Protagonist Races

[Razorus]

I didn't really know where to put this topic, so I hope here is ok.
Something's been bugging me about games for a while, but I've only just decided to get deeper into it and see what other people think.
Basically, I'm sick of white guys being the protagonists in games. It seems to me, that almost every game (well mostly action games) that are announced depict a generic-looking white guy as the main character.

It's no secret that Caucasians make the majority of game characters, but the last couple of years have really pissed me off about it. I got thinking about it after reading news of a Green Lantern movie. They're gonna use the character Hal Jordan, but I was used to John Stewart from the Justice League cartoons (the black guy, not the host of The Daily Show).

It's like every time a shoot 'em up is thought up, the developers automatically go for the typical white guy. The new Bionic Commando has a white guy with dreadlocks. Fair enough. Army of Two had a couple of trigger happy white guys. Ok. And Fracture! Jeez, that guy was BORING. But what about Prototype? Or PS3 exclusive InFamous? Whitey's everywhere!
I reckon the devs should think about things like this when they come up with the game premise and concept. They should just take a second when it comes to the character and say "oops, hang on a sec. We almost made another generic white boy".

Other races have been used at times, but usually it's to do with the story and not a simple design choice. Altair of Assassins Creed is a big one for me. Being an Arab, most characters of my race are relegated to stupid enemies and terrorists so I was very happy when that game was announced. I remember getting into major arguments about the religion of the character (which of course didn't matter at the end of the day), but I was very annoyed when I discovered Ubisoft had made him "mixed race", almost as a way to appease the white man so they wouldn't be scared of playing as one of those pesky Tusken Raiders.

Of course there's Resident Evil 5, which having been accused of racism, had randomly inexplicable whites and Indian-looking guys suddenly appearing. Capcom can deny it as much as they want, but it seems obvious that they are trying to appease those who cry foul at the depiction of Africa. Speaking of black guys, whatever happened to Shadow Man? That game was pretty cool on the N64. Anyway, I digress.

360 had a nice feature about race a few issues back, but until I see a conscious effort to diversify character types, I'm afraid I will rapidly lose interest in most action titles. I don't know how other people feel about this, hence the reason I'm asking here. Maybe 360 should do a poll; who is sick of generic white boys in games? Hands up!

As I said before, sometimes the race is neccessary to the story. Best example I can think of right now is GTA4, with the whole idea of an immigrant freshie bre coming to America and all that. Sorry about the London slang there.

So....let's masterdebate.

[Dynamite Dan]

GTA: San Andreas
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Games with customizable charcters

I can't think of any more and I do think game companies should make different charaters rather than stick to the white, macho man.

Of course we all know WIG: Women in Games is more important.

[Bob]

GTA: San Andreas
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Games with customizable charcters

I can't think of any more and I do think game companies should make different charaters rather than stick to the white, macho man.

Of course we all know WIG: Women in Games is more important.

Saints Row 2.
Lots of RPG games.
Lots of EA sports games.

[Razorus]

Lol, I didn't ask for a list of games that have black guys in it.
I want to talk about what people think of the subject. Yes, those games have "other folk" in them, but the vast majority of games are led by They of the Pale Face.

I'm running out of white jokes here. Well, I could go into my naughty section, but I don't want to offend the honkies.

Kidding. I'm mixed race. Don't hurt me.

[ClownTrousers]

Lol, I didn't ask for a list of games that have black guys in it.
I want to talk about what people think of the subject. Yes, those games have "other folk" in them, but the vast majority of games are led by They of the Pale Face.

I'm running out of white jokes here. Well, I could go into my naughty section, but I don't want to offend the honkies.

Kidding. I'm mixed race. Don't hurt me.

Because 95% of developers are beardy, white nerds?

[Sixxboy]

Lol, I didn't ask for a list of games that have black guys in it.
I want to talk about what people think of the subject. Yes, those games have "other folk" in them, but the vast majority of games are led by They of the Pale Face.

I'm running out of white jokes here. Well, I could go into my naughty section, but I don't want to offend the honkies.

Kidding. I'm mixed race. Don't hurt me.

Because 95% of developers are beardy, white nerds?

What he said.

Also whenever developers try and introduce a lead character that is not white they get accused of succuming to stereotypes - I remember there was some fuss about the lead character in Urban Chaos being a Whoopie Goldberg rip-off and not understanding her use of ebonics.

[Razorus]

Hmm...interesting. Yeah I can see that happening. But with the sheer amount of white guys, why don't we ever hear people complaining that THEY are stereotypes?

I heard about a game a while ago which is based on Hindu mythology; an RPG based on the story of Rama and Sita. That could be interesting.
Stereotyping could be an issue I guess. Still, someone needs to make the effort.

[ClownTrousers]

Hmm...interesting. Yeah I can see that happening. But with the sheer amount of white guys, why don't we ever hear people complaining that THEY are stereotypes?

I heard about a game a while ago which is based on Hindu mythology; an RPG based on the story of Rama and Sita. That could be interesting.
Stereotyping could be an issue I guess. Still, someone needs to make the effort.

What you talkin bout, Willis?

[Razorus]

I can't explain it any better.

White guys > Others in game = Why nobody complains? I can has teh generic protagonist? He fights ali0nz and doesn't afriad of anything.

Also, game with Indian characters coming out one day. This means progress...unless they turn out to be stereotypes.

[Bob]

I think we should make them all race Track N Field style.

Now that'd be a race!

[Cerebral_Wolf]

tldr; verion?

[Razorus]

tldr; verion?

What?

[QuickBen67]

The Prince of Perisa.....where was he from again?

[ewen griffn]

i think that resident evil 5 was more racist to americans showing chris as the typical american macho man if he is in africa there are going to be africans but i see your point there are way to many white protaganists even bioshock where the guy is silent and pretty invisable .

[Cerebral_Wolf]

tldr; verion?

What?

Too long; Didn't read.

What's the short verion?