7/11/2005
Video Game Developers Want More Diverse Actors In Games
By Heather Barr and David Levine
THE NEWS-TIMES
This is a clip from a new video game distributed by Entertainment Arts Research, an African-American-owned company that is coming out with several games that have minority characters.When John Wilson, 20, plays video games, he likes to be able to relate to the characters.
It's not easy. Part Hispanic and part black, Wilson doesn't see many video games with diverse characters.
"There are no black people whatsoever," said the Western Connecticut State University student. "There should be more. There aren't any black and Hispanic characters in popular roles."
When Western Connecticut State University sophomore Jonathan Schneider does see minority characters in a video game, they usually fulfill stereotypes – they play sports or belong to gangs.
"It's kind of racist," Schneider said. "They use us for gangs. You don't ever see anything positive. It's kind of wrong to have games like sports with black people because that's what they're good at and have all the other games about white people."
He used the example of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which has black and Hispanic characters belonging to gangs.
The issue has caught the attention of some video game developers, like Mario Armstrong of Baltimore. He said one basketball video game called "NBA Ballers" is really far-fetched. Players try to win the basketball game so they can get money and buy more jewelry to wear.
"It is a little over the top," said Armstrong.
Wanting to get more minorities in on the action, Armstrong, 34, has partnered with Joseph Saulter, 56, of Atlanta and Roderick Woodruff, 59, of Ellicott City, Md., to create the Urban Video Game Academy.
The academy is a free, five-week Game Programming 101 course for middle and high school students, specifically minorities or those who are financially unable to get education. The academy teaches students about video game development from programming to creating a story line.
It is not that the video game industry is pushing minorities with ideas away, said Woodruff, rather there are many minorities who are unable to afford education in game development.
Classes that teach video game programming are costly and can range in the hundreds, Armstrong said.
"The program was one way to fill the pipeline with diversity," he said.
Woodruff is president and co-founder of aagamer.com, short for African-American gamer. The Web site provides editorials, features, news and information about the video game industry from a minority perspective.
His wife, Connie Briscoe-Woodruff, a best-selling author, co-founded the site.
An avid online video game player, she got her husband into playing games beyond just solitaire and poker.
Armstrong is Baltimore's technology advocate. He creates community and economic development and special programs dealing with technology.
Saulter is CEO of Entertainment Arts Research, an African-American-owned video game company in Atlanta.
The men are addressing a common criticism about the use of minorities in the video game industry.
"The stereotypical basketball video games have African-Americans. About 80 percent of African-Americans (in video games) are ballplayers," Saulter said.
Chris Roumanis, 17, a senior this fall at Newtown High School, would welcome more diverse video game characters.
"Having more developers with different backgrounds broadens the subject matter which can be played," he said.
His brother, Branden Roumanis, 20, a computer design major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who wants to develop video games as a career, has noticed the lack of diverse characters in the industry, especially women characters.
THE NEWS-TIMES
This is a clip from a new video game distributed by Entertainment Arts Research, an African-American-owned company that is coming out with several games that have minority characters.When John Wilson, 20, plays video games, he likes to be able to relate to the characters.
It's not easy. Part Hispanic and part black, Wilson doesn't see many video games with diverse characters.
"There are no black people whatsoever," said the Western Connecticut State University student. "There should be more. There aren't any black and Hispanic characters in popular roles."
When Western Connecticut State University sophomore Jonathan Schneider does see minority characters in a video game, they usually fulfill stereotypes – they play sports or belong to gangs.
"It's kind of racist," Schneider said. "They use us for gangs. You don't ever see anything positive. It's kind of wrong to have games like sports with black people because that's what they're good at and have all the other games about white people."
He used the example of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which has black and Hispanic characters belonging to gangs.
The issue has caught the attention of some video game developers, like Mario Armstrong of Baltimore. He said one basketball video game called "NBA Ballers" is really far-fetched. Players try to win the basketball game so they can get money and buy more jewelry to wear.
"It is a little over the top," said Armstrong.
Wanting to get more minorities in on the action, Armstrong, 34, has partnered with Joseph Saulter, 56, of Atlanta and Roderick Woodruff, 59, of Ellicott City, Md., to create the Urban Video Game Academy.
The academy is a free, five-week Game Programming 101 course for middle and high school students, specifically minorities or those who are financially unable to get education. The academy teaches students about video game development from programming to creating a story line.
It is not that the video game industry is pushing minorities with ideas away, said Woodruff, rather there are many minorities who are unable to afford education in game development.
Classes that teach video game programming are costly and can range in the hundreds, Armstrong said.
"The program was one way to fill the pipeline with diversity," he said.
Woodruff is president and co-founder of aagamer.com, short for African-American gamer. The Web site provides editorials, features, news and information about the video game industry from a minority perspective.
His wife, Connie Briscoe-Woodruff, a best-selling author, co-founded the site.
An avid online video game player, she got her husband into playing games beyond just solitaire and poker.
Armstrong is Baltimore's technology advocate. He creates community and economic development and special programs dealing with technology.
Saulter is CEO of Entertainment Arts Research, an African-American-owned video game company in Atlanta.
The men are addressing a common criticism about the use of minorities in the video game industry.
"The stereotypical basketball video games have African-Americans. About 80 percent of African-Americans (in video games) are ballplayers," Saulter said.
Chris Roumanis, 17, a senior this fall at Newtown High School, would welcome more diverse video game characters.
"Having more developers with different backgrounds broadens the subject matter which can be played," he said.
His brother, Branden Roumanis, 20, a computer design major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who wants to develop video games as a career, has noticed the lack of diverse characters in the industry, especially women characters.
