Racism vs Colorism

Takeaway:
Discrimination is a serious issue. On a lucky day, it is just bad PR.
On a bad day, it could lead to boycotts and legal issues.

What are Racism and Colorism?

RACISM

The belief that there is a link between inherited physical traits and personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and often, that one race is innately superior to others. It can be:

Individual: Against one person, in a face-to-face interaction or behind their back.
Systemic: A set of historical, cultural, and interpersonal policies that maintain racial inequalities over time (e.g. slavery of Black peoples, Colonialism/Imperialism)

The victim is usually from a different ethnic group, and the aggressor believes one race is superior to the other.

It can also be associated with other forms of discrimination, like xenophobia and stereotyping, and is related to power structures (who is the upper class) and local cultural dynamics.

COLORISM

Is the practice of favoring people with lighter skin over darker skin.

This can happen within the same ethnic group. Some authors consider it a byproduct of racism. However, when something or someone implies that lighter skin is preferable to darker skin, it is hurtful to those with darker skin.

One may argue that these games have still been successful, even with these issues.
But this type of PR incident hurts the brand in the long run and mitigates potential growth in communities that have been offended, especially if the official response is considered inadequate.
As the trend for political and racial correctness expands into TV, cinema, and other mainstream media, the risks and effects of these incidents in brands have also increased.
So instead, the reasoning is it was a hit DESPITE the controversy. As a result-driven company, we strive to give our games the best shot to succeed and become popular worldwide. Racist or discriminatory content does not align with this goal.

Consequences in the Gaming Industry

The video game industry has had issues with both racism and colorism in recent years. The outcome may vary according to the local rules and community engagement. Here are some recent cases and their outcomes:

Genshin Impact was boycotted on Twitter because the only two characters with darker skin were described as 'exotic' and 'scary', respectively; and also for the design of the Hilichurls.
The Grand Theft Auto series has been criticized for its recurrent portrayal of Black characters as criminals.
Assassin's Creed: Unity was condemned for "whitewashing" history by excluding people of color from the game's cast of characters.
Resident Evil 5's depictions of negative stereotypes of African cultures and darker-skinned characters as violent and primitive sparked controversy and a PR crisis that forced changes in Capcom's creative process.

How Can This Appear in Our Games?

Below are issues to avoid:

COLORISM

Setting a particular skin tone as Default or implying it's the preferred skin tone.
Over-using language that suggests that dark is bad/corrupt/evil and that white is pure.
Portraying all demons/evil creatures with dark skin, while all heroes have light skin.
Implying that characters with lighter skin are good-looking, while the ones with darker skin aren't.

RACISM

Using 欧皇/非酋 for good and bad luck.
Using words like savage, exotic, barbarian, mongoloid, or Neanderthal for non-white characters.

OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Dividing character skin color by region/country, e.g., European, African, Asian, etc., in character creation. A few alternatives: not naming the skin tones and letting the players choose the colors themselves (using sliders or some sort of color code, like HEX and RGB).
Locking certain hairstyle options to characters based on their skin color/ethnicity on character creation menus.
Focusing on and generalizing about an entire group of people, rather than an individual's actions.
Using blanket terms to generalize characters/audience, such as westerner, foreigner, oriental, etc.

Culture-Specific Notes

No culture is free from bias, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to recognizing it. However, there are certain practices in the gaming industry that perpetuate biases and hurtful stereotypes. Because our players come from all over the world, we must make content that is not based in bias.

USA/Canada

United States of America:

Discrimination based on a person's skin tone or background is illegal and can be subject to lawsuit should someone feel they have suffered discrimination.
The United States considers itself a nation of immigrants or "melting pot", and takes diversity very seriously. Because of this, it can be quite sensitive when describing a person's background.
- In 2016, President Obama outlawed usage of the term "oriental" in federal documents to describe Asian people.
- The term "Negro" was eliminated from the 2020 census. Currently accepted terms are: Black and African American.
- While many official documents reference a person's race by writing "Ancestral nation + American" (Asian American, African American, etc.), assumptions about heritage can be very contentious. When making content avoid labeling character ethnicity based on assumed cultural heritage and always use a color slider in character creation when possible instead of labeling skin color with race.
- Content that includes questions such as "but where are you really from" or suggests a U.S. citizen is not a "real American" is unacceptable.
Because the United States historically enslaved Black people, any content that suggests that Black people are inferior, uses racial slurs/anything hinting of a racial slur, or uses chains or anything reminiscent of slavery is extremely sensitive.
There is increasing, vocal support and demand for content that represents people of color (which in the U.S. means "non-white") to combat racial inequality, particularly since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Any content that references people of Middle-Eastern descent as being terrorists should be avoided given the legacy of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the discriminatory backlash that followed.
The U.S. favors gender-neutral and race-neutral language whenever possible.

Canada:

Discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, and color is prohibited in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
According to the 2016 census, 1.67 million people identified as an Aboriginal person, which is the fastest-growing and youngest population in Canada. Because Canada historically enslaved Black and Indigenous people, depictions of slavery or suggestions that one race is inferior to another are extremely sensitive.
Canada adopts some of the terminology from the U.S., however it highlights in the Library of Parliament that it's best to let individuals decide on identifying terminology.
Canada takes anti-racism very seriously, and has implemented a government-wide strategy to empower communities, particularly Indigenous peoples.

Brazil

Brazilians don't speak Spanish. It's very offensive to say or imply so.
The points below are heavily framed by U.S. social and historical context. Pop culture and Hollywood internationalize certain visions of diversity, but they are very far from being a general rule and do not account for many other cultures:
- Locals DO NOT use the word Latino to identify themselves, as it is a term framed by U.S. immigration. Latin American is fine.
- DO NOT try to apply U.S. gender-neutral language in Brazil, e.g. Latinx. Portuguese and English have different grammar requirements. For more information on how to use neutral language in Brazilian Portuguese, refer to our Style Guide.
- There is no such thing as an African-Brazilian, Asian-Brazilian, etc: A Brazilian is a Brazilian.
As a mixed country, it is hard to define a Brazilian person's ethnicity. Officially, we use skin tones which are self-declared.
Racism in Brazil is a crime. Recently, several cases, both domestic and involving Brazilians abroad, gained a lot of exposure in mainstream media.
Samba, capoeira, and football are cultural low hanging fruits. This is a stereotypical vision that is mildly offensive, as it reduces the plurality and diversity of Brazilian culture. Games that are targeting Brazil should be more thoughtful and localized than that.

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