I’ve noticed a lack ethnic diversity among human characters in Halo 4. Most of the characters seem to be white and american. Sara Palmer appeared to be of Asian descent over the course of her development, but 343i eventually made her Caucasian like everyone else. Most of the older Halo games had multi-racial characters. There was Sergeant Johnson and Romeo within the main trilogy. Halo: Reach did exceptionally well by having each member of NOBLE team come from a different background; it felt like Noble team represented all of humanity. So why can’t Halo 4 have a diverse cast?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t usually care that much about social justice. I’m worried that because of the absence of ethnic diversity among Halo 4’s cast, people will begin to state that the game is racist and that 343i is compose of bigots, and that will inevitably lead people to begin boycotting the game. Believe me, I’m not trolling or trying to create a flamewar. I only want a sensible and rational discussion about ethnic diversity in Halo 4.
Halo 4 is mostly focused on Chief, Cortana and the Ancient Evil. So there aren’t much secondary characters.
Also we haven’t seen all the new characters so how would you know?
Honestly, it only matters when you see it that way. I sometimes forgot that Johnson was black, Hood was white and Keyes was that weird monkey face woman in Halo 3. Race or ethnicity just isn’t something I think about when looking at things from a human standpoint. The Chief would have still saved the world if he were Hispanic, Johnson still would have been just as much of a badass if he were Asian and Forge still would have sacrificed himself if he were black.
Then I think you’re worrying about a whole lotta nothing. SO many games do this on so much more vast a scale and nobody blinks an eye- popular games, too.
I honestly, honestly doubt it’s going to be any sort of issue. Halo has historically had a pretty good caste and variety of characters, and the characters /related/ to Halo 4 (IE Glasslands/Thursday War) have shown a lot of diversity in themselves.
At any rate, I imagine they’d divert more ethnic focus to distinct differences between the different species in Halo 4 onward, now that we’re not /solely/ trying to blow eachother’s brains out.
> Halo 4 is mostly focused on Chief, Cortana and the Ancient Evil. So there aren’t much secondary characters.
> Also we haven’t seen all the new characters so how would you know?
I’m only judging from what I’ve seen, like everyone else. All the characters I’ve seen so far appear to be Caucasian. For example, there’s:
Thomas Lasky
Andrew Del Rio
Sara Palmer
John-117
Catherine Halsey
But where’s the character belonging to different ethnicity’s? Surely there must be some Spartan, Marines, or Naval personal whom belong to a different ethnic background. I thought the UNSC Infinity was supposed to represent the next step forward for humanity, so one would imagine all kinds of people aboard it.
I partially agree with you my friend. Im brown (south asian) and I feel a HUGE lack of south asian protagonists in ANY story or even video game -Yoink!-!
Really? your worried about ethnicity in a video game? Are you so worried about the color of the skin of a video game character? Sounds like you have a race problem, not 343.
> > Halo 4 is mostly focused on Chief, Cortana and the Ancient Evil. So there aren’t much secondary characters.
> > Also we haven’t seen all the new characters so how would you know?
>
> I’m only judging from what I’ve seen, like everyone else. All the characters I’ve seen so far appear to be Caucasian. For example, there’s:
>
> Thomas Lasky
> Andrew Del Rio
> Sara Palmer
> John-117
>
> But where’s the character belonging to different ethnicity’s? Surely there must be some Spartan, Marines, or Naval personal whom belong to a different ethnic background. I thought the UNSC Infinity was supposed to represent the next step forward for humanity, so one would imagine all kinds of people aboard it.
I recall in the MP vidoc how the blue spartan getting his armor appeared as a African descendent. Not to mention, we haven’t seen the whole game, chances are not all Spartans and marines are American/Caucasian.
> Honestly, it only matters when you see it that way. I sometimes forgot that Johnson was black, Hood was white and Keyes was that weird monkey face woman in Halo 3. Race or ethnicity just isn’t something I think about when looking at things from a human standpoint. The Chief would have still saved the world if he were Hispanic, Johnson still would have been just as much of a badass if he were Asian and Forge still would have sacrificed himself if he were black.
>
> Just the way I see things.
That’s not the point. I know ethnicity and culture doesn’t ultimately determine someone’s complete personality. But when people see a game with an entirely white cast, they may perceive it as being racist. I obviously don’t want that to happen.
Edited by Moderator - Please do not flame/attack others.
*Original post. Click at your own discretion.
> I’ve noticed a lack ethnic diversity among human characters in Halo 4. Most of the characters seem to be white and american. Sara Palmer appeared to be of Asian descent over the course of her development, but 343i eventually made her Caucasian like everyone else. Most of the older Halo games had multi-racial characters. There was Sergeant Johnson and Romeo within the main trilogy. Halo: Reach did exceptionally well by having each member of NOBLE team come from a different background; it felt like Noble team represented all of humanity. So why can’t Halo 4 have a diverse cast?
>
> Don’t get me wrong, I don’t usually care that much about social justice. I’m worried that because of the absence of ethnic diversity among Halo 4’s cast, people will begin to state that the game is racist and that 343i is compose of bigots, and that will inevitably lead people to begin boycotting the game. Believe me, <mark><mark>I’m not trolling</mark></mark> or trying to create a flamewar. I only want a sensible and rational discussion about ethnic diversity in Halo 4.
Yes you are. Or an idiot with too much time on his hands.
> > > Halo 4 is mostly focused on Chief, Cortana and the Ancient Evil. So there aren’t much secondary characters.
> > > Also we haven’t seen all the new characters so how would you know?
> >
> > I’m only judging from what I’ve seen, like everyone else. All the characters I’ve seen so far appear to be Caucasian. For example, there’s:
> >
> > Thomas Lasky
> > Andrew Del Rio
> > Sara Palmer
> > John-117
> >
> > But where’s the character belonging to different ethnicity’s? Surely there must be some Spartan, Marines, or Naval personal whom belong to a different ethnic background. I thought the UNSC Infinity was supposed to represent the next step forward for humanity, so one would imagine all kinds of people aboard it.
>
> I recall in the MP vidoc how the blue spartan getting his armor appeared as a African descendent. Not to mention, we haven’t seen the whole game, chances are not all Spartans and marines are American/Caucasian.
Was just about to post this.
Judging by that video (which seemed like part of the intro cutscene for Sartan Ops), it seems like one of the main S-IV’s is black
Either way, I have to agree that it’s nowhere near as diverse as Reach (from what we’ve seen so far)
> Then I think you’re worrying about a whole lotta nothing. SO many games do this on so much more vast a scale and nobody blinks an eye- popular games, too.
>
> I honestly, honestly doubt it’s going to be any sort of issue. Halo has historically had a pretty good caste and variety of characters, and the characters /related/ to Halo 4 (IE Glasslands/Thursday War) have shown a lot of diversity in themselves.
>
> At any rate, I imagine they’d divert more ethnic focus to distinct differences between the different species in Halo 4 onward, now that we’re not /solely/ trying to blow eachother’s brains out.
True. There has been lots of diversity in previous forms of Halo media, but I’m talking specifically about Halo 4. I think you underestimate the power of controversy within the video game industry. Remember the controversy surrounding Resident Evil 5? Because it was set in Africa and the protagonists appeared to be white, people immediately branded the game as racist. Lots of games are also now expected to have ethnically diverse sets of characters. So I can easily see Halo 4’s cast being seen as controversial.
> Really? your worried about ethnicity in a video game? Are you so worried about the color of the skin of a video game character? Sounds like you have a race problem, not 343.
Yes, a video game is a medium of art just like any other. If 343i doesn’t include different ethnicity’s aboard the Infinity and Requiem, some may see it as racist and backward.
The Infinity is suppose to represent the pinnacle of human achievement and the next step for humanity, so when people see an entirely white cast, so it’s easy to why people might see it as racist.
> > > Halo 4 is mostly focused on Chief, Cortana and the Ancient Evil. So there aren’t much secondary characters.
> > > Also we haven’t seen all the new characters so how would you know?
> >
> > I’m only judging from what I’ve seen, like everyone else. All the characters I’ve seen so far appear to be Caucasian. For example, there’s:
> >
> > Thomas Lasky
> > Andrew Del Rio
> > Sara Palmer
> > John-117
> >
> > But where’s the character belonging to different ethnicity’s? Surely there must be some Spartan, Marines, or Naval personal whom belong to a different ethnic background. I thought the UNSC Infinity was supposed to represent the next step forward for humanity, so one would imagine all kinds of people aboard it.
>
> I recall in the MP vidoc how the blue spartan getting his armor appeared as a African descendent. Not to mention, we haven’t seen the whole game, chances are not all Spartans and marines are American/Caucasian.
My god man, I have seen African descended Marines, 2 African descended Spartan IV’s, another African descended Spartan II in a live action trailer, who was the sight of much suffering from John’s own eyes.
We also have some Asian descended Spartan II’s, and I believe Palmer is more likely of the Latino variety, not Asian or Caucasian, but that is me.
We also have Forward Unto Dawn which has a variety of different races, have you not seen this epic series?
We also have the Didact who is clearly a Forerunner, I think that counts as ethnic diversity.
Its not just about skin colour though; if almost all characters were Caucasian, but of those Caucasian people some were Russian, some Australian, some American, some French, some Canadian and so on, it wouldn’t be racist. Chances are, most are American, but honestly, I don’t mind, and nor should anyone. We’ve not really seen many of the characters, and of the few we’ve seen atleast one S-IV is black.
Either way, I doubt this will be an issue. Or should be made an issue. At the end of the day they’re all people no matter what their ethnicity, and you should view them as people and characters without taking their skin colour into account.
Johnson lived and died as a badass, but that wasn’t because he was black. I never describe Johnson as a character by bringing his race into it. Unless I was describing what he physically looks like.
> We gotta black Johnson
> A blue Cortana
> A Green Chief
> And a white buck
>
> There’s your diversity!!!
LOL, good one.
Okay, the images at the top there… she looks the same face structurally. so I don’t see a problem there (<mark>And this actually looks like 2 images from the exact same model</mark>). In the latest multiplayer vidoc they have several different ethnicity’s being suited up including a black spartan IV. They didn’t forget, I don’t think they have time for things like that. Also if 343 really was out to look down on minorities, wouldn’t their enthusiasm regarding the scanned trailer also be more apparent? The young black spartan trainee being used as an emotional symbolization of the suffering and death in the early spartan program would have been replaced.
So No, I’m not worried about ethnicity representation in Halo. to me Chief really is green, like I quoted from nirvana.
> > I’ve noticed a lack ethnic diversity among human characters in Halo 4. Most of the characters seem to be white and american. Sara Palmer appeared to be of Asian descent over the course of her development, but 343i eventually made her Caucasian like everyone else. Most of the older Halo games had multi-racial characters. There was Sergeant Johnson and Romeo within the main trilogy. Halo: Reach did exceptionally well by having each member of NOBLE team come from a different background; it felt like Noble team represented all of humanity. So why can’t Halo 4 have a diverse cast?
> >
> > Don’t get me wrong, I don’t usually care that much about social justice. I’m worried that because of the absence of ethnic diversity among Halo 4’s cast, people will begin to state that the game is racist and that 343i is compose of bigots, and that will inevitably lead people to begin boycotting the game. Believe me, <mark><mark>I’m not trolling</mark></mark> or trying to create a flamewar. I only want a sensible and rational discussion about ethnic diversity in Halo 4.
So because I hold an opinion you dislike, that must mean that I’m trolling, right? Look, you can misconstrue my thread into trolling all you want, but I have made an actual point which you have failed to dispute. Instead you’ve resorted to ad hominem attacks. So if anybody is trolling, it’s obviously you.
