I grew up as a video game viewer, so the concept of watching game-plays online was never strange to me. It was as close to gaming as I could get as a kid because I wasn’t allowed to purchase any games as a girl. It wasn’t until my sister and I got the Nintendo SP that we owned a couple of games. In all these games what really made itself known was that all the characters you played were male and had some sort of female love interest. You grew up used to that because, whatever, you just wanted to play the game! The representation was always an internal thought, never had anyone to point out the lack of diversity. It did confuse me why Japanese games often portrayed non-Asian looking characters the most infamous being: Mario and Luigi who were Italian Plumbers made by Nintendo. Brain games and puzzles became my preference than video games, but because gaming culture started growing and consoles were being released constantly and every kid had some sort of it was hard to ignore. When internet came along with AOL around middle school the stereotype of games started becoming a hot topic. I think I started becoming aware and asking things like why don’t they start making games about other people, or why do women only get portrayed with big boob and curves? It seemed very unrealistic and probably helped me forget wanting to play console games. I took to apps and CD-rom game which were aimed to a younger audience and those were enough. They were usually cartoon characters like Power-puff Girls or one of those academic learning games. To read other people’s experiences and concerns was like a weight I never knew about, being lifted. It really brought itself to my attention and I became motivated in read up on the topic even further. I never considered being a Cooking Mama or Candy Crush players to be gamers but now my definition of gaming as truly changed. I was encouraged to see only MMORPGs to be the only “legit” gamers, but I reached my aha! moment when I realize at it’s most basic: gaming is gaming. If someone wants to identify as a gamer based off their apps so be it!!!!!
I don’t think companies should ignore their demographics. Instead, they should speak to them, get to know who their customers are and see how their games can be improved. There’s no harm in at least initiating contact because on the topic of representation it’s clear to see that the main characters are white, able-bodied, cis-gendered and typically straight (assuming the female love interests indicate anything). We as consumers need to make companies accountable for the content they release because while it may not seem evident we are a support system for them by buying their products. If there are diverse people in the real world then there is no question about representing us or allowing us to choose how we are represented. WHo decided that white, built men was something to program by default? If they can create such a character, what difference does a person color or transgender character make in terms of workload? The cyber, pixellated world is a place of creation and should be made by us for us.
