Racism also does not stop at computer games – often in a way that one does not even consciously notice. The survival MMO Rust confronts us with racism and shows how to deal with it.
Has anyone noticed that there is not a single person of color in the RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? One might point out that the game is based on Slavic mythology and that there were probably no people with black skin in the region during the medieval times. But on the one hand, this is not known for sure, and on the other hand, The Witcher 3 takes place in a fantasy world where people of color could have been included. This is similar in many games, including MMOs. Usually, you see white heroes wandering through the worlds.
Subtle Racism
Racism is thus also a problem in computer games, although this is often not really apparent. How could developers address this issue? Integrating more colored NPCs or protagonists? That would be one possibility. However, it must also be ensured that people of color are not just “inserted” for the sake of considering these groups.
The survival MMO Rust takes an interesting approach. When you create a character at the beginning, a skin color is automatically assigned to them. You cannot choose what skin color you want to have – just like in real life. This way, you might experience racism in the game, even though you are not affected by it in real life. Rust takes a very important step with this. Racism can perhaps only be truly understood if you are personally affected by it. You might then deal with it differently and learn from it.
Also for game developers, this is an important step, as integrating other races into a game without this being somehow connected to racism is not easy. Only with tolerance and understanding is this possible, and we apparently still have a long way to go before we reach a point where racism is no longer a topic.
Is this even Racism?
Unfortunately, the problem also shows itself in Rust, as especially many white players are not willing to play a hero who has a different skin color. One wants to be able to determine how the character looks, so that one can identify with it. Understandable, as most games so far have offered plenty of opportunities to customize the hero. However, it is very important that Rust takes a different approach. Perhaps this will make us think a little more about what racism really means – even in games. That would already be a gain.
