Great write-up. The OP and all the comments have really given me a lot to think about in regards to diversity in games. It's interesting that The Witcher is at the centre of this sort of controversy, as it represents both sides of the argument (white homogeneity vs ethnic diversity) depending on which way you look at it. I'm still unsure of where I fall, but the discussion here has definitely left me with a more informed view than I would have otherwise. I haven't played the game or read the books so I don't have much to contribute, but I just really like this thread.
I do agree with a lot of you folks that the real problem here is the lack of diversity right now in who is making games and where. Or rather, who is making the "big decisions" in games and what their perceived audience is. The reason games like The Witcher suffer from this criticism is because there are so few games that represent cultures and values that are not "White American" or "White Anglo-Saxon". Obviously, there are plenty of big Japanese games, but even plenty of those are based largely on American media both because of the creators' interest and the market for the games. Games are a strangely global medium, and yet they are very un-diverse in terms of market. What I mean is: games made in all different countries are played by people all over the world. For example, The Witcher is a Polish game, but is played in all of Europe, America, Japan, etc. Compare that to something like Bollywood movies. These movies are huge, but they are absolutely Indian, and are made almost exclusively for Indian audiences. The market for games is not as far-reaching as movies, so games made in India (as an example) have to be sold to people all over the world in order to make money. And with the largest markets being America and Europe, this creates a problem when people think about how to make their games appeal to the largest amount of players.
Log in to comment