Designing Black Children, in Video Games

Designing Black Children, in Video Games

Designing Black Children, in Video Games

Yuki Chen, Jonaya Kemper, Erik Harpstead, Ross Higashi, Judith Uchidiuno

Abstract

"A large number of video gamers in the U.S. identify as people of color. However, there is very limited avatar diversity in mainstream video games, and providing tools that allow players to create their idealized avatars is often overlooked by video game creators [1]. Without these tools, players who identify as racial minorities may struggle with creating characters that they truly identify with, as the available options may capture only a surface-level understanding of minority groups (e.g., a limited range of skin tones) and reinforce harmful stereotypes surrounding clothing, hairstyles, and other superficial features. Culturally informed character tools are particularly important for building interracial social support and creating a diverse and inclusive environment for young video gamers [2]. In this article, we uncover social and cultural values that drive authentic avatar creation for Black children in video games, supporting their intersectional identities."

Reference

Chen, Y., Kemper, J., Harpstead, E., Higashi, R., & Uchidiuno, J. (2023). Designing Black children in video games. ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3610968

Keywords

Avatar diversity, Video game creators, Minority representation