Poll: Would you play a game with racist/sexist overtones if it was fun?

[JamesR]

I honestly don't care who it offends.

If its fun, then fine.

Although, its only right to put an age restriction on it to stop it affect impressionable youths ... But then again ... TV already has that market cornered.

Anyway, Zieg Heil (Where is my Holocaust game? Too soon?)

 

[Lord_Sammael]

Why do people always scream racism when a game has a black person in it that you have to kill...
I mean come on up to that black person the character has probably killed more white people than the fucking black death. I mean seriously if you start to label games with racism we might as well start looking at games that you kill white people in as racistic (is that the way it's spelled?).

I've seen alot of the comments about racism that ignorant people spew because they are to ignorant to look at all the facts. I've played games where you get the option to execute a guy at point blank (the guy was white for refference).
Oh sure black people were sold as slaves and treated like they were lesser than animals.
And I can understand why some people find it offensive that in RE5 you kill black zombies. But for crying out loud they're zombies, dead people you know. It never said black people couldn't become zombies, besides they moved the setting from the typical traditional white zombies in a city to black zombies in africa.

I think people need to take their heads out of the dirt and look with their eyes for a change and not listen to what the media and government spews into their ears.

 

[LyonLee]

I think the real question here is how you define "fun", or rather, whether or not racism in a videogame is appropriate.
Now, please hold your incoherent rantings while I give my completely off the cuff, unjustified and soon to be misunderstood opinions.

RACISM IS INAPPROPRIATE! There, I said it. Just so no one misunderstands me.
Example 1: The KKK makes a videogame about killing black people. The only thing is: you don't know that it was funded or created by them. Is it fun? Probably not. Is it appropriate? Definitely not. I seriously doubt that example is under discussion.

Example 2: A video game company releases a video game in which the main character is racist. But, it shows no violence to any minority group. The video game company says that they did that to, "give the character some depth". Is it fun? Is it appropriate?
Truthfully, I have no idea. You have to answer this one for yourself.

Example 3: A video game shows a particularly violent cutscene in which the main character is beating a black criminal to death. It is the only black male who dies in the entire game. There are no deragatory statements made by the main character towards African Americans, or any other race. But this one scene has stood out from the game. Is it fun? Is it appropriate?

Example 4: You play as an undercover cop (the main character). Your job is to infiltrate a local gang to find out its hierarchy, where the money is going, etc. The entire gang, and every criminal in the game is black. But so is the cop. Is it fun? Probably. Is it appropriate?

I, strangely enough as it sounds, believe that racism is appropriate, and even fun or funny IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. Those situations are pretty rare. Racism is an unfortuate piece of our societies and our histories. Even to the point of being bred into us. As humans we have not evolved much, if at all in the past 2-3 thousand years when our different races began to collide with one another. We may have built fabulous civilizations, cities, communities, but all we were ever born with was a brain that can barely function out of the tribal societies our ancestors lived in. We truly are a tribal people. You see it every time you see a sports fan cheering on the local team, or everytime someone gives their hometown or country undeserved accolades. Or everytime a black male is walking around an all white neighborhood.
It's natural. It's understandable.
That doesn't make it good.

 

[HeadExplodie]

People take everything in life far too seriously. Racism in a videogame? Sign me up. Now, if the game was something like "Adolf Kills Jews 6", then I would pass. That's exploitive and the only reason someone is making it is to further their own crappy goals. Something like GTA or RE5 is fine in my book. And I may even play a game where you are a black guy who needs to steal chicken to stay alive. I don't care. Nor am I racist in any way. I come from the Irish, and we are a bunch of ginger-nut drunks. Stereotype are only correct sometimes.

 

[Dae Han]

Why do people always scream racism when a game has a black person in it that you have to kill...
I mean come on up to that black person the character has probably killed more white people than the fucking black death. I mean seriously if you start to label games with racism we might as well start looking at games that you kill white people in as racistic (is that the way it's spelled?).

I think the concern people have here is less to do with the fact that the main character is white and has to shoot black zombies and more to do with the way the black people (both before and after zombification) are depicted.

Personally looking back at the trailer again just now I can't really see anything wrong with it. Thinking back to when I first saw it I didn't see anything wrong with it then either. I don't think at any point did I really think about the fact that this was a white guy killing black people. I guess my mind was too busy remembering how much I loved playing RE4 and how much I was looking forward to playing this.

 

[raankh]

King Hippo for the win!

 

[jaiden26]

Honestly, we've run out of things to complain about when we are seeing games like RE4 & RE5 as racist games. The majority of the gaming public didn't even notice that they were all Spaniards or Africans. They didn't notice until a small percentage of people pointed it out. Why not look at where the setting of the games are? It wouldn't make much sense having a Russian, an African, a Hispanic, a German, an Italian, and a Caucassion zombie to shoot if the setting was in a certain area. And I very seriously doubt they thought this would be the reaction when they released the game. When it comes down to it, when the game setting is in Africa, wouldn't you all be complaining if you were shooting white zombies b/c that wouldn't be "realistic?" I know that you would, and the fact that makes that stupid is that you are talking about the realism of a game where you shoot ZOMBIES...get a life.

Isn't it racist to sit there and think about how you have to cater to people which you believe will get offended by certain material? That sounds an aweful lot like profiling. The biggest racists out there? Democrates...They think that they need to intervein, b/c a certain race or gender can't live without them. If I were a game maker, I wouldn't want to sit there and come up with ways to change my game, based on the fact that I might offend some people, b/c if you focus too much on that you end up changing something that makes your game unattractive to the gaming public.

 

[Lance Icarus]

I don't think FPS fans really discern who they're shooting anymore. Switch out the Nazi overlord with the black pregnant homeless war veteran in a wheelchair and they'd probably get the same clip of hot lead straight to the head. Hell, I've already shot an old man in a wheelchair in Metal Gear Solid 3, but it was okay. He was evil. The parrot proved it.

 

[Final_Assassin_42]

A simple question, since it seems to have become an issue with games as of late i.e. RE5's controversy.

As for my opinion, it's not that Chris is killing black zombies. To me, a zombie is a zombie and needs a bullet in the brain pan.

BUT, I had issue with the game showing uninfected africans with yellow eyes that glowed in the damn dark. If anything, black people tend to have a brown to dark eye color. Now I could be wrong. Maybe the people in the village were all in some stages of infection and this argument is a moot point. I'm perfectly willing to hear other opinions about racist/sexist overtones in games.

If it was more for the sake of comedy, sure.

 

[Final_Assassin_42]

I don't think FPS fans really discern who they're shooting anymore. Switch out the Nazi overlord with the black pregnant homeless war veteran in a wheelchair and they'd probably get the same clip of hot lead straight to the head. Hell, I've already shot an old man in a wheelchair in Metal Gear Solid 3, but it was okay. He was evil. The parrot proved it.

That parrot was a Nazi.

I would have shot The End...but I wanted to have a frustrating sniper battle.

 

[Testing]

I'm sorry if I offend anyone... But I would play any game with sexist overtone.

Watching a woman kill off hordes of disgusting testosterone infested pigs (aka men) in order to reduce their population. I'd lol.

Watching a emotionally fragile boy snapping and going on a killing spree in high school to kill the heartless cruel beings that are teenage girls. I'd lol more.

As for the racism issue... If the game is not extremely blunt and serious with it, and still fun, I'd like to think that just about anyone would play it still. But of course, if there were alternatives I'm sure those would be chosen first.

 

[shadow skill]

About RE5 Black people not born from the American bloodlines in particular do actually look the way that they do in the vids for RE5. Do I think the game is racist? No, but the reaction of some is to be expected considering the history involved in this part of the world with respect to blacks. It's a complicated issue because on some level it reinforces the image of "The violent Negro.", even though I doubt this was the intention unlike say GTA which is rife with stereotypes. Let's also be honest here and say that GRAW 1 and 2 and RSV are preying upon the "Kill the immigrant" hysteria just because no one opens their mouth doesn't mean its not the case.

 

[Saskwach]

Well if we're talking overtones then I'd play it. Hell I'm doing it right now. You can't convince me that it's not at least a bit iffy that Mass Effect has only men from the ugly species, or that every woman has what seems an almost impossible frame. Still I doubt Bioware was intentionally sexist, just men who like good-looking females (yes, technically sexist but it's subconscious and all that).
Basically, if by overtones you mean it's there but the devs didn't really think hard about it either way (ie exploiting it or toning it down) and if they had they would have realised their mistake, then I'll play it. If the devs REVEL in it for no good reason then no I wouldn't play.

 

[shadow skill]

Well if we're talking overtones then I'd play it. Hell I'm doing it right now. You can't convince me that it's not at least a bit iffy that Mass Effect has only men from the ugly species, or that every woman has what seems an almost impossible frame. Still I doubt Bioware was intentionally sexist, just men who like good-looking females (yes, technically sexist but it's subconscious and all that).
Basically, if by overtones you mean it's there but the devs didn't really think hard about it either way (ie exploiting it or toning it down) and if they had they would have realised their mistake, then I'll play it. If the devs REVEL in it for no good reason then no I wouldn't play.

That is pretty much how I look at things. But it was kinda funny how all the other aliens were dudes unless we are talking about the Asari, or the Rachni queen (But she doesn't really count unless you are into roaches. I thought they played the racism thing incredibly well made the characters more alive than they would have been otherwise.

 

[Saskwach]

Well if we're talking overtones then I'd play it. Hell I'm doing it right now. You can't convince me that it's not at least a bit iffy that Mass Effect has only men from the ugly species, or that every woman has what seems an almost impossible frame. Still I doubt Bioware was intentionally sexist, just men who like good-looking females (yes, technically sexist but it's subconscious and all that).
Basically, if by overtones you mean it's there but the devs didn't really think hard about it either way (ie exploiting it or toning it down) and if they had they would have realised their mistake, then I'll play it. If the devs REVEL in it for no good reason then no I wouldn't play.

That is pretty much how I look at things. But it was kinda funny how all the other aliens were dudes unless we are talking about the Asari, or the Rachni queen (But she doesn't really count unless you are into roaches. I thought they played the racism thing incredibly well made the characters more alive than they would have been otherwise.

That's pretty much how I look at things as well. Who are you and were you separated at birth from your long lost twin?

 

[Madlarkin]

It all depends on how the game depicts it to be fair. I haven't seen the trailer for RE5 yet, however i can hardly see it being racist because a white man is shooting black men. It's perectly logical that if it is set in Africa then the zombies should be black.
I finished RE3 and most if not all zombies were white, it seems like it was set in the correct locale, i thought nothing of it.
Even playing as a russian or spanish merc, i was quite happy to put a slug into someones cranium without the "R" word coming into it.

I wouldn't play a game with racist overtones, for instance (An imaginary title here) "KKK bonfire party!" (I'm pretty sure you could guess what that would entail) I doubt i'd be playing that.
There is a difference between racism and stereotyping, GTA for instance has you playing as CJ a black gangsta, i didn't bat an eye lid when usually derogetary terms cropped up during interaction between characters.
That would be stereotyping, however if he was screaming a racist term as he shot people then i would be rather concerened.

Sexism, no quarrels with that to be honest with you, after all...games are sexist in alot of ways.
Your either the manly man, who can chew grenades and shit out bullets or your the sassy femme fatale who has an impossibly proportioned body.
Bloodrayne had a cheat code that was simply there to enhance the main characters breasts and make them dance, if that isn't sexist well...what is?
Sexism generally effects the women in video games, all the heros are as previously stated objects to be lusted after by those younger adolescents that get their sweaty palms on a copy of "Super lycra lady and her adventures in bouncing bosom land".
Whores in GTA were exactly that, though there was no choice to grab yourself a male whore, fable was different in that respect as it had simulated sex with any gender.
Too my knowledge, there are no real games where genders are put down in a sexist manner (GTA aside)
If there was one to come out though, depends on how it was put into context if i would play it or not.
If it was "Mcobnoxious female slap fest" i'd quite happily stear clear, however, like GTA the use of whores doesn't bother me at all. It happens. (Not saying that wife beatings don't)

 

[PurpleRain]

I don't understand the whole 'racism' thing about RE5. I mean, it's set in Africa. If all the zombies were white, then it would be racist because it would seem they are replacing the africans. But they're not. Black zombie... so what, it's still a zombie. And what are you going to do, "Ahh, I don't want to seem racist so I won't attack you Mr Zombie."

If somebody went out and made a Nazi simulator where you have to go out and irradicate Jews, Homosexuals, Black people, etc, THAT would be racist. If you were stereotyping somebody because of their background (ie Mario) THAT would be racist.

 

[Kieran210]

Dear God, talk about a boatload of issues - racism and sexism in the same post?

Love football, hate racism (sorry) - Racism in games is such an issue that I'm not going to try and broach it.

Sexism I think is inherent in the gaming industry, but only because it's a new medium of communication and not particularly mature. If you wanted to talk comparisons, it's probably still there with the 1920's first talkie - major technical improvements, but still fundementally a immature medium. It means that a mature conversation or approach regarding sexual roles is impossible, because there are too many exploding heads.

Secondly, it's because the writing is so damn poor. It's easy to write stereotypes, and people can immediately understand them - even if the enormous breasts immediately isolate 51% of the population. Gaming, worse than cinema, puts visuals instead of character, and makes the player fill in the blanks - because games designers know that 'conversation is boring'.

So, yes, I will play a game with sexist overtones, because I have to.

Now, where's my exploding head machine....