Enhancing Diversity in Game Narratives: Three Key Considerations

Over the past decade, the video game industry has witnessed a notable increase in diversity, with more games featuring characters from diverse backgrounds. However, this shift towards greater diversity does not always translate to more nuanced and less problematic narratives, particularly when development teams remain predominantly white. Sweet Baby Inc, a Montreal-based narrative development and consultation studio, has worked on notable projects such as God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Alan Wake 2. The company's mission is to collaborate with game developers to create more inclusive and diverse stories, where representation is integral to the game's design and narrative. According to Kim Belair, CEO of Sweet Baby Inc, it is crucial to address diversity and inclusivity early in the game development process. "If a developer approaches us too late, asking us to make their game non-problematic, there is little we can do," she notes. "It is too late to change a character or their dialogue, and all that can be done is to remove content, which can result in a character feeling incomplete." Belair's advice to developers does not involve quick fixes or superficial solutions. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of creating space for diverse perspectives and having a more diverse team from the outset. "It is about creating space and valuing diversity alongside other technical skills," she says. Here are three key considerations that Belair urges developers to take into account when creating diverse game narratives and characters. While more studios are working with consultants to create characters from marginalized backgrounds, Belair notes that problematic depictions can still arise if these issues are not considered holistically. "Developers may work with consultants, but they often do not include discussions about representation and sensitivity in their narrative reviews," she explains. To create more authentic representations of marginalized characters, Belair argues that their experiences should be considered in the same way as those of any other character. "I often see Black characters who say or do things that feel unrealistic based on their world and experiences," she says. "However, this lack of realism is not always addressed, whereas if a character is not acting like a doctor, it would be changed for accuracy." Belair also notes that developers often fear that addressing problematic issues will impede character or narrative design. However, she argues that this is not the case and that addressing these issues can add depth and nuance to a character or narrative. "You are not asking if you can have a Black villain, but rather if you can have a Black villain who does not represent stereotypes that may be misunderstood by your audience," she says. Another mistake that developers make is to create games that are diverse on the surface but lack depth and consideration for how this diversity connects to the story or resonates with the audience. "We are creating products for real people, and we cannot pretend that changing someone's skin color would not affect their life experiences," Belair adds. "You must speak to your audience and understand that narrative design happens in the eyes of the player, not in a vacuum." For developers with homogeneous teams, it can be challenging to create diverse and inclusive narratives. Belair distinguishes between surface-level diversity and representation that is realistic and resonates with audiences who identify with that background. "For God of War: Ragnarok, we worked on making Angrboda, a Black character, more relatable to Black audiences despite the game's Norse mythology setting," she says. Belair has also met with all-white teams who want to address issues like racism but focus solely on inflicting suffering on marginalized characters or creating villains that can be overcome. "This approach only shows sadness and hurt, without depicting the resilience of marginalized communities or the realities of systemic racism," she notes. "I would rather see a Black character who acknowledges racism and shows how they live with it, rather than making their entire arc about overcoming racism." The more specific and detailed a character's representation, the richer and more authentic it becomes. This is something that games striving for diversity often struggle with, particularly if the development team lacks diverse perspectives. "If you create an American character, you can see that they are from Texas, with specific cultural touchpoints," Belair says. "However, if you create a character from West Africa, they may represent 15 different countries, with an incongruous look that feels like a costume." A lack of specificity can also prevent characters from having distinct identities. Belair discusses a project where a developer wanted to create a French exchange student but was unsure about making the character non-white. "They thought it would distract from the character's Frenchness, but why wouldn't it deepen that archetype and add more references?" she asks. Specificity can also be the difference between a stereotype and a beloved trope in a community. Belair shares an example from her Jamaican background, where her brother met someone from Barbados who had a similar cultural trinket on their car. "These little touchpoints show players where a character's culture lives and how it is experienced," she says. When thinking about representation and world-building, Belair advises developers to focus on what a character or world does and how it is experienced, rather than just its biography or backstory. "It is like world-building, where you need to explain how everything works," she says. "I use my phone every day, but I do not know how it works. However, I know what it does, and that is what matters. So, when thinking about representation, pay attention to what it does and how you experience it day to day, rather than just working from a bio or a backstory."