At PSFK Conference NYC, Celestine Arnold gave an eye-opening talk on the “Ghost in the Machine: Digital Multiculture.” Celestine discussed the role of race and culture in video games - and the gaming industry’s failure to address (and successfully market towards) it. While minorities make up a disproportionately large percentage of the gaming community, most games cater to an assumed mainstream (white, male) player. Many of the same inequities, stereotypes, and social/class relations that exist in the real world, Celestine demonstrated, carry over into the gameworlds as well. And as fantastical and hyperreal as games can be, the very real effects of racism are pervasive within games and the gaming community as a whole.
Celestine argued that a huge opportunity lies in creating games geared towards their multicultured players. Game developers that think beyond the dominant culture and it’s paradigms of Good v. Evil and try to understand the cultures of their diverse players may, as Celestine demonstrated, win out in the end.
I'm late to my own post. But let me just say Celestine you killed it! The talk was smart and timely minus the blame and guilt. You simply presented the dollars and 'sense' of advancing the gaming industry! Bravo!
p.s. ya got one of these for the ad agency guys??
Thanks MHB
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12 comments:
I now have the biggest crush on Celestine Arnold. I need to meet her, WOW What a speaker
McDade, I've been trying reach you, get at me.
The gaming industry has got nothing on the ad industry in terms of racial inequality, racism and bigotry. She needs to read multicultclassics for at least
1 month. Anything that is media driven, and where huge amounts of money is involved or is gonna be white dominated. Period!
I don't know ANON, the ad industry is pretty lame with it's 1965 diversity efforts. But know a few people in the design part of the gaming industry and they say it's pretty albino.
Um, about 100 percent certain Ms. Arnold reads MultiCultClassics. KMBA too. She's a friend.
Well, she certainly has a new fan and friend right here!
I love her brains along with that since of shared & broad responsibility to the human community.
She is now with GlobalHue. Hope they do not suck the life out of her and smash her dreams and then after using her, leave her on the wayside with not so much as a backwards glance. Not like that happened to anyone I know/me :-P
But seriously - loved the presentation and hope she does well at GlobalHue!
I get the feeling that no one could smash this ladies dreams/spirit. I think she's been a rebel in her soul all her life and aint scuured of no Uni-Globe or Global-World or Uni-Hue... you know what I'm sayin'
Love those guys.
Why cant a great black talent get a job at a GM agency. Why does everyone have to end up at a uniworld, or global hue. She has the brains, skills, etc. After hearing her speak im guessing no GM agency wanted to go near hear. She would expose them as the cowards they are.
@ anonymous LOL! Many great black talents can be found at agencies of every ilk. In spite of the less than concerted efforts to the contrary. we just keep popping up.
NYC is lousy with great Black talent in GM and at AA agencies. Plus ain't nothing wrong for the "do for self and kind" credo IF it works and if AA shops are not just "blackening up" GM strategy.
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