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Picking Your Battles

2008-04-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

MTV Multiplayer's Tracey John sat down with Newsweek editor N'Gai Croal to kick off a week-long series of interviews focusing on "Black Professionals in Games". During the course the interview -- which covered ethnic diversity in video game development, reporting, and playing -- N'Gai Croal was asked to give his thoughts on the Resident Evil 5 trailer. As a result of his comments, Resident Evil 5 has once again been put under a microscope to study its supposed racial imagery. One quote in particular has circulated through the Web:

"Wow, clearly no one black worked on this game."

Well, of course no one "black" is involved with RE5's development. Japan's society is one mired in homogeneity -- only 1.22% of their population is made up of foreign residents. Read: approximately 99% of Japan's population are native Japanese. Should Capcom have hired some sort of "Black Consultant" to assist with Resident Evil 5? Of course not. The very idea is absurd. The issue with Resident Evil 5's trailer isn't the developer's problem, but the audience's.

"It's like when you engage that kind of imagery, you have to be careful with it. It would be like saying you were going to do some sort of zombie movie that appeared to be set in Europe in the 1940's with skinny, emaciated, Hasidic-looking people. If you put up that imagery people would be saying, 'Are you crazy?' Well, that's what this stuff looks like. This imagery has a history."

I'm sorry, but I don't buy that argument. No one would think twice about "skinny, emaciated, Hasidic-looking people" because no one would identify them as "Hasidic-looking". Who even knows what that means? Would a "Hasidic-looking" zombie sport a yarmulke on his "jew-fro"?

There's no denying that dark-skinned people are often ill-represented in the media. But, what exactly is historical about a bunch of dark-skinned people becoming zombified, flipping out, and being shot in defense? Countless movies and television shows have put a white, Americanized male in the lead role and a member of an ethnic minority as the antagonist. Did anyone cry foul when Christian Bale (dressed head to toe in white) schooled Taye Diggs (dressed in black) in Equalibrium?

The real issue with race in gaming isn't how dark-skinned characters are portrayed, but rather the absence of additional dark-skinned characters so that their differences become noticeable. Augustus Cole, A.K.A. "The Cole Train" of Gears of War fame is regularly called out for perpetuating a "black stereotype". The thing is, Cole's showboating college football star personality does exist. Anyone who has gone to college can attest to this. It's not as though all dark-skinned people on Sera act like Cole. That's highly unlikely. Unfortunately, there are no other significant dark-skinned characters to make Cole seem unique and as a result he's relegated to "obligatory black stereotype" status.

There's so much we don't know about Resident Evil 5. Do Resident Evil trailers typically showcase the protagonist's allies? Or do they usually depict a "scary" situation wherein a hero is threatened by hordes of zombies and monsters? So far all gamers have seen is a light-skinned person shooting dark-skinned people. Capcom hasn't confirmed the existence of dark-skinned allies to aid Chris Redfield. This doesn't mean they won't. Reserve judgment on Resident Evil 5 for a more appropriate time.

It would be naive to suggest that racial inequalities in society have been abolished. They haven't. These inequalities are still very much prevalent in society, North America's especially. These inequalities must be challenged, but we must learn to pick our battles. When it comes to racial misrepresentations in video games, there are plenty of causes to take up. Resident Evil 5, at this stage, isn't one of them.

AIM Excerpts: Arcana Hearts

2008-04-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Chris: the fact that anyone drew that parallel in the first place is more than a little disturbing
Chris: about as disturbing as Arcana Hearts A.K.A. Pedophile Bait: The Game
Dylan: dude
Dylan: ***** is getting it
Chris: I know
Dylan: I lol'd so hard
Chris: I don't like talking to him about it
Chris: it better be a really good fighter
Chris: underneath all that masturbatory fodder

An Essay On Violent Video Games

2008-03-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing tantalizes society's collective moral radar like explicit gore--or anything explicit for that matter. The first time Elvis gyrated his hips to rock 'n roll or movies crossed the line from musicals to visceral images of gore, violence and sex, cries of outrage echoed from kitchen to Congress. Every generation possesses its own unique scapegoat against which parents and society may lobby their grievances. The most recent of these entertainment media "black sheep" are video games.

Blaming video games for maladjusted childhood behavior has become a prevalent--almost trendy--social judgment after the shootings at Columbine. The two students involved were deeply disturbed high-school community outcasts and were heavy players of shooter games such as Doom or Quake, which have a reputation for being ultra-violent. It is understandable to suggest that video games helped make them killers. Unlike movies, or music, which may be suggestive, no other form of entertainment media possesses the same levels of player interaction as video games. With this in mind, it is not surprising that the Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence On Children would suggest, "That they may be significantly more harmful" than any other media.

But does it follow that they must invariably be so? I would suggest that the lines between the individual psyche, its genetic makeup, the habitat that nurtures it, and the catalysts that may ultimately stir it are infinitely more complex. To issue a blanket social condemnation of a form of entertainment that hundreds of thousands--no, millions of well-adjusted children, teenagers, and adults play without issue or ill effect is illogical. It is also, in its own way, dangerous as it deflects attention from the complexity of the underlying genetic, psychological, and psychosocial reasons that some individuals feed on certain media to do harm by casting attention solely on the media itself. Any form of media can be removed or controlled, but the complex issues that cause people to cause harm will remain. Vigilant caregivers owe it to their children and themselves to explore not only the media but also the individual.

Outside of the laboratories of lobby-funded studies, video games are probably no more powerful or dangerous than any other form of entertainment violence. In fact, there have been studies that have shown violent music, web sites, and movies to be more impressionable on youths than video games. What kids are doing with video games is playing, and the far majority of them know it. Playing a violent video game is no different then picking up a G.I. Joe figure and having him "kill" one of his C.O.B.R.A. nemeses. It's no different then taking a toy gun, purchasable at almost any store nowadays, and running around in the backyard shooting your little brother "dead". Take away the products of the toy empires and it is ultimately no different from picking up a stick in the backyard and killing the pirate that has attacked your ship. Playing is playing, and violent play is wired into the very nature of humankind.

Many of the laws in our country are measured against the concept of what is "reasonable"...reasonable doubt, reasonable expectations. In this vein, it may be also suggested that no reasonable individual could possibly mistake what he or she does with a toy from using an actual firearm in a real life situation. No mouse and keyboard, or controller, is a mental substitute for the weight and complexity of an actual gun to a reasonable individual. Anyone who has held a gun, reloaded one, and fired one can verify this. In real life, firing and reloading a weapon and requires a lot more knowledge and finesse then pressing "R" on the keyboard for "Reload"--and a lot more psychological stamina.

Contrary to popular social sentiment, Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist who specializes in youth violence, suggests "...Kids have been getting less violent since those [shooters] games came out. That includes gun violence and every other sort of violence that might be inspired by a video game." Since violence is inherent to the human condition, her findings might suggest that this media actually reduces the instances of violent actions by giving individuals an outlet for natural impulse that, again, no reasonably mentally healthy individual would confuse with reality.

Something interesting to note is that studies show that the majority of children who commit violent acts come from low-income communities--kids who studies also have shown take little interest in these video games. Gaming a hobby they couldn't afford even if they wanted to. At present, a Sony Playstation 3 costs $400-$500. A Microsoft Xbox 360 costs $350-$450. Even the Nintendo Wii, which has made its platform as a device for family fun, for kids and adults alike to "jump in and play," is $250 barebones. Computers are excessively pricey to set up for games--thousands of dollars to properly build a machine capable of playing today's video games--that they are not a viable option for low income families either.

In the 50's, 60's, and 70's "inappropriate" music was associated with maladjusted youths, drug users and troublemakers. In the 1980's the popular tabletop Role Playing Game, Dungeons & Dragons, became associated with Satanism, the dark arts and other various occult phenomenon. Ironically, my stepmother, a practicing Christian, was an avid player of D&D in those days without ever succumbing to the dark side. Where does the makeup of the individual factor into the social finger pointing and blanket condemnations made against one form of media or another? I would suggest that the genetic, psychological, and psychosocial composition of the individual player is the far more important half of the player-game dichotomy.

So what is the solution to this issue? Is there even one? These are not questions easily answered. Humankind has violence at its heart. Conquering, sacking, warring, committing acts of hatred, bigotry, rape, and murder--all have occurred since its conception and will continue, though struggled with, to its last days. All of these examples of violence have existed long before the advent of technology, entertainment media, and especially video games. While a psychologist could explore and pinpoint cause in each individual case, the reality is that some people are born more aggressive than others are, or with genetic issues that effect how their brain functions and addresses violence. In these cases, all that is required is a catalyst--a movie, a song, a video game, a look from someone on the bus--to feed into a pre-existing condition or inclination.

It's easy to blame something we do not completely understand in ignorance. It's human nature to fear what we cannot completely comprehend. But it is also wrong to pass the proverbial buck, for parents to avoid assuming responsibility for having failed raising their child in some capacity that added to their mental instability. This too is human nature. Who wants to admit such grievous fault? Who wants to admit that their child was born with a greater capacity to do harm than someone else's was or that they contributed to an environment that cultivated that capacity? Ultimately, studies measuring a correlation in child aggression and video games have come up on both sides of the issue, and no side has sufficiently settled the argument.

The truth is, like almost anything--experiences in life, a book, a movie, or a song... video games have the potential to be the catalyst that leads to violent acts, but the warped makeup of the individual has to be previously simmering. Society will always struggle to put the violence in our nature into some acceptable context, and it should. Nevertheless, blanket condemnations of things that overlook the complex nature of how and why certain people use them ultimately do not serve that purpose.

The Wiire Unplugged

2008-02-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

The Wiire Unplugged was a short-lived editorial feature written for The Wiire. In the absence of a news blog, Unplugged was designed as a week-in-review for quirky and interesting Nintendo-related news. Check out the original articles below.

The Wiire Unplugged

The Wiire Unplugged - March 7 Edition

1UP: News Contributions

2007-09-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of 2007 I lobbied to intern (gladly unpaid) with 1UP News. Unfortunately, Patrick Klepek (still News Editor at that point) wasn't in need of an additional newsie at the time. However, one busy week he did call upon my services. The stories I contributedcan be found blow.

TGS 2007: Square Enix's TGS Lineup

The Legend of Kage 2 Slashes Onto DS

1UP: Turok Preview

2007-08-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

For my first freelance assignment, Matt Leone asked me to write an article based off a Q&A with Propaganda Games' honcho, Josh Holmes. After submitting the piece, Matt decided that keeping the Q&A format would ultimately make for a better story then an article would. Such is the nature of this industry--I'm hardly offended. I agree with him. In the end, only part of my original write-up was used as a segue into the Q&A portion (a rather good one, at that ;). I didn't want the piece to go to waste, however, and thought some of you might enjoy reading my original Turok article. Here you go!

As the Leipzig Games Convention draws nearer, companies have turned up the drip on their information IVs in an effort to amp up gamer interest. Among those companies is Propaganda Games, whose re-imagining of Turok has garnered even measures of positive and negative reception. Although a great deal of information pertaining to the change the franchise has undergone with this retcon has surfaced, there is still much about Turok that remains locked behind closely guarded doors.

After promising a few rounds of German beer at Leipzig, 1UP managed to coerce Josh Holmes, general manager and vice-president of Propaganda Games, to answer a few questions regarding what lies in store for Turok and its showing at Leipzig.

There has been a lot of gamer concern over the environments in the game. Holmes insists that Propaganda has only shown a fraction of what will ultimately appear in the game, and that it just so happens most of those have been jungle areas. At the risk of setting off the red alert of "spoilerage", Holmes remains tight-lipped about what we can expect in the game, yet promises diversity both in the single player and multiplayer modes. The variety of levels will include lush jungle areas, dank swamps, mountainous terrain, scorched and barren wastelands, caverns, man-made facilities and even spacecraft. Given the otherworldly nature of Turok's setting, even the jungles will show significant change as the player progresses deeper into the wild.

Just in case audiences think Holmes is all talk, he went on to confirm that a section of the game from a chapter called "Salt in a Wound" would be unveiled at Leipzig. In contrast to the outdoor environments showcased thus far, "Salt in a Wound" is an interior level and focuses on combating human opponents. Within the story's context, the excerpt has Joseph Turok and Shepard navigating an abandoned facility with Roland Kane, Turok's former mentor turned enemy hot on their tail. The derelict facility is reminiscent of something found in LOST. Surrounded by the untamed alien jungle, the man-made facility lies in ruins, damp and humid from where the jungle has broken in through damaged sections. Beams of light cut through the eerie darkness. Holmes expects this to be one of the coolest sections of the game, as it starts out quiet, ambient, almost chaotically beautiful before erupting into a firefight that lights up the darkness in blinding flashes.

The singleplayer campaign is shaping up impressively, but what's in store for multiplayer--the meat of any great First Person Shooter? Once again, Holmes had an answer for our concerns. First, he shed some light on the confusion regarding Turok's co-op play. Originally, Propaganda cut co-op play from the game given Turok's nature as a loner. The developers felt that support from a "buddy" would compromise the character's integrity. After play testing began, however, the appeal of cooperative play became increasingly apparent. Soon enough, Propaganda decided to implement co-op into Turok, but not through the single player campaign. Instead, friends will be able to team up and challenge a series of missions inspired by the game's story.

Now, to clear up some of those rumors floating around---and in the process undoubtedly let down some hardcore Turok fans. The bad news: the ultra-powerful weapon Cerebral Bore introduced in Turok 2: Seeds of Evil will not appear in this new Turok. Holmes considers the weapon legendary---one of the greatest weapons to appear in a game of this type. Ultimately, however, the reinvention of Turok left no room to incorporate such a weapon and the team opted to leave it out, relegating it to an iconic element of the Turok of yore--a decision he staunchly believes was the right one.

Holmes reiterated that the new Turok would not be a part of the previous Turok titles' canon. While inspired by the past games and comic books, in the end this new Turok will be fresh and original. That means no riding on dinosaurs, no Dinoids, and no crazy weapon-dinosaur hybrid monstrosities. As a result, the game's final title will simply be "Turok". No rebirth, no returns. Propaganda Games has taken a more realistic approach with Turok, to create something original and dynamic all while making sure to keep the trademark elements that originally made Turok a popular shooter.

The iPhone Cometh

2007-06-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Scans of my cover story from Philly Edge, a local entertainment newspaper. You can also read the article here.

Sony Gamer's Day 2007

2007-06-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Scans of my article from Play (not the Play Magazine, but rather a local entertainment newspaper with the same name). You can also read it here.

Halo 3 Unleashed

2007-05-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Scans of my article from Play (not the Play Magazine, but rather a local entertainment newspaper with the same name). You can also read it here.