How important is an in-game avatar? If given the choice, do you always choose a character from the gender you identify with? A recent study by Macquarie University senior lecturer Michael Hitchens has delved into the role of the avatar in first-person shooters. Having read his findings, we can’t help but wonder: if given a choice, who or what kind of character would you be?
I’ve never played as a black video game character who’s made me feel like he was cool. Worse yet, I’ve never played a black video game character who made me feel like I was cool. Instead, I’ve groaned and rolled my eyes at a parade of experiences that continue to tell me video games just don’t get black people.
Nielsen, the folks who measure every single thing that is or could possibly be done with a television set, have released an analysis of gaming habits by ethnicity, finding that African-Americans game the most per day, on average, Asian-Americans the least.
This post contains spoilers for Heavy Rain. Although Heavy Rain is set in a nameless American city, David Cage has been forthright about Philadelphia’s strong influence on game. When members of the development team visited the city, it inspired the dark, gritty world players would ultimately explore:
Hispanic gamers are more likely to buy console video games, less influenced by price points in their choices, and consider themselves gaming novices, according to a survey by Univision, which will team with GameSpot to produce a Spanish-language games portal.
The Resident Evil 5 trailer is provoking responses in all directions, and I hate to add fuel to the fire. But as someone who was a uncomfortable watching the trailer the first time he saw it at the Microsoft presser, who also hasn’t seen a decent summation of his feelings on the topic, I can appreciate Stephen Totilo’s perspective. And I hope you give it a shot: My problem is that it presents a fantasy I don’t desire. It looks like it’s an advertisement to virtually shoot poor people. I know “Resident Evil” games are supposed to be about hiding from and shooting zombies – this one probably is too. Shooting zombies is something I can get behind…But when I see a town of what looks like impoverished African villagers – the very image of global poverty, the very spectacle that since my youth has been coded in me to evoke sympathy and charity – I don’t want to pull the trigger.
