Character Creation Has A Race Problem

[Theodric]

For a lot of people, they HAVE to play as the default white dude in games. They HAVE to play as something that isn't like them because it's the only option available. Even when there IS customization available, the options are usually still pretty limited.

Many games have a set protagonist and the developers intend to tell that protagonist's story. If people choose to turn up their noses at a particular game because they cannot 'play themselves' then they're missing out on a lot of solid titles. In a game with a character creation system, you can - more often than not - adjust the skin tone of your character to reflect your own look if that is what you are willing to do.

With that said, though, bundling all 'white dudes' together seems rather strange. There is an immense amount of diversity where Caucasians are concerned. To name but a few, there's the Irish, the British, the Scottish, the Welsh, the French, the Croatian, the Polish and so on.

It feels like some people claim that they want more diversity yet in reality they only want 'visible' diversity.

For the record, I'm a guy who likes other guys. I have no issue playing a character that is straight. Is it nice when I can play a character that is gay or bisexual? Sure! Yet it isn't a necessity...because not every story can or will accommodate every possibility.