I wrote a post about how I think there should be a WNBA game a few weeks ago (Here), and after writing and looking for examples of women in basketball games I was pointed towards one. I had my attention turned to EA Sports March Madness 2001, a collegiate basketball title featuring both men and women!
This is a PSOne game, so I grabbed it for 10 bucks new and popped it in. The game is broken up into differences play modes. Quick mode, season, march madness and….wait for it…..it’s coming……. WOMEN’S NCAA SWEET 16!!! It is a mode featuring the sweet 16 teams from the year before.
There is actually a cool graphic for the logo featuring two women jumping after a ball and it’s classy. Graphically, the game is rough. Early 3D games have aged about as well as…well it’s a bunch of triangles. BUT you can tell that the female player models are different than the men. The skill sets the women have are different as well!
The game plays well, the women have lay up animations but could not dunk. There were a few moments where the game would say men or something in a stat and not realizing they were a graphic on a women’s game.
Here’s my point-
IN 2001 VIDEO GAMES REPRESENTED FEMALES IN THEM PLAYING BASKETBALL. ENTIRE TEAMS, WITH ARENAS, ALL WITHIN A LARGER GAME.
WHY CAN’T WE DO THIS NOW? ADD A WNBA MODE TO CURRENT GAMES. /END RANT
also, watch the WNBA Finals. The Lynx are playing the Fever and it is going to a decisive game 5. Maya Moore, Tamika Catchings….it’s a great series.
The metaphorical storm being NBA Live 16 as a real competitor in the basketball scene this year. That said, I grew up playing NBA Action, NBA Live, NBA 2K, Jordan vs. Bird, Tecmo NBA, and many other basketball games. I use to relish in playing different developers vision of the sport. The differing takes on how to shoot, how to dribble, player ratings.
Kobe Bryant with the YAM in NBA 2K for Dreamcast!
Bulls vs. Lakers for NES, back when Jordan gave his license like every other player.
Konami NBA In The Zone! A personal favorite game that was underrated.
That era died years ago, and the nail in it’s coffin was Jesus’ Bynums NBA Elite. That debacle of a game ended EA’s basketball run and it has taken years for them to recover. During that down time NBA 2K has been defining and redefining the genre in incredible ways throughout the years. EA started over with NBA Live 14 and it was absolute trash. That is the nicest thing I can say about it. It’s so bad they gave away Live 15 instead of Live 14 on EA Access so people wouldn’t play it.
All of that said NBA Live 15 came out last year and I really enjoyed it. NBA Live 16 has brought the life back to EA. This game is a return to form for EA in a big way.
Before I get into the videogame stuff I have to talk about my favorite aspect of this game, play calling! The over lay for running plays is incredible. It does 2 things that make it great and usable; 1) The over lay discreetly tells you the next 2 moves coming up (if you need to dribble towards a screen then pass, they inform you of that pass while your dribbling). This is huge because because the hardest thing about running plays in basketball games is that rarely does a player (at least me) look at the play in its entirety before entering the game. That requires memorization of both the play and the name. That’s a lot to ask, but by showing you where the play is going you can move accordingly instead of waiting to see what’s next.
2) They run motion offenses. They ran a flex style offense and it never stopped. I have seen my offense run Princeton style offense as well. Impressive stuff, especially because I rarely deviate from running the pick and roll.
The graphics- The graphics look very smooth and crisp. Last year looked a little sterile, but this year the stadiums are full of life and the player models are more realistic than last year. The biggest thing that Live has struggled with are animations and clipping. Players would have wonky animations (quick impossible lay up scoop shots, weird defensive blocks, etc) and they would clip through each other during steals and blocks. This issue has been toned back hugely this year. I compared blocks shots and steals from this year to 2K and neither was clipping in a major way. The arms, the ball, and the air all took up space in a meaningful way. I love the dunk animations in live. There are still too many hook shot animations in the game though, most players can hit a baby hook and it’s a move rarely seen in the NBA outside of the Grizzlies big men. I love how colorful NBA Live 16 is. The reflections off the court look amazing. I’d say the graphics are very impressive this year and dare i say look “next gen”.
The gameplay- The best compliment I can give the game this year is that Live 16 has put enough work into the A.I. that it feels like a game of basketball is being played. Adjustments are made on the fly, players are constantly running plays and moving. Last year, if plays weren’t called players would be standing around. This year players are doing their own thing to try and help the team. It makes a huge difference. The ball handling controls are tight as ever. The right stick controls moves like a fighting game. Momentum is more realistic this year so players aren’t sliding back court or out of bounds this year.
The Modes
Pro Am- This is my dream mode, it’s P v P or P v E basketball. You can do progression through the P v E either alone or with people. And P v P is 5 on 5 goodness with bots if needed. My only issue with this mode is that not a lot of people own Live. What separates Pro Am from other games is the progression of your character. There are a lot of clothing and show unlocks as well as the ability to unlock NBA player animations for your person. My player Jax Briggs is currently decked out in some nice J’s, camo shorts, and a Melo jersey. Very much me.
Ultimate Team- Ultimate team this year is a mixed bag. I love it, it’s cards. But I really wish these modes would have a way to actually play with the cards….think bud bowl with NBA Cards.
I CAN’T FEEL MY LABEL!
Seriously though, it’s a tough progression. The rookie challenges are a breeze but everything after that is on Superstar difficulty and frankly the rewards have not been worth the grind. In Madden, you get lots of Elite cards for single player grinding. In Live not so much yet. I get that in basketball 1 great card can make a team so I get why they are frugal but it puts too much pressure on getting lucky in a pack. That said it provides tons of content and they added specialist players. For example, Eric Gordon is rated 92 for 3’s. His 3-point specialist card is a 97. Much like in Madden, these specialist cards are required for certain challenges.
The comparison- It’s the elephant in the room, how does this game stack up with NBA 2k16? The biggest thing I can say as a plus for NBA Live 16 is that they communicate information in an incredible way. They communicate info better than 2K does on every level. Miss a shot in Live 16? They tell you 12% (he’s not a good shooter). Hitting the back of the rim on your shots? The shot meter shows you a hoop and you can aim for the front or back of the basket via the meter. Let’s say you are having trouble defending the paint ( a big complaint for the game), the game communicates that you are successfully defending a lay-up by vibrating your controller.
They show and vibrate countdowns when you are crossing half court or throwing the ball inbounds. It’s amazing. In my opinion it replicates the info a player has looking at a shot clock or hearing the coach yell at you. 2K has a shot meter at players feet. It works but staring at Melo’s feet is dumb.
All of that said, 2k16 is a better game. The Spike Lee Joint that is the MyPlayer mode blows NBA Live’s equivalent out of the water. The lay up animations are much more consistent in NBA 2K every miss feels fair. I think graphically, Live is better but 2K has an art style and realism that is fantastic. I think 2K is a little slow but the precise controls this year are fantastic. Also, the worst feature of the series for me has always been the servers and this year they have been great on PC.
In summary, the biggest compliment I can give NBA Live 16 is that I am not embarrassed to say I like it. Operation Sports had good thing to say about it, and it has been getting fair reviews. my only frustration is 1) Game journalist refusal to take sports games seriously 2) People’s immediate dismissal of the series due to NBA Elite 11. Live 16 is good and EA does a great job updating their games.
I have jokingly talked about Knuckles the Echidna being black, and I stand by that joke. An angry red person with dreads and brass knuckles who is constantly duped by the white antagonist….can’t be black 🙂 I AM NOT JOKING WHEN I SAY THE FUNK IS BLACK (it has transcended race)! and that original Sonic music on the Genesis is funky!
(CLICK THE LINKS, HEAR THE MUSIC ON YOUTUBE!)
This is inspired by a VGMpire podcast I heard recently (Link Here) that showcased old Sonic music.
Let’s start by hearing some real funk! I am talking Parliament Funkadelic. George Clinton.
Normally, I do a lot of research for these but not this time. I was raised funk, I have lived funk, funk is life. I spent years of my life listening to and watching bootleg Parliament tapes and VHS. My childhood was littered with long road trips colored with maggot brain in the background. I played Bass from 5th grade through college.
The closest I have ever come to swimming was listening to Motor Booty Affair. I don’t like flying but I take flight on the Mothership regularly. I played bass growing up, and funk bass lines give us life on “the 1”. When I compare Sonic music to the funk, it comes down to the bass lines for me.
Is funk black? Yes, but the funk transcends race as much music does. Justin Timberlake can be as funky as Sly on a good day.
Funk and Sonic? I thought all these games were made by Japanese people. Fair question, the Japanese are funky, but lots of people worked on the music of Sonic. Sonic CD, and the soundtrack of Sonic 3 have very interesting developments. The most interesting one being Michael Jackson’s involvement with Sega on Sonic 3. (Off the Wall is one of the funkiest albums of my life!).
*Side note* Sonic was working with Michael Jackson on the soundtrack for Sonic 3 then his scandal with…the children went public. Sega wanted to distance themselves from that scandal. People from Jackson’s team are in the credits and people are on record saying MJ was working on music. The credit theme is supposed to have laid the ground work for “Strangers in Moscow”.
Sonic 1 “Spring Yard Zone”- This track is amazing. That heavy bass line drives the what should be a light jaunt through a star lit night into what feels like a casino night.
Sonic 2 “Emerald Hill Zone”- This bass line almost sounds like blue grass and if you look for the roots of funk it meanders from Jazz, Rock, and even bluegrass and country.
Those were the funkiest Sonic jams in my humble opinion.
What I think is interesting about music in games is that original music doesn’t get the attention or credibility that licensed music gets. If Grand Theft Auto has a Funkadelic song in it, then it’s funky and a great sound track. While Toe Jam and Earl might blow the speakers out on Funktron nobody really appreciates it.
I think one of the reasons I was always drawn to Sonic more than Mario is the music. I play Sonic music all the time. Mario music didn’t appeal to me until Koopa Beach from Mario Kart was played. That shit is dope. The Genesis was very good at replicating guitar sounds and thumping bass. Good composer made the most out of that and I think Sonic is a sterling example of Genesis era music.
With the inclusion of female athletes in the new FIFA game, why can’t we have a WNBA game?
Let’s look at a brief history of woman in basketball video games-
NBA Street! The NBA Street series has always been very gender inclusive. They have had WNBA stars such as Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi as well as the pop group 3LW.
I am going to be honest with you… this is all I found. There might be more but in a world where Arena Football has a blitz clone AND an EA game you’re telling me we can’t have a WNBA game?!?!
People say they’ll support the WNBA when they can dunk….they can. They have the talent, the women in NBA Street were extremely fun to control in the game.
Females have been in Tennis games, soccer, golf, volleyball but why not a simulation basketball game?
The WNBA is not some fly-by-night league. It is one of the premier leagues for women’s basketball in the world.
Now is the best time to make this game. WNBA 2K16 will have Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins, Brittany Griner, Candace Parker, as well as legends like Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings still playing.
Lisa Leslie is being inducted into the basketball hall of fame. There is a history and present day that deserves to be immortalized in video games. American Collegiate legends are going to the WNBA instead of over seas. Let’s make it happen.
Before the world cries out “But nobody watches the WNBA and a game would never sell!” I will respond that more people would watch if they learned about the players and teams via gaming. Have a WNBA mode in NBA Live or NBA 2K. Women are gaming! Sports games sell! DO IT!
I’ve been watching live streams of Metal Gear Solid 5 lately and I have one recurring thought all the time… how is this military shooter treats it’s enemies with more regard for life than our actual police (I’m speaking about American cops, that’s my lens).
In MGS 5, it is more valuable to keep your enemies alive by Fultoning them than killing them because the enemy troops can help you at your base. Snake has an unbelievable amount of non-lethal options at his disposal, everything from knives that stun to various tranquilizing guns. Snake even has an assault rifle with rubber bullets. Not killing is an important function of the game, why can’t our police force do the same?
Also Slave. Tetris. My least favorite thing and my favorite thing combined. Not quite a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup but it’s a combination none the less. I don’t want to comment about how offensive the Slave Tetris mini-game is. It got pulled from Steam and for good reason. What I think is interesting is what Slave Tetris was trying to accomplish. Slave Tetris wanted to educate people about slavery through gaming. That’s a novel concept.
How would you make an educational game about the slave trade or other controversial topics? I imagine an adventure game, with less action and more of a narrative driven experience…but I also see the value in forcing somebody to become a slave owner and enact the awfulness by their own hand. Red Dead Redemption but in slave era USA. What about a game where you are a slave traversing through the underground railroad. This era seems like a great setting for a powerful educational gaming experience. I feel like people are afraid to make games like this because if you make a risky game that doesn’t come across as intended everyone will vilify you, the risk is not worth the reward.
Assassin’s Creed III Liberation dabbled with the time period but didn’t take the issues head on. Becoming a slave was basically a gimmick…put rags on, fit in, rags off blend into another group. It was a good “passing” simulator but not what I was looking for.
What if I told you that in 1999 there was a video game that was a 3D action game with an open world/sand box (pre- GTA 3), involved driving, had you play as a cop, and had a black female protagonist? You’d say “nah bruh, that game was way ahead of it’s time”. Believe it! Urban Chaos is all of those things and on some level more.
In a post-Tomb raider world the protagonist is not over sexualized. In a pre-GTA 3 world, the driving and combat are good and the world feels (dare I say…) alive. In a video game industry obsessed with sales and being safe this game had a black female protagonist who doesn’t look white! (I’m looking at you Remember Me). In a pre-2015 “cops shoot everybody” world this game was dealing with the realities of police and gang violence and what that means for the city. THIS GAME HAS NON-VIOLENT OPTIONS TO DEAL WITH BAD GUYS!
This post isn’t about the game Urban Chaos (obtained for $1.74 of GOG.com, PC), it’s about D’arci Stern. She is a take-no-shit rookie cop, who is cleaning up the streets of Union City from the Wildcats gang (and little does she know but also sooo much more!). D’arci curses and fights and wants to be treated like one of the boys. All of the other on the force are white, and seemingly Irish???? but that’s ok. Some cops support D’arci, while others aren’t sure she is really cop material. I think it’s cool the game deals with that.
Stereotype: Strong Black Female- D’arci is conforming to the strong black woman stereotype. She curses like one of the guys and she refuses to show any emotion. She is fearless and given all the hardest assignments.
Strong black female trope involves being emotionless, able to cope with anything, not needing anyone else for help, and able to do everything for everyone else eagerly. This is problematic because this view of black women is dehumanizing. The pain of the black woman is not felt by society. Their plight is ignored by a middle-class white feminism, yet the civil rights movement was dominated by men. All of that is seemingly OK because the strong black female can provide for her own, wants to work five jobs, and basically be super heroes. Until they ask for needed help and then are framed as welfare queens, whores with too many partners, and drains on society.
The strong black females of Family Guy
The negative portrayal of black when they do ask for provided and legal help is something society needs to change (especially because the largest recipient of welfare are white women…but I digress). Black woman are oppressed in many ways and their pain is real. They are strong because they are forced to be but they deserve to be treated fairly and not expected to be super woman all the time.
Stereotype: Female character with “Daddy Issues”- Daddy issues are the short way to say a woman is crazy due to her having a father who was bad in some way. It trivializes real experiences of sexual abuse, abandonment, and various other things and says the result of any of that is a broken woman who is probably wild in bed and a nightmare to date. None of this is good. The only time D’arci shows emotion in this game is when the mysterious Roper brings up her dead father. It’s an archaic trope that needs to end.
Stereotype: No love interest- On one hand this is positive, a female not pigeon holed as a as being defined by her relationships and who she is sleeping with. But this is also another black female who has to deny her femininity to be accepted and does not get a true love interest.
Stereotype: Cops as GOOD guys!- I have spoken about my issues with current police behavior (a few officers at least are very problematic) but video games have a habit of obsessing over the corrupt cop. While this game does feature a corrupt politician, the police force is truly trying to do what is best. D’arci is a kick ass cop saving the day. The best part… YOU CAN ARREST BAD GUYS WITH OUT KILLING THEM. We can barely do that in real life….
Stereotype: Ethnic Hair- You know what I was mad about her hair style for a hot second but honestly I am happy that they gave her a natural hair style and they put some beads in it. They could have straightened her hair and conformed to white standards of beauty and they chose not to. Good stuff.
Stereotype: Diverse cast of bad guys, black men, white men, and females- I love that the cast of villains is diverse but it’s a shame that all the female antagonists are dressed sexually and in this game are prostitutes.
Stereotype: White Savior (Roper)- Because there is no way a black woman could solve this crazy mystery on her own, a white man has to come out of nowhere and help save the day. In the game D’arci literally says why should I listen to you, you came outta nowhere. It’s a trope that is common in film and it shows up here once again.
That’s Roper in the back….wtf…
Is D’arci Stern Problematic? I don’t think so. Quite the opposite really. She was ahead of her time. I am sad that she hasn’t starred in a game recently. I’d love an HD Remaster of Urban Chaos. She’s a fun character to get to know, and I would love more story about her.
Check out Urban Chaos (PC), It’s great. Thanks for reading. Peace!
You know how in Grand Theft Auto games where you can barely graze an officers car and end up getting gunned down in the street? That is basically the black experience right now.
University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing shot Sam Dubose.
Here is the sad part,in GTA you have to initiate contact with the cops to prompt a response (or commit a horrible crime) but in real life cops can pull you over and kill you for not having a front license plate (Sam Dubose, RIP) or an illegal turn signal (Sandra Bland, RIP).
Sandra Bland was murdered in her jail cell….potentially.
In Grand Theft Auto I always blamed the Police actions on poor A.I. but what is the excuse in real life?
The narrative about games and violence is that playing GTA will lead to more mass shootings and violence but in reality it looks like it has normalized the police use of excessive force.
Never have i feared more for people then when they get pulled over or stopped by the police. It doesn’t take much to escalate a situation and the police are armed. I know people who work as officers. They are good people. I have worked with police very closely during my career, they were very professional and as caring as they could be. BUT there is a cultural and systemic issue in our current police culture and black people are dying because of it.
I have never considered my a casual gamer…. I am a hardcore (see: power) gamer who loves casual games. I follow the video game industry, the same way that film buffs follow the film industry. I want to experience everything. At one point in my life I realized, I hadn’t really played a puzzler since Tetris came out for the original Gameboy (not true, I played Street Fighter: Gem Fighters on Xbox Live).
The biggest reason I have missed out on the match-three puzzle game craze is because I have a Windows Phone. You can’t get Candy Crush on an old Windows Phone. The app store is useless. I want to touch on the match-3 puzzlers I have been playing, why I like them, and why you should too.
Puzzle and Dragons Z/Super Mario Bros. (3DS) ($29.99)- This is where it all started. I have been dying to play this game for a long time but of course my Windows App Store failed me. Nintendo came through in the clutch as always and dropped this classic for less than 30 duckets. Basically Puzzle and Dragon Z (P & D) is a match-3 puzzle game where you can find eggs to hatch dragons and fight the dragons, etc. Instead of fighting for high scores they have built an RPG somewhat like Pokemon to give you progress through a story.
You beat dragons by combining different elements that correlate to attacks. Imagine, you are fighting a water dragon and naturally grass beats water. If you combine 3 or more green orbs it will damage the water dragon. There are lots of different types of orbs and your dragons are also gaining new special powers that unlock through battles. You can also upgrade your dragons and more. That said, there are some weird half naked girl monster things as well….but great game. Mario Bros. puzzle and dragons is a SECOND full game that strays from the story and just has you progressing through levels in the Mario universe. it’s good stuff.
Pokemon Battle Trozei (3DS) ($7.00)- This game was bought on a whim. I wanted a game to replace P & D but still scratch this puzzling itch. Pokemon Battle Trozei is an incredible variation on the genre. P & D is a slow burn with a lot of time to plan attacks. The timer for moves doesn’t start until you pick up an orb. Battle Trozei is the complete opposite. It’s basically a match-3 twitch shooter where speed and split decisions make all of the difference. You are working to get the game to go from regular puzzle mode to trozei mode where the game becomes a match 2 free for all where you are trying to clear the board. It’s madness. It’s a visual rave with copious amounts of ecstasy. Similar to P & D, you fight with your Pokemon who all have different elemental properties and when you beat another Pokemon you catch them. It’s so fun! You have score certain amounts of points to unlock different Pokemon. It’s a special game…and UNDER 10 BUCKS.
Gems of War (PC) (Free)- This is a Puzzle Quest clone (a slow calculated, one move at a time match 3) with a nice art style. The “orbs” are HUGE and almost look soft. They are fun to move. The icons and characters are neat. You are fighting beast and taking over kingdoms. I have not spent a lot of time with this game but it’s a nice change of pace from the next game that I have devoted many a night to….
Marvel Puzzle Quest (PC) (Free)- This game is magnificent. It has an awesome game play loop. You unlock different marvel characters. They fight through different missions that are book ended with cut scenes in a comic book style. The characters can be leveled up. What is great about this game is that the regular quest are always there to progress through but the daily events and special events let you try out new characters and keep everything fresh. I can talk about the interesting story line in this game as well. As a Marvel fan this is some of the most fun representations these characters have seen in a while. It’s very well done. The puzzle portion is solid and fun but it’s almost secondary to the presentation and fan-love.
The last 2 games have really into my free-to-play revolution. I have also been playing Marvel Heroes 2015 and I am just amazed at the quality and amount of content I can get without being hit by a pay wall. You can use all the characters up to level 10. Then pick one and use your in game currency to purchase. I tried Juggernaut and had my skepticism but when it was time to move past level 10 they had a free to do it.
I just love the new models of monetizing games. Killer Instinct Season 2 story mode is amazing. For a free game on Xbox One, it should be a revelation for the fighting genre. Street Fighter V should be free to play. Not the “pay-for-access” DLC machine it will become. I posted the prices on these games to highlight how much value has been gleaned for such a small price. For 37 dollars total I have spent hundreds of hours on these games. Why are we 60 dollars again? It’s amazing!
This game closed a studio, killed a franchise, and is frozen in time from last generation. Def Jam Icon is one of the most polarizing games that I personally love. Normally, for my Black Characters in Gaming post I focus on one character but this game utilizes a blank protagonist and famous rappers so I am going to just focus on the game itself.
What is Def Jam Icon?
EA had a series of fighting games where rappers would beat the hell out of each other….for glory and justice? I don’t know but I did enjoy the earlier Def Jam games. They would take wrestling game engines and paste rappers over them but the theme and worlds they built were really inspired. Def Jam ICON was a change in that formula. This game came out in 2007 and developed it’s own fighting style. This was a one on one fighting game with a focus on environmental attacks and grapples. The game was all about style, and utilizing the music to actually become a part of the fight. For example, when you throw a character you can press the left trigger on the controller to use your thumbsticks as a turntable. When you “scratched” appropriately you would cause the music to change and the environment to literally explode. It’s hard to explain but the feeling is extremely visceral.
Def Jam Icon had a very high learning curve due to the complexity of the fighting system, which was much harder to grasp than earlier games. Frankly, there was nothing like it at the time and people in games hate change. There were health bars or super meters. You had to look at the fighters to see how hurt they were to know you were winning or losing. If your character was close to death the screen would become more sepia-toned and the colors washed out and richer.
This game has aged incredibly well due to the art style and colors. The 3D models are OK, but the environments are gorgeous. There is almost a cel-shaded feel to the colors and style but all of it is realistic enough. Another great thing this game did was focus on the music. The soundtrack is awesome. It was in 2007/2008. It has Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Ludacris, T.I., and more. The game is very much a product of it’s time but the music is the true star of the game and that is a huge accomplishment. THE MUSIC IS NOT EDITED. So many games put rap music in them and then edit the hell of it, it’s annoying.
Is Def Jam Icon a problematic representation of black characters in gaming?
This is a difficult question is answer. Is this game art imitating life (the rap game in the mid 2000s?) or does this game hyperbolize and just reinforce negative images of the rap community. I think a little bit of both. There are moments that are frustrating in this game. When you are creating a character in the single player, they ask you to create your “suspect”. You are already pegged as a criminal. Your path to the top in the single player game is through violence. That said, it’s a fighting video game and they needed a story. The game really looks at what it means to get into a fight in the club. That is a common theme. The idea that somebody “scuffed your pumas” as Chris Rock would say leads to real brawls that literally tear da club up (Three Six reference! see im cool!).
On some level this is basically “World Star Hip Hop the game”. The game also deals with positive qualities in the black community. Loyalty and family is extremely important. The focus on how music defines and shapes our culture is a positive and accurate representation as well. The game is so creative, and one thing black people are on the forefront of are style and creativity.
Stereotype: Black Men as Thugs
This is one of the most problematic stereotypes this game perpetuates. During a time when the black man is being brutalized by the police in a very real way, perpetuating this myth is a problem. In a medium where black men have limited representation (and basically none outside of the fighting genre and sports), there aren’t enough positive images of black people to off set the negative ones. Every successful black person in Def Jam Icon is implied to have gotten there through unsavory means. That’s unfair to the people in the game and the people in our communities. If this game is the only black people somebody sees, I can understand the fear.
Stereotype: Black Men as Violent
Same issues as above. Black men are no more violent than anybody else. Take a look at this infographic
Stereotype: Rags to Riches myths, “coming up from the ‘hood”
Thia game has a basic rags to riches narrative that reinforces the American Dream myth. This time the rap industry is the proverbial boot strap being pulled up.Violence, deception, and doing anything to get to top are the messages sent here. The reality is only a small percentage of people will ever become famous musicians or even be able to make a living off it. It’d be cool to see somebody go to college or mention education. Even having a part time job would have been a good look. Class mobility is the biggest myth in America. Anytime a narrative perpetuates the myth that hard work and dedication guarantee a way out, I am displeased with it.
Positive impact this game may have: This game has a lot of black business owners. They show the community working together in some places. The men date black women or have the option to. Tons of different hair styles and body types. Black style is not look down upon but it’s being highlighted in this game. You command respect in a business suit as much as you do in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. The game humanizes a lot of black people. The main character in single player goes through a range of emotions, and the rappers themselves area dealing with strife and heart break. It’s cool to see that side of things.
How it feels playing this game as black man?
It’s empowering and fun. You fight in the stage of 106 & PARK! That mattered 8 years ago. It was cool creating a character and having the option really make me feel like I can be me. It was also kind of tough. It’s a little voyeuristic, the game is like almost hyper-black to the point of parody. But it’s fun.
How I imagine it feels playing this game as a white person?
How the fuck would I know. That said, I wonder what a white person thinks about the black community after playing this game for hours. Is it a cool look into a culture they listen to on the radio? is it the proof they need that all these guys are just violent thugs? or is it just another game somebody plays and tosses aside?
What does it all mean?
I am just sad this series ended. I feel like they were on to something here with the fighting mechanics and the integration of music into the combat. Why didn’t people buy this game? Was it just the controls? It’s a beautiful game that only feels dated because it was so current when it came out. It’s a compelling look into the black community and rap scene from the early 2000’s. It’s a look from one studio’s perspective, I would love more games to delve into a community like this. I am glad this exist. Peace
The answer could be a short and sweet, “nothing” or a long and complex “everything”. One of the interesting facets of gaming that is focused on far too infrequently is that you control and act on raced characters in the game world. The main difference between watching a white man kill a black man in a movie compared to the same event in a video game is that you pulled the trigger (pressed the button) in the video game.
Does this act of pushing the button and being the white man in that scenario have implications? The example game I want to use in this scenario is Street Fighter II. This is a game that many people are familiar with and the characters are clearly tied to a race and/or region.
A little background on SF:II for this piece. Street Fighter II is a one on one fighting game featuring fighters from all over the world. Ryu is from Japan, Ken is from the USA, Guile a white man from the USA, Balrog is a black man from Las Vegas, USA, Zangief is a white man from the U.S.S.R, and there are more characters from more places…. This game is a one to one game where the user controls an avatar that is clearly representing an ethnicity and race while beating up another character of possibly a different race and nationality.
My thesis is this: (I use thesis loosely) Video games are an active medium where users have control over their avatar’s actions, due to the active nature of the medium interactions had with raced avatars can influence one’s personal views and experiences of that group. Basically, what I am saying is that if I am a white person and I control CJ from GTA: San Andreas for 60 hours, that interaction with CJ will influence my views of black people. There are a lot of factors at play, but imagine you are a suburban white kid who doesn’t have any black friends and has little exposure to black people. CJ and his friends/enemies in GTA are the first interactions with this group.
To take an even broader look, what does it mean when a white kid pulls the trigger on his XBOX 360 to kill a Middle Eastern man in Call of Duty?
When I mention these ideas and topics to people I almost immediately get dismissed and am accused of looking too much into things. Games don’t cause racism, they don’t cause violence, they don’t effect anything are what people say to me. Games evoke feelings, they stimulate users both visually, intellectually, and aurally. I think games have the power educate, create new ideas towards things, and reaffirm old notions you may already have.
In our defense of gaming, (i.e. gaming does not cause violence, etc.) we lose the ability to explore the medium further and deeper.
If i say a game helped helped me learn to read and the instructor I had in the game was Asian, people would be so happy. I had a diverse experience and gaming taught me something positive. What if I continue to say that “I think Asian people, especially women are bitches. My instructor was mean and I have never met any Asian people in real life.” Now everyone balks and says gaming doesn’t impact people like that. It’s a 2-way street. This is why I think race and culture and representation matter in games. (I have no issues with Asian Women….just to clarify).
My first exposure to somebody who was Indian is Dhalsim from Street Fighter II. What are the implications of that? His stage is covered in elephants. Dhalsim blows fire and can stretch his arm. He is a mythic figure who can float in the air. Dhalsim is basically a video game version of Johnny Quest’s Hadji. My entire exposure to beautiful diverse culture is reduced to stereotypes. On top of that, the interaction is violent. Street Fighter II is a fighting game. My first interaction with an Indian man is framed with violence. I am not saying this is good or bad, but I am saying that it has to mean something. What does it mean? Why don’t people look into it?
I am asking questions that I don’t have the answers to. I think they are questions that need to be explored.
Kobe Bryant with the YAM in NBA 2K for Dreamcast!
Konami NBA In The Zone! A personal favorite game that was underrated.
J3Blackgamer 