African Americans and the Video Game Industry

An anonymous reader writes "African Americans spend more money and time playing video games than whites, yet only 2% of game developers are black. This past week, MTV's Multiplayer blog interviewed five black game industry professionals for their perspective on race in the industry. Intelligent Gamer summarizes and highlights portions of this lengthy series of interviews."

Who cares?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Really?

Who cares?

I never knew there had to be any specific percentage of "African-Americans" participating in any activity.

And yes, "African-American" is a downright stupid appellation. Can you call a black child born in Denmark "African-American"?

Re:Who cares?

[Dr. Cody (554864)]

I don't know, but there was a Danish documentary on the subject. [wikipedia.org]

Re:Who cares?

[by Anonymous Coward]

And yes, "African-American" is a downright stupid appellation. Can you call a black child born in Denmark "African-American"?

Oblig [thebestpag...iverse.net] Maddox. Read and agree, or read and be wrong.

Re:Who cares?

[xigxag (167441)]

Your link misses the entire point of the term "African American," which is not a fancy P.C. word for "black people," but a term used to identify people in a specific cultural group, with certain overall traditions, customs, and apparently gaming habits. It's come into commonplace usage because it's a unique phrase which sets that group off from other cultural, ethnic and racial groups in America. Exactly like Pennsylvania Dutch, who are called "Pennsylvania Dutch" even though they aren't really Dutch and don't all live in Pennsylvania. And, check it: someone might actually be from the Netherlands and move to Pennsylvania, oh no, what do we call them?

Regarding black Americans and the notion of "well, let's just call them black Americans." True, you could do exactly that. But how is it more accurate? I'd venture to say that there are extremely few black people who are truly "black" skinned, and lots who are on the pale side of brown. They're just called "black" by convention, even if it's not 100% precise. Furthermore, America doesn't equal the USA, it's two continents. We call USA-ians "Americans" also by convention. There's no escaping it, we're stuck using a non-precise moniker one way or another. "African American" is just one more, and happens to be the one that people generally find less offensive when compared with Negro, Afro-American and nigger. It leads one to wonder, is the constant self-righteous outrage over the term "African American" based on logic (I've argued here, no) or based upon an anger that the blacks among us have the gall to object to being called whatever the hell we feel like calling them?

To answer the parent post's question directly, obviously black people in Denmark aren't African-Americans, just like Russians aren't Poles, even if they wind up in the same country. But if by chance a black person from Denmark moves to the US and gets called African-American, it's not going to cause the universe to self-destruct. Real world categories are heuristic, not absolute.

As for the pic of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who cares? Oops, maybe some ijit misidentified him as African American. What does that prove? I accidentally called my Scottish friend Irish one day, According to Genius Maddox, I guess my dumb mistake means that Scotland and Ireland don't make any sense.

Now, on to people of color. No argument from me: that's nauseatingly P.C.

Re:Who cares?

[Dogtanian (588974)]

And yes, "African-American" is a downright stupid appellation. Can you call a black child born in Denmark "African-American"?

Silly example of this in an interview with black British athlete, Kriss Ababusi [everything2.com].

Re:Who cares?

[Tony Hoyle (11698)]

There's no such thing. They'd be called Danish.

Only the US has a peculiar obsession with separating its population into ethnic groups.

Re:Who cares?

[Moridineas (213502)]

Only the US has a peculiar obsession with separating its population into ethnic groups.

Wow, that's utterly insane. Please, what country are you from? Would you care to describe how your country is different? Heck, anything to support your statement would be nice.

Since Denmark was mentioned, maybe you should read some news--there have been some major riots and political happenings there over religion/race within the past month!

I'm by no means claiming the US is perfect--it's not. But look at Australia--beach riots a year or two ago over Muslims. Look at France--ghettoization and discontent from Muslim/African populations that is hard to find an equivalent of in America in the last several decades. Balkans--banned from soccer matches for racist taunts. Chinese--discrimination against Uighur and Tibetan citizens. And where I've come across the most openly racist (against black Africans) people--Egypt. People don't even pretend.

Hell, if there is one constant across the world it's racism..

FWIW, I've heard Cuba actually has a remarkably egalitarian society--at least with regards to race--but it's so hard to hear reliable things about Cuba that I don't know..

Re:Who cares?

[Kamel Jockey (409856)]

... what country are you from?

What!

Re:Who cares?

[jmpeax (936370)]

blocks of people in your country who have a separate culture and separate rules that they want to live by

And what culture/rules do the people labelled as African Americans live by?

Classifying people in such a way doesn't make sense. The only thing you can generalise about African Americans is that their skin is black. Grouping them into a sub-culture based on their ethnicity is really stupid, and a testament to the persisting prejudice that runs through the US. This is a perfect example of modern, widely practised, racism.

Re:Who cares?

[phreakincool (975248)]

Most PC people would call me African-American. I'm an American. However, if I were pushed toward a label, I would prefer either Black or Afro-American. And technically, my skin ain't black. It's a light tan color. The funny thing is that most people think I'm Hispanic or Somoan. So, I guess my point is that people have to put labels on things to make sense of the world around them. In my youth and adult life, I have had friends of all races and nationalities. I don't refer to any of them by those names. They are just my friends. Thank you.

Re:Who cares?

[jmpeax (936370)]

To simply call one an 'African-American' because of skin color implies that 'African-American' is a color which it is not but a hijacked term for what it really means.

Language evolves. The term "African American", like it or not, is applied to people who are black - true geo-ethnic heritage rarely comes into it (and your example is purposefully misleading - the term "African American" is not just confined to people who have been born in Africa, but also used to describe descendants of African immigrants).

Besides, you miss the point: by classifying people in this way, we presume that they share commonalities (such as culture or "rules" as the GP puts it) when in fact these things are stereotypes.

Put simply, why is an American with African heritage an African American, when a white American with European heritage is simply American?

Re:Who cares?

[Ambidisastrous (964023)]

Fact: Black activists in the 1960s started calling themselves "African-American" instead of Negro in order to connect their fight for civil rights to the various independence movements in Africa happening at the same time. It caught on more over time. Malcolm X noted the term in his autobiography.

The term "African-American" [wikipedia.org]

Re:Who cares?

[Blkdeath (530393)]

Fact: Black activists in the 1960s started calling themselves "African-American" instead of Negro in order to connect their fight for civil rights to the various independence movements in Africa happening at the same time. It caught on more over time. Malcolm X noted the term in his autobiography.

Fact: That still doesn't mean everybody with black skin is African-American or that the term is any less nonsensical or over-used.

Re:Who cares?

[donscarletti (569232)]

Fact: anyone who prefaces a statement with "Fact:" sounds like an arrogant jerk, even if they are right.

Any argument is implicitly presented as a truth, stating that it is fact is redundant.

Re:Who cares?

[nomadic (141991)]

In Australia we really dont care too much.

Would we get that same viewpoint from an aboriginal?

Re:Who cares?

[H0p313ss (811249)]

I thought someone would bring that up. :P Some Aboriginals still live out in the bush in their own little clusters. Thats their choice. But if you see a aboriginal you dont think "Hey there is a aboriginal". They are just another person. Along with the asians, indians, europeans, americans, etc...

One of my classmates from high school spent five years in Alice Springs doing AIDS counseling for the local aboriginal population. He'd say you're full of it.

You might find that the young urban population is relatively tolerant. But from everyone I've talked to non-urban Australia is one of the most racist societies out there.

However, this is all word-of-mouth and hearsay so it proves nothing

Re:Who cares?

[empaler (130732)]

Actually, as a Dane, I'd usually go with "black", or quite a lot more likely, their name. In one specific instance, I'd go with 'aunt', but I know that's cheating, on account of her being my aunt.

Re:Who cares?

[Miseph (979059)]

As far as I know, "black" is acceptable most of the time, but a little on the blunt side. I use it, and despite being a scrawny white guy I've never gotten my ass kicked for saying it or even gotten a dirty look.

Re:Who cares?

[Blkdeath (530393)]

As far as I know, "black" is acceptable most of the time, but a little on the blunt side. I use it, and despite being a scrawny white guy I've never gotten my ass kicked for saying it or even gotten a dirty look.

I've told my Ethiopian (and decidedly black) boss that the clients I'm expecting are black, or reminded him that it was the black couple I'm refering to, not the Filipino or Chinese or White couples he saw me with earlier.

What other distinction am I supposed to make? "The tall people with dark hair and brown eyes"? From his office 40' from the front door he can observe their skin colour and estimate their height but their eyes are a tad more tricky.

Re:Who cares?

[0100010001010011 (652467)]

I work with a guy that's African. Came to US for college straight from Ghana.

He has no problem being called black.

He also has no problem walking into bars declaring: "Where are da white wimmen at?". He thinks this (and the whole movie) is hilarious.

Only once did we run into trouble. Some 2nd generation+ born in America African descendants decided he wasn't "African enough". Some native tongue (No clue what it was) and some bouncers quickly ended that.

Re:Who cares?

[Hijacked Public (999535)]

And I'm a white guy who was born in Africa and is now an American citizen. I have no problem referring to myself as African-American just to see the look on a person's face. Or being called white, or telling American born blacks who refer to themselves as African-Americans that they aren't 'African' enough.

I don't know that I've vocalized it but I've often wondered where the white women were at when I walked into a bar.

Re:Who cares?

[Culture20 (968837)]

I always did do poorly in Danish class.

Mmmm, Danish class

Re:Who cares?

[Culture20 (968837)]

A certain percentage of the US population is X: white, therefore it is expected that an equivalent percentage of American Y: Chinese Restaurant owners are too. If they are not, it indicates some sort confounding variable that might (and in this case almost certainly does) indicate some sort of social inequity that needs to be addressed.

Maybe it's not not social "inequity", but personal choices made by all parties involved. Sure, with different values of X and Y, your mileage may vary.

Is this really surprising?

[pokerdad (1124121)]

Isn't this the natural result of the socio-econic situation of said racial group in the US, the high cost of college in the US, and the fact that most employers in said industry want a college degree?

Re:Is this really surprising?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. More african-americans are poor, and video games are a very cheap form of entertainment. Also, poor people have less educational opportunities.

This is not about color, this is about money.

If you want to talk about race, talk about why more african-americans are poor. The games thing is just a symptom.

Re: Is this really surprising?

[PAKnightPA (955602)]

I would disagree. I think you imply that listening to music about "rape, robbery, murder, and obscene materialism (bling bling)" makes one desire to drop out of school, join a gang, etc. This is not true. For example, A very large portion of my music library is this kind of music. I personally like it a lot. I would go so far as to call some of Dr. Dre's work classic. Yet I attend an elite university, and certainly wouldn't ever think of committing violent felonies.

What you are saying is the same thing Jack Thompson says about violent video games. Rap music doesn't turn you into a gangbanger any more than playing Counter Strike trains you to be a violent killer. Frankly, I am surprised you were modded up by the same people who would probably mod you way down if you were agreeing with Mr Thompson. Oh well...

Re: Is this really surprising?

[neuromancer23 (1122449)]

Well, I wouldn't agree with Jack Thomson, but your analogy is not very good. Music and video games are fundamentally different in the ways that they effect the nervous system. While playing video games can be addictive due dopamine being released during the process[1], they do not have nearly the same subconscious effect that music does. Furthermore, it is much easier to distinguish between fantasy and the real world during a video game since the images are all artificial. When listening to music, you get to fill in your own script to the soundtrack with whatever is going on at the time (i.e. it is much more real).

This is a field of research that has gained a lot of attention in recent years, and a lot of good books have been done on the subject.

This is an up-and-comer:

http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Anticipation-Psychology-Expectation-Bradford/dp/0262582783/ref=pd_sim_b_title_4 [amazon.com]

There have been several studies done verifying that listening to complex, harmonious music (i.e. beethoven, bach, mozart, iron maiden, gnr etc.) sparks intelligence and creativity, while listening to someone talk over a one beat drum machine (e.g. Nelly, NAS) lowers intelligence and dulls creativity. Playing a musical instrument is even better for you. Just do a quick search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=music+makes+you+smart [google.com]

As a matter of fact, Beethoven's 5th and 6th symphonies (opus 67 and 68 respectively) were written back to back and demonstrate the process of intelligence increase in musical form, with the crisis starting at the knocking of fate at the opening of opus 67 and traversing through the ex-stasis experience and ending in harmony in the pastoral symphony. The fact that listening to Beethoven dramatically increases intelligence has been proven time and again (http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Thinking-Principles-Creative-Problem/dp/0761506489).

People are creatures of habit and their personalities are shaped by the things that they do. You will become your rituals(see: wilson's 23rd law). Of course, your personal experience will be different from everyone else, but chances are that if you are listening to this on a constant basis it's going to have a deep, life-long effect on your personality.

Re:Is this really surprising?

[Starrk (1268600)]

Oh and if you believe gangster rap causes a lot of real-life violence, I hope you believe many video games also cause real-life violence. After all, both claims are based on the same "logic".

Re:Is this really surprising?

[Blkdeath (530393)]

Isn't this the natural result of the socio-econic situation of said racial group in the US, the high cost of college in the US, and the fact that most employers in said industry want a college degree?

Nonsense. I'm in Canada and the High School I went to was full of lower class people living in bad apartments and rooming houses. The people who moved on and did something with their lives were the ones who showed motivation and determination; nothing to do with skin colour.

Man do I ever get tired of hearing these stories about how the poor blacks can't afford college because society is holding them down. I went to school with Blacks (African and West Indies alike), Whites, Asians, Indians (both from India and the Native Canadian variety), Sri Lankens, Pakistanis, Europeans and a whole host of every other "ini" and "ean" you can imagine. Some had their parents paying their way but most were there through part time work, savings, grants, scholarships, loans and student lines of credit. I don't care where you're from or what your background - if you want something you work for it. If you don't, sit around and complain about how unfair life is.

But hey, let's make sure to placate "visible minorities" by giving them specialized scholarships [google.ca]! Or, if you're not dark enough but you have the right set of genitalia you could always apply for a scholarship for women [google.ca]! When did scholarship money become about what a person looks like rather than their drive, ambition and abilities anyways??!

Hint: you're CANADIAN.

[ZombieRoboNinja (905329)]

Believe it or not, race DOES play a different factor in a society with a huge black minority that's been systematically oppressed for most of the past 3 centuries.

I'm guessing the black people you grew up with, poor and otherwise, didn't grow up in an entirely-black-and-Latino ghetto, weren't marked by heavy urban accents, and probably didn't even have to grow up in an area with utterly failed justice and education systems.

If you honestly think that your initial economic situation doesn't have any impact on educational level and success in life, you're a moron.

Re:Hint: you're CANADIAN.

[Blkdeath (530393)]

Believe it or not, race DOES play a different factor in a society with a huge black minority that's been systematically oppressed for most of the past 3 centuries.

So you believe placing further stigma on a person's race relative to their career is going to help, or hurt this cause?

I'm guessing the black people you grew up with, poor and otherwise, didn't grow up in an entirely-black-and-Latino ghetto, weren't marked by heavy urban accents, and probably didn't even have to grow up in an area with utterly failed justice and education systems.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match over who has the worst schools because that could go on all day. Justice systems? Ditto. As for urban accents? Yes, I've seen people cling to ghetto slang to the point where they steadfastly refuse to speak anything approaching proper English. I've seen these people fail miserably. I've also seen many people from "urban ghettos" emerge with a fair to excellent command of the English language succeed in life.

So how is it exactly that oppression is holding these people back? Are there really droves of white men going around forcing these people to call every one of their peers "bro" or "niggah" or "homie" and thereby preventing them from entering the workforce in a meaningful way?

If you honestly think that your initial economic situation doesn't have any impact on educational level and success in life, you're a moron.

The implied ad hominem aside; didn't you read the part where I said I completed high school in a lower class area? Socio-economic progress to these people was installing a CD player in their $200 car, if they could afford a $200 car in some cases.

Yes, I watched groups of people who preferred to smoke drugs, skip classes or become sports obsessed jocks and also groups of people who worked hard and avoided all that nonsense. Guess which group broke free from their poor socio-economic upbringing and guess which ones now serve hamburgers (or reside in jail)? Hint: Many of the aforementioned have served me various foods and beverages since commencement. I'm sure that means I'm oppressing them, right?

Re:Is this really surprising?

[Blkdeath (530393)]

If life isn't unfair you shouldn't complain about it?

Complaining is intended to achieve what, exactly? Is it going to make people realize the err of their ways and usher black people into the gaming industry and anywhere else they feel slighted? Or is it intended to them give extra incentives to blacks and other minorities so that when they do enter the work force they're resented by their co-workers? "Oh, (s)he's an affirmative action hire."

Or life isn't unfair for black people in the USA right now?

Strawman. Life is unfair for everybody starting the moment you're born. Get over it. You have two choices; sit and moan or get up and do something to make your life more fulfilling, for whatever definition of fulfilment you may have.

What, centuries of racism just vanished in the last 40 years when lynching became embarrassing?

Oh boo hoo. There are still ignorant people out there. I'll ask again; does affirmative action help, or hurt the cause of minority acceptance in the work place?

Have you ever heard an otherwise racially neutral person utter a phrase like "Yeah, it's easy to get a job if you're a ${racial_slur}!"?!? Is it more fair to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction and discriminate against the Anglo Saxon Caucasian Males because we've had it so good up 'till now?

Re:Is this really surprising?

[Breakfast Pants (323698)]

>A small hint for you; if you go looking for it, you can find various forms of discrimination everywhere you go. Keep looking; I'm sure you're only helping the cause.

As a Canadian, I don't think you could even begin to know. I invite you to come down to South Carolina and see it for yourself. We do things like redistrict black people so that their votes don't even count.

Here we go.

[UseCase (939095)]

As I read some of the post here "N#$%^ are stupid" etc.... I can't help but to think that the real reason is that the development industry in general is skeptical of a person of color's capability to design and develop software. I currently work as a senior software engineer on a few key development project in the telecom industry and to tell you the truth it has been a battle to get where I am. No matter what I want to believe about merit and talent, there is an underlying "how did you get in, here?!" sentiment floating around the development industry when it comes to blacks doing design and engineering work. It is a real shame that we as an industry can't just be above all of this a hire people based on there capability. Sad world......

Re:Here we go.

[Swift Kick (240510)]

The reason you find skepticism in any industry for the capabilities of a colored person is because of the bang-up job the so-called 'civil rights leaders' have done yelling and screaming about how minorities cannot achieve anything without assistance.
It is exactly what affirmative action has turned into; rather than give those a real opportunity to those who work hard for it, it became just another way to 'milk the system', so instead of having those most capable, you end up favoring those who are the loudest (regardless of color).

You may refer to this as the 'soft bigotry of lowered expectations'. You might think that it's yet another racist thing, but can it be really racist when those directly responsible for it are your from your own race?

As long as you have 'reverse discrimination' (which is what affirmative action effectively is), you cannot and should not complain that you're not evaluated on your own merits. Don't blame the industry; blame the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons.

here we go again

[EllynGeek (824747)]

Racism, just like sexism, is so deeply ingrained in most people they're totally blind to it, and even worse, are just like the first commenters to this article- self-centered clueless twits who would rather die than listen to a different point of view, especially from someone pointing out a problem or trying to correct a wrong. (I have to wonder why y'all take it so personally, and always twitch like a gaffed fish when these subjects come up? Guilty conscience?) Nobody is asking for racial quotas, though there is always at least one guaranteed slashtwit to bring it up. Most of us would settle for you fine members of the "there is no problem, just quit whining" club to shut up and keep out of our way, instead of filling the heavens with your complaining over the audacity of anyone who has been mistreated to actually stand up for him or herself, and try to make some changes.

stupid

[pak9rabid (1011935)]

And? If we truly want to live in a society of racial equality, we need to stop calling attention to stuff like this. Who gives a shit what whites, blacks, hispanics, asians, etc do. As long as we're not fucking each other over, who gives a shit..

Stop with this racial coddling

[DigitAl56K (805623)]

I don't want to read one more article about how african american people are under represented in this, that, or the other. It makes me angry even to see such headlines because yes racism exists but we only fuel racism by carving out sectors of society by race and speaking to how disadvantaged they are. Why are we not discussing how there are too few Indian characters in modern-day computer games, or Phillipino's, or any other race? Because blacks are a racial crux that we like to fall back on and discuss whenever matters of race and equality come into play.

I personally work with people of all races from all over the world, and though I can't say I have absolutely no prejudices whatsoever I certainly do not consciously discriminate against anyone because of their ethnicity. And I think a very large percentage of the current/next generation are the same - we're growing up in multi-cultural environments with mixed ethnicity and we're learning to value our differences rather than look on them negatively. It is the older generation who still wants to talk about the past, who still wants to talk about stereotyping and martyrdom. TFA does nothing to break from the conventional mold, and it's infuriating to me.

In college [Computer Science] courses, I was typically one of maybe four black students, and I was certainly the only black female. In the industry, the makeup is pretty much the same. It's intimidating at times. I'm one of a handful, but I don't let these things hold me back.

It's intimidating at times? Is it really? Were you singled out at college, or because you were too aware psychologically of your ethnicity did you single yourself out and limit your interactions between the other black students? Today, do your coworkers look at you funny when you walk down the hallway? Does the conversation stop at the water cooler when you arrive? Do you have to use a specially designated bathroom? No. Why is it intimidating? It's intimidating because you are all too aware of your race and concern yourself with the possibility of prejudice, not because it necessarily exists.

On counting the number of black women at GDC: "The grand total was six, including myself, and I hear that [the Game Developers Conference] had an attendance of over 18,000 this year."

And how many white women were there? I hazard a guess at not too many, based on the industries history of mainly male developers. Yes, women are still under-represented in certain industries, too. But if they work as hard as men and are equally qualified over time the situation finds a more natural balance.

I think a lot of folks are just now starting to see it as a career choice. Young people are starting to realize that game development is something you can make a real living at. It's not like running off to join the circus. There are curriculums that are centered specifically around it, and the industry is looking for talent above all else.

A-ha! Some intelligence. There may not be a lot of african american developers because we're only now promoting it to those teens as a viable career choice!

I could go on. If we want to end racial bias and under representation, I support the free market model: Provide people equal opportunities not by artificially advantaging one group above another or by continually highlighting racial under-representation, but through a good education across all people, and simply let things work themselves out over time. The problem will obviously not go away tomorrow, but does that really mean we have to keep highlighting it today, over and over, repeating the same old talking points?

Re:Stop with this racial coddling

[Emru (1272414)]

I don't want to read one more article about how african american people are under represented in this, that, or the other. It makes me angry even to see such headlines because yes racism exists but we only fuel racism by carving out sectors of society by race and speaking to how disadvantaged they are.

If you don't talk about it, how will people know? Talking about the problem isn't the problem; it's how people react to it. (You even seem to agree with that, in principle. As you say, "repeating the same old talking points.")

And like everything else, discussions about under-representation aren't always economic. Right now I'm directly affected by a form of ethnic under-representation: I'm in need of a bone marrow stem cell transplant [healemru.com], and as a black person I have a much lower chance [aachac.org] of finding a matching donor than a white person -- the odds of two people's human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) matching are much greater if they're of the same ethnic background, and blacks are severely under-represented in the Canadian, American and UK bone marrow donor registries.

So should I not bring that up because it's somehow racist? It's a fact, and people can't fix it if they don't know about it. This has a direct bearing on my life, and the lives of other black people (and Asian, and Indian, and...) waiting for transplants, so I want to see more headlines about this kind of under-representation, not fewer.

Re:Stop with this racial coddling

[Stellian (673475)]

racism exists but we only fuel racism by carving out sectors of society by race and speaking to how disadvantaged they are.

No amount of wishful thinking and pretends will make race inequality go away by itself. If there is a strong correlation between race and academic success - when common sense dictates that there should be no such correlation - we need to know why the hell it's that way: talking about it is a first step into fixing it.
You position is basically like saying, disabled people in our town choose not to use the subway - the fact that there's no wheelchair access in the station has nothing to do with it.
If there's no disabled person to be seen in the subway, and no black in a cube farm, we need to ask ourselves some questions - and simply asking the questions is not fueling discrimination, but helping us understand the problem, if there is one.

Single elven female warrior

[someme2 (670523)]

How much longer are we going to rely on the bald space marine? Or how much longer are we going to rely on the Elven female warrior whose armor barely covers her breasts? Is that all we can do with this medium or is there more that can be done?" I think some people just don't push themselves hard enough.

I think it's pretty obvious that the problem is not people pushing themselves to softly... 95% of all characters in any popular media are heavily clicheed. Even though every single game designer, author, movie director, musician and whatnot would really like to do better. But you don't get project funding for better, you get funding for dependable and predictable sales. As "they" say: It's a hit driven business (with "it" being just about everything).

Characters must always meet expectations so that no one changes the channel because they don't understand the plot anymore after fetching beer from the fridge. Consequently any clearly identifiable group is badly misrepresented in popular media.


Also, Slashdot readers, you just have to love this quote from the article:

I mean, there's hip-hop in Cuba, there's hip-hop in Poland, there's hip-hop in the Soviet Union;

Knock yourselves out...

Obviously

[fishyfool (854019)]

They'd rather play than develop. Can't say I blame them.

The take on GTA

[IorDMUX (870522)]

So "GTA III," -- a Mafioso stereotype with a huge amount of cinema fiction to support that. It's sort of a cultural joke. We all know that Italians aren't like that but we know Mafioso gangsters are. Do we remove race from it? No, they're just gangsters. "Vice City" is just '80s "Miami Vice." So even with the Cubanos and Latinos we know all Cubanos aren't like that. "San Andreas" gets scary because it's basically what people think black people are.

So... he's saying that blatant stereotypes are okay, as long as they are not of black people? Am I missing something?

I've seen all three games. I'm Italian. My wife is Latina. And I'm not offended by any of it. But this interviewer seems to be saying that my lack of offense is because there is some fundamental difference in the race portrayals... I thought it was that I can choose to be offended or to be entertained by any of these blatant, joking, stereotypes.

I don't get it.

Not enough white's in rap music

[Maestro485 (1166937)]

Made up statistic:

Despite the fact that a large percentage of rap music fans are white, only about 2% actually produce rap music!

Seriously, who the hell cares? Some people like products of different cultures, whether music or games or anything else. This is a good thing.

Re:Yes please

[by Anonymous Coward]

I'm "african american", even though I was never alive in africa. I also develop games and program as a hobby.

The funny thing about the geeks of my generation, is that most of us don't really care about race. You're a noob if you don't know how to recompile your kernel, not because you happened to be born a specific hue.

Didn't everyone get the memo that the media doesn't really represent the people anymore? There isn't much to get over.

Re:Yes please

[by Anonymous Coward]

Saturation, not hue. Everyone's skin is pretty close to the same hue, but the amount of melanin changes the saturation, making it lighter or darker. This has interesting consequences for computer vision, and is also pretty much entirely offtopic.

Re:Yes please

[nomadic (141991)]

So a lot of the people who it actually occurred to are probably dead?

You're joking, right? You think your grandparents' economic and educational opportunities have no effect on where you are now? Poverty is usually multigenerational.

Re:Yes please

[MoneyT (548795)]

Depends on who you're talking to. What gets lost in these discussions is that many of the white (and other ethnicity) people that you see today were not slave owners but rather descendants of immigrants, people who came here with little or nothing. And certainly relatively recently. Many people you see today are only 3rd generation americans, if that, and those immigrant ancestors certainly did not come to a land of sunshine and lolipops. They came to a land of uncertainty, hatred, discrimination, poverty and hard work. But these people managed to rise in just 3 generations and quite successfully. Now of course YMMV and things do not always translate from one group to another perfectly. But one would expect to see a rise at least equivalent to that of most second generation americans.

Re:who cares

[g0dsp33d (849253)]

Oh, and all lazy persons must be stupid huh? You productivist.

What a crock of ****

[Viol8 (599362)]

"programmers typically seem to be socially-stunted and have personality and mental issues"

Who modded this crap insighful? Where did you get that , Cliched Quotes R Us? I know plenty of coders who are perfectly normal people , in fact I don't think I've ever met one who was the alleged stereotype aspergers and I only ever met one who I'd have called socially stunted.

"In comparison, most black people and women I've come across, tend to be more outgoing and sociable."

Women tend to be more outgoing than men. Black people ? It varies just as much as whites or asians. Are you just making this up as you go along? sounds to me like you've never mixed with anyone and are just going by the lyrics on your Craig David albums,

"because there are a lot more interesting things to do in this world if you don't mind interacting with regular people."

Yeah , like not posting trite made up crap you pulled out of your arse on slashdot.