Positive Relatable Video Game Characters(1)

I finally took some time for myself and played Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) in December 2010. I was blown away by the compelling story and over the top action. The thing that caught my eye the most were the relatable characters in the game. My first entry of positive relatable video game characters have to be Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher.



Nathan Drake is very relatable to the audience because he represents the everyday average man. Throughout the game players are exposed to Nate’s fears and feelings of self doubt. He is not a huge body builder and is even saved numerous times by his female companion Elena Fisher. Naughty Dog’s major selling point for this game is “One ordinary man, one extraordinary adventure.”



Elena Fisher has a much more believable body type than most female protagonist in video games. She is not supermodel thin, she does not have breast bigger than her head, and her clothing is normal yet still sexy.

A Positive Solution

If the video game industry is to continue to grow it needs to reach a wider audience. Many different cultures, races, and body types must be recognized and represented with dignity and class. Leo Hartas explains in his book "The Art of Game Characters",
Don’t fall into the assumption trap. Consider the player’s age range, gender, and interests when designing a character for a specific audience, but don’t assume that just because they have bought dozens of games starring big men with guns, for example, that is all they will identify with. (Hartas: 2005: 50)

Stereotypes are a way of making representations, portrayals or depictions. An Encyclopedia of Dictionaries defines a representation as the act of representing or state of being represented. To represent something means to depict or portray it in a certain way. It can be either good or bad.

I know this change maybe hard to understand and difficult to achieve but like a wise man once said,
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning." (Frederick Douglass)



We can all learn a lot from each other if we look outside ourselves beyond our own background and beliefs and beyond what we've always assumed about other people. Another great man said,
"Without one's own questions one cannot creatively understand anything other or foreign. Such a dialogic encounter of two cultures does not result in merging or mixing. Each retains its own unity and open totality, but they are mutually enriched."
(Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin)

I'm Not Alone

Others have spoken out on stereotypes in video games as well. The Media Awareness Network explains that while people of many cultures play video games, that diversity is not usually reflected in the games themselves. White male characters dominate in the majority of popular games, while non-white characters often play the traditional supporting roles of sidekick or villain or else are confined to a narrow range of genres. (Media Awareness Network: 2010)
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/video_games/concerns/race_videogames.cfm/

A 2009 study by Karen E Dill, "Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Videogames, also made some discoveries on racial stereotypes in video games. Her study found black and Latino men were more likely to be portrayed as athletes or aggressors. Black men were less likely to wear protective armor or use technology than whites. Asians were often portrayed as intellectually superior but physically inferior… (Dill: 2009)

A study by Dmitri Williams, a social psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Southern California (USC), found that women, Native Americans, children and the elderly also were underrepresented in video games. Fewer than 3 percent of video game characters were recognizably Hispanic, and all of them were non-playable, background characters. (Williams: 2009)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729140931.htm

An article by students Barlett and Harris explains how they did research on stereotyped bodies found within video games and how playing them for long periods of time can affect our own body satisfaction. Results showed that participants in both studies had significantly lower body esteem after video game play. “This suggests that video games can also have a negative influence on the body-image of players.” (Barlett and Harris: 2008)
http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/gendered-ty/

Poor representation of a video game character’s sexual orientation has been noticed by players as well. In some cases gays, lesbians, or bisexuals are not even mentioned at all. An abstract submitted to Gameology by Evan Lauteria states, while gender and race studies have been done on video games (even if very few and far between), the issue of representation of sexual orientation in video games has largely been overlooked academically. Within gaming culture, there seems to be a certain level of accepted homophobia , probably due to the lack of cultural diversity that is associated with “gaming culture.” (Lauteria: 2006)
http://www.gameology.org/essays/sexuality_and_sexual_orientation_in_computer_and_console_games

A New Beginning

After speaking with many friends and professors this past year, all of them being from different, backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures, I found myself being too limited in my topic and research. There are so many stereotypes in the world that are used in designing video game characters. There are so many other cultures and races that are poorly represented or not represented at all in video games. I found this discovery shocking yet exciting and a relief because I did not feel alone anymore. This thesis can act as I voice to those who are afraid to say what they have been feeling for many years.

THESIS ABSTRACT

For years video games have been a source of entertainment and inspiration mainly because of the characters. Character development plays an important role when drawing the audience into the video game world. If a player can relate to a video game character it makes the experience of the game much more enjoyable. What happens when a player can not find a single character in a game that he/she can relate to? One reason is because many video game characters are extremely stereotypical in their appearance and their behavior. Where does the stereotypical inspiration for a character design come from?

The media has always served as our main source of entertainment, and whether we know it or not, it has also played a major role in defining what we eat, drink, how we dress, and how we live our lives. It has also been our main source for information. Most people assume how other cultures or races act from watching television. The research gathered in this study does not just touch on racial stereotypes because that is just one small part. It touches on gender based stereotypes, body weight stereotypes, and sexual orientation stereotypes as well. This study discusses the natural assumptions we all make about a person, place, or thing, based on our own background and beliefs. This study examines the media’s influence of these stereotypes and observes how we use these stereotypes to interact with people and even how we view ourselves.

The Long Journey Back..........continued...

Spring Quarter 2010 was very challenging. I was a teaching assistant(TA)intern, teaching 2 classes, taking 2 classes on the side, and a part-time job on weekends. But I got through it as always, passing all my classes. The summer classes were coming up and a week before classes start I finally get the definite answer that my house was being foreclosed and my roommates and I had a week to relocate so we could get a $1,000 check from the Realtor. I spend the first 3 weeks of my Summer Quarter classes trying to find a place where someone needed a new roommate. Every place I went had the same reaction. When they would hear me on the phone and know that my name was Brad Madison, they seemed so excited to see me. When they'd see me get out my car their faces would all drop. I guess a well spoken, big black guy named Brad Madison wasn't what they were expecting. One guy wouldn't even take me seriously and tell me about the place until I told him that I was a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The place wasn't even all that nice. Lucky a good friend of mine let me sleep on his couch until I found a place of my own.

I decided to just live by myself for now since I couldn't get a roommate. It seemed like the best thing was to have a peaceful place to come home to and work on my thesis. However, I wasn't prepared for what was going to happen next. As I'm sealing the deal to get my first apartment all to myself, the apartment sales associate looks up my background information and says, "Mr. Madison, what's this I see on your record?" I knew exactly what she was talking about and my face dropped in embarrassment. As I explained the situation to her I saw the look of prejudgment set in, but she kindly responded by saying that I could come back tomorrow with the proof of the case so she could show her boss. Luckily her boss carefully looked at the evidence and approved me for the apartment.

After I left the building I became enraged thinking how could this thing not be off my record yet. All the evidence is right their proving my innocence. The fingerprints don't match up and the faces definitely don't match up. I tried not to let this completely consume my time because I had some serious catching up to do on my assignments for class. I figured I would divide my time between classwork. Every bit of free time I had, which was minimal,would go into trying to get this charge off my record. Every time I called down to the Identity Theft Unit in Fort Lauderdale the guy in charge would say, "Call back next week and we should have some work done on your case." This was if he even answered the phone at all and when he did answer the phone he would keep me on hold for long periods without a reply. I began to realize the truth, they just stuck my file in the back of a long list of files never to be thought of again. Identity Theft is a common thing in America. Too common.

Many weeks went by with no visible signs of progress. I wondered if I would ever get these charges off my record. I couldn't focus all of my time on solving the problem because I still had a ton of work to do in my classes and I couldn't fully focus on my classwork because of the charges brought against me. I felt like maybe I was wasting my time in school. How am I supposed to get a job in the video game or animation industry when I couldn't even get a job at McDonald's with my record. In this horrible economy employers are looking for any reason to turn away an application and I had 2 big FAT reasons to get my application turned down. All my life I have tried to stay away from the stereotypical black male image. I always wanted to be remembered as a very talented, hard working, intelligent young man. Now it seemed to society I would be known as Brad Madison, the lazy drug dealer. How could I even write a paper on stereotypes when I've become one?

I considered many times to just quit school for now and focus on getting my record clear. But thanks to the support of my mother, my brother, and my forever inspiring professors at SCAD I had to continue on. Not only for me but to show my little cousins that you can overcome any obstacle no matter how bad it looks. After passing my summer classes I put all my focus on contacting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They handled my case on a state level and in time after much patience and persistence in November 2010 they cleared me and closed my case. It was a long hard road back to my thesis. This was a very humbling experience that taught me how to be a man and stand strong against all odds. Now I look to my thesis with all the hope, strength, and determination to finish.

The Long Journey Back..........

I know it's been a long time since I've posted to my Thesis blog. It's been over a year to be exact. Some people might say I'm being a slacker and wasting time but I thought before I post any new research that I've done, I should take the time to tell you about the Long Hard Journey Back to my Thesis. Fall quarter, October 2009, I passed my 45 hour Review feeling on top of the world. This is the professors giving me the right to further develop my thesis research. After the Winter quarter, March 2010 ends and I pass through the week of finals, I get a very strange call from my mom. She tells me that I have to come home to take care of some very important business. When I get back home to Fort Lauderdale, Florida my mom hands me a letter saying that I am no longer eligible to be a registered voter due to my arrest on April 2009 for possession of cocaine and marijuana. I laugh at first thinking this is just an April fools joke, but my mom tells me this is serious and we have to go down to the court house tomorrow to see what it's all about.

My mom and my uncle go with me to the Fort Lauderdale court house as supporters. I've never been arrested before so I didn't even know where to go and who to talk to about my situation. My uncle leads me to the Identity Theft unit there. This was the longest and most awkward walk I've ever taken. Every time I passed by a cop I felt they were gonna throw me to the ground and read me my rights. I felt more embarrassed for my mom than anything because I've never wanted my mom to have to go through the stress of seeing her son as a criminal. My mom, being a single parent, worked long hard nights to make sure my older brother and I had everything we needed. I never wanted to add any extra stress to her. When we get to the Identity Theft Unit, we ask to pull up the case number so I can see who stole my identity and did the crime. It's my COUSIN on my dad's side of the family.

Just a little background information about my cousin, He's been in trouble with the law ever since we were little kids. Always in and out of court and jail, high school drop out, and staying with different baby mommas. He fits the Stereotypical Black Male in every way. As I look down at the mugshot with his face on it. The information at the bottom says Brad Madison and has my date of birth on it. Another funny thing I forgot to mention is that we were born on the exact same month, day, and year. I was born at 1am and he was born at 2am, or something like that. We are technically twins and like they always say there's a good one and a bad one. He's the bad one. Even with this piece of information I wondered how the cops could get it so wrong and not know that he wasn't me. As the cops tell me when they arrested him and brought him in he didn't have any identification on him, so he told them my name and gave them our date of birth. I guess since I've never been arrested before I wasn't in the system and they took him at his word. But I thought why wouldn't they just have someone come in and identify who he was before they put it in the system. I thought they didn't care as long as they had another black man behind bars. They didn't care about an investigation. And as far as my cousin being behind bars, since it was technically my first offense, he only did 45 days in jail. How's that for justice. My cousin gets out early and I'm stuck with a felony charge for LIFE.

Next, I go through the motions of identifying exactly who he is to the police and take fingerprints of my own so that I may be put into the system. I was so scared getting my fingerprints taken my hands kept shaking and the lady kept saying, "just relax." I would say, "I'm sorry it's my first time." I take my fingerprints back to the Identity Theft Unit and they give me a paper saying I'm a victim of Identity Theft and they are working on the case. So I try and enjoy what's left of my Spring Break and breathe a little relief. I try and shake it off as I go back to SCAD for Spring Quarter 2010 classes.