Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[Nandina]

So, I've been tempted to use a Fantasia, and change from Miqo'te, so I started playing around with the character creation, and the lack of diversity is abysmal. I wanted to make a Hyur female, but I can't help but notice there isn't much wiggle room. There's only one cute braided mohawk style, and some dookie dreads. Where are the curly or even kinky hair styles? There are no flat twists, no cornrows, no box braids, no senegalese twists, no two strand twists, etc. I thought there was an afro option, but I didn't see that either. Under the nose options, there's are no truly wider options (I'm not saying the nose has to take up the entire face). There are no larger fuller lips. Skin tones run either cool or red, and there are absolutely no yellow undertones. Many of the little boxes on the skin color grid are virtually indistinguishable from the ones at least four spaces from them vertically, making them a waste. On brown skin tones, this makes the character appear ashy and in severe need of lotion. Skin tone alone is not diversity. Sure you can make your character Sudanese black, but if the nose and lips are slim and thin, is it really a black person? No.

Releasing multiple hairstyles is cute, but when are we going to get some new faces, noses, lips, and eyebrows that don't harken back to the late 90s and early 2000s? There's nothing wrong with a thicker brow. I bring this up, because there are many black and brown people who play this game, yet the character creation only caters to one demographic for the most part, and that's white. Ironically, I don't even see Asian faces despite this being a Japanese game. So you mean to tell me that my black and brown friends are good enough to receive a subscription from, but not good enough to have the character creation cater to them as well? I'm biracial (black mom, Russian dad) and while I'm not dark skinned I don't have thin lips and sharp facial features.

I already know some people are going to be in their feelings about this, and that's fine.

[OurMom]

As a black person, I know where you're coming from but this is one of those situations that won't be fixed in this game or any game like it. They already said they can't add more faces or it'll mess the game up. Since there can only be x amount of faces they're going to go the safe route.

Honestly I wouldn't want any of those features in a game like this, there's no slider and when we leave non black people to add defaults for that, it's just awful. Like in Archeage for example, the skin tone at the start of the NA launch was either tan or cartoony pitch black and there's no slider for the skin tone so we had to wait awhile before that was fixed(and the options still aren't great, several shades of pink 2 shades of brown).

However in games like BDO and Aion there's sliders so you can adjust your characters facial features and make it actually look black. Also maybe we should stop looking for other races to accommodate us and start making our own video games.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I wouldn't say it has a race problem, as all the games races are pretty well represented, and you can choose your skin color to be whatever you want.

racial characteristics from the real world shouldn't apply, as the game doesn't denote races by color. Stop looking for racial issues where they don't exist, it makes it harder to fight for them where they do actually exist.

[Wiccan026]

One of the midlander faces for male hyur's is practically Asian in the default state. You also (if you play around with everything not just the default skins) can actually make characters look diverse and they aren't as white washed that I've seen (than again I've actually seen slim nose and lips on african americans in real life so what do I know).

Does that mean I wouldn't want them to update the character creator... of course not I'd love it if they did that (I think we'd be better off having some type of slider situation to go along with the defaults that we get to start with).

Oh and the afro hair you will never see in the character creator (even if you already own it) because you have to get it from the gold saucer... any hair you get in game (even if you're using a fantasia) will not show up in the character creator... it will only show up via the hair stylist.

[Ghastly]

Hyur midlander is the issue. I agree on the hairstyles, they need to do more research or try other mmos to see how the difference in hair style choices.

[Nandina]

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Someone lacks reading comprehension. I already mentioned the skin colors are off and skin color alone does not a race make. But I’m sure you’re represented and have no problems with the game reflecting you in real life, just not others

[Sigma-Astra]

Ironically, I don't even see Asian faces despite this being a Japanese game.

...Have you not looked at Au Ra faces...? Especially the one that everyone seems to like using the most.

[Theodric]

I would have thought someone so concerned with diversity being represented in-game would choose to play something other than a pink haired miqo'te female.

[Nandina]

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Normally I would agree with you as far as accommodation. But this game is marketed towards a global audience and not just one set demographic. If they weren’t pushing it that way I’d 100% agree with you.

[Nandina]

...Have you not looked at Au Ra faces...? Especially the one that everyone seems to like using the most.

I said I was trying to make a Hyur