I recently came across some rather uninformed comments on another blog based upon a post I made to the gamesblog earlier this year questioning the perceived absence of British culture in British-made games. Some of the more eloquent responses suggested that games aren't made for an American market, but for a Japanese market (fair enough). Other, more colourful responses argued that I had no right to argue this and that I should "get back into the kitchen" as a metaphor for...something. As an aside, I'd just like to say once again that it's great being female in this industry (for more on this, check this out).
Last week I discovered another cultural fracas that reminds me how important it is that people be aware of the underlying messages and agendas that are designed into games, particularly in this international market and globalised digital world. Wired reports that there is a controversy raging through China about a Japanese game which has apparently adapted an historical Chinese story, and has used it as inspiration for a "lewd" computer game.
From the article:
While the game's setting has little to do with the epic novel, its Chinese critics believe the main character -- a pallid young girl called Lin Daiyu -- is a direct take-off of the novel's heroine. They say the story's character has been slandered; she's described in the game as an illegitimate child born after her mother had an affair with a foreigner.
...
China is very sensitive about Japanese interpretations of its literary landmarks, and anti-Japanese sentiment regularly spills over into the virtual world.
I'm a sensitive soul, and like to think I'm quite empathic. After all, I'm still miffed that the Hollywood system has co-opted a phenomenal number of international histories for its own ends. Regardless, I appreciate that adaptation happens, but where does the line between political statement and entertainment begin and end? And when does the use of properties that are culturally owned stop being diffusion and start being offensive?
