270 réponses à ce sujet

[SnakeCode]

I wonder if they even had a slight idea in mind for something like this?

 

Some fantasy settings are really unique and alien, where it isn't necessary. But it's a little more necessary when they're more Earth like, such as this one. Robert Howard's Conan setting was the first like this, and still amazes me how he accounted for so many types of cultures. Song of Ice and Fire is another example that's fairly complete. Even TES has a sort of pseudo Asian continent (Akavir) that they haven't tapped into much. I wonder if Dragon Age was only concieved as Euro like.

As you noted though, those other settings have multiple continents. DA has only one (that is known about. There's obviously more, such as where the Kossith still reside) I wouldn't mind them introducing an east asian like race if they backed it up in the lore. I don't think adding in token characters for the sake of representation is necessarily the best reason to do so. Otherwise i'd also  like to see South American, Arabic and Chechen people.

[Rawgrim]

As you noted though, those other settings have multiple continents. DA has only one (that is known about. There's obviously more, such as where the Kossith still reside) I wouldn't mind them introducing an east asian like race if they backed it up in the lore. I don't think adding in token characters for the sake of representation is necessarily the best reason to do so. Otherwise i'd also  like to see South American, Arabic and Chechen people.

 

You know. Its been 3 games now. Kind of odd that none of the characters have even mentioned other continents (except for where the Qunari comes from).

[LonewandererD]

Chechen? Sorry I totally read that as Chicken.... why doesn't DA have a chicken race?

 

-D-

 

EDIT: Sorry, typo

[SnakeCode]

Chechen? Sorry I totally read that as Chicken.... why does DA have a chicken race?

 

-D-

Why not? 

[Monoservo]

a Asian jade dragon empire Norse mythology Style  Scandinavian  landscape

[Bayonet Hipshot]

As an Asian myself, specifically a Southeast Asian, can I just say that I don't give a single f**k about Asian characters in games or comics or movies and many Asians that I know don't either.

 

Why ?

 

Because Asia already has its own medium where the protagonists and antagonists and the world states are populated by Asian characters. Manga, Anime, Japanese games, to name a few.

 

The West really should stop being tryhards tripping themselves over one another to make something "inclusive". You will never see any Asian entertainment medium of any sort trip themselves over issues of representation of people. We just make the entertainment we want to make. Heck, we don't even bother giving translated subtitles sometimes. 

 

Ever seen a move or a school of thought in Asian entertainment medium where they go out of their way to include white people or black people or middle eastern people ? Nope. 

 

For the simple reason that most Asians do not self insert when they play games or consume entertaining media. We play games as a challenge or to relax our minds or to have fun, not to self-insert. Just go to Asian environments that are populated by people of multiple cultures and races. None of us try to self insert in others, we just consume each other's entertainment for the fun of it. 

 

So please, stop this political correctness nonsense. No other entertainment medium in other parts of the world does this. You won't see the Chinese do it, you won't see the Japanese do it, you won't see Indians do it, you won't see Africans do it, etc.

 

Stop trying to attempt to enforce pointless inclusiveness in fantasy and fiction where one does not have to copycat the real world. 

 

Include Asian elements when it makes for a good story or when it makes sense to do so instead of pointlessly injecting it. Take franchises like Elder Scrolls. The Dunmer are most certainly influenced by Oriental and Eastern cultures. Ancestral worship, worshiping demonic like deities, role of fire in culture, ornate clothing, etc. Yet no one ever says that Dunmer = Asians. Or take the Orsimer whose armor styles are influenced by Mongolian design aesthetics, especially in Elder Scrolls Online but no one will say that Orcs = some Asians. 

[Monoservo]

also how would we Erupean tell who is who we might go around killing any Asian in the game cuars we cant tell the differences between them

[Bayonet Hipshot]

The OP implicitly raises another interesting, and potentially controversial, question (which I shall attempt to answer at my own risk, lol):

Is it BioWare's responsibility to give people of every colour, creed and ethnicity in our world a role in Dragon Age?

 

As creators, aren't they entitled to say, "Asian-inspired cultures don't exist, and Asian-looking people are extremely rare in Thedas," without justifying themselves?

 

I, like any fair-minded fan, wouldn't object to the existence of an Asian-inspired Theodosian culture (it sounds quite exciting!) ... but I do object to artists and developers having to alter their own, personal creations to pander to political correctness.

So should BioWare include more Asian-looking people in Dragon Age because they want to? I say, "Hell yes! Bring on the Chinese Fireball dragon."

Should they do it because people might call them racist if they don't? I say, "No way! Thedas is your baby. Treat it as you will."

Integrity, in today's heavily censured society, is every bit as important social inclusivity.

(P.S. I've never used the word "inclusivity" before. I'm very proud of myself right now.) 

 

Precisely this. Oh you Westerners...Don't get me wrong, you folks are awesome but sometimes you do the silliest and most ridiculous of things...This is one of them...

 

We Asians play games not because of representation, that's just dumb. We play them because they are challenging, because they have interesting stories and more importantly, because its fun. 

 

So if you want to make games more inclusive and appealing to Asians, make it harder, make it more challenging as opposed to simplifying it into cakewalk MMOs and that includes the multiplayer portion. There is a reason why many Asians love Dota & LOL. 

[Ieldra]

The OP implicitly raises another interesting, and potentially controversial, question (which I shall attempt to answer at my own risk, lol):

Is it BioWare's responsibility to give people of every colour, creed and ethnicity in our world a role in Dragon Age?

 

As creators, aren't they entitled to say, "Asian-inspired cultures don't exist, and Asian-looking people are extremely rare in Thedas," without justifying themselves?

 

I, like any fair-minded fan, wouldn't object to the existence of an Asian-inspired Theodosian culture (it sounds quite exciting!) ... but I do object to artists and developers having to alter their own, personal creations to pander to political correctness.

So should BioWare include more Asian-looking people in Dragon Age because they want to? I say, "Hell yes! Bring on the Chinese Fireball dragon."

Should they do it because people might call them racist if they don't? I say, "No way! Thedas is your baby. Treat it as you will."

Integrity, in today's heavily censured society, is every bit as important social inclusivity.

(P.S. I've never used the word "inclusivity" before. I'm very proud of myself right now.)

So much this!

 

The OP phrased his topic like this: "What I want to address is the representation of Asian identity in Dragon Age Inquisition". I can only claim in the strongest possible terms that this should never be a primary concern for the creators of fictional worlds. If the DA team makes a new culture and it happens to be inspired by Asian real-world culture, then that's nice, but nobody should demand it from them just for the sake of representation. And yes, I would absolutely say the same about the demand of any other kind of "representation" if the whole world of Thedas was Asian-inspired and there were no other ethnicities.

 

BTW, I very much doubt there is any such thing as an "Asian identity". I'm actually rather wary of "ethnic identities". Thinking in such categories can go to hell rather fast. The history of my country can attest to that.

[tmp7704]

So please, stop this political correctness nonsense. No other entertainment medium in other parts of the world does this. You won't see the Chinese do it, you won't see the Japanese do it, you won't see Indians do it, you won't see Africans do it, etc.

They don't do it for you or any other Asians that you think you can universally speak for. They do it for people who live in the West but are of heritage other than European and as such rarely see people looking like themselves on the local tv and in locally made games and such. Basically the same thing these examples you give are doing, but their target audience is simply more diverse and they take it into account.

[JJDXB]

The problem for me is that inevitably by 'Asian' inclusion we'll probably get some silly samurai analogue. 'Asia' as far as Western developers are concerned consists of Japan and China. There are never any fantasy Khmer empires or warriors armed with wavy Kris swords. Also, there is no such thing as a single 'Asian' ethnicity or look. SE Asians don't look like the Japanese. Persians don't like east Asians and the Central Asians look like a mix of Europeans and East Asians.

[Farangbaa]

In Dragon age it didn't really annoy me much, though it does seem odd. But in Mass Effect it annoyed me immensely that we only saw like 2 Asians in the entire game. Just take a look at this:
 
 
 
A whopping 55% of the world's population lives in Asia. (and this figure doesn't even count the Middle East as Asian)

It's absolutely unthinkable that in future society in space you'd mostly see white dudes/dudettes and the occasional black guy. You'd probably be seeing a tonne of Asians, lots of mixed race, and the occasional white, black or Native American guy.
 

Yes. White people are a minority in this world. If you watch tv though...
And if you watch tv in Asia you get all confused. White people with Asian eyes everywhere Asians and their fascination with not getting tanned... In Thailand and Lao (and probably other countries, but I haven't been there) the women will use an umbrella.... when the sun shines. I'm not joking.

[Lumix19]

I think the Qun is supposed to be a mixture of Confucianism and Buddhism so there is influence, although subtle.

The problem for me is that inevitably by 'Asian' inclusion we'll probably get some silly samurai analogue. 'Asia' as far as Western developers are concerned consists of Japan and China. There are never any fantasy Khmer empires or warriors armed with wavy Kris swords. Also, there is no such thing as a single 'Asian' ethnicity or look. SE Asians don't look like the Japanese. Persians don't like east Asians and the Central Asians look like a mix of Europeans and East Asians.

This is the issue for me. I don't need another ham-fisted attempt at an Asian character like Kai Leng was. No offense to his creators or those who liked him but his "space ninja" vibe irritated me beyond belief.

[Ieldra]

The problem for me is that inevitably by 'Asian' inclusion we'll probably get some silly samurai analogue. 'Asia' as far as Western developers are concerned consists of Japan and China. There are never any fantasy Khmer empires or warriors armed with wavy Kris swords. Also, there is no such thing as a single 'Asian' ethnicity or look. SE Asians don't look like the Japanese. Persians don't like east Asians and the Central Asians look like a mix of Europeans and East Asians.

I'd find a culture inspired by the Khmer Empire awesome, simply because such things are so rarely made. However, you'd have to find a place for it on the atlas of the fictional world, and it would need to be a remote place because otherwise you can't answer the question "Why haven't we heard of it before" in a plausible way. It would also need an identity of its own within the cultural landscape of the fictional world, and it would need to be different enough from the original that served as the inspiration as a part of that identity. I consider these things primary, and representation secondary. Thedas is not Earth and does not need to look like it, not in ethnicities, not in religions, not in anything. Make the whole world look Asian, or Black, or whatever, I don't care, but let the world have its own identity and remain untainted by real-world identity politics as much as possible.

[ThreeF]

 
Asians and their fascination with not getting tanned... In Thailand and Lao (and probably other countries, but I haven't been there) the women will use an umbrella.... when the sun shines. I'm not joking.

It has nothing to do with whiteness (as in race) though, this cultural obsession is more about status and wealth and poshness.

[Farangbaa]

It has nothing to do with whiteness (as in race) though, this cultural obsession is more about status and wealth and poshness.

I know, tanned skin is a sign of being a labourer or even a slave.

It's still odd as hell to see everyone get out of their clothes when the sun shines over here, and everybody hiding themselves over there

[Draining Dragon]

I have a better idea: Jade Empire 2.

[Ieldra]

Asians and their fascination with not getting tanned... In Thailand and Lao (and probably other countries, but I haven't been there) the women will use an umbrella.... when the sun shines. I'm not joking.

You do know it was the same in 18th-19th century Europe, at least for those who could afford to walk around outdoors doing nothing productive? We now work mostly indoors, so the status symbol for "you can afford to be idle" has shifted to "tanned skin." Not sure what's different in Asia, though.

 

Personally, I am still appreciative of the "aristocratic pallor" and I don't care much for tanned skin. Probably it is a factor that it has become a mass obsession, and I appreciate those who separate themselves from it.

[Farangbaa]

You do know it was the same in 18th-19th century Europe, at least for those who could afford to walk around outdoors doing nothing productive?

Yes.

[Farangbaa]

Only the well to do and wannabe well to do Asians avoid the sun. Lots of country folk don't (and can't) bother with that. Being tan denotes "working class".

I know, my girlfriend's parents are pitch black at least, for Asians they are pitch black.
My girfriend evades the sun like it has the blight, heh.

[Ieldra]

I know, my girlfriend's parents are pitch black at least, for Asians they are pitch black.
My girfriend evades the sun like it has the blight, heh.

Too much sunlight causes melanoma. It is known.