A Look At The Disturbing Lack of.

What if Master Chief had been black?

Let that sink in for a few minutes. Try to imagine, maybe even eventually visualize it. Can you? Can you see a valiant man of color standing tall for the fate of humanity? Or are you shaking your head, thinking it would never work? If you’re doing the latter, well, apparently you’re not the only one.

As an older gamer, one who has saved countless tribes, civilizations, countries, worlds and universes, and on the eve of this year’s E3; one that will allow us to once more continue to save even more tribes, civilizations, countries, worlds and universes, I cannot help but feel a bit discouraged by the lack of racial diversity and culture in the leading men and women with whom we will be spending countless hours with in the near future.

Despite the strides the video gaming community has taken in the years since its conception to be more inclusive of both female players and leading female characters (though I will admit that while we still have a long way to go in that department, we are at least making improvements), we still see a very large divide between that and the inclusion of ethnicity. For the most part, in many of the games that have come to us in the past, the major and sometimes canonical versions of the protagonists have been of one repeated color. And that has been the ‘no color’ color, which is how the white wall has become so dense.

I cannot help but think and wonder why we seem to stumble and snag on the mere shade of a man’s flesh. Looking back at, say, the last seven to eight years, if you take some games for their general worth, the majority have been less racially diverse than I’d like. Is it because developers are afraid to experiment with an element that may upset the core gamers that have followed, supported, and helped them thrive as a business, and may upset them to the point that they’d lose out so much financially that they could cease to exist? And before you would argue that the core is simply a part of a greater whole, it is a very large, and very vocal one. You’ve only to throw a glance at BioWare and their…… “creative” approach to the end of their more recent title, Mass Effect 3, to see just how vocal they can be.

Or how about the fact that the only person capable of saving the entire Rakyat people in Far Cry 3 was a white man. Not just any white man, mind you. But the most unlikable white man I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. Ubisoft’s attempt at making Jason Brody this unlikely “every man” hero, in my opinion, failed. Miserably. I found the game’s secondary character, Vaas Montenegro in particular, to be far more entertaining (and interesting) than Mr. DUDEBROdy.

For the record, I’m not trying to imply that developers are biased or racists in nature. Far from it. In fact, some developers have options that allow players to change their characters however they like. Just on memory, two examples (Mass Effect and Bethesda) DO allow players to change pretty much just about every aspect of their heroes. If you want to wander the Fallout wastelands as an Asian female, or take on the Reaper invasion as a Hispanic Commander Shepard, then the tools and the options are there. But it’s always been a disturbing event to see that the “default” and, based on some game covers, accepted image of some of these characters have been of the fairer skin.

In fact, I remember one incident where I was playing a game of Left 4 Dead over at a friend’s house, and the collective groans that seemed to echo across the group when certain players were left in the role of Louis, the game’s single black male party member. I remember asking over the mic why they did that whenever we started one of the main missions.

After all, he doesn’t do anything less than the other three members; he doesn’t move slower, shoot slower, or even perform anything less than what’s commanded by the gamer who controlled him. “I just don’t like playing as him,” one friend rather angrily retorted. I remember another finally telling me that they thought Louis, just based on nothing more than the brief, five-minute cut scene intro, was too whiny, too soft as a character. To which I replied, “Uh. Francis screams like a girl when he’s down, you know.”

Which brings me back to my first question; What if Master Chief was black? What if Bungie, after allowing players to forge, frolic and frag through the original three games and, at the close of the third entry, finally revealed his face. A face that was decidedly non-white. One has to wonder just how popular the series, or people like Master Chief in general, would’ve been if players had been given that reveal and, despite the glowing reviews, the near universal acclaim, the innumerable Game of the Year Award trophies sitting on Bungie’s Wall of Fame……. I wonder just how quickly that support would’ve dried up if Master Chief had been revealed as a black man, or even as an asian man. Or any other race but white. Would there have even BEEN a Halo 4 in the first place, or even an upcoming Halo 5? I don’t know. I’d like to think that yes, there would have been. Perhaps though, not to as much fanfare as there had been in the past.

What if Bungie…. finally revealed his face. A face that was decidedly non-white. One has to wonder just how popular the series, or people like Master Chief in general, would’ve been had he been revealed as a black man, or even as an asian man. Or any other race but white.

Some games have even come under the crossfire of skin bias. Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 came under heavy scrutiny when it’s male (and white) lead Chris Redfield found himself in fictional towns in Africa shooting what looked to be mostly black infected NPC’s. Though widely blown out of proportion, given the theme and the more racially diverse characters that were presented in the game over the course of the storyline, it does show that some people are aware of the gap between black and white. Even if it was a little misdirected. Noble in purpose of course, but misdirected nevertheless.

Still, as a new console generation seems to finally be hitting its stride, and this year’s E3 will allow us a glimpse into the future of what is to come, I cannot help but wonder. Where is the color in its leading heroes? Where are the strong, assured men of race and valor that many gamers will soon be delving into firsthand? Where are the men and women of culture who tire of being sideline sidekicks; and instead desire to lead by example?

It’s funny in a way. We can elect a black man as the leader of the free world not just once, but twice. But elect to have a black man on the cover of a video game championing to save all that is good and noble in the galaxy? Posh. Keep dreaming.

If you’re also asking or wondering the same, then I’ll be the first to say that you’re not alone, and I’ll be there standing with you on the line. But if you’re still shaking your head, and cannot fathom the WHY of someone other than a white person saving the world, well, I won’t judge you. But will ask you one simple question.

Why not?