Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[wondergroove]

There is absolutely an issue with the lack of diverse racial feature options in the character creator, and it's surprising to me that this is the first time I've seen it brought up on the forums.

Sure, there are a handful of differing face/hair options and a... we'll call it a "decent" range of skin tones, but the lack of options for anything that isn't small/dainty/straight is honestly concerning and always disappointing.

I'd think people would be happy to advocate for more customization options and the chance to ease the rampant same-face syndrome the game has been suffering from for years.

But of course if you talk about it as a race issue and not as an aesthetic one, you'll have a bunch of intentionally misguided people come out of the woodwork muttering "how DARE you talk about things that I PERSONALLY don't have a problem with!??? this is what's wrong with the world today and tbh YOU'RE the REAL racist for talking about racism!!!1"

Yes this is a fantasy game that has fantasy races in it. If one group of people can exist in this fantasy world with no one questioning their presence, then there is literally no reason to exclude anyone else.

"It's just fantasy!" should be used to explain why a dragon swooped in to steal the magic sword at the last second, NOT to excuse a lack of diversity in media.

[QueenSophie]

Race Problem???? In a video game????? 1st world problems, yo. Grow up.

[wondergroove]

Race Problem???? In a video game????? 1st world problems, yo. Grow up.

I'm sorry that there are issues in the world that don't personally affect you, and that being made aware of them Offends you so. I wish you luck with the growing up, and hope you feel better once you've had some time alone to yourself in your safe space.

[Melichoir]

I'm sorry that there are issues in the world that don't personally affect you, and that being made aware of them Offends you so. I wish you luck with the growing up, and hope you feel better once you've had some time alone to yourself in your safe space.

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.

[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.

[Melichoir]

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.

And yet, youre still here, still playing, and only chiming in about ti right now. So either your full of it, its not that big an issue to you, or youre either too lazy or cowardly to speak your mind about issues you deem worth discussing until someone else does. Give as much gunk to the Op as people would like, at least they made a thread and took teh risk of putting their thoughts out there.

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.

This comes off as "Well, yeah its bad and bothers me, but not enough that Ill stop playing!"

Youre making a personal value judgement: The short comings of this game and your feelings about said subject are less important than you being entertained. Ill tell ya something, no matter how fun a game is, if there is an overt racist message from the creators, Im not going to be playing that game.

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.

Again, youre doing cost analysis here: What must you put up with to reap a particular reward. You are literally saying "This thing that bothers me is less important than these other things." The catch with these kind of stances is teh same problem the OP has: they ignore it when it serves them, but run to the forums and talk about what a travesty it is. If the issue is that important, stop playing the game. Stick to your beliefs and dont compromise them if they mean that much to you. If you have the luxury to put your beliefs on silence when it suits you, then those beliefs arent important.

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.

And there it is: the "But I half expect someone to deflect by saying 'They werent being given the chance cause...reasons.'"

Yeah, there are people who say things like that. There are also people who give nuanced answers. Thats part of public discussions. You either accept that facet or forfeit your right to have a public opinion. No one is stopping you or anyone from voicing their concerns and points, but dont expect everyone to just agree either. If you post an opinion, expect people to disagree and pick your opinion apart. You dont like that? Then dont share your opinions. These forums, btw, do a pretty good job at counteracting heckler's veto. And a lot of responses have been meaningful here. But sure, characterize it all as "OMG EVERYONE OFFENDED!" as a reason why this issue has been a non issue for so long.

[Enla]

There is absolutely an issue with the lack of diverse racial feature options in the character creator, and it's surprising to me that this is the first time I've seen it brought up on the forums.

Sure, there are a handful of differing face/hair options and a... we'll call it a "decent" range of skin tones, but the lack of options for anything that isn't small/dainty/straight is honestly concerning and always disappointing.

I'd think people would be happy to advocate for more customization options and the chance to ease the rampant same-face syndrome the game has been suffering from for years.

But of course if you talk about it as a race issue and not as an aesthetic one, you'll have a bunch of intentionally misguided people come out of the woodwork muttering "how DARE you talk about things that I PERSONALLY don't have a problem with!??? this is what's wrong with the world today and tbh YOU'RE the REAL racist for talking about racism!!!1"

Yes this is a fantasy game that has fantasy races in it. If one group of people can exist in this fantasy world with no one questioning their presence, then there is literally no reason to exclude anyone else.

"It's just fantasy!" should be used to explain why a dragon swooped in to steal the magic sword at the last second, NOT to excuse a lack of diversity in media.

I think the problem with making this a race issue sadly coincides with why it likely happened in the first place, Japan's lack of understanding towards inclusion and race issues in the broader world. I very much don't believe it was a malicious thing, but a good percentage really don't even recognize racial differences within their own native culture. Nor are they themselves ethnically diverse with an overwhelming majority of 98.5% of the population being of broader Japanese ethnic descent.

Does that mean we shouldn't push for more inclusion? Not at all. I'd like to see more variety and believe people have a right to desire more representation. I also believe that viewing the choices of a Japanese business company through a Western lens is only going to cause headaches in the long run. That's not me excusing them, or saying that it couldn't be better, but I think we shouldn't ignore the reasons behind /why/ the lack of representation likely exists. This is the same culture that spawned the ganguro girl fashion trend, not with malicious intention mind you, which if it had happened in the US would have caused a /huge/ scene.