Video games have a terrible history of poor representation, and the industry still hasn’t done enough to be inclusive of marginalized groups. If you’ve spent enough time playing any online games like “Call of Duty” or “Overwatch,” you’ve likely heard a litany of slurs hurled in all directions by unruly teens that have the privilege of hiding behind a microphone.
While the relative anonymity that online communication provides enables the worst of our society to show itself, and the games themselves can’t necessarily be blamed for this, there’s no doubt that the industry needs to do better. We as consumers and fans of gaming need to continue to critique and analyze representation in gaming, good and bad. So, what follows is a brief examination of a few of the most historically bad examples, a few otherwise good games that just miss the mark, and a few encouraging examples of where the industry appears to be heading.
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was known primarily for his last stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He lead his American cavalry against Native Americans in the Great Sioux War of 1876 quite unsuccessfully. Making a game about him was already a bad idea, but somehow the developers of this abomination from 1982, Mystique, made things even worse.
“Custer’s Revenge” was released on the Atari 2600. The titular revenge in question saw a mostly naked and completely erect Custer raping a bound Native American woman. That’s it. That’s the game.
It could be easy to write off one of the most infamous games in history as simply a horribly misguided attempt at shock value from the 80’s, but that would be erroneous. It’s a cliché that if we don’t learn from history then we’re doomed to repeat it, and I think it’s safe to assume that this disgusting game would never be remade, but that’s missing the point. We can’t forgive or forget things like this. It demonstrates how far games have come, but also how relatively close we still are to something this harmful.
This boxing game from 1987 was originally released under the name “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” The title was rebranded a few years later, removing Tyson from the game entirely. The infamous boxer’s initial inclusion isn’t really the problem here, though. The problem is that the roster of characters that players will match up against is a slew of racial epithets.
They’re all intended to be funny and likely weren’t designed with malicious intent. They can mostly be understood as the products of a different era, but “Punch-Out!!” is still regarded as one of the best sports games ever, despite its problems.
From Soda Popinski, a Russian boxer with an alcohol problem who was originally named Vodka Drunkenski, to Great Tiger, a caricature of an Indian man, the game had all sorts of problems. There’s a direct through-line from this game to much more modern titles that should have evolved fully beyond the racial stereotyping of its characters.
We’re now moving toward more modern games that aren’t as bad, but still miss the mark in some facets, and “Cyberpunk 2077” made three separate missteps when it comes to representation and inclusion.
The first pertains to accessibility, an area in which the industry is sorely lacking. At launch, the game featured sequences that initiated the Braindance mechanic. It displayed excessive blinking lights that appeared to be modeled off of the real process of triggering seizures that doctors use for diagnosis purposes. After Game Informer’s report in which the writer actually suffered a seizure because of it, the sequence was soon altered and a seizure warning was added. While it was great to see an immediate adjustment from the developer, it’s baffling why this was included in the first place.
The second issue pertains to the game’s approach toward gender. The character creator allows players to select and customize their genitals independent of any gender identity, effectively allowing them to play as a transgender individual. However, the game still forces players down an arbitrarily binary path, where either a male or female voice determines how the game will gender the character. It was one step forward, two steps back.
Additionally, there is a prominent in-game ad that sexualizes a visibly trans person. While the game essentially sexualizes everyone, the ad’s prominence in marketing material, combined with the tagline “Mix it up” can easily be seen as harmful exploitation of the trans community.
The third issue is comparable in nature to “Punch-Out!!” in that it features racial stereotyping in order to build out the world. There is a Haitian gang called The Voodoo Boys, and the primary representation of Hispanic people is through the gang called The Valentinos. Reducing groups to gang stereotypes is still an all too common trope in mainstream media, and “Cyberpunk 2077” is certainly not the worst culprit, but it’s still discouraging to see in such a massive title.
This beloved RPG is a truly great game, but it has a few issues as well. The most obvious problem arose in two scenes that featured homophobic stereotypes of gay men as two nameless individuals sexually harass and prey upon one of the player’s confidants, Ryuji. The updated version of the game, “Persona 5 Royal” altered the scenes to make them marginally less offensive, but given that they have no bearing on the story whatsoever, it’s a wonder why the scenes weren’t just removed entirely.
The problems permeate the game on a much deeper level, however. The entire game is so inherently heteronormative. There are 10 romance options (11 in Royal), and all of them are female. While it’s not intrinsically problematic to have a canonically straight main character, the game is supposed to be about choice, but forces you into its desired sexual identity. It’s especially glaring when some of the options are fully grown adults, despite the fact that you play as a high schooler. You can even romance your teacher, and the implications there are too much to unpack right now.
As if that weren’t enough, the game constantly sexualizes another one of its primary companions, Ann. It recognizes that the sexualization of underaged girls is disgusting, as it’s portrayed as predatory when the creepy teacher Mr. Kamoshida does it, but then the game itself continues to do it as a fun, ongoing gag.
One of the most controversial video games in recent history, Naughty Dog’s unflinchingly violent and depressing sequel could be lauded for any number of things. It features a queer woman as its protagonist, a fairly diverse set of side characters and even a transgender character, which is quite a rare inclusion in video games. Its depiction of the struggles transgender people face is debatable in its tact, but it’s clear Naughty Dog is trying.
Where “The Last of Us Part II” really excels is in its accessibility options, however. There are so many barriers of entry when it comes to video games, whether you have a disability or not. While the industry has made strides, such as the Xbox Adaptive Controller, the individual games often fall behind. It’s critical that developers make their games as widely accessible as possible, as video games ought to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
Dontnod has become well known as a developer that strives for good representation. From its breakout game “Life is Strange,” a rare game starring a young woman with positive LGBTQIA representation, to its sequel, a game a bout two Mexican-American boys, Dontnod has been going out on a limb to promote inclusiveness, although whether or not they nail everything is certainly debatable.
Their most recent offering, the 3-part episodic tale “Tell Me Why” features a trans man named Tyler as one of the two protagonists. It’s notable for being the first ever relatively large budget game to do so. Perhaps most importantly, the game doesn’t shy away from and erase his identity, but it doesn’t fixate on it too much, either. It is an important part of a larger story.
Dontnod made it clear from the beginning what they were doing and how they were doing it. While it can be interpreted as a cynical way of getting out in front of any potential controversy, it’s commendable that they were so clear about their process. The development team carefully consulted with transgender representatives from GLAAD, and the person who portrayed the character, August Black, is a trans man himself who consulted on the script.
Insomniac’s second entry into Spider-Man lore isn’t necessarily novel or especially daring in its representation, but it is perhaps the best example of what things should be like. It stars Miles, a young Black and Puerto Rican kid from Harlem as he wrestles with his newly found powers. He occasionally speaks Spanish with his mother, and American Sign Language with a deaf character named Hailey.
It’s incredibly telling about video games as a whole that this one stands out so much. Everything about it is so completely normal, yet so rarely seen in games.
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