A Minnesota-based gaming company is looking to increase diversity in the virtual world by creating a new video game with playable characters free of stereotypes.
Owned by Marine Corps veteran, lawyer and entrepreneur, Jules Porter, the company, known as Seraph 7 Studios, is in the process of releasing their first independent game, Ultimate Battle Royale.
Voiced by actual senior citizens in Minnesota, the gaming application humorously follows a group of god-like, elderly superheroes taking down villains while simultaneously navigating retirement homes. The game celebrates all the people in the world as it features characters with different complexions, hair textures and even vocal mannerisms.
Porter’s creation also addresses a common racist stereotype in video games that portrays marginalized people as criminals by making them the heroes. Although the game is not yet released, the company has revealed the names of several of their characters alongside detailed life stories, interests and even celebrity crushes.
Amongst the characters is 77-year-old Ms. Billie, the Mississippi Supersonic who recently retired after obtaining an aeronautics degree and working all her life. While she is formally retired from her career, she still moonlights as a superhero when she uses her supersonic speed and shockwaves to take down opponents.
Fighting alongside Ms. Billie is 80-year-old Manny, the Keeper of the Serengeti who is highly intelligent and has the ability to speak several languages such as Swahili and Arabic. Although he can’t legally see due to his albinism, Manny is able to use different senses and vibrations to detect opponents. He’s well-versed in several African fighting styles such as Donga, Laamb Wrestling and Dambe.
“Our games are made with care and a focus on great game play and story-telling,” said a statement on the company’s website. “At Seraph 7 Studios, we want our players to feel our games: To rejoice with us, be terrified with us, and accompany us across a universe of adventure!”
In the video game industry, there is an extreme lack of diversity in the player designs. In an independent study conducted in 2021, they found that, over the last five years out of the top 100 games that have sold the most, 61% of the main characters were white. Only 39% of the main characters were of non-white ethnicity. As for gender, men composed about 80% of the main characters while women made up just 20%. Women with different ethnicities besides white composed a much lower amount, making up only about 8% out of this 20% of the games.
This lack of representation in video games reflects the lack of diversity in the video game designing industry. The International Game Developers Association reported in 2020 that 71% of developers making the games are men with women making up only 24% of game developers. Of these developers, just 3% were Black.
Porter and her company are looking to increase the number of Black game designers by offering a work-study program. The three-week work-study program will be available in the coming months during the 2022-2023 school year.
