Now that FF16 will feature LGBT+ characters, can we get some rep in FF14 too?

[Melorie]

Sure, diversity of characters is good, but most normal people want diversity of ideas.

Even in a fantasy setting, if a character looks completely out of place, it's going to make the story feel quite silly and will take you out of it, and I do acknowledge that I am saying this as the forum avatar still has my cat hoodie from my crafting glams...

You can't bring diversity of ideas without diversity of characters. The different ideas we form comes from different places, regions, cultures, ideas of beauty, ways of dressing up, relationship with nature, bla, bla, bla. What is the point of bringing different ideas and excluding the variations of people that come with it?

Maybe a character looking out of place can bring a new story. Maybe he comes from a distant place, maybe he is trading, traveling, maybe his grandmother ended up there and now it isn't a big deal. There is literally no need to fuss over this kind of explanation like it ruins a story. A good story won't be bad because of it.
And if a fantasy story allows for people being out of place, like your cat hoodie glam, then maybe embrace it already? And use it as a tool for storytelling wisely. I am tired of white-haired people, personally. Would love to see someone out-of-place in our party.

[CaptainLagbeard]

You can't bring diversity of ideas without diversity of characters. The different ideas we form comes from different places, regions, cultures, relationship with vegetation, ideas of beauty, ways of dressing up, relationship with nature, bla, bla, bla. What is the point of bringing different ideas and excluding the variations of people that come with it?

In most places around world historically, you had different countries with very different cultures, right next to each other. The people looked the same, but had different ideas. It's a very narrow minded way of thinking that you think all people of a single "race" are completely homogeneous.

[Melorie]

In most places around world historically, you had different countries with very different cultures, right next to each other. The people looked the same, but had different ideas. It's a very narrow minded way of thinking that you think all people of a single "race" are completely homogeneous.

I never said that. I said that if you want different ideas but can't accept and don't want to see different characters, maybe YOU have a narrow mind of what different ideas can be. If you enjoy stories, there's no reason for you to not want new perspectives from different people and different places.

I agree that even inside a certain group of people that share genetic characteristics, there is not a consensus of ideas. But that is beyond the point of the discussion? The discussion here is how people treat anything that's not status quo as "a token from western culture" and how that's, well, ridiculous, and against what the world was and is.

[CaptainLagbeard]

I never said that. I said that if you want different ideas but can't accept and don't want to see different characters, maybe YOU have a narrow mind of what different ideas can be. If you enjoy stories, there's no reason for you to not want new perspectives from different people and different places.

I agree that even inside a certain group of people that share genetic characteristics, there is not a consensus of ideas. But that is beyond the point of the discussion? The discussion here is how people treat anything that's not status quo as "a token from western culture" and how that's, well, ridiculous, and against what the world was and is.

The point still stands, populations were largely ethnically homogeneous, but not ideologically. So when you place a story in a historical setting, or make a fantasy setting based off of that history, then you start adding things that don't fit in the particular setting they pretty blatantly stand out.
Just to bring the conversation back towards FF 16 a little, Yoshi-P has said the game's world, or at least the corner of the world the game takes place in, is inspired by Medieval Europe, which was at least 99.99% white. And then people got mad that ~0.01% wasn't being represented in the game. So it's either continue on course, or add in a random black guy there for the sole reason that idiots online cried about him not being there.