Poll: What if an RPG used real races?

[x-machina]

Imagine an RPG that used real races, and gave the character stereotypical stat bonuses. Say, if you chose Russian you would get an HP bonus because they are notoriously hard to kill. Or if you choose African you could run faster. Americans, could... I don't know maybe shout AMERICA!! and inspire one another (giving a stat bonus). etc.

I guess the heart of the real question is: Is re-enforcing positive stereotypes offensive?





EDIT: Alright, I realize now that I should have said National bonuses instead of racial ones. So please stop correcting me on that. Also, yes I realize Africa isn't a country, so no need to point that out, you smug bastard. (jk)

 

[Savagezion]

Don't get me wrong, activist would be all over this. However, no. It is no different than cultures getting bonuses in Civ or something. The problem is, this would probably be done in the name of fun, which activists don't know anything about.

White people should start out with more money.

 

[ace_of_something]

The shitstorm that would follow would be unmanageable.
It'd be an interesting idea though.

I'm annoyed by your suggestion of Americans.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

No. Still to this day I cannot fathom how someone can allow themselves to be offended over something as harmless as a video game. These 'bonuses' that a race would get isn't all that different than, say, Age of Empires. One nation is better at building ships, another has better chariots, another has more effective villagers etc etc. That's how I see it, at least.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Imagine an RPG that used real races, and gave the character stereo-typical stat bonuses. Say, if you chose Russian you would get an HP bonus because they are notoriously hard to kill. Or if you choose African you could run faster. Americans, could... I don't know maybe shout AMERICA!! and inspire one another (giving a stat bonus). etc.

I guess the heart of the real question is: Is re-enforcing positive stereo-types offensive?

nope, i would find this hilarious, americans could get a fancy shout like "A-MER-ICUHH" (fus ro dah style)

this would be for the lulz and i would probably play this game with great intrigue, but sadly any kind of "ism" group/cult would be all over this and absolutely destroy the game.


hell i'd love to have the "hick redneck" perk, get hp restored for alchohol and any plaid/jeans/boots worn gives you 3x armor protection as usual, and +50 for a john deer hat.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

this would be hilarious but it would never be made, to appease activists every race would have to be equal and have no advantage over the other

 

[SilentCom]

I voted for the fence option because I would find it funny and entertaining however I'm pretty sure some people would feel offended.

 

[redmoretrout]

Anyone else notice how the American and Russian stereotypes sound like light hearted fun, but ``Africans run faster`` sounds racist? Of course, it isnt racist but I thought it was an interesting result of our culture.

 

[zombieshark6666]

That would be awesome, like Civilizations up close and personal. Asians could calculate hit points really fast and cause massive damage!

It would take too much maturity to accept the game, so no chance.

 

[Lilani]

Imagine an RPG that used real races, and gave the character stereo-typical stat bonuses. Say, if you chose Russian you would get an HP bonus because they are notoriously hard to kill. Or if you choose African you could run faster. Americans, could... I don't know maybe shout AMERICA!! and inspire one another (giving a stat bonus). etc.

I guess the heart of the real question is: Is re-enforcing positive stereo-types offensive?

Americans are not a race. An American is simply an individual who is from America, or a citizen thereof. They could be black, white, native American, hispanic, asian, inuit...anything, really. And the same goes with Russians and Africans.

You seem to have your races and nationalities confused. A race is your familial heritage, that is your ancestral bloodlines. The genetic makeup of your ancestors and direct relatives. Nationality (or ethnicity) is simply the culture you are in or the people you are allied to. You can be black and African, or you could be black and American. You could also have been born an African, but later naturalized into an American, or vice versa.

And you might want to get these straight in the future...that is the kind of mistake that many people find incredibly annoying and ignorant, if not downright insulting. The way so many Americans seem to think we are a race is one of the reasons so many countries see us as so arrogant and, well, annoying.

 

[WalrusPowers]

Depends on the game.

Modern Warfare 4 - not appropriate.
Postal 3 - very appropriate.

For a game that features a motherfucking gimp? Yeah, racial stereotypes would fit right in.
Also, isn't the upcoming south park game doing that with the Jew class?

 

[Savagezion]

I guess you never heard of the Racial Holy War RPG, huh ? (warning: If you are easily offended by racial slurs don't click)

Scroll down to posts #59 & #60 http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/which-p-p-rpg-should-i-play.63542/page-3#post-1770062

It's not my views and i'm not praising it or anything, just bringing it to the OP's attention, since he was curious.

That isn't really in line with the OP's question though. That is just some weird white supremacist fantasy game. You can't play as anything but a white guy. I take the OP's suggestion more along the lines of an RPG that plays off of common stereotypes.

 

[Jandau]

First of all, if you consider "Russian" and "American" to be races, you need to look up the word and see what it means.

And yes, reinforcing any stereotype, even a positive one, is racism. Just as any form of discrimination, even positive discriminatin is racist.

 

[TephlonPrice]

Hmm... it would make for a fun game in a way, and this is coming from a half-Jamaican black man for the record. However, I don't think people would buy simply because of the concept & how easily someone will get offended. I can think of a few things that would work here:

Black people can move faster, have better group attack bonuses (accuracy, firepower, etc), enhanced proficency with firearms & some melee weapons, along with skills in the arts of thievery, a small bit of stealth & combat. They also have a black market system in place which provides & buys a lot of items, generally weapons, body armor, information & more. In groups, they provide resistance against psychological warfare tactics & can use aggro group attacks.

Asians are more technically proficient & gain stat bonuses in technical based skills. They're also have martial arts skills (takedowns, improved disarms, etc.) which apply to melee & some thrown weapons. They have technical proficency unlocked on top of skills with electronics, hacking, & advanced equipment. In groups, they can "paint" enemies, increasing overall damage done to a target. Books can be read to improve specific skills & tech-based skills receive much higher bonuses.

Hispanics have enhanced agility, survival capabilities (improved dexterity, HP points, AP, etc.), on top of the ability to carry more in less space than the other races. They're also more inclined to assist if they get an edge out of it & often have stealth bonuses on their part. In groups, they increase morale, increasing group health & survival against enemies. They also have the sole advantage of improved poison/chemical resistance early on.

Whites have advantages in negotiation skills, forming of skill trades, and enhanced skills with dexterity. They also have better networks for certain goods & have a better chance of remaining unnoticed in certain circumstances. In groups, they can use Forced Intimidation immediately, which can end enemy attacks & prevent anymore from happening to you.

 

[JesterRaiin]

I don't remember any sh*tstorm when playing Civilization games regarding "racial" advantages.

And yes, reinforcing any stereotype, even a positive one, is racism. Just as any form of discrimination, even positive discriminatin is racist.

Naaaaaaaaaaah.
Stereotypes don't usually come out of nowhere. There's no equality among the Mankind and really some of us are better or worse in some aspects of reality.
I guess there's nothing wrong with acknowledging at least some stereotypes, however making fun of it, or developing strange theories about how they come to be may be considered "racist".

Another question is "what circumstances accompany discussion about stereotypes". Now, this can be a real problem !

OT : There was at least some RPG systems that used stereotypes and i remember having pretty good laugh when playing them (even though my nation were presented as band of thieves and heavy drunkards). CRPG ? If the theme of game would have tongue-in-cheek satire...

 

[Bostur]

I could see it work in an ironic and humorous context. In practice it may prove to be too problematic to be worth it. The idea reminds me a little about an old game called "Nuclear War", where parodies of existing world leaders made up the playable characters.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/nuclear-war/screenshots/gameShotId,839/
As far as I remember those characters were the same in terms of gameplay, and didn't have unique attributes.

The South Park RPG seems to be intending to use some of the stereotypes that they have already established.

I don't remember any sh*tstorm when playing Civilization games regarding "racial" advantages.

Thats true. Civilization is very cautious though, and mostly uses historical characters and traits. I think it's worth noting that when religion was introduced to Civilization they were made to be identical, in order not to make it seem that some religions were favored over others.

It's an emotional minefield, and I think thats the reason game developers try to avoid it and keep 'races' to something distant and fictional.

 

[JesterRaiin]

It's an emotional minefield, and I think thats the reason game developers try to avoid it and keep 'races' to something distant and fictional.

Exactly. "Emotional minefield".

We're strange species.
On the one hand we're all full of "it's racist" sh*t, on the other we justify killings and deaths by speaking about some higher truths and greater good. We play games that allows us to kill millions, we see nothing bad in slaying countless soldiers, sometimes we even think it's hilarious and we feel threatened by some racial slurs thrown by someone we never met before and probably won't ever again.
Kraysee world, yep kraysee. :|

 

[Ziame]

Dafuq dude. Since when nationalities are considered races?

Race = African, Native American, (Indo)European, Asian etc.

Get your fucking facts straight.

 

[WoahDan]

Might not mean to be offensive but i dont see how you could do this without it coming across that way. Expressing the races this way means that some will be worse than others at something and people WILL get offended by that, imagine say whites get +1 to intelligence people would lose their s*** and rightly so