Rasmoss

@ck1nd said:

I see nothing wrong with developers choosing whatever race, gender, or ethical background feels the most comfortable. Regardless of our abilities to play in another persons shoes, both race/gender have an effect on the way people live out their lives. It's called culture. A developer should not feel forced to depict a black male/female when a white-protagonist (like the developer) works just as well. The point that there is no difference between having a black/white protagonist both works for the side wishing for more, and against it. If there is no difference, why do we care?

I'm not saying that there is no room for gender/race variety, but lets leave it up to the developers who are becoming more diverse to weed that out. We see a pre-dominant stance on white-male protagonist instead of female simply because that is the majority of what the industry has for developers. Once more females and other ethical backgrounded people show up (more than there is currently) - we will automatically see a larger appeal to a broader audience. Until then, there really is nothing wrong with the industry except that a select few tend to voice their concerns on something that is completely imaginary.

I don't agree with that. Apart from being white and male, the typical video game protagonist has very little in common with the typical developer-slash-game writer.

@HistoryInRust said:

The game handled it well by not directing undue attention to it. Larry's character functions as a sort of totem pole for that dynamic, and through him the developers are waving at us saying, "Yo, we're aware of the territory we're breaching." And they leave it at that. It's tactful. Smartly done.

Agreed!

@SharkEthic said:

@Rasmoss said:

@SharkEthic said:

@Animasta said:

@SharkEthic said:

YAY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!

Just a thing, are any of you guys even black? Like with women in gaming, men seem to make the biggest deal out of the lack of female protagonists. Where is the outcry by the black community for more black people in gaming?

@Rasmoss said:

He is just a dude, who happens to be black, and he is totally relatable to anyone who plays the game regardsless of their race.

It's almost like he's...dare I say...human? We need to get past these issues, dudes. We have a black president, I think that's a deffinet indication that black people "won the war". Let's stop celebrating political correctness for the sake of celebrating political correctness.

the fuck does that even mean? all anyone is saying that he's a good protagonist who isn't a saint or a villain who just happens to be black, which is very rare in video games.

Why the fuck does it matter that he's black?

Edit: "all anyone is saying"? I seem to recall the fact that he's black being called "one of the unsung triumphs of this game" just a few comments above.

Saying that there isn't issues with depicting race in video games is fucking stupid.

And I'm white, but I want dev stories to be able to step out of the very limited palette they use regarding main characters because it limits the possibilities for story telling.

And it's not like race doesn't play into the Walking Dead story either. The fact that Lee is a black man who is also upper middle class and well-educated, while Kenny is a white man who is working class, adds a subtle undercurrent to their relationship that is all the better for not being pushed front and centre.

What issues? Where? Who has an issue with race depiction in video games? If it's so fucking stupid, please point it out.

That being said, I couldn't agree with the last sentence more, but why celebrate this fact? I got all the subtle undertones while playing through the game, but praising a game for having chosen a black main character seems - to me - archaic and unnecessary.

Because, as has been pointed out several times, what you see in The Walking Dead is an extreme rarity in games. Therefore there are issues. Therefore it is worth for me to dwell on it for a second and point it out. Why does this make you so angry? For a guy claiming to be the pillar of openmindedness, you sure come across as very aggressive.

@SharkEthic said:

@Animasta said:

@SharkEthic said:

YAY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!

Just a thing, are any of you guys even black? Like with women in gaming, men seem to make the biggest deal out of the lack of female protagonists. Where is the outcry by the black community for more black people in gaming?

@Rasmoss said:

He is just a dude, who happens to be black, and he is totally relatable to anyone who plays the game regardsless of their race.

It's almost like he's...dare I say...human? We need to get past these issues, dudes. We have a black president, I think that's a deffinet indication that black people "won the war". Let's stop celebrating political correctness for the sake of celebrating political correctness.

the fuck does that even mean? all anyone is saying that he's a good protagonist who isn't a saint or a villain who just happens to be black, which is very rare in video games.

Why the fuck does it matter that he's black?

Edit: "all anyone is saying"? I seem to recall the fact that he's black being called "one of the unsung triumphs of this game" just a few comments above.

Saying that there isn't issues with depicting race in video games is fucking stupid.

And I'm white, but I want dev stories to be able to step out of the very limited palette they use regarding main characters because it limits the possibilities for story telling.

And it's not like race doesn't play into the Walking Dead story either. The fact that Lee is a black man who is also upper middle class and well-educated, while Kenny is a white man who is working class, adds a subtle undercurrent to their relationship that is all the better for not being pushed front and centre.

@mellotronrules said:

yeah- this is one of the unsung triumphs of this game. it isn't the first game to feature a non-white character, but it's the first i can think of that doesn't underscore that fact either. it just is, and that's the way it should be.

Exactly. He is neither villified or made a saint. He is a flawed character who has done some questionable things, but that just makes him human and relatable.

A thing I like about this game is that it is one of the few games around that has a black main character. The only other examples I can think of off the top of my head ar GTA: San Andreas and the 50 cent games, which play into some typical gangsta sterotypes.

He is just a dude, who happens to be black, and he is totally relatable to anyone who plays the game regardsless of their race. It just shows that there is plenty of room for games to go outside the standard buzzcut white dude character that seem to be the default for a lot of games.

@WMoyer83 said:

Just a thought: If Ben was considered just a fuck up and a danger to the group, I wonder why nobody pointed out that Clementine was also a problem? I was kind of annoyed that she kept disappearing and became the number 1 priority for everyone. Clementine got as many people killed as Ben, if not more for her stupidity.

She's eight...

I'll be the odd one out and say that the ending didn't do it for me. I just felt a bit numb at the end, and that they were just trying to wring all the emotion they could out of me. I also felt the reveal and confrontation with the guy was a bit underwhelming.

And I've loved the series all the way through, so I feel a little disappointed. Maybe when some time have passed I'll feel a bit more positive.

I played through the Jedi Knight story but it was so drab and dull that I struggle to remember any of it now.

Super Hexagon.

It is by far the most inventive and perfectly executed game design of the year. It won't win any major awards though.