Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[Magic-Mal]

[-Being technical-]There are no African Roegadyn, there are no African Hyur, there are no African miqote.

[wondergroove]

Except a peculiar issue:

No one had mentioned much about this till 'now'. Something you stated. Which likely means : People didnt care about it till people were made to care about it.

That is no one cared about this and gave it no thought because they didnt see it as an issue that affected them, until someone said "Oh hey, not enough racial features I want to see!" Then it became an issue. And its not like we dont have black, or white, or hispanic, or asian, or etc people playing this game. So obviously someone shouldve mentioned it well before now. But I half expect someone to deflect by saying "They werent being given the chance cause...reasons."

But hey, if you think the game has an issue, go ahead and bring it up. But if you really are a person of principle, then I say this: Say something, and when the devs dont do anything, unsub. Afterall, why pay for a game that doesnt represent you to the T.

Except it was literally the first thing I noticed when I first played XIV back in beta. Just because no one brought it up til now doesn't mean it was never an issue or that it wasn't noticed.

Also if I cut out everything that I enjoy because there were ignorant or harmful things in them, there would literally be nothing left. Everything nowadays can have something wrong with it because there is still TONS of bias out there. I can enjoy things and also acknowledge that sometimes they aren't perfect. Then I talk about those things, and how they could be better.

I play this MMO because I have a lovely group of friends who I play it with and who don't play anything else, and I still very much enjoy the story and a lot of the fights. But when I notice things that I know aren't good, I still acknowledge them. I still enjoy everything else, I just don't ignore harmful things just so it's more convenient for my personal comfort.

As for why I or anyone else didn't bring it up sooner... *looks back at all the replies that amount to "OMG EVERYONE OFFENDED OVER NOTHING NOWADAYS JUST SHUT UP OR UNSUB LOL"*

...gee, I wonder why anyone would be hesitant about bringing it up on the internet of all places. I couldn't even imagine why.

[Magic-Mal]

Please elaborate, I'll admit to not catching your meaning with that statement. It is pretty late for me right now though.

I sort of took offense to your post when I thought of how much you protest for male glamours and treatment. Then you go post... everything you just said about a cause(this) different from the one you care about.

In other words, I can say everything you just said about male equality, LGBT equality, and European treatment.

[Catwho]

You can make beautiful dark skinned people from almost all the races in this game. Different faces have different structures, just like there is one Miqo'te face that has full lips that is very nice.

Yep, I used that set. I'm extremely happy with how my character turned out. In a sea of pasty white catgirls, I've got a tabby cat with serious tortitude.

[wondergroove]

Even if it's not being done directly, it's being done indirectly... the words you use someone can easily misread if that's not your intent to take it in that matter.

I keep checking back and I've never seen folks reply to the ones who've posted pictures from character creation... not to mention that the OP still implies has incorrect information in it implying why the character creator is wrong.

If you're intentionally misreading "hey this thing might be kinda racist, maybe we could talk about it instead of ignoring it" as calling SE a villain, that's on you for misreading anything that just brings up racism as some kind of personal attack on one's character and not just a discussion of racism existing.

[Theodric]

-snip-

I'm not taking an issue with the suggestion itself. My issue is with the way that is being framed. If FFXIV did not have any option for darker skin tones, then the weight of the argument for representation would be much heftier. As it stands, though, there are options in-game to allow for people to design a character to their personal tastes.

Where, exactly, do we draw the line? New hairstyles are added with every major patch, so there's always a chance that at least one of them will be to someone's personal tastes eventually.

The developers may or may not add more 'ethnic' hairstyles in time. We'll have to wait and see. Even if they don't, though, some do exist so it's not like they're completely ignoring them.

[Magic-Mal]

I'm not taking an issue with the suggestion itself. My issue is with the way that is being framed. If FFXIV did not have any option for darker skin tones, then the weight of the argument for representation would be much heftier. As it stands, though, there are options in-game to allow for people to design a character to their personal tastes.

Where, exactly, do we draw the line? New hairstyles are added with every major patch, so there's always a chance that at least one of them will be to someone's personal tastes eventually.

The developers may or may not add more 'ethnic' hairstyles in time. We'll have to wait and see. Even if they don't, though, some do exist so it's not like they're completely ignoring them.

Just like how there are masculine options and that they add more glamours every patch. And even if they don't add anymore and everything from this point on is female-only, at least some options still exist so they're not completely ignoring males. So it's okay. No need to yell for more.

Do you understand what is wrong now?

[Theodric]

-snip-

Again, I'm not saying that more options shouldn't be added. I'm suggesting that people should temper their expectations and recognise that this is simply a reflection of Japanese cultural trends. I've never suggested that the character creation should not be updated. I'm merely taking issue with the water being muddied by implications of racism being at play.

[MsQi]

Awesome Troll

[PaulCotton]

but if the nose and lips are slim and thin, is it really a black person? No.

You bring up an interesting topic, thank you.

However have you considered that this is a fantasy world where Africa does not exist. These people are:
Elezen.
Hyur.
Lalafell.
Miqo'te.
Roegadyn.
Au Ra.

You are right that a light skinned person with caucasian features can create a close approximation to their own appearance...
If you're looking for a character creator with many many options try Black Desert Online.

The art style here is based on anime tropes and the art of Yoshitaka Amano. African's are not commonly seen in Anime and when they are their drawn representation can appear a bit racist.

If you don't want to look like a little light skinned anime babe then make a Roegadyn or an Au Ra with some wild skin color. Create something that isn't commonly seen if you want to express your personal diversity. Create diversity in the world of Hydaelyn.