Current Events > Gamers: "we're sick of generic white male protagonists "

(+) Yeah! (+)

Also Gamers:



---

I don't get it
---

What point is being made here? That you can still create white guys if you want to?

---

PROBABLY not the same people

---

lol, got em!

---

EffectAndCause posted...

What point is being made here? That you can still create white guys if you want to?

I think hes saying, he doesnt like the fact that you can be a white male in a game.

---

Rarely do you see those type of custom characters.

---

Larian studios collected data on the most popular character choices in BG3 and compiled them into one character

Mr. John Generic

---

EffectAndCause posted...

What point is being made here? That you can still create white guys if you want to?

Flauros posted...

I think hes saying, he doesnt like the fact that you can be a white male in a game.

IDK what game that is, but apparently someone (I think the devs) used the most common settings players used and ended up like that

---

It's Baldur's Gate, it's at least 95% white dudes playing it. Those aren't the people saying they're tired of white male protagonists.

Accolon posted...

Larian studios collected data on the most popular character choices in BG3 and compiled them into one character

Mr. John Generic

Do you think this correlates with the fact that most of the players are white men who make characters that kinda look like them?

---

JimmyFraska posted...

It's Baldur's Gate, it's at least 95% white dudes playing it. Those aren't the people saying they're tired of white male protagonists.

But at least TC has all his hard evidence from this anecdotal example. Time to never put another race in the lead of a video game again. Another step towards making America great again!

---

Gamers aren't complaining about white male protagonists. Its SJWs who don't play games in the first place that are whining about it. They bitch and moan that there is to many white guys and no representation for anyone else. So then when developers cater to these people and change games to suit them guess what happens? They don't buy it. These people don't actually have any interest in these things, they just want to ruin them for those that do.

---

I'd be interested in seeing the fuck doll that comes out of doing this for Code Vein tho lol. That is one horny fanbase from what I seen.

---

Gamerguymass posted...

Gamers aren't complaining about white male protagonists. Its SJWs who don't play games in the first place that are whining about it. They bitch and moan that there is to many white guys and no representation for anyone else. So then when developers cater to these people and change games to suit them guess what happens? They don't buy it. These people don't actually have any interest in these things, they just want to ruin them for those that do.

You ever ask yourself why a game is "ruined" for you when you're not a white guy?

---

What a stupid topic to make lol
---

No one plays humans in fantasy games

---

Whoa, i created a black dude.

I remember when NBA 2K's mycareer started getting popular and white dudes were mad that the main character would have a black voice no matter who you created.

When every RPG for years was almost all white features except for one afro and dread that was in like every character creation in every game.

---

Only white gamers say that.

---

TooLateToGoBack posted...

What a stupid topic to make lol

Yeah, you're right but...

TooLateToGoBack

---

i think the takeaway from this is less that gamers love white dude protagonists above all else and more that no matter what version or iteration of dnd, when presented with a choice people always choose the most boring shitty human guy imaginable because they cant imagine roleplaying as anything but themselves

---

UnfairRepresent posted...

I don't get it

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionGenreHeroGuy

idk man when given the option I feel like I usually see far more women running around than men

we gamers love to play as women

Gamerguymass posted...

Gamers aren't complaining about white male protagonists. Its SJWs who don't play games in the first place that are whining about it. They bitch and moan that there is to many white guys and no representation for anyone else. So then when developers cater to these people and change games to suit them guess what happens? They don't buy it. These people don't actually have any interest in these things, they just want to ruin them for those that do.

Do real gamers even care what the protag even is? Hell when I play MMOs, I tend to make them non human and half the time female. Never really once thought, they this character isn't Asian, I need him to be Asian for me to play it.

---

TC probably wanted more of this:



---

I'll forever be annoyed that the picture of "generic white male protagonist" games included hispanic protagonists too, which don't appear that often.

And is it really that surprising that the west tends to gravitate to white protagonists? I bet Asia goes to mostly asian protagonists.

Not much of a surprise.

Definitely not the same people lol
---

Frogles posted...

PROBABLY not the same people

Gamers on the internet are saying this? It's actually the opposite. They screech almost every time a game has a protagonist that's a woman that's not hot, a non white male character, or a lgbt character.

im guessing TC is complaining about people being able to pick a white male MC if they want to

---

for a game like BG3 where your character is super tiny during the regular top-down gameplay most people probably don't bother to customize it much beyond the default white dude

brotrrwinner posted...

TC probably wanted more of this:

"Holy shit that's Terry Crews!" should always be the "default guy".

Remember when Western video game main characters all had the buzz haircut style?

It was around 2008

Off the top of my head

Main character from The Force Unleashed
Main character from Infamous
Main character from Dead Space
Main character from Mass Effect
Main character from GTA4
Main character from Assassin Creed
Main character from Resistance 2

I remember making a topic about it at the time saying game developers were lazy and copying each other making a generic wannabe marine looking type of dude. Fans at the time were pissed at me for calling this out. I wonder how fans today feel about it. Thoughts? Comments?

---

brotrrwinner posted...

TC probably wanted more of this:

we went from generic white guy to annoying butch girl great.

---

LightHawKnight posted...

Do real gamers even care what the protag even is?

I do, a little bit. Why do most games need the protagonist to be the ideal person if they were just some person before said game? Why must they be tall and fit all the time?

It won't stop me from playing said games but there's no excuse for the lack of variety.

---

brotrrwinner posted...

TC probably wanted more of this:

thanks i hate it
---

Faerunian humans aren't white. They don't originate from Europe

---

LightHawKnight posted...

Do real gamers even care what the protag even is? Hell when I play MMOs, I tend to make them non human and half the time female. Never really once thought, they this character isn't Asian, I need him to be Asian for me to play it.

No generally not. I love San Andreas and I'm a white guy from the suburbs, so I certainly don't know what its like to be a black gangbanger from the ghetto, but that doesn't mean I can't understand what's going on or feel any emotion towards his situation. These days people just want to bitch that someone isn't exactly like them to a tee though.

The other thing people seem to not understand or just want to willfully ignore, is that the reason most protagonists are white males is because the majority of gamers are white males. I'm sure someone will mention the ESA surveys showing how diverse "gamers" are, but the problem is they have to jump through hoops to get there. Playing Candy Crush or some other mobile crap on your phone while on the way to work doesn't make you a gamer. They aren't the same thing as the games we are talking about that are console/PC games. The audiences for these are vastly different. That gets rid of a massive chunk of "gamers" as well as females counted since most mobile users are women. We don't call people who sit there streaming Friends on Netflix cinephiles, so why would we call someone who plays some freemium bullshit while going to work a gamer?

The majority of people that play shooter, action/adventure, and RPGs are white guys, so naturally devs are going to cater to them. I mean people have whined about shooters being made for guys, but 93% of the audience for shooters are men. You are never going to make a shooter that will appeal to a significant enough amount of women to make changing it worthwhile at the risk of alienating your current fanbase. It seems these days that people just refuse to accept that some people are interested in some things that others aren't. And there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with the default character model being a white male if the majority of the audience is a white male and you can still make your own character and change it to whatever you want.

---

brotrrwinner posted...

TC probably wanted more of this:

Aren't they all from the same game?

---

VonOrdelia posted...

Aren't they all from the same game?

In other words, paper thin rebuttal

---

VonOrdelia posted...

Aren't they all from the same game?

I count at least three that are.

---

The_Ivory_Man posted...

I'll forever be annoyed that the picture of "generic white male protagonist" games included hispanic protagonists too, which don't appear that often.

And is it really that surprising that the west tends to gravitate to white protagonists? I bet Asia goes to mostly asian protagonists.

Not much of a surprise.

Asia at least mixes it up by having (traditionally attractive and thus labeled "waifus") a lot more female characters.
Also pretty boys rather than Joe Macho.

Veggeta X posted...

I remember making a topic about it at the time saying game developers were lazy and copying each other making a generic wannabe marine looking type of dude.

Devs were copying each other with that buzz cut but it wasn't because they were lazy. It was because the consoles at the time just couldn't really do hair in a realistic style. Anime games got away with lots of hair because it all looked cartoony and not realistic. Look at the hair in Dragon Age Origins for example. Your character options are only short ones / updos / etc. There's not one long hair style in the game... Except on an NPC.

(Cropped for... Uhh... Reasons)


Now though her head and neck move, the hair under her chin may as well be made of immovable iron. The animation looks very awkward and the devs had the benefit of only having to render that in one scene in a tightly controlled environment.

The alternative was the buzz cut. It didn't require animation.


---

DarthVader95 posted...

Gamers on the internet are saying this? It's actually the opposite. They screech almost every time a game has a protagonist that's a woman that's not hot, a non white male character, or a lgbt character.

---

I always appreciate non human characters.

LightHawKnight posted...

Do real gamers even care what the protag even is? Hell when I play MMOs, I tend to make them non human and half the time female. Never really once thought, they this character isn't Asian, I need him to be Asian for me to play it.

I cared. Almost every game i played as a kid i was a 30 some year old white guy. The only time i got to create a character that was a representation of me was sports games.


---

JoeDangIt posted...

I always appreciate non human characters.

I suddenly want to make a game where a lone electron is the protagonist.

Imagine not being tired of generic white male protagonists

---

Questionmarktarius posted...

I suddenly want to make a game where a lone electron is the protagonist.

That could be cool.