Diversity in open source games

[Trilarion]

I recently read some articles about diversity in computer games and I thought that open source games should be ideal for actually delivering a bit of diversity, because anyone can modify them. But first, it would be interesting to see what is there already. I guess that for example open source strategy games are pretty much neutral with respect to gender while for open source RPGs this could be more of an issue.

Important steps would be:

• How is diversity or a lack thereof recognized or measured?
• How much diversity is there in currently available open source games?
• Which existing open source games would lend itself to increase diversity naturally?
• Is there something completely missing?

First steps seem to do a bit easier then the last steps.

[Wuzzy2]

I believe with “diversity” here you mean “diversity of gender”. Right? I think the so-called mainstream media blows this topic WAY out of proportion.

In games that are just for fun, diversity would basically just boil down to more player character customization options. And with that, it's just another feature and that's perfectly fine.

But in some games, diversity can be counter-productive. If you're making a “serious” World War shooter, then adding women soldiers is probably a bad idea. It's not like they didn't exist, but they were super rare.

In the end, “diversity” is still a game design decision and should not be done just for the sake of it. It still has to make sense in the overall game concept. I think coherence is WAY more important. Everything has to make sense with everything.

Also keep in mind that “diversity” automatically also means that more models need to be made, and that's not always suitable for projects because of time and you eventually just want things to be done.

I'm not at all saying that diversity is neccessarily bad. Just that it shouldn't be done mindlessly. I absolutely do not believe the hype.

[Trilarion]

Thanks for the interesting comment. I meant all kinds of stereotypical role behaviors, including but not restricted to gender, sexual orientation, … I agree that it's a hype, but there is also a true core to it. It has to somehow fit, but if one assumes that we are rather not very diverse currently, then adding that capability (and open source would allow me that) should improve things on average.

This really needs to be debated more, because I would find it hard to come up with general guidelines, but maybe the usefulness of the whole thing becomes more clear along the way of doing it. It's worth a try.

I see the practical problems, that it's a compromise between effort and result, so going for the low hanging fruit again would be some strategy.

On the other hand, if somebody wants to play a "serious" World War shooter with the option of additional women inside, I wouldn't object. It's a game after all and games have never to be realistic or reflect reality accurately. Maybe people would like it too. Wouldn't make it less serious in my eyes.

This goes the other way too of course. If somebody wants to have the "only male characters" option in a game, I wouldn't object either. The question is then probably only what the default setting will be.

The interesting thing is that we are all part of the current culture. It's probably not easy to take a look from outside. What will people in say 20 years from now think about the games we make now?