LET’S CHANGE THE GAME Words by Verity Butler Conversation on diversity in gaming usually pertains to the people with the controllers. But what about a game’s universe, and those who build it?
hen it comes to the question of diversity in video games, the focus has often been on the starkly fewer numbers of female,
What about representation in the games themselves? With universes seemingly more elaborate than the real world, you would think it would be straightforward to generate a multicultural and diverse hub when developing a game; reflecting a pluralistic society that so many are working towards. Think again. In November 2022, MTM held a conference at Google HQ titled: Let’s Change the Game. Described as ‘a conversation about diversity and
representation in video games,’ the data gathered consisted of the following: •
Expert interviews: Four 45-minute expert interviews with Adrienne Shaw, Jay-Ann Lopez, Jo Twist and Lauren Kaye. Gamer interviews: 12 45-minute gamer interviews, with a focus on diverse gamer audiences. Quant survey: 2494 20-minute online quantitative surveys with gamers in the UK & US.
LGBTQ+, POC and disabled gamers on the scene – and rightly so. With baggage in the shape of the ‘straight white male’ trope, the gaming industry has often found itself reluctantly thrown into the spotlight with incidents surrounding diversity, or its lack thereof.
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HEADLINE TRENDS
Firstly, we should address the overall findings of the research, before breaking it down more closely. The presiding issue sits within the lack of representation visible in game characters:
Main characters in games released in the first 5 months of 2022 61% were male
Top 100 games released in 2017-2021 61% of characters were white
Outside of RPGs, analysing 684 Twitch gameplay segments .03% of characters were LGBTQ+
The second core trend revealed that the needs fulfilled by gaming are similar across gaming audiences:
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Relaxation
Challenge
Completion
Immersion
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