So, there’s this game called Rust. And it starts off dropping the player into a wilderness naked. It’s a survival-type game, so you have to make, find, or craft what you need to survive (including clothes) in the game for as long as possible. There’s also the chance that another player can kill you, if the game itself doesn’t.
The game is on Early Access on Steam, so it’s a work in progress. Until recently, every character was a white guy. You know, like the vast majority of games with a static character in them. No problems there.
Then, suddenly, Rust changed things. See, the character can be of a different race. And not any sort of fantasy race, I mean human variations. So, yep, you could start up your game and surprise! be a black guy. And there’s no changing it.
And the white gamerbros freaked the fuck out.
It was ironic and glorious. Suddenly, it mattered what the race of your character was. Suddenly, representation mattered as whiner after whiner after whiner whined about living in the game world as a black man and what it means. Like being called ‘nigger’ or being targeted because of the color of your skin, because of course, gamerbros are the worst, even to each other.
Suddenly consumer choice mattered. Suddenly the lack of choice (which every other gamer who isn’t white or male just apparently had to “suck it up”) mattered. Suddenly, they got to feel the same way a lot of us lady gamers and gamers of color get to feel.
And boy or boy did they not like it. The pity is that they don’t quite seem to get it. The lack of empathy is astounding. Hell, Extra Credits, known for having a pretty soft hand when it comes to the goal of making games better, has addressed the issue, seeing it as a good thing, and I agree.
Yes, you may have to play as a black character, and with all that entails. Does that make you uncomfortable? Good. Live in that discomfort. Experience it. This is your privilege being shoved into your face. Think about the lady gamers who would like to play as a woman (though given that the character starts off naked and anatomically correct, there are legit concerns with that, given again, how shitty gamerbros are. I say do it anyway.) in their first person survival games. Think about the people who aren’t you that are forced, by agreeing to pay for and play the game, to play someone who does not represent them over and over again.
Or keep crying. Keep whining. Keep being painfully unaware that the same words you use to attempt to silence us when we ask for diversity in gaming apply to you right now. Hell, my cup needs filling anyways.
Seriously?!? 
Good read. Thank you.
(I think “automatically correct” probably wants to read “anatomically.”)
Damn you autocorrect!
*goes to fix*
Reblogged this on Kicking Pricks.
so great. haaa.
Personally I don’t mind, when Mass Effect covered a woman on the front cover instead of the cannon written male commander Shepard I didn’t care and usually I play women characters anyway. There is a simple explanation for it but due to my lack of privilege checking and lack of understanding about how a simple idea that is not intended to be an insult, nor is worded as an insult, or is degrading in anyway, will still be painted as such. So I just wont bother trying to explain such a simple idea. Anyways back on topic. What does my character look like? Could care less, main character from the zombie game State of Decay (or the first character you are introduced to) is probably the most level headed person there and what do you know he’s black, negro, african american, choose whatever doesn’t offend. Or don’t and be like these guys: http://thisiswhiteprivilege.tumblr.com/ I really don’t understand what the author was thinking. Is this a win? Most people don’t give a shit. Really, they don’t it’s actually a fairly small group of people compared to most whom play video games. So who are you getting a 1up on? These are video games. They are a form of entertainment. Do you get angry when you watch mission impossible and Tom Cruise turns out to be a man? Do you get upset when you’re reading Harry Potter and Ron turns out to be a dude all along, even though you’re pretty sure that wuss is a woman deep inside in his heart of hearts? No, no you don’t because you don’t care. They are characters, in a fictional universe that has absolutely no effect on your personal lives other than entertainment. What’s the nice thing about entertainment? There are many forms of it. The nice thing about entertainment is that even if it ends up getting boring, nothing changes, you’re just bored. Weird huh?
My end conclusion is that I’ve got a pile of fucks that I don’t give and it’s much bigger than what my in-game character looks like. I’m more concerned with putting food on my table, providing for the ones I love, and enjoying the little time I have everyday.
Good read, it inspired some thought in myself.
-Some dude
I’m only letting this one pass because it allows me to share a very helpful tip, free of charge:
If the gist of your statement can be summed up as “Most people don’t give a shit,” or some other equivalent of “Who gives a fuck”, don’t bother making the statement. Seriously. It’s kinda pointless and the question answers itself.
Who gives a fuck? Well, I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the time out of my busy day and limited time to write and post this. Others care, otherwise they wouldn’t take the time to discuss it or write blog posts about it. See, that’s what people do when they care about A Thing, therefore asking “who gives a fuck” is again, pointless. The question answered itself before you spent almost as many words as in the post itself. And I wouldn’t want to you waste anymore of your busy day on something you Don’t Care About.
So yeah, don’t do that. Or at least, don’t do that HERE.