Video Games Are For All Characters
After reading “Video Games Are Better Without Characters” by Bogost and “The Pitfalls of Trying to Tell Stories Outside Your Own Experience” by Brewster, I have learned a lot more of the different perspectives of characters inside the game their diversification and if they are needed. Bogost believes that games such as Sims where you are not playing with a first person view but instead are dealing with an entire city, allows you to see the world in a different light by dealing with vast political, economic, and moral factors. This type of play allows for the players to experience a world outside of themselves. Majority of video games today are played from the first person point of view that allows the players to “express themselves”. This is something that Bogost really wants to get away from but at the same time he understands that it’s extremely unlikely. Which leads into Bogost point, “If we must have characters in games, let’s do make them represent the diversity of their players and of our society. And if we must make games at all, let’s see them created by developers who represent the diversity of their playership” (Bogost) He is referring to other genders and ethnicities besides the “white male”. Game play should be diverse in the individual and both the systems and circumstance so that everyone can relate to the game. Not only is diversity a problem inside the game but also in the people producing the game as well.
In the game 80 Days, talked about in Brewster’s article, there is a indigenous Australian girl that has suffered from white colonist. A white male wants to help the girl deliver a letter for her but she will not allow it because of a lack of trust with white males. This is similar with the issues with the police today. Almost all police wanted to be police officers to help and keep people safe. After multiple incidents with African Americans being shot by police for suspicious reasons, there has now been a lack of trust in the system. Although these shootings have only been done by a select view of these policemen, it has caused lack of trust through the whole system.
Brewster talks a lot about games that involve history dominated by white males. It is tricky to have diversity in a historical game for that reason. I do not believe that games should change history itself to help diversify a game but instead, have a game that shows history from different view points. For example, the uncharted series just released Uncharted: The Last Legacy a spin off game from Uncharted 4 that shows the game from one of the females in the games perspective. Increasing amounts of progress is being made in video games and real life with gender and race equality compared to our history. From women being portrayed as housemaids, African Americans as slaves, and criminals, and mentally disabled people being referred to as “retards” on shows like the Howard Stern show. Society has come a long way but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Brewster, K. (2017, May 22). The Pitfalls of Trying to Tell Stories Outside Your Own Experience. Retrieved September 26,2017, https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/9k9vw5/the-pitfalls-of-trying-to-tell-stories-outside-your-own-experience
Bogost, Ian. “Video Games Are Better Without Characters.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 Mar. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/video-games-are-better-without-characters/387556/.
