Members of the media often attack video games for being racist, sexist, mean-spirited, callous, unpleasant, insensitive, or just generally nasty. As a developer, I find most of these claims not only a touch insulting but also extremely tenuous, and in the majority of cases unfounded.
More than a few titles in recent memory have drawn rather incensed reactions from critics over plotlines, characters, jokes, or even gameplay characteristics they deemed inappropriate. Names like Hillary Clinton, Jack Thompson, and Dr. Phil top the list of knee-jerk reactionaries on the subject of tastelessness in video games. Pundits generally set their sights on the two big evils: sex and violence.
But while critics most frequently assert that video games contain too much violence and sex, they also endeavor to expose games as racially prejudiced. Games with minority characters, and especially minority stereotypeseven tongue-in-cheek characters not meant to be offensiveare torn down by accusations of intolerance. A surprising number of critics condemn video games as blatantly racist, and we're not merely talking about mainstream celebrities. We're talking about game reviewers and other members of the enthusiast media. We're talking about an astonishing majority of online columnists, bloggers, and forum posters who persistently speak out against any game that contains what they believe to be racial stereotyping.
Total Overdose and Chili Con Carnage, titles I helped develop at Deadline Games, were both targets of this type of criticism. When we designed these games, our goal was to provide a well-rounded, entertaining experience on many levels. We wanted exciting gameplay, but we were just as interested in having a compelling story, cast of characters, and setting, which is why we invested a great deal of energy towards researching the culture of Mexico, so we could produce an experience that was drawn from accurate source material.
When researching for Total Overdose, we spent a great deal of time in Mexico, taking over 6,000 photosphotos that were the basis for the vast majority of the textures that appeared in the game. We visited a variety of nightclubs to influence the settings and humor of the game, and we spent time in the company of self-styled gangsters to get a flavor for how they spoke and what they said.
When recording dialogue for both games, we employed Mexican-American voice actors to ensure that we would be providing accurate representations. And when it was time to decide on the soundtrack, we chose to include music from several acclaimed underground Mexican bands, including Molotov, who enjoyed the game to such a great extent that they offered to record unique tunes for a sequel.
However, in reviews, forums, and blogs following the releases of both games, some people slammed Deadline for being bigoted towards Mexicans. While we did employ stereotypes we considered lighthearted and humorous, our intent was most certainly not to cast Mexican individuals in a derogatory light. In fact, we continue to receive fan mail from Mexican gamers who love the games and praise us for depicting our cartoon version of Mexico as a modern, if corrupt, place.
But despite our best efforts, critics still slammed us for being racists. I have to wonder why Robert Rodriguez moviesfilms to which our games have been regularly comparedare spared this same kind of criticism.
Many other games have received similar criticism from the media. One of the major titles that went through this was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Vice City received high-profile criticism for an out-of-context line of dialogue: "Kill all the Haitians!" The quote was taken from a sequence that pitted the player against a Haitian drug-pushing gang. The developers were not promoting violence against all Haitians, or even insinuating that all Haitians are violent drug dealers. Clearly, the game contains blatantly racist characters. But does that make the game itself, and the game's developers, racists themselves?
There exists a double standard.
The first line of dialogue in the 2006 movie The Departed, spoken by Jack Nicholson's character, derides black people in a vulgar and insulting manner. Why can Martin Scorsese get away with including racist, morally grey characters in his movies? Why can movies, music, television, theatre, and literature get away with it? These media receive significantly less criticism when they portray racist characterseven racist, morally questionable protagonists. Is it simply because video games are an interactive form of entertainment? If that's the argument, I think it's an evasive one.
The constant criticism and threat of legal action motivates developers towards self-censorship. In my opinion, this is an awful consequence. Artistic expression is not limited to traditional forms of media. Interactive art is still art. And most everyone can agree that censorship, by and large, is a bad thing. In the end, games are only as strong as the vision of their developers, and when we begin to question ourselves, the final result suffers dramatically.
We need to demolish the double standard. Racism is a terrible, awful thing; there is no doubt about that. And while games that are patently, intentionally racist do exist, most games with racist characters do not reflect the mindset of their developers. Strictly good and evil characters do not populate the best stories. The best stories contain dynamic characters that exist in a continuum of moral right and wrong. And if a character possesses qualities that lean mostly into the "wrong" column, that should not be interpreted as a representation of the world view of that character's creator.
This conclusion is widely accepted when considering other forms of entertainment. Why are video games an exception?
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