes a “black show” and won’t be watched by as wide of an audience. They continued to say that Indian people hadn’t reached the level that black people had just recently reached in Hollywood by being able to have 2 characters in a show in such a white dominated media world. They say how only one of the two Indian characters could be casted because only 1 Indian character could be casted before it became an “Indian show”. The two Indian guys going for the part were liked by the casting crew and wanted the part. They would have liked to have them both in the show but couldn’t due to the fact that it would then be an Indian show. But they were required to do a stereotypical Indian accent for the role. One of the men was offended and didn’t want to play into the stereotype and the other didn’t either but eventually caved in for the part.
I like that they take the time to do research and be authentic with the diversity as we continue to grow as a society and incorporate more diversity in all media. They are trying to be sure that they don’t play into the stereotypes and are aware of the delicacy of the subject.
Kat Brewster states in her article The Pitfalls of Trying to Tell Stories Outside Your Own Experience
There are any number of pitfalls when a developer attempts to tell the stories of marginalized people. While making the choice to actively diversify one’s work is an admirable one, comments like Ingold’s and Humfrey’s can be concerning — they suggest a gap in their willingness to address the history of the stories they want to tell. When the market is saturated with stories for, about, and by white cisgendered men, stories about anyone other than that requires respect, intention, and care. It requires research, consultation, and a diverse development process. And this takes time.
I can only imagine how hard it is to try and tell a story from another persons perspective. You have to try to be true to who and what they are while looking at them from an outside lens.
With the article written by Bogost, entitled Videogames are Better Without Characters, I would have to disagree with his argument. While videogames can be fun without characters, I think that they are more fun with characters. From Mario to current day games like Mortal Kombat, games are better with characters. In MK, each character has a different skill set, set of moves, abilities, look, playability and are customizable to fighting style. This makes every match different and exciting and keeps the game more entertaining when you get to switch it up. In Maro you play as him and go on an adventure as one character and overtime you develop a closer relationship that draws you in more and allows you to enjoy gameplay more than if there was no character.
The Pitfalls of Trying to Tell Stories Outside Your Own Experience. (2017, May 22). Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/9k9vw5/the-pitfalls-of-trying-to-tell-stories-outside-your-own-experience
Bogost, I. (2015, March 13). Video Games Are Better Without Characters. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/video-games-are-better-without-characters/387556/
