Vasaratti16:
[img]https://1.bp..com/-5QdU4jJ-Ic8/WGMjSNDvhoI/AAAAAAAAAYk/qUnhQgmFZ_MQCY3mHG4JdmoARsctxq3iACLcB/s1600/black-video-game-characters-2016.jpg[/img]

Once upon a time in 2005, I saw my brother playing a game he called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . I shouldn't have been watching this game since I was only eight and there were massive amounts of violence and profanity. But there was something that really resonated with me at that time: my brother was playing as someone that was black.



This was surprising since in most games I would play, it was either an animal-like character or a white person that I controlled. The only games that I can remember playing from that time that had black playable characters were Beyond Good and Evil and the WWE games. But I felt like Carl Johnson, the main character in GTA: San Andreas, resonated with me because he looked like me.

Using the movie as a reference, the Hollywood movie industry has been shy of black protagonist for decades until the advent of the ground breaking Black Panther. In case you're having trouble keeping up Black Panther is currently the fourth top grossing movie of all time that just how profitable the potrayal of the black culture in movies could get.



But why can't we get same in video games?




Modern gaming is certainly guilty of playing things too safe. For every Lucio, CJ, Lee Everett or an RPG where you have free reign over skin colour and gender, there are endless white protagonists.
There’s nothing WRONG with this, but try and list any well-known black protagonists, or female black protagonists. We’re in desperate need of projects that not only exude interest and engagement through everything I’ve mentioned, but to create games that wear these qualities on their sleeve, empowering, educating and progressing society in tow.


I remember the first time I played Mass Effect when I was 14, and I looked up to the character David Anderson. He was just this father figure and sort of a mentor to Commander Shepard, and he went against all the stereotypes of a black male in gaming at the time. I feel like he was a great representation of what a black male can be without verging into stereotype territory.

And let me not forget to say he was so damn cool.





I didn't get into the Final Fantasy series until just a few years ago, but I will always remember Final Fantasy VII because of how turned off I was from the game due to Barrett Wallace. He was loud, as the speech text would make him seem. He would curse at people like Cloud when he was mad, and he was also big and muscular. This seriously disappointed me, because it is not uncommon to find black stereotypical characters in Japanese media.


Understanding what makes these things offensive and not playing into stereotypes of black people is something Japanese developers and anime writers need to learn before feeding into it.




Developers also have a problem with making black people the main antagonist or an "evil character" in games. One of the biggest offenders in this regard is Resident Evil 5. Since this game takes place in Africa, you are expecting to see a lot of black people. The problem is, you are playing as Chris Redfield , a white man , in the game who is killing a multitude of black people throughout.


This led to controversy and backlash when the game was first shown to the public. I remember being on the playground in school back when I was in Jss3 talking about this to friends, because I was such a big Resident Evil fan and this came as a huge shock.


The same can even be said for Resident Evil 4, which has you killing a bunch of Spanish people as a gruff, white man.






We need developers to start adding more black, playable characters in gaming, be they black males or females. We need more characters like Lincoln Clay and Marcus Holloway because there aren't many, and that is a shame.

Vasaratti16:
[ Black Panther is currently the fourth top grossing movie of all time

MobileGees:
so what should we do with this piece of information

Horus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYdVutCKigQ

'Black Panther' becomes top-grossing superhero film of all time

Sardonicus:
Nothing is stopping black people from making one for themeselves.

The white does not have to always build and sell their own black pride to them.

usmanktg2:
The blacks kill its own. I developed a game "The Sky Island", 12 years ago when I was in JSS3. No sponsorship, No support even from family members. I ended up being the only player of my game

karllemah44:
how did u develop it...I'm interested

Vasaratti16:
[img]https://1.bp..com/-5QdU4jJ-Ic8/WGMjSNDvhoI/AAAAAAAAAYk/qUnhQgmFZ_MQCY3mHG4JdmoARsctxq3iACLcB/s1600/black-video-game-characters-2016.jpg[/img]

Once upon a time in 2005, I saw my brother playing a game he called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . I shouldn't have been watching this game since I was only eight and there were massive amounts of violence and profanity. But there was something that really resonated with me at that time: my brother was playing as someone that was black.



This was surprising since in most games I would play, it was either an animal-like character or a white person that I controlled. The only games that I can remember playing from that time that had black playable characters were Beyond Good and Evil and the WWE games. But I felt like Carl Johnson, the main character in GTA: San Andreas, resonated with me because he looked like me.

Using the movie as a reference, the Hollywood movie industry has been shy of black protagonist for decades until the advent of the ground breaking Black Panther. In case you're having trouble keeping up Black Panther is currently the fourth top grossing movie of all time that just how profitable the potrayal of the black culture in movies could get.



But why can't we get same in video games?




Modern gaming is certainly guilty of playing things too safe. For every Lucio, CJ, Lee Everett or an RPG where you have free reign over skin colour and gender, there are endless white protagonists.
There’s nothing WRONG with this, but try and list any well-known black protagonists, or female black protagonists. We’re in desperate need of projects that not only exude interest and engagement through everything I’ve mentioned, but to create games that wear these qualities on their sleeve, empowering, educating and progressing society in tow.


I remember the first time I played Mass Effect when I was 14, and I looked up to the character David Anderson. He was just this father figure and sort of a mentor to Commander Shepard, and he went against all the stereotypes of a black male in gaming at the time. I feel like he was a great representation of what a black male can be without verging into stereotype territory.

And let me not forget to say he was so damn cool.





I didn't get into the Final Fantasy series until just a few years ago, but I will always remember Final Fantasy VII because of how turned off I was from the game due to Barrett Wallace. He was loud, as the speech text would make him seem. He would curse at people like Cloud when he was mad, and he was also big and muscular. This seriously disappointed me, because it is not uncommon to find black stereotypical characters in Japanese media.


Understanding what makes these things offensive and not playing into stereotypes of black people is something Japanese developers and anime writers need to learn before feeding into it.




Developers also have a problem with making black people the main antagonist or an "evil character" in games. One of the biggest offenders in this regard is Resident Evil 5. Since this game takes place in Africa, you are expecting to see a lot of black people. The problem is, you are playing as Chris Redfield , a white man , in the game who is killing a multitude of black people throughout.


This led to controversy and backlash when the game was first shown to the public. I remember being on the playground in school back when I was in Jss3 talking about this to friends, because I was such a big Resident Evil fan and this came as a huge shock.


The same can even be said for Resident Evil 4, which has you killing a bunch of Spanish people as a gruff, white man.






We need developers to start adding more black, playable characters in gaming, be they black males or females. We need more characters like Lincoln Clay and Marcus Holloway because there aren't many, and that is a shame.

sureteeboy:

Where did you get this information from? The last time I checked, Black Panther isn't in the top 5 highest grossing movies of all time.

sureteeboy:

Where did you get this information from? The last time I checked, Black Panther isn't in the top 5 highest grossing movies of all time.

franklingud:

Black panther is now 4th highest grossing movie.
Google it again.

Horus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYdVutCKigQ
'Black Panther' becomes top-grossing superhero film of all time

franklingud:

Black panther is now 4th highest grossing movie.
Google it again.