For the Game Design assignments I had to - create 2 games for the Games Jams; Deconstruct an Indie Game, Analyse Game Consoles Generations and write the Age, Gender and Culture Report.
Devilition is a simple run and gun where the player has to face the military forces of different countries.
I had created all the graphics in the game, coded all the scripts and borrowed the sounds.
The theme for this game was “Wait, Are We The Bad Guys?"
Devilition 2 was a sequel and an improvement on the first game. It had brought with it a main menu, smarter tanks and improved sound design. Also Many bugs had been fixed (and a few added).
The themes for this game were “Only Power Downs" and "Death Helps You".
Age, gender, and culture in game design
Cultural insensitivity
Abstract
Games must portray different cultures with the knowledge of the cultures portrayed. Besides moral reasons, there is also a purely pragmatic reason to do so. There are many people of distinct cultures, many of whom might be potential customers. Thus, it is important to include cultural research in the process of designing a game; otherwise, it could become an issue preventing the game from financially succeeding, and it might make the studio that was responsible for developing the game to lose its reputation.
Whitewashing
Whitewashing in a racial sense is “elimination or replacement of people of colour with White characters”¹.
Whitewashing can have a negative psychological impact on “children in minority groups” as it “can cause demoralization, exacerbate feelings of imposter syndrome, and worsen low mood and anxiety symptoms”¹.
It can also affect the movie, cartoon, and game industries by the lack of representations of people of colour in these industries which can make them feel excluded from these industries².
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an Open World RPG Adventure game developed and published by miHoYo in 2021³. Although it was later reassigned to their daughter company - Cognosphere located in Singapore due to legal restrictions and regulations in China as miHoYo is a Chinese developer located in Shanghai⁴.
Candace has been introduced to Genshin Impact’s pool of playable characters in September of 2022⁵ in the 3.1 update of Genshin Impact.
Candace “was met with mixed reactions from players” as many players thought it was whitewashing due to Candace’s name and clothing is based on, or at least heavily inspired, by the originally a North African queen - Kandake Amanirenas - who ruled over the ancient African Kingdom of Kush/Cush⁷ ⁸.
How to fix this issue
To solve the issue of whitewashing Candace in Genshin Impact it would be enough to simply take more references and change the skin colour of their character to a realistic one with regards to the culture.
Although these kinds of issues will continue to occur if no further action is taken from preventing them in the future.
How to fix future issues
Since there are multiple possible reasons for whitewashing in miHoYo/Cognosphere it makes for a range of solutions regarding the reason for the issue.
Gladly Robert Livingston in his article published in 2020 suggested a reasonably universal model designed to fix such issues named “PRESS” which involves 5 steps - “(1) Problem awareness, (2) Root-cause analysis, (3) Empathy, or level of concern about the problem and the people it afflicts, (4) Strategies for addressing the problem, and, (5) Sacrifice, or willingness to invest time, energy and resources.” ⁹
Every step is described less abstractly and with more detail and examples in their article. Which is comparatively larger than what I could cover.
In conclusion, to fix these kinds of issues from occurring in the future I would use the article mentioned earlier as a guide and hire a professional in the same field of study as Robert Livingston.
Gender in game design
Abstract
Most of the points in this paragraph are analogous to the points made in the first paragraph about Cultural insensitivity. A bit that needs to be added is that cultures are as old as humanity, but the concept of more than 2 genders is relatively recent due to progress in science and medicine. This allowed those uncomfortable with their bodies to change it; and the way other people perceive them. Because of its recency, there is an opportunity for those criticizing it, but there is also an opportunity to avoid similar mistakes made in the past with such phenomena as racism.
Transphobia and deadnaming
Transphobia is a negative or hostile attitude towards transgender people.
Many people who have undergone gender transitioning have also changed their names because it may “alleviate discomfort that may be associated with one’s old name.”¹
Deadnaming is a transphobic act of calling a transgender person, who has changed their name, by their old name (it is also referred to as “birth name” or “given name”).¹
For a transgender person being deadnamed can feel disrespected and unsupported. Because of that, it can lead to such a person to experience a lot of stress. Transphobia and racism in that regard are similar as both are a type of harassment and discrimination-based person’s body or physical appearance.¹
Another common trait of transphobia with racism is that employers are less likely to hire a transgender person. It is one of the reasons that 30% of transgender people have reported experiencing homelessness at some point. Also, another 30% of transgender people have reported discrimination against them in the workplace.¹
The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II is an action-survival adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony in 2020². It is a sequel to The Last of Us, a highly praised game for its story and characters³.
The Last of Us Part II was also highly praised upon its release for its amazing story, characters, and graphics. Although some transgender people have accused it of being transphobic. This is because one of the characters in the game is being deadnamed.⁴
The Last of Us Part II has 2 primarily playable protagonists - Ashley Johnson (also known as Ellie) and Abigail Anderson (also known as Abby). They are the main playable protagonists who are at the same time opposing each other. Lev is a teen friend of Abigail Anderson who has been expelled from his religious community after shaving their head and self-identifying as male.⁴ ⁵
When opposing some people from the religious community, which Lev has been expelled from, they “angrily refer to Lev by their deadname.” ⁴
Remarkably Riley MacLeod in their article says that Lev is “not treated particularly uniquely in The Last of Us Part 2. He suffers, but no one gets through this game unscathed. He experiences slightly more suffering than other characters due to his identity.” ⁶
Tell Me Why
Tell Me Why is a dramatic-mystery adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios in 2020⁷. Stacey Henley in their article says that Tell Me Why is the first triple-A game with one of the main protagonists being transgender⁸.
Tell Me Why features 2 main protagonists – Tyler Ronan, and Alyson Ronan. They were born identical twins, although later in life Tyler Ronan had become a trans man. There are very few comments to it regarding portraying the transgender community with any disrespect, but rather several articles saying that they have done a good job. This would conclude that they have made a great effort at portraying the transgender community fairly and have succeeded.⁸ ⁹
How to avoid portraying gender incorrectly
To avoid portraying certain genders unfairly or disrespectfully game developers could consult with experts in such themes if their game intends to feature these kinds of characters/themes.
For example, Dontnod Entertainment had also consulted with GLAAD in the process of creating Tell Me Why. GLAAD is a non-government organization that helps “to ensure authentic and respectful portrayal of LGBT characters.”¹⁰ ¹¹
Provided a game developer or publisher has the money to fund the development of a triple-A game that intends to portray transgender or homosexual characters fairly, there is no reason to not include measures to portray them fairly in the development process.
PEGI
Pan European Game Information (PEGI) was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and launched in 2003. It is an age-rating system for video games¹. It is made to “provide guidance to consumers, parents in particular, to help them decide whether or not to buy a particular product for a child.”²
PEGI 3
All games rated PEGI 3, should not have any potentially frightening pictures or sounds (for example screamers), may only have a very mild form of violence (meaning no one gets hurt), and no offensive speech/bad language.³
Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is an action-platformer game developed and published by Nintendo in 2010 for Nintendo Wii and 3DS. It is rated PEGI 3 and has been designed and developed for 3-year-olds and upwards.⁴
Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn does match the requirements for PEGI 3 rating. There are no potentially frightening pictures or sounds. It is a cute game with exceptionally smooth animation and adorable sounds. In this game, the player cannot normally die (although it does have a “Devilish Mode” in which the player can die). It does have enemies the player must devour, but since they are portrayed as evil and are made of yarn it may be considered non-violent.⁴
To design a game rated PEGI 3 a developer simply needs to follow the rules described on the PEGI website³, but to create a game that is targeted towards 3-year-olds to 6-year-olds is a lot more difficult.
The main challenges the developer must face when designing a game targeted towards ages 3 and upwards have to do with making a game easy enough for the child to play on their own, but challenging enough so that the game does not talk down to the child⁵. Besides this, the developer has also to consider 2 other points -
A 3-year-old might not be able to read and so for example certain information may be easier to convey through colour or shape.⁵
Children usually struggle with fine motoric skills and might struggle with precise movement. This means that it is best to avoid gameplay mechanics that require such skills.⁵
PEGI 7
All games rated PEGI 7, may have potentially frightening to children content, may have only non-realistic forms of violence, and no offensive speech/bad language.³
Minecraft Dungeons is an adventure hack-and-slash game with elements of a dungeon crawler. It was developed by Mojang Studios and Double Eleven, and published by Xbox Game Studios in 2021. It is rated PEGI 7 and was designed and developed for 7-year-olds and upwards.⁶ ⁷
Minecraft Dungeons does match the requirements for PEGI 7 rating. A lot of the graphics in the game are based on Minecraft’s graphics which itself is rated PEGI 7 as well. There are a lot of non-realistic depictions of killing the enemy monsters and unlike Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn the player can die in the game, and it has respective imagery and audio that is suitable for 7-year-olds and upwards. It does not have any offensive speech/bad language.⁶ ⁷
The main differences between designing a game for 3-year-olds and 7-year-olds are -
The vast majority of 7-year-olds can read well.
Most 7-year-olds have much better fine motoric skills than 3-year-olds.
Other points still stand true when it comes to designing a game for 7-year-olds when compared to designing a game for 3-year-olds. ⁵
PEGI 12
PEGI 12 rated games are a lot more different than PEGI 7 rated games. PEGI 12 allows for more graphic violence towards non-realistic characters and unlike lower PEGI ratings, it allows for “sexual innuendo or sexual posturing” and mild bad language.³⁰⁰
Terraria is an open-world survival Sandbox game developed and published by Re-Logic in 2011 for every modern gaming platform⁸ ⁹. It is rated PEGI 12 and has been designed and developed for 8-year-olds and upwards according to @GeekDadGamer and Jo Robertson who wrote an article about Terraria on taminggaming.com⁹. Although talking from personal experience I would rather categorise it as for 12-year-olds and upwards¹⁰.
Terraria does match the requirements for PEGI 12 rating. Since Terraria’s graphic style is pixel art, it matches the violence-related restrictions even though there is quite a bit of violence as fighting is one of its main mechanics. Although this violence is usually aimed towards hostile enemies and monsters; most of whom upon death drop blood and parts of their pixelated, yet dismembered bodies. Terraria also has some, although pixel art-styled, NPCs with revealing clothes. And some weapon and item names may have an underlying sex joke. There is no swearing in the game.⁹ ¹⁰
When designing a game targeted towards an audience of 12-year-olds and upwards there are a lot fewer restrictions and limitations to consider in comparison to designing a game for 3-year-olds and 7-year-olds. Most of the limitations related to designing a game for 12-year-olds come from the fact that most 12-year-olds are not mature enough for graphical/realistic depictions of violence and sex³. Besides that, schoolofgamedesign.com suggests thinking of kids as “adults with a lot less experience”.³ ⁵
References
Cultural insensitivity
1 - Gillespie, C. (2021) What is whitewashing, and why is it harmful?, Health. Available at: https://www.health.com/mind-body/health-diversity-inclusion/whitewashing (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
2 - Yanek, D. (2020) “This is what whitewashing really means—and why it’s a problem,” Reader’s Digest, 14 September. Available at: https://www.rd.com/article/what-whitewashing-means-and-why-its-a-problem/ (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
3 - Genshin Impact (no date) Epicgames.com. Available at: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/genshin-impact (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
4 - Amirul Adlan, W. (2021) Genshin Impact has A new publisher named Cognosphere, GamerBraves. Available at: https://www.gamerbraves.com/genshin-impact-has-a-new-publisher-named-cognosphere/ (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
5 - Candace (no date) Genshin Impact Fandom Wikipedia. Available at: https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Candace (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
6 - Northrup, R., Jr (2022) Genshin Impact teases new playable characters Candace, Nilou, & Cyno, ScreenRant. Available at: https://screenrant.com/genshin-impact-september-update-characters-candace-nilou-cyno/ (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
7 - Newell, S. (2022) Why genshin impact’s whitewashing of Candace is problematic, ScreenRant. Available at: https://screenrant.com/genshin-impact-candace-kandake-whitewashing-characters-hoyoverse/ (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
8 - Fikes, R. (2019) Kandake Amanirenas (?-10 BC), Black Past. Available at: https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/kandake-amanirenas-10-bc/ (Accessed: January 26, 2023).
9 - Livingston, R. (2020) “How to promote racial equity in the workplace,” Harvard business review, 1 September. Available at: https://hbr.org/2020/09/how-to-promote-racial-equity-in-the-workplace (Accessed: January 27, 2023).
Gender in game design
1 - Clements, K. C. (2017) Deadnaming: What is it and why is it harmful?, Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/deadnaming (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
2 - The Last of Us Part II - PlayStation experience 2016: Reveal trailer | PS4 (2016). Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Available at: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
3 - The Last of UsTM Remastered (no date) PlayStation. Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Available at: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/the-last-of-us-remastered/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
4 - Franzese, T. (2020) “Last of Us 2” deadnaming prompts outcry from LGBTQ+ community and allies, Inverse. Available at: https://www.inverse.com/gaming/last-of-us-2-deadname-lev-controversy-explained (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
5 - Abby Anderson (no date) The Last of Us Wiki. Available at: https://thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/Abby_Anderson (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
6 - MacLeod, R. (2020) I have mixed feelings about The Last of Us Part 2’s trans character, Kotaku. Available at: https://kotaku.com/i-have-mixed-feelings-about-the-last-of-us-part-2s-tran-1844245756 (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
7 - Tell Me Why on steam (no date) Steampowered.com. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1180660/Tell_Me_Why/ (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
8 - Henley, S. (2020) Meet Tyler Ronan, the first transgender triple-A video game protagonist, VG247. Available at: https://www.vg247.com/meet-tyler-ronan-first-transgender-triple-video-game-protagonist (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
9 - Tyler Ronan (no date) Tell Me Why Wiki. Available at: https://tell-me-why.fandom.com/wiki/Tyler_Ronan (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
10 - Wikipedia contributors (2023) Tell Me Why (video game), Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tell_Me_Why_(video_game)&oldid=1136875016.
11 - Kate, M. S. (2013) Our work, GLAAD. Available at: https://www.glaad.org/programs (Accessed: February 1, 2023).
PEGI
1 - The PEGI organisation (no date) Pegi Public Site. Available at: https://pegi.info/page/pegi-organisation (Accessed: January 20, 2023).
2 - PEGI age ratings (no date) Pegi Public Site. Available at: https://pegi.info/page/pegi-age-ratings (Accessed: January 20, 2023).
3 - What do the labels mean? (no date) Pegi Public Site. Available at: https://pegi.info/what-do-the-labels-mean (Accessed: January 20, 2023).
4 - Video of kirbys epic yarn review (2010). Available at: https://www.taminggaming.com/game/Kirbys+Epic+Yarn (Accessed: January 29, 2023).
5 - How to design games for kids (no date) Schoolofgamedesign.com. Available at: https://schoolofgamedesign.com/project/design-games-for-kids/ (Accessed: January 29, 2023).
6 - Minecraft dungeons on steam (no date) Steampowered.com. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1672970/Minecraft_Dungeons/ (Accessed: January 29, 2023).
7 - Minecraft Dungeons Review (2020). Available at: https://www.taminggaming.com/game/Minecraft+Dungeons (Accessed: January 29, 2023).
8 - Terraria on steam (no date) Steampowered.com. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/Terraria/ (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
9 - Terraria Review (2013). Available at: https://www.taminggaming.com/game/Terraria (Accessed: January 30, 2023).
10 - I have over 600 hours in the game and have completed it multiple times.
In this presentation I have broken down and analysed the game "Valley Peaks".
I have only presented 3rd and 4th generations because it was a group task and the other generations were presented by other members of my group.