Poll: Stereotypes/Onesidedness/Archetypes in games

[Belair 1955]

I'm sure most people have noticed this, but many, MANY, games, or movies for that matter, portray stereotypes against different groups (Mostly in games based off non-fiction/the real world). I for one dislike this. I don't care that it is the victors write history, I this plain annoys me. Games are always dividing different groups of people into archetypes, the evil Nazi, the crazed Japanese, the heroic American. I find this kind of behaviour and thinking embarassing. I would much prefer if there were some games that would let you play from a different perspective for once, or at least have characterization/a plot that shows that you are not part of a one-sided super-fantastical group who are entirely benevolent, and that you, and your foes, have more than one side to you, and are indeed human.

/end rant

What do you think?

 

[Alone Disciple]

Well have fun finding and playing a game developed by Somalians, or any other 3rd world developing nation.

While I understand your premise, the fact is, until developers in other countries want to start writing plots from their own nationalistic perspective....you're out of luck. I'm sure there has to be a WWII game somewhere by the Japanese that place Americans as the bad guys and the object is to bomb Pearl Harbor, or seek revenge for dropping the bomb. I think I read sometime back that there was indeed a very samll Middle-eastern development team who created a game in which it was the goal to destroy Israel....seriously.

 

[insectoid]

I don't really care, I guess I'm just used to it.

It's basically down to who's making the games. They want to be as nationalistic and 'politically correct' as they can be, and they are going to do that by using these stereotypes.

 

[Madshaw]

gotta say i do agree, it would be fun to play a bad guy, well as long as there is a good nough explaination and back story

 

[Belair 1955]

I don't mean I need a game developed by a different perspective, just that I would want to play a different side. An example would be the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima", made at the same time as, and if I'm correct, the same crew as "Flags of Our Fathers". It is from the Japanese perspective, and shows both sides as human, and fallible. I don't see why there cannot be a WW2 game where you don't play as a Loud-Mouthed patriotic american, a British soldier, or another Allied country.

 

[WolfLordAndy]

There are some games out there, but they are few and far between. Tho plenty that pose the US government as the evil overlords, so the heroic US isnt quite so popular an archetype. But do you really think it would go down well in the wider spectrum of things to play as Nazi Germans, mowing down villages of french pesant militia?

I do enjoy games that let you choose both sides, not just one. Command and conquer games for example, and a number of flying shooter games generally let you pick both sides (Played a couple demos on steam, think it was "Battle for the pacific" - it had both Japanese campaign and an American one) and the Battlefield series, while no single player campaign is involved, you can play as the Middle Eastern Coalition or China, and kill the American Pig-dogs in their Black Hawks of spitting death!

 

[minoes]

Well have fun finding and playing a game developed by Somalians, or any other 3rd world developing nation.

While I understand your premise, the fact is, until developers in other countries want to start writing plots from their own nationalistic perspective....you're out of luck. I'm sure there has to be a WWII game somewhere by the Japanese that place Americans as the bad guys and the object is to bomb Pearl Harbor, or seek revenge for dropping the bomb. I think I read sometime back that there was indeed a very samll Middle-eastern development team who created a game in which it was the goal to destroy Israel....seriously.

1942 by Capcom. The heroes are american, and the enemies are japanese.

 

[Copter400]

The main character is a grizzled, stoic, Caucasian soldier. He is American and is an agent of the government. He may have been disgraced in the past by an event that caused the rest of his platoon to lose their lives. On a routine operation, he discovers some bad guys who are part of a much larger situation. He is joined by an attractive woman wearing tight clothing who is pretty much the same, although she probably places a greater emphasis on stealth. There are numerous one-liners. There is at least one snow level an one level in a genetics lab.

Now then, which game was I talking about?

 

[Mr. Moose]

The main character is a grizzled, stoic, Caucasian soldier. He is American and is an agent of the government. He may have been disgraced in the past by an event that caused the rest of his platoon to lose their lives. On a routine operation, he discovers some bad guys who are part of a much larger situation. He is joined by an attractive woman wearing tight clothing who is pretty much the same, although she probably places a greater emphasis on stealth. There are numerous one-liners. There is at least one snow level an one level in a genetics lab.

Now then, which game was I talking about?

Hmm...
I believe....
Every game that ever put an emphasis on stealth and had a main character that could be played by Hugh Jackman?

 

[Ultrajoe]

Some things are classics for a reason.

 

[Same River New Water]

as nationalistic and 'politically correct' as they can be, and they are going to do that by using these stereotypes.

Political correctness means avoiding stereotypes. Nationalism is almost the opposite: it stereotypes "our side" as righteous, and it tends to categorise everyone else as either Threat, Loyal But Lesser Ally or Rogue State.

Stereotypes are easier to get right. It's lazy, and realistic characters are generally better. On the other hand, when characters are designed from the start to be anti-stereotypes, they're often even more annoying, if only because they stick out more.

 

[Good morning blues]

It's not going to happen. This is another one of the great problems with the video game publishing oligopoly we have going; it has been said that the only villains that Hollywood is comfortable with are Nazis and Arabs, and it is far, far more accurate for video games. None of the publishers are going to want to publish material about American conflicts that portray American soldiers as anything other than romanticized heroes and the "other side" as anything other than freedom-hating evildoers (or at best faceless masses of corpses).

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

It's all dependant on who develops the game, there will always be stereotypes and archetypes and it's not necesssarily a bad thing it helps the character identify quickly with the main character hence the ego boosting heroic space marine.

Unfortunately there are downsides when middle eastern people, germans and even the awesome english are constantly stereotyped as the bad guys in movies and games.

I wouldn't mind playing WW1 or 2 from an ordinary germans point of view, they've already done it in literature with All Quiet on the Western Front.

 

[Copter400]

Some things are classics for a reason.

Classics sometimes suck the fat one.

 

[Copter400]

Some things are classics for a reason.

Is it because the game is fun and has replay value?

Oh, details, details!

 

[WolfLordAndy]

I for one would like a game where you play as the "evil" character.

Most RPG's have you play as a good character, most FPS games have you fight against evil, etc.

I want a Half Life 2 where I play as a fast zombie or combine soldier. I want an Oblivion where I have to spread the influence of the daedric lords. I want a Doom where I have to stop the space marine. I want a Crysis where I have to defend the alien ship from the native inhabitants of earth with their super suits. I want a Diablo game where I'm on the side of Hell and must stop the heroes.

I don't have time to skim through all the games these days, but from what I know, there aren't any or very few good games where you play on the side of "evil".

To be fair, most decent RPGs let you play evil or good. Although the game can get much harder playing a bad character due to local towns running at you with burning pitchforks and the like. I think we are overdue for another dungeon keeper game tho. Especially considering EA own it now...

 

[curlycrouton]

I'd like to see a WW2 shooter from an Axis perspective, but it would have to be portrayed sensitively. Most WW2 games i've played unfairly characterise the Axis as evil.

I also very much agree with snowplow

 

[Belair 1955]

See, people could have you play from a different historical perspective if people were sensitive about it. You could play as a german, or a japanese, but that doesn't mean you have to be doing horrible things to people in the game. I think that if the developers handled it right, it could turn out to be a very good game. I've noticed this in an old flying game, MS Combat Flight Simulator 2, where you could play as both the American and Japanese.

How's this for an idea? You have two intertwining campaigns where you play as both a German and American soldier, with good carachterization for both? You play the Germans at first, with mostly victorious battles, and then you have to play as both the German and American as the Nazis are pushed back?