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Tragedy of all tragedies, I have yet to begin a new game of FF
XII despite having it for almost 5 days. Such is life in the modest
gamer's working world. But, one of the first things I noticed from
the get-go while reading the mediocre art book coupled with the game
is the off-centered grittiness of the main characters' appearance.
Vaan actually looks like a 17 year old boy, complete with awkward
facial expression, bad skin and rail-thin structure appropriate for
a street urchin. He is a child, unlike Squall, who, despite being
the same age, appears more like a 30's GQ cover model.
Does it make you feel better controlling a character with smoking
hot looks than a scrubby dirt-monger? What is it about
attractiveness which makes a player more likely to identify with and
want to control a character more than others? As I've grown older,
it has become much more apparent that, aptly according to what most
market research will show, consumers want products which are
attractive, and make them feel more attractive by association. And
it's not a far stretch to link that to gaming, and in a deeper
context RPGs. Gamers are more likely to immerse themselves in a
product which looks and feels attractive, whether through the actual
characters emblazoned on the box or the graphics which make them
up.
I'm not surprised, nor am I thrilled, to say that the majority of
main characters I have had experiences with have been Caucasian.
Now, this isn't to say I'm completely ignorant of the minority game
heroes out there, but honestly, how many are there? Three? Does Jade
Cocoon even count? Does Zidane count as human? The last black
character I personally experienced was Lenny in Shadow Hearts: FTNW.
And he was the butler. And had a total of 5 minutes of screen time.
It was sad.
I suppose now is ripe time for complaining. After all, gaming is
becoming the biggest media industry in the world. It's about time
they start better reflecting demographics. By using predominantly
white characters, they give false representation to all the
innocent, impressionable adolescents who really believe their
neighbors will rob them for Gil in their sleep. Why not throw in
some black characters, Asian characters, Hispanic characters, and
any other minority I forgot. I already wrote on gay characters so
we'll leave them out for today.
Furthermore, I know that many games have a medieval, old world
setting to them, and fittingly, there isn't a whole lot of mixing
going on. But, that isn't to say that everyone around has to be
cute. Why not throw some horrendously ugly townsfolk in there,
fatten some of them up, and give a few of them disfigurements. In
addition to keeping things interesting, it would enlighten players
on the reality of the world. Not everyone is the same. I shudder to
think the adverse effect shows like Friends and Sex and the City
have had on millions of viewers, who slowly but surely begin to
believe everybody is more attractive than them, and that there
aren't any normal looking people in New York. (Well, that might be
true...) Luckily, games haven't reached that point yet, and
hopefully never will.
Before you all shout at me "Games are supposed to be
make-believe!" and, "Why should I have to experience reality in a
medium which is designed to take me out of the everyday stress of
the real world?," hear me out. I believe that developers have a
responsibility, like all artists, to at the very least, sometimes
give an accurate reflection of the world around them. It doesn't
always have to be surreal, it doesn't always have to be attractive,
and it definitely doesn't always have to be pc.
Games are made to sell. And for RPGs, pushing units does require
a modicum of enticing characters. But, nobody said all the
characters have to be such. I think there's plenty of room for
characters like Squall and normal, even unfortunate looking
characters too. Even if those lacking in physical beauty are
relegated to the back of the group, never to see playtime (or
relegated to NPC status), at least we'll know the creators
tried. |
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