Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[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.

[Nandina]

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.

I was actually a brown skinned Au Ra at one point when I first started Heavensward is the ironic thing. I like to switch it up periodically. I never attempted to make a Hyur before so wasn't aware of the limitations until now.

[wondergroove]

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 while skin color. Create something that isn't commonly seen if you want to express your personal diversity. Create diversity in the world.

Except that people who aren't white shouldn't HAVE to choose non-human races to feel like they're being represented. Because being shoe-horned into a non-human race because it's literally the only option that shares your physical traits isn't at all "dehumanizing", right?

Also, Hyur are Human's. You can argue over the name all you like, but that's what they are and were designed to represent. Pretty much every fantasy game allows you to choose a human character if given the option, because 1) sometimes people want to play as something more familiar and 2) sometimes people like to see themselves as the protagonist. If there is an option to be a human character with caucasian features, there is no reasonable excuse as to why there shouldn't be options to play as ANY kind of human.

Humans exist in the real world, and have been added to fantasy games as a choice to make the characters more relatable. If they're only relatable to a small amount of all humans, then something is wrong here.