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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."
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"?
Why must everything be devolved down to race? I do not care if developers are black, white, green, purple, etc.. as long as they make a good quality product. The question should be, are the developers putting out a quality product? In my honest opinion, game developers fail in this task 60% of the time. It may sound like I do not want Diversity, on the contrary, I want diversity. Diversity is what helps keep things fresh and new. I just think we spend too much time worrying about race and not enough on quality. This is my opinion, like any opinion, it may not please everyone. No offense is intended or meant.
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?
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.
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......
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.
we will end no whine before its time
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..
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?
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:
Knock yourselves out...
You can attach boosters to anything. It just costs more. -
Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 07, @12:26PM
Oh, and all lazy persons must be stupid huh? You productivist.
lol: You see no door there!
"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.
They'd rather play than develop. Can't say I blame them.
Enjoy Every Sandwich
In the US black people are over represented in the lower class. This means, the percentage of black people belonging to the lower class in relation to all black people in the US is high than compared to the whole US society. In the lower class it is more common that young especially young male humans have an interest in gaming. This does not mean that in other classes young male do not game. It just says that the possibility that you like gaming and additionally do it quite often, increases when you are in a lower class. In Europe you get similar results. In Germany for example you can make the same analysis and you will get as a result: Turkish people are unrepresented in the gaming industry. But over represented in the gamers league. The cause is quite similar. If you are poor you get worse education. This is a institutional problem. Means schools treat you different when you are poor then when you are rich. So you get bad grades, which isn't helpful in getting to university or college. At least their is a way out of it. The Scandinavian found it. They help every kid. And they help the parents. But they are not on the "competition trip" like the USA, UK or Germany.
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.
>> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
When I entered the CS course (Brasil), along with me came a guy from Africa. He spent a year on it, and then changed to Law school. I guess they don't want to work "underground" as programmers (it's pretty dark where I work) or something like that, they want to be recognized. Even if you come with the "they are poor", it's a public university we're talking about here. And a lot of the funding goes for students who can prove they are poor.
Apart from that, I don't think anyone should be offended by being called "black" or "white". How would it look if I, being white as a candle, wanted to sue someone for calling me white, or even whitey?
http://derkosak.blogspot.com - That's a blog.
Copied this insightful comment from the article link. I took the liberty to post it here for some additional views (I apologize in advance for any copies I posted by accident as "Anonymous Coward").
Author: Areala
Any time you bring race or gender bias into any particular medium, there's going to be problems. And while I can certainly see that there is a disparity, the first thing one has to look at is that numbers don't tell you everything.
Being female, when I was growing up, I heard all the time about how women were paid less than men, and how terrible this was. And while the numbers are true, they don't tell the whole story. Women, by and large, simply tend to go after jobs that traditionally pay less. Female teachers outnumber male teachers in every school in the US, for example--this is not because men are being "held back" from teaching by an elite group of high-powered females in schools and universities, it's because there are more women interested in the job than men, and fewer males are getting their degrees and licenses than females are. Numbers alone are meaningless without a reason to go along with them.
On the subject of ethnicity, the only counterpoints I can offer to the subject of "bias" against any particular ethnicity are as follows. First, the majority of gamers are male, and the majority of game developers are male; this isn't surprising considering that males (especially in the teenage demographic) are statistically more interested in gaming than females. We're not the rare birds we once were, but we're still not as common. Boys use video games as bonding experiences and social experiences. By and large, girls tend to bond and socialize in other ways. Men are more apt to enter the field of game design because, statistically speaking, they are more apt to be interested in it than their female counterparts are (remember the teacher analogy). It's not that the top-tier of every gaming company is conspiring to keep women out, it's that they're having a hard time finding any who are at all interested in the field period. Black or white, asian or european, it's going to be guys right now who are filling the ranks. And gaming isn't the garage-based hobby it was twenty years ago--with budgets of games in the next generation hovering in the double-digits of millions of dollars for a major, AAA title like Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, or Gears of War, and gaming revenue surpassing Hollywood in terms of dollars generated, gaming companies are only interested in hiring the best people for the right positions. If you can't program, or you aren't as good a designer as somebody else, or you lack the experience a company is looking for, it doesn't matter what colour your skin is or whether you have two X chromosomes: the job will not be yours. Plain and simple.
Point two is something that an awful lot of people seem to forget about gaming when this topic comes up for discussion, and that is that video games are all about fantasy. There's a reason why Microsoft has not made a multi-platinum-selling video game about a geeky programmer who works a 9-5 job programming the next iteration of Windows; it's a fantasy that appeals to so few people that those who would be interested in playing the game are already doing it in real life.
Fantasy in games is all about getting to do things that you can't do in real life, either because of physical, social, ethical or legal ramifications or because the universe we inhabit is not the same as the universe of a video game. No matter how hard we might want it, none of us will be able to be Joan of Arc leading an attack on the English in an effort to restore France's deposed dauphin to his rightful place on the throne. Unless we play a video game.
Since gaming is all about fantasy, it stands to reason that the things we want to fantasize about most are the things we will never, ever get to do in real life. There's a reason Madden NFL sells millions of copies with each year's release: there are millions of people all over the world
Quick, do a study about how many blonde-haired people play games vs. develop them. The video game industry is blondeist! Seriously, why do we still use race as a primary factor in surveys when what they're looking for is economic and social factors? That's where the racism is happening, not in the hiring practices of developers.
Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
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.
And being a "hacker" has nothing to do with breaking into computers. Give it up. You can't change the definition of a word yourself. The overwhelming majority of English speakers have already decided the definition; and that definition most definitely has something to do with race. :)
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.
Is it just me or are all these "problems" only problems in areas where "white" is the dominant (or substitute "white" for "male" and compare it to female)? Just let everyone do whatever it is they do that they are good at and enjoy. Nothing gets better cause you use somekinda quota to get more people in from different groups just for the sake of diversity.
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.
All of that being said, I would love to hear a story about a group of black men and women who had brilliant game ideas and started their OWN game development studio in a basement and went on to make millions. It will happen eventually, with these numbers of blacks playing games it statistically must happen, it's only a matter of time. I'm kind of excited now.
now I'm supposed to know if the person who programmed some game is black or white? I honestly don't care, and I prefer to keep not caring.
:p
I wouldn't mind having more women around the office tho
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
the vast majority of rappers are black, but the majority of rap fans are white.
Know what I like about atheists? I've yet to meet one that believes God is on their side.
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.
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.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
=)
Your brain is not a computer.
Yes! and LEARN OUR LANGUAGE when you come to our country, damnit!
Especially the indians!
The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
Okay, here's the complete story on skin color: First for the base. Human skin in and of itself is fairly translucent. Blood, however, is fairly red, leaving a pinkish hue. There's a brown pigment (melanin) and a yellow pigment. It's the presence of the yellow pigment that changes the hue between east Asians and Europeans, and the degree of melanin that changes the saturation.
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199