Exploring Diversity In Video Game Characters

For the video game industry to be more representative, it must be more diverse. This article looks at this topic in depth & how the industry has become diverse.

As the media industry tried to explore the topic of representation, the iGaming industry continues its journey towards becoming more diverse and inclusive. Never before has there been a push to make the iGaming industry as inclusive as seen in today’s world.

Already, representation in the online gambling industry, as seen in brands such as 7slots casino, has improved significantly. Yet, even with the many steps taken, there’s still so much work to be done.

In this article, you are going to explore how diversity in video game characters has evolved over the years. Some of the topics it will cover include:

• Representation of women in video games
• Representation of people of colour in video games
• LGBTQ+ representation in video games
• The effect of representation or under-representation in video games

These are the most common areas to touch on when speaking of diversity in today’s world.

How women are represented in video games

It’s good to see women represented in many video games. Back in the day, it was Lara Croft, the protagonist in the Tomb Raider game. However, this has changed as more games have been released.

This can be seen in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, where Seluna is the lead character and plays a key role in the plot. Likewise, we have Aloy from Sony’s Horizon: Zero Dawn franchise, who has been portrayed as a smart, creative warrior with the capacity to fight better than most male characters in the game.

Representation of People of Colour In Video Games

Initially, the representation of people of colour was mostly limited to one game; Grand Theft Auto. All the stereotypes associated with the Black/African, and Hispanic communities were greatly pronounced in this game.

But that was back in the early 2000s. Over the years, people of colour have been given more dominant roles to play in games. These can be seen in games such as Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, Jedi: Survivor.

LGBTQ+ representation in video games

A first-of-its-kind report published by GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy group, shows that despite the number of players who identify as queer, transgender, bisexual, or gay increasing, their representation in video games is still far from being seen. In fact, most of the games in the Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo stores lack LGBTQ characters. Only 2% of the games have such characters, which is far below the expected threshold, given that 23% – 32% of games identify as queer, transgender, bisexual, or gay.

Diversity Matters to Many Players

Overall, 66% of gamers (hardcore and armature alike) strongly agree diversity in video games is crucial to them. This is according to a study conducted across 36 markets covering Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australian regions. In fact, the survey further reveals over 56% of the respondents wouldn’t play a game because they felt the game wasn’t designed for them. The percentage of people who agreed with this cut across all generations, with the figure ranging from 53% to 58% of the respondents.

With all this data and information in mind, it shows that game developers need to pay close attention to include all groups before releasing games to the market.