racilicious.com
Topic: Microsoft's Project Natal doesn't care about black people?
Moderated: Yes
Summary: The sensors of Microsoft's Project Natal system do not compute and interpret signals from brown-skinned people as well as they sense the actions and movements of people with light skin.
Positions:
1. A commenter named Sara wrote that in the technology industry environment, creators tend to be white and male, so they see their "avatar" as the default and everything else as the other.
2. Moviegirl wrote that technology is not developed enough to work with darker skin tones. She explains that the game developers most likely are not being racist but simply do not have the ability to make the sensors sensitive to dark skin.
3. A commenter named shah8 wrote that companies are racist in order to survive. The do try to accomodate white supremace names, which pretty much count as mandatory racism.
What is this debate about, and what are the main points of contention?
This debate is about whether or not video game developers are doing all that is possible to make their products equally playable to all races, skin tones, and genders. One point of contention is that the people who create and design video games are usually white and male and tend to set themselves as the example for the average game player. In addition, game developers must make the games appealing and easy to use for the majority of their clientele--white men. Another point of contention is that the companies and people who make video games simply do not have the technology to make sensors or other game applications to satisfy the needs of people of color.
Where does agreement emerge in the discussion?
The site commenters seemed to all agree that the main users of video games today are white males, and in order to survive, companies must appease their needs as consumers.
What contentious points remain unresolved?
The points that remain unresolved are whether or not companies are doing all they can to make their games equally accessible to people of color and whites.
Topic: Race and video games update--Animal Crossing and Black College Football
Moderated: Yes
Summary: The release of a new all-black player football video game called Black College Football: The Xperience (BCFX) causes serious controversy in the gaming community because it features solely black people, and Animal Crossing: Wild World allows players to train characters to refer to others as derogatory racial terms.
Positions:
1. A comment from Michelle reads that individual prejudices within someone's own heart but a system of oppression, and the sort of "reverse racism" that critics refer to when scrutinizing BCFX and Animal Crossing simply does not exist.
2. Commenter Kat write that too many people get caught up in the word "black." The game is more about the black community and culture, not the color of the football players' skin. The game is not trying to exclude white people but incorporate a diverse culture into a video game. Furthermore, in the Animal Crossing game or in life, no one should use the term n--a because it is derogatory and demeaning.
3. Luis wrote that the title of the game is referring to Historically Black Colleges and Universities instead of simply black people, and therefor, the game is specific to a branch of universities rather than a race of people.
What is this debate about, and what are the main points of contention?
This debate is about the appropriateness of an all-black video game. Furthermore it debates whether or not video game creators should make it a priority to monitor the racially offensive language that players use on games like Animal Crossing. The main points of contention are whether or not "reverse racism" is a factor in the creation of the BCFX game, whether the term "black" in the title of the video game refers to a people, a branch of universities, or a culture, and whether or not it is acceptable for games to allow for the use of derogatory racial terms.
Where does agreement emerge in the discussion?
An agreement that emerges is that each racial group has media operations specific to their skin color and race. For example, BET is an all-black television channel, but CMT can be considered an all-white channel. The BCFX game was created with all black players, but NHL Hockey has an extremely high percentage of white players.
What contentious points remain unresolved?
One of the main contentious points that remains unresolved is whether or not it is acceptable for people of color to refer to each other as n--a. Another is whether or not it is necessary to make separate games featuring only blacks.
Topic: Of race and Resident Evil
Moderated: Yes
Summary: The imagery of the game Resident Evil features white heros and heroines violently fending off and shooting black zombies. The setting in the game is in Africa. Critics of the game believe that the violence is too graphic and that the people of color are portrayed more as monstrous creatures than people or even zombies.
Positions:
1. Commenter Persia writes that it would be strange for the game to be set in Africa and their be no African zombies. People of color are native to the area. However, she states that it would be nice to see a black protagonist in the game.
2. Emfole comments that it is disturbing to see white men go around and kill all the black people they can. He argues that video games get into people's heads and alter the way they think and mentions that the treatment of these people of color in a video game could carry negative effects over into real life.
3. One person named Josh writes that Resident Evil is the greatest shoot 'em up of all time and has always had violent plots and unique settings. The zombies in each of the previous games have been limp, violent, and disgusting. He argues that no outcries were made when the game included zombies of other races, and there should be no controversy over the zombies being dark skinned and of African origin this time around.
What is this debate about, and what are the main points of contention?
This debate is about whether or not the black zombies featured in the soon to be released Resident Evil 5 game are racially offensive. One point of contention is that in the past, the zombie characters have not been so violent and monstrous, and it is extremelyand unacceptable and inappropriate to have white men heroically destroy people of color though they are portrayed as zombies in the game. The other main point of contention is that the video game always features mutilated, violent zombie and this particular setting in Africa logically suggests that the zombies in Resident Evil 5 should be black.
Where does agreement emerge in the discussion?
All commenters seem to agree that the addition of a black protagonist would lessen the tendency to classify the game as racially offensive.
What contentious points remain unresolved?
One of the points that remains unresolved is whether or not the black zombies are any different from the other zombies on previous Resident Evil games. Another contentious point with a pending solution or answer is whether or not the black zombies are portrayed too violently or monster-like.
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