Questionable Imagery: Racism in Games

I recently discovered to blog posts that deal with the issue of racism in games. The first is in response to Newsweek editor N'gai Croal's complaints about the racist imagery in the highly anticipated "Resident Evil 5." He argued that the creators at Capcom and gamers were being insensitive to the powerful images that depicted Africans in a very controversial manner. The second post is from Crystal Dynamics Senior Producer Morgan Gray in response to the well-established stereotypical representation of black men as athletes or thugs in video games. Both of these posts raise insightful questions and have sparked conscientious debate in the comments. I have included my own responses below:

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal: RE5 Trailer Imagery Is Racist
Comment:

N’Gai Croal has crafted a very insightful analysis of the issue. Something that I cannot say for myself after first seeing the trailer for Capcom's "Resident Evil 5." Being familiar with the series, I thought nothing of the imagery presented in the latest game in the series. It's a game about shooting zombies, and this particular one happens to take place in Africa. I don't recall a great controversy over Spanish zombies being shot at in the last game. Croal argues that Capcom is treading into dangerous territory because of the history behind the images used in the upcoming game. Rather than blatant racism, it could be that Capcom simply didn't research the issue enough. If this is the case, Croal is doing Capcom a favor by bringing this controversial issue to their attention before the game is released so that changes can be made. As Croal acknowledged, several organizations will attack the game for its powerful imagery. A white cop rampaging through an impoverished African town, shooting at dark-skinned zombie-like creatures lurking in the shadows. But like I said, I am familiar with the series and I know what the game is about. I wasn't personally offended by the imagery in the trailer, but I can see how uninformed individuals could possibly react. The problem lies in the fact that Capcom has released very little information on the game, so people are feeding off of the tiniest of scraps and constructing perceptions without enough about the game. Once Capcom releases more details on the story and other characters involved, this whole ordeal may cease to even be a problem. In the future, however, Capcom should understand what consequences they may face for creating such provocative imagery.

"Every Other Effin' Black Video Game Character"
Comment:

I wholeheartedly agree: this is something that desperately needs to be resolved. I've played a great number of games, but I can count on one hand how many have featured minority characters that aren't plagued by stereotypes. I think there are a couple of significant reasons for this unfortunate circumstance. The first is that this kind of stuff sells. Other forms of media use it, and it simply works. It gives people something that they can relate to, maybe not on the level of personal experience, but based on the preconceptions formed in their minds from consuming a variety of media over the years. The other problem is that minorities are greatly underrepresented in the games industry. Without a diverse background of people to create games, these type of problems arise. However, with respect to "Gears of War," I agree with other commenters that every character, not only the black soldier, was a stereotype of some sort. But when dealing with skin color, the issue of racism rises to the surface quickly.

Uncharted Territory: How Nintendo Is Bringing Gaming to the Masses

23 million consoles sold in just over one year. To declare the Nintendo Wii a success is a gross understatement. Since launch, Nintendo has lacked the ability to keep up with demand for the next-generation console. The video game system is a hit everywhere from elderly homes to the top of Amazon's wedding gift registry. Rarely found sitting on store shelves, eager customers find themselves resorting to eBay to pay double the retail price. Never before has a games console received so much buzz and attention from the public, managing to become one of the fastest-selling systems of all time. This popularity is due entirely to the Wii's unique motion-sensing control mechanism, requiring players to move their limbs and entire bodies to create virtual actions. This innovative method of gameplay has created interesting new ways to play games (when was the last time the elderly man in the above picture could participate in a bowling tournament?) With the Wii, Nintendo has created a brand new market for the video game industry by bringing mass appeal to the casual audience.

While Sony and Microsoft decided to cram the most robust graphics cards and advanced networking technology into their next-generation systems, Nintendo headed in the opposite direction, opting for simplicity and pure fun. The business decision was clearly a smart move, for the Wii has continued to outsell its competitors on a constant basis. Whereas Sony and Microsoft targeted the well-established hardcore gamer and entertainment aficionados, Nintendo reached out to a much larger untapped audience. And Nintendo makes a profit off of each Wii sold, whereas Sony and Microsoft manufacture their consoles at a loss due to their advanced architecture involving expensive components. But the Wii has many analysts concerned that Nintendo's explosive success is to be short-lived.

There exist a number of reasons to be uncertain about the Wii's future. First of all, the system is not a huge leap in technology over the Gamecube, Nintendo's previous console. It is essentially the same hardware with a new control scheme. Because the Wii entered the market already with outdated technology, it will likely not be able to sustain the projected ten-year life cycles of the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft XBox 360. Secondly, while the control scheme is fresh and fun, it has its share of issues. Many developers have tried unsuccessfully to map one-to-one controls, where the on-screen action is a direct representation of the player's movement. The traditional controller layout with buttons is still best suited for many gameplay needs. Possibly the most important reason to doubt the Wii's longevity is the poor performance of third party sales. Nintendo has a history of performing extremely well with its own first party software, almost to the point of casting a shadow over the rest of its software lineup. This was responsible for the downfall of the Gamecube, because without sufficient third party support, a system will not have enough games to continue to spur consumer interest and sales.

In an interview with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the visionary recognizes this extremely dangerous pitfall and explains how the company is prepared to tackle such a risk. In another interview with renowned game designer Peter Molyneux, the issue of the Wii's core audience is discussed. A number of people are buying the system for the pack-in game, Wii Sports, and not touching another piece of software. Is this really causing the industry to grow? However, if Nintendo manages to keep its recent successes alive, the industry may very well see a drastic shift in approach, with all hardware manufacturers replacing industry-pushing technology with fun play mechanics.

Already, Nintendo's competitors have begun to add peripherals to their existing console designs to appeal to the fans of the Wii. Namely, Sony incorporated motion-sensing controls into its standard controller ironically soon after Nintendo announced the Wii. And just recently, Microsoft announced its answer to the Wii's unique control method. The Wii's impact on the gaming industry has been tremendous, from increasing the range of appeal for video games to bringing about a change in the way developers design games now to focus more on fun and creative gameplay. Whether the Wii's early successes will lead to a revolution in game design and its cultural perception remains to be seen in the coming years.

Exploring Further: 10 Additional Websites from the Interactive Realm

In continuation of my previous post in which I explored various gaming-related websites, I will further develop the linkroll by citing ten additional resources. First off is Giant Bomb, a game reviews and news blog with essential information and an excellent, simple design to deliver it. While the feature set is particularly rich, with videos, podcasts and RSS feeds to keep the reader in the know, the back-catalog is rather limited with the site having just launched a few months prior. Next is G4's X-Play, a site that takes the news and features approach of similar blogs, yet focuses more on building a community around the most recent topics with the use of forums, polls, and live TV chat to encourage interaction among gamers. Unfortunately, with so many options to explore, the site layout can feel quite overwhelming at times. GameDaily takes one of the core aspects of games, cheat codes, and makes it very easy for the player to secure the desired information right from the home page. Unfortunately, the site sometimes features rather immature headlines, such as "Babe of the Day" for some of the popular female game characters. Taking a step in the other direction, Ars Technica is an exceptional source for more mature readers, featuring insightful and analytical reviews of the latest games. While the reviews are some of the best-written in gaming journalism, the writers choose not to use a simple scoring system when rating games, instead requiring readers to trudge through lengthy articles to get to the bottom line. IGN uses an effective design layout to highlight the most popular games and topics of the day, giving the site a dynamic feel from day to day. The most frustrating aspect of the structure of the site is the overwhelming amount of advertisements. GamesRadar is designed with the young adult male as its target audience with edgy articles and features aimed for the hardcore gamer. Unfortunately, the busy homepage bears resemblance to crowded Myspace pages of teenagers. Playstation.Blog is a corporate-sponsored blog that delivers first-hand news from Sony Computer Entertainment on the entire line-up of their Playstation family of hardware and software. Because the blog is designed and operated by Sony, they have a strong control over the content, resulting in a rather narrow viewpoint. Gametrailers is the one-stop site for video-related media for games. Owned by MTV, Gametrailers often receives exclusive media to promote the industry's most anticipated games. However, everything is driven by video, requiring people to have speakers/headphones and a speedy internet connection to receive content. The gaming section of Digg is an excellent resource to find the most popular issues in gaming, seeing as users submit and rate each topic. The topics that receive the most attention find a home on the front page, but each feature is only a link to an interesting article found elsewhere on the web, with no original content to be found. Finally, VGChartz is a vital resource to find sales numbers of both hardware and software, with an extensive library of games. The rating system is governed by users, and due to the lack of credibility, game reviews are entirely subjective on this site.

Preparing for the Storm: Grand Theft Auto IV Preview

With over 40 million units sold worldwide, the Grand Theft Auto series ranks among the most successful franchises in the history of gaming. The GTA series is also well-known for its ability to spark controversy among critics and politicians for its graphic violence and sexual themes. Earlier this week on April 29, the fourth proper installment in the series released to the sheer excitement of gamers and utter dismay of opposing legislators. With the next generation of hardware, the developers at Rockstar North have available the technology to push gameplay to new levels of innovation, and spurring even greater controversy in the process.

Grand Theft Auto IV tells the story of Niko Bellic, a Russian immigrant trying to make it to the top of Liberty City from the bottom of the streets. Liberty City is a realistic rendition of modern-day New York City, from the Statue of Liberty to the Coney Island Cyclone. The team of artists took a trip to the city to take over 10,000 photos worth of reference shots for the team to construct a digital version of New York City and New Jersey. This architecture lays the canvas for the player to create pure chaos in more ways than one can imagine. As Associated Press editor Derrik Lang writes, players are free to choose between "blowing stuff up, driving drunk, meeting someone online, going on a date, hailing a cab, listening to the radio, killing innocent bystanders, patronizing strip clubs, flying helicopters, earning cash for criminal activities, running from the police and, of course, hijacking lots of cars." This is a small list of the opportunities available to the player while engaging with Grand Theft Auto IV. Due to the vast possibilities of interaction in this simulation-based game, GTA IV will receive a M rating for "Mature" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, making it suitable for people 17 and over. According to the ESRB's description, M-rated games contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. However, this rating that is clearly placed on the front of the box is not enough for anti-gaming legislators who fight to place a ban on sales.

Attorney Jack Thompson is the most outspoken activist in opposition of violent video games. His aim is legitimate: to keep Mature-rated games out of the hands of children. However, Thompson has attempted to achieve this goal with rather ineffective strategies. For example, in every school shooting since the Columbine case, Thompson has made appearances on news media blaming video games as the cause. In the recent Virginia Tech shooting, Thompson claimed that the suspect trained on a murder simulator, more commonly known as the popular PC game "Counter-Strike." Thompson made these claims without knowing any information on the shooter whatsoever besides his name, and it was revealed after authorities completed a search of the suspect's room that no video games were found. Over time, Thompson has accrued a reputation of an "ambulance-chaser" among the gaming community, someone who cries foul at every attempt to point the finger at gaming. His numerous fruitless lawsuits against Rockstar Games for the violent and sexual themes in its GTA series have resulted in the court threatening to disbar Jack Thompson.

Controversy is already brewing around one feature in particular: the drunk-driving mini-game. After the main character consumes too much alcohol, a mini-game plays out in which the player must attempt to drive (or walk) home safely with a shaking blurry camera to simulate the effect of drunkenness. It might sound like a fun activity to try out in a video game, but by no means is it acceptable in the real world. I feel that the game could do without this small aspect. Plenty of critics feel the same way, fearing the consequences of a child playing the game and forming dangerous ideas. Then again, shooting civilians and stealing cars aren't exactly respected activities, so maybe this goes along quite well with the philosophy behind Grand Theft Auto.

Sam Houser, the President of Rockstar Games, is accustomed to the publicity that the GTA series has garnered over the years. In a Yahoo Entertainment article, Houser comments, "'I wish people would treat video games the same as other media. They seem to not want to do that for reasons that I don't understand. It's a convenient enemy for people.'" Video games are a new medium, and since many questions remain unanswered, it is simply easier to lay the blame on them for society's issues. As games undergo further testing for their effects on human behavior, one thing remains unquestionable: parents must exercise proper judgment in allowing what games their children play. The blame should not fall on developers for the products they create. Grand Theft Auto IV has achieved the most remarkable critical acclaim any game has ever received in the history of the medium. But it is also sure to be one of 2008's most controversial video games, so in the coming months we will see how the general public responds to GTA IV.

Interactive Realm: 10 Websites to Keep You Connected

The purpose of this post is to introduce a collection of websites important to the constantly evolving gaming industry. I will use the guidelines laid down by the Webby Awards and IMSA criteria to examine these sites and point out specific strengths and weaknesses. To the right in the linkroll you will find these sites alphabetically listed. Continue reading to gain an understanding of what each site has to offer on the subject of interactive entertainment.

Kotaku is a prominent blog that ranks among the most-visited gaming-related websites, popular for its breadth of coverage, from major press releases to reviews of quirky Japanese games. However, the material is often drawn from other gaming sites and thus can become repetitive. Similar in design and content to Kotaku, Joystiq is a competing blog with a much better categorization of material to make navigation easier for readers depending upon their preferred console. Unfortunately, the editors' writing styles are highly opinionated and sure to offend certain gaming enthusiasts. The Wired online editorial features a gaming section that provides excellent reviews of recently-released games, including small independent games that are often overlooked by the more mainstream blogs. Sadly, GameLife receives infrequent updates with considerably less new content to be found than other sites. GameSpot is primarily a review and preview site for games of all types. Its catalog of games is staggering in size, and each review carefully examines the game and clearly points out the games strengths and weaknesses. However, the site is driven by ads and recently was involved in a controversy over one of the editors firing after having written a negative review for a game that was heavily advertised on the site. Newsweek's N'Gai Croal has a blog entitled Level Up that features articles of in-depth analysis of contemporary games as well as exclusive interviews with prominent industry leaders. The only downside to the Level Up blog is the rather lengthy articles that prevent busy readers from getting important information on the go. Going in a slightly different direction, Penny Arcade is a popular site that features comics of the latest videogames and announcements in the industry. The comic artists offer humorous yet insightful satire on contemporary issues, requiring that the reader is already well-informed. GamePolitics, as the name suggests, revolves around politically-charged topics in the gaming world. Unlike news media, this site accurately represents important issues with sufficient evidence. In addition to user comments, the site also features a forum for visitors to engage in healthy debate. Posts are written under the title of Entertainment Consumers Association, with no credit given to specific authors. Moving into the business aspect of gaming-focused blogs, Next Generation is host to the most recent sales figures of companies in the games industry, from weekly console numbers to leading retailer revenues. Gamasutra focuses on press releases from major companies in the industry, and even has a job board with available positions at these companies. Unfortunately, the site's visual design feels cluttered and uninspired. GameCareerGuide is an excellent resource for current students interested in getting a start in the games industry with featured game design schools and articles on how to get started. A sister-site of Gamasutra, this blog also bears an overwhelming amount of information making it difficult to navigate. Each one of these sites is an excellent resource with plenty of interesting information.

Guns or Games: NIU Shooting Raises Questions of Probable Causes

On Thursday February 14, Northern Illinois University student Stephen Kazmierczack, 27, opened fire during a lecture on fellow classmates, killing 5 and wounding 16 others before taking his own life.  While fulfilling my daily refresh of news on popular gaming blog Kotaku, I discovered a post written by managing editor Brian Crecente that dealt with the cause behind the tragic shooting.  Crecente reports about an article in the New York Post, in which writers Michael Swiontek and Bill Sanderson point the finger at games for the massacre, citing the violent computer game Counter-Strike as a main factor leading to the shooting.  The second post is a short piece over at GamePolitics.com that reports Illinois legislator Robert Pritchard defending guns while shifting the blame to videogames and other forms of media that contain graphic violence.  Follow the links below to see my comments on each blog site, but for convenience I have also included the comments below:

NYPost: College Killer Crazy for Violent Vid Games

Comment:

I am perplexed as well at the idea that the killer was spurred to commit this murder from playing video games rather than the stopping of his medication.  In fact, not until halfway through the article do they acknowledge this very key element in such an extreme act of insanity.  Instead, they choose to label Kazmierczack as a loner obsessed with playing Counter-Strike.  I don't understand how a game as popular as this first-person shooter can realistically be interpreted as a legitimate influential factor in committing real-world violence.  Fortunately the student witnesses were sensible enough to acknowledge that the game was commonplace in the dorms.  However, the NYPost writers chose to neglect this bit of info to misrepresent videogames, as seems to be the trend of the news media today.  It's interesting to note that it's usually the traditional forms of journalism that cast a negative perception of videogames, whereas younger types, such as blogs, have grown up with games and show appreciation for the medium.  But going back to the issue, drugs definitely need to be given more of a closer look.  Virgina Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho and Kazmierczack were both users of anti-depressant medication.  Instead, attorney Jack Thompson finds the fact that both shooters played video games to be a more formidable link in explaining why these tragedies have occurred.  It is ironic yet sad to see Jack Thompson rejoicing over such a trivial element in the face of such tragedy that so many people must mourn over.  Thank you Crecente for actually showing consideration to the victims of this massacre.

Illinois Legislator on NIU Rampage

Comment:

Time after time, people look to videogames as the primary causes for school shootings.  Before games, it was movies and television that were attacked.  If videogames are even going to be considered as a probable cause in committing real-world violence, much more attention needs to be paid to the individuals performing these extreme acts and if their minds were stable enough to play games without being affected by their violent imagery.  Yes, Seung-Hui Cho and Kazmierczack both played Counter-Strike.  However, so do millions of other students to this day.  How this is more alarming than the fact that two college students were able to purchase guns with no problem worries me.  Furthermore, students on anti-depressant medication.  The right for any individual to bear arms is placing more people in danger than videogames.  Whether in the form of background checks or mind-stability tests, I think that we need to have greater restrictions or a more challenging process to acquire guns in order to reduce the number of victims that lose their lives to such senseless violence.

Mass Confusion: Fox News Under Fire for Inaccuracies

Many people rely on the news media for the latest coverage on pertinent issues around the world. However, Fox News recently abused its viewers' trust by disclosing grossly inaccurate information about the new video game Mass Effect after inviting author Cooper Lawrence to speak about the brewing controversy over sexually mature content in the game. Fox News asserted that the game depicted full frontal nudity and graphic sex, both claims completely untrue. Unfortunately, Lawrence had no knowledge of the game prior to coming on the show to offer criticism and completely misrepresented Mass Effect. Lawrence claimed that young boys in particular who play the game would be immorally influenced by its mature themes: "Here's how they're seeing women: They're seeing them as these objects of desire, as these, you know, hot bodies. They don't show women as being valued for anything other than their sexuality. And it's a man in this game deciding how many women he wants to be with." Lawrence's bold statements sparked a revolt against her and the media for making such false claims. Such dramatic and reckless reporting may prove to be self-destructive in the face of a rise in popularity among other news venues.

First and foremost, it is important to explain what the game truly is. Mass Effect is a science fiction role-playing game released on the XBox 360 in November of 2007. It received critical and commercial acclaim, achieving an average Metacritic score of 91 and 1.47 million copies sold. But there exist several fallacies within Lawrence's argument, and Jeff Brown, Vice President of Communication at Electronic Arts, singled out these misrepresentations in a letter to the Fox Network. The first most blatant correction is that the game allows the player within the first five minutes of starting the game to create a custom character, male or female. Secondly, the game is structured to allow players to craft unique stories that reflect individual choices they make throughout the game. The sex scene is an optional part of the game and requires effort on the player's behalf to first build an effective relationship with the other character. Contrary to Fox's proposition, the non-interactive scenes do not feature full nudity, rather brief profile shots. This remains an entirely optional and miniature aspect of the grand 40-hour adventure that Mass Effect provides. However, such ignorance created a torrential backlash against author Cooper Lawrence and the Fox Network.

Gamers across the internet reacted to Lawrence's comments by thrashing her book The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever on Amazon with 1-star reviews. Many users commented that although they had never read the book before themselves, the overwhelming majority of negative feedback was enough to judge it. This caused Lawrence to take a closer look at the game, and after seeing two hours of gameplay, she admitted that the images in Mass Effect are "kind of a joke." But this whole ordeal is far from a joke to all those vested in the unfairly targeted game. As Ray Muzyka, chief executive of BioWare (the developer that created the game), testified, "We're hurt. We believe in video games as an art form, and on behalf of the 120 people who poured their blood and tears into this game over three years, we're really just hurt that someone would misrepresent the game without even playing it. All we can hope for is that people who actually play our games will see the truth." Unfortunately, this proves to be rather difficult when a major news source opts for controversial reporting instead of covering the facts.

Fox News took advantage of several individuals for the mere sake of a dramatic story. Fox crippled its relationship with a number of its viewers who were knowledgeable enough to discern truth from the sensationalism. This incident proves that the media is still caught up in a bye-gone stereotype of video game culture, that the majority of people playing games are teenage boys. However, the fact of the matter is that the average gamer is 33 years old, whereas 86% of those under the age of 18 that play games receive permission from their parents before buying or renting a game. The news media needs to recognize what the interactive entertainment industry has grown to become. According to editor of Edge Magazine Colin Campbell, it is the threat of upcoming news venues, such as blogs, video upload sites, and social communities, that will force the TV networks to shed its antique image of the games industry: "But in order to protect themselves from further decay, they need to understand how we, as consumers, relate to enabling, interactive technology. Old-school tech-bashing is finished." Times have changed. In this day in time, interactive entertainment plays a major part of people's daily lives on a global basis. Ignoring this very important factor will result in the formation of a great rift between journalists and gaming enthusiasts. As the games industry continues to grow and expand into the artistic and educational sectors, news media must mature alongside of it to remain viable in the ever-evolving network of news sources.