Games that have a Black Main Character

[QUOTE="MethodManFTW"]skin pigmentation has nothing to with how your personality should be. Gordon from Half-Life is mute and he has a personality. It's just game developers making characters they know the best... If you want more black main characters be a game developer. Scianix-Black

Supported.

Game developers, for the most part, are either white or asian, therefore, you can expect a good amount of video game protagonists to be either of those 'races.' They don't know, again for the most part, how to create a main character outside of those two 'races' without feeding into stereotypes, that's why you rarely ever see Hispanic or African American protagonists, and when you do, they're usually pretty stereotypical.

imo it betrays some latent racism that is in all of us when someone merely says "oh it would be nice to have more black main characters"

...and the reaction is "omg demanding more black characters! You're racist for not wanting to play games with whites and because you should be relating to characters based on their personality not their looks! Blah blah I object to the inclusion of more black characters because I'm not a racist!"

clicketyclick

To each his own I suppose. I just want to know how you got that out of what I said. I never said those things. You apparently haven't read anything that I've typed. Or you have and just came up with your own random conclusion because you really don't a counter arguement for our last post. This, my friend, is a feeble attempt at trying to make someone look bad by putting words in their mouth.

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]

imo it betrays some latent racism that is in all of us when someone merely says "oh it would be nice to have more black main characters"

...and the reaction is "omg demanding more black characters! You're racist for not wanting to play games with whites and because you should be relating to characters based on their personality not their looks! Blah blah I object to the inclusion of more black characters because I'm not a racist!"

jbc7343

To each his own I suppose. I just want to know how you got that out of what I said. I never said those things. You apparently haven't read anything that I've typed. Or you have and just came up with your own random conclusion because you really don't a counter arguement for our last post. This, my friend, is a feeble attempt at trying to make someone look bad by putting words in their mouth.

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

[QUOTE="MethodManFTW"]skin pigmentation has nothing to with how your personality should be. Gordon from Half-Life is mute and he has a personality. It's just game developers making characters they know the best... If you want more black main characters be a game developer. supa_badman

Supported.

Game developers, for the most part, are either white or asian, therefore, you can expect a good amount of video game protagonists to be either of those 'races.' They don't know, again for the most part, how to create a main character outside of those two 'races' without feeding into stereotypes, that's why you rarely ever see Hispanic or African American protagonists, and when you do, they're usually pretty stereotypical.

Most definetly not. You're not a bad person. Why would you think that?

Play whatever game you want to.

[QUOTE="jbc7343"]

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]

imo it betrays some latent racism that is in all of us when someone merely says "oh it would be nice to have more black main characters"

...and the reaction is "omg demanding more black characters! You're racist for not wanting to play games with whites and because you should be relating to characters based on their personality not their looks! Blah blah I object to the inclusion of more black characters because I'm not a racist!"

supa_badman

To each his own I suppose. I just want to know how you got that out of what I said. I never said those things. You apparently haven't read anything that I've typed. Or you have and just came up with your own random conclusion because you really don't a counter arguement for our last post. This, my friend, is a feeble attempt at trying to make someone look bad by putting words in their mouth.

I know. But I could tell it was directed at me.

I think you're confused. This is the parent's job. Not a video game developer. All I want to communicate is that if people (parents) explained to children that race does not matter and that everyone is created equal then racism today will die. If people are brought up to know they are equal to someone of another race then they won't wonder if they're different. They won't care.

jbc7343

No I'm not confused. It's not a parent's job. It's a video game developer's job if they want to relate to their audience. In any case, you're making a jump from "would be nice if there were" to "should". No-one said developers ought to include more blacks and underrepresented characters. But the point is that they're underrepresented - that is, they're not even being represented to the extent of their minority status. Many underrepresented groups are also poorly portrayed.

And no, educating your kids that race doesn't matter doesn't change the natural human reaction to notice differences and feel different, even when you recognise different is equal. I have been educated to view the races and genders as equal but I still notice it. There's a difference between being non-prejudiced and being blind.

Yes I am human. As as a human, I have a human reaction to things.

The trend in human behaviour is that when you are vastly outnumbered by another visible group and you're a visible minority, you become extremely conscious of your difference (i.e. that you are black/white/male/female/hispanic/middle-eastern/etc.) The people in the visible majority don't think much about or notice race, but the people who are part of the visible minority become extremely conscious of it.

This has been studied in social psychology with children. When asked to describe themselves, children who are members of visibly identifiable groups and are put in a classroom full of people from another group such that they are part of a minority are far more likely to describe themselves by mentioning their visibly identifiable group than the children who are part of the majority group. And it works either way. When females are in theminority in a large group of males, they have heightened awareness of their femaleness. When men are in the minority, they have heightened awareness of their maleness.

When you are a minority or underrepresented, the typical human reaction is a rather constant, heightened awareness of your difference and how you don't fit in.

Putting a minority/underrepresented character in a game says "yes you do fit in and you're not different."

clicketyclick

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

[QUOTE="MethodManFTW"]skin pigmentation has nothing to with how your personality should be. Gordon from Half-Life is mute and he has a personality. It's just game developers making characters they know the best... If you want more black main characters be a game developer. supa_badman

Supported.

Game developers, for the most part, are either white or asian, therefore, you can expect a good amount of video game protagonists to be either of those 'races.' They don't know, again for the most part, how to create a main character outside of those two 'races' without feeding into stereotypes, that's why you rarely ever see Hispanic or African American protagonists, and when you do, they're usually pretty stereotypical.

Of course not. I support diversity and I'll argue that race makes no difference, but if someone were to make a game with an islander, I'd probably buy it if it was good.

imo it betrays some latent racism that is in all of us when someone merely says "oh it would be nice to have more black main characters"

...and the reaction is "omg demanding more black characters! You're racist for not wanting to play games with whites and because you should be relating to characters based on their personality not their looks! Blah blah I object to the inclusion of more black characters because I'm not a racist!"

How could you forget afro samuri aith samuel jackson??? Bad spelling i know

[QUOTE="jbc7343"]

I think you're confused. This is the parent's job. Not a video game developer. All I want to communicate is that if people (parents) explained to children that race does not matter and that everyone is created equal then racism today will die. If people are brought up to know they are equal to someone of another race then they won't wonder if they're different. They won't care.

clicketyclick

No I'm not confused. It's not a parent's job. It's a video game developer's job if they want to relate to their audience. In any case, you're making a jump from "would be nice if there were" to "should". No-one said developers ought to include more blacks and underrepresented characters. But the point is that they're underrepresented - that is, they're not even being represented to the extent of their minority status. Many underrepresented groups are also poorly portrayed.

And no, educating your kids that race doesn't matter doesn't change the natural human reaction to notice differences and feel different, even when you recognise different is equal. I have been educated to view the races and genders as equal but I still notice it. There's a difference between being non-prejudiced and being blind.

Thinking like that will keep this race issue going. I wish there was a way for everyone just to not care. I hope for a world where we don't care what color someone is or how they're features are different from your own.

Finally, it is a parent's job to tell their children they are not different and they blong. A video game company or movie studio does not have to validate my feelings or my race. My mother taught me that I'm not different by cracking two eggs (one white and one brown) and asking me what was different on the inside. We had a long talk about it afterwards.

My mother taught me that I'm not different by cracking two eggs (one white and one brown) and asking me what was different on the inside. We had a long talk about it afterwards.

jbc7343

lol, God, that is the cutest thing I've ever heard.

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]

Yes I am human. As as a human, I have a human reaction to things.

The trend in human behaviour is that when you are vastly outnumbered by another visible group and you're a visible minority, you become extremely conscious of your difference (i.e. that you are black/white/male/female/hispanic/middle-eastern/etc.) The people in the visible majority don't think much about or notice race, but the people who are part of the visible minority become extremely conscious of it.

This has been studied in social psychology with children. When asked to describe themselves, children who are members of visibly identifiable groups and are put in a classroom full of people from another group such that they are part of a minority are far more likely to describe themselves by mentioning their visibly identifiable group than the children who are part of the majority group. And it works either way. When females are in theminority in a large group of males, they have heightened awareness of their femaleness. When men are in the minority, they have heightened awareness of their maleness.

When you are a minority or underrepresented, the typical human reaction is a rather constant, heightened awareness of your difference and how you don't fit in.

Putting a minority/underrepresented character in a game says "yes you do fit in and you're not different."

Scianix-Black

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

Scianix-Black. You are my hero.

I could not have said it better myself.

[QUOTE="jbc7343"]My mother taught me that I'm not different by cracking two eggs (one white and one brown) and asking me what was different on the inside. We had a long talk about it afterwards.

Scianix-Black

lol, God, that is the cutest thing I've ever heard.

I was like 5. So yeah ... :oops:

I know that I am a little late to the discussion but Afro Samurai. Voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, it doesn't get much blacker than that.

The game was actually pretty decent too and you can probably buy it for like $10.

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

Scianix-Black

in every psychological study, there are people like you who are unaffected. But the point of observing lots of people in these studies is to find general trends in human behaviour. And the general trend is that, when the difference from the majority is very noticeable (male vs female, black vs white), it is far more likely that the person who is in the minority in that particular setting will have a heightened awareness of their difference from the "norm".

And to answer your last question: people yearn for that kind of validation in video games because it's nice to feel included and represented in your hobby. To feel like it's acceptable for you to be doing it. Do you really think Nintendo's rash of ads showing female celebrities playing video games was not a conscious decision to portray females playing games? It normalises it, makes it socially acceptable, even expected. When a visible group is represented and recognised by developers, they're far more likely to want to - and feel they can - join in.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but True Crime NYC .

I don't care what anyone says but Jade is black... yes. I said it. Jade. Is. Black. lol so is homer simpson by the way...but I digress.verbalfilth

Homer Simpson is yellow and voiced by a white dude. Besides, have you ever seen him dance?

[QUOTE="jbc7343"]My mother taught me that I'm not different by cracking two eggs (one white and one brown) and asking me what was different on the inside. We had a long talk about it afterwards.

Scianix-Black

lol, God, that is the cutest thing I've ever heard.

nice good example

As a black person myself I really don't care. It could be male, female or hell even an alien with pink skin and purple dots, as long as the character has a great personality I don't mind.

I too see where Terrencec06 is coming from..it's more of a relate thing (like who you relate to more). I tend to relate more to black characters and would prefer to play as one. People come in here saying race doesn't matter (but to some it does and that's fine)..it's just like most of us guys would prefer to play as a guy character over a girl if given the choice..why does the feeling of race have to be any different? I usually don't care, but sometimes I would like to play as a black character that isn't the GTA:SA - CJ type. I think it's usually a specific group of people that are of a particular race I wont name as to why we keep seeing the stereotypical black characters written the way they are in some of these games.gamer082009

Well said

As a black person myself I really don't care. It could be male, female or hell even an alien with pink skin and purple dots, as long as the character has a great personality I don't mind.

GrandJury

I feel you on that one too.

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

Black peeps have it better than me.

Sadly, I am a Ginger and although I do have a soul, I have never ever seen a Ginger be the lead character in a video game.:cry:

Too often I've seen "what should race matter to you? We're all the same aren't we? Do you dare disagree?" to excuse and shut down all discussion of latent racism - that is, gross underrepresentation of a certain race in good roles and overrepresentation of a certain race in bad ones.

Black peeps have it better than me.

Sadly, I am a Ginger and although I do have a soul, I have never ever seen a Ginger be the lead character in a video game.:cry:

Reemer99

I highly, highly doubt that this conversation was brought up to learn about black characters in games. It just seems like another excuse to bring raceinto aforum topic.

BlackhawkBix

I too see where Terrencec06 is coming from..it's more of a relate thing (like who you relate to more). I tend to relate more to black characters and would prefer to play as one. People come in here saying race doesn't matter (but to some it does and that's fine)..it's just like most of us guys would prefer to play as a guy character over a girl if given the choice..why does the feeling of race have to be any different? I usually don't care, but sometimes I would like to play as a black character that isn't the GTA:SA - CJ type. I think it's usually a specific group of people that are of a particular race I wont name as to why we keep seeing the stereotypical black characters written the way they are in some of these games.gamer082009

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

clicketyclick

in every psychological study, there are people like you who are unaffected. But the point of observing lots of people in these studies is to find general trends in human behaviour. And the general trend is that, when the difference from the majority is very noticeable (male vs female, black vs white), it is far more likely that the person who is in the minority in that particular setting will have a heightened awareness of their difference from the "norm".

And to answer your last question: people yearn for that kind of validation in video games because it's nice to feel included and represented in your hobby. To feel like it's acceptable for you to be doing it. Do you really think Nintendo's rash of ads showing female celebrities playing video games was not a conscious decision to portray females playing games? It normalises it, makes it socially acceptable, even expected. When a visible group is represented and recognised by developers, they're far more likely to want to - feel they can - join in.

Ok, so if this study you're talking about is legit, then we're all in understanding that race doesn't matter, we just have different preferences as far as playing them goes, right?

So, we can all agree that race is not a big deal when it comes to video games (otherwise, we wouldn't be here), but when presented with the choice, it would be nice to play as someone we can relate to on an ethnic/racial level. It's not a matter of racism or preferring your own race over another, it's just a preference that the degree of which differs from person to person.

And that when it comes to that study, JCBC7343 and I are the odd ones out.

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

[QUOTE="jbc7343"]My mother taught me that I'm not different by cracking two eggs (one white and one brown) and asking me what was different on the inside. We had a long talk about it afterwards.

Terrencec06

lol, God, that is the cutest thing I've ever heard.

nice good example

Thanks, I just want you and everyone to know that I'm attacking you. I'm really not. I respect your opinion. I think it would be great to play a more diverse video game character. The only thing is that I don't understand how or why people could possibly care about the color of a protagonist in a video game. I will probably never understand but I do acknowledge how you feel. That is probably the best I could give you though.

So Terrence, did you you really want a list of games or were you looking for the thread to be this profound discussion? As of right now either your topic is misleading or nearly 90% of this thread is off topic.emitsu97

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

Scianix-Black

in every psychological study, there are people like you who are unaffected. But the point of observing lots of people in these studies is to find general trends in human behaviour. And the general trend is that, when the difference from the majority is very noticeable (male vs female, black vs white), it is far more likely that the person who is in the minority in that particular setting will have a heightened awareness of their difference from the "norm".

And to answer your last question: people yearn for that kind of validation in video games because it's nice to feel included and represented in your hobby. To feel like it's acceptable for you to be doing it. Do you really think Nintendo's rash of ads showing female celebrities playing video games was not a conscious decision to portray females playing games? It normalises it, makes it socially acceptable, even expected. When a visible group is represented and recognised by developers, they're far more likely to want to - feel they can - join in.

Ok, so if this study you're talking about is legit, then we're all in understanding that race doesn't matter, we just have different preferences as far as playing them goes, right?

So, we can all agree that race is not a big deal when it comes to video games (otherwise, we wouldn't be here), but when presented with the choice, it would be nice to play as someone we can relate to on an ethnic/racial level. It's not a matter of racism or preferring your own race over another, it's just a preference that the degree of which differs from person to person.

And that when it comes to that study, JCBC7343 are the odd ones out.

That is a very good question. Any answers?

I think its wrong to assume that he started this topic for the sake of racist debate. TheEldestGod

Black peeps have it better than me.

Sadly, I am a Ginger and although I do have a soul, I have never ever seen a Ginger be the lead character in a video game.:cry:

Reemer99

oh god did this make me lol. nice one man. nice one. there are no ginger games, youre right. this would be a much shorter thread if we were discussing gingers in games :P

[QUOTE="TheEldestGod"]I think its wrong to assume that he started this topic for the sake of racist debate. emitsu97

He's been doing that a lot.

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

This is fun, guys. :]

Anyway.. that just sounds like insecurity to me, but that's just off topic psychological bull**** .

I'm pacific islander. None of my islander friends are gamers. I've never played as an islander in a video game. In fact, I've never played as anyone I could remotely relate to, because it's their adventure, not mine, but that's a matter of personal preference and how different people enjoy things differently. The closest I've ever seen to a representation of me or my 'people' is Call of Duty World at War, or any WWII game in the pacifics, when you see Americans running around tearing up Japanese people on my homeland.

It really doesn't bother me, though. I don't need to feel like I'm included in anything because just playing the game is enough for me. Why do you guys have to feel this way?

I'm just curious is all.

I seriously don't understand why the main character has to be a certain race in order for you to relate, and rather than debate it, I'd rather fix it.

I understand the "yes you do fit in and you're not different." part, but why do we need the kind of validity from video games, of all places?

in every psychological study, there are people like you who are unaffected. But the point of observing lots of people in these studies is to find general trends in human behaviour. And the general trend is that, when the difference from the majority is very noticeable (male vs female, black vs white), it is far more likely that the person who is in the minority in that particular setting will have a heightened awareness of their difference from the "norm".

And to answer your last question: people yearn for that kind of validation in video games because it's nice to feel included and represented in your hobby. To feel like it's acceptable for you to be doing it. Do you really think Nintendo's rash of ads showing female celebrities playing video games was not a conscious decision to portray females playing games? It normalises it, makes it socially acceptable, even expected. When a visible group is represented and recognised by developers, they're far more likely to want to - feel they can - join in.

Ok, so if this study you're talking about is legit, then we're all in understanding that race doesn't matter, we just have different preferences as far as playing them goes, right?

So, we can all agree that race is not a big deal when it comes to video games (otherwise, we wouldn't be here), but when presented with the choice, it would be nice to play as someone we can relate to on an ethnic/racial level. It's not a matter of racism or preferring your own race over another, it's just a preference that the degree of which differs from person to person.

And that when it comes to that study, JCBC7343 and I are the odd ones out.

[QUOTE="emitsu97"][QUOTE="TheEldestGod"]I think its wrong to assume that he started this topic for the sake of racist debate. jbc7343

He's been doing that a lot.

So Terrence, did you you really want a list of games or were you looking for the thread to be this profound discussion? As of right now either your topic is misleading or nearly 90% of this thread is off topic.emitsu97

I laughed at it too. I was really just talking about how many games have a black main character with a plot. And that I would like to see more. Some of the people in the trend went crazy with it.

[QUOTE="TheEldestGod"]I think its wrong to assume that he started this topic for the sake of racist debate. emitsu97

[QUOTE="Denji"]

Well I don't think much of it myself, but if I did I would be SOL because there are no mixed lead roles:P

clicketyclick

Oh you're a half-and-half?

Mmmm, coffee. :P

Yep, like a nice cup of coffee:lol: Though I'm pretty light and can pass for a "white guy" though:P

Lets just drop the issue and try to gather a list for Terrance. Sorry but all that I know are already listed earlier.ExoticAnimal