Except that no-one actually DOES games set in 4th century Africa …
Why ? Racism ?
Noooooo, hold your horses there sonny jim.
If you take the angle of the writer of the article, for a white person to write a game about black people in 4th Century southern Africa, then you would likely end up with a racist product, because it would be a white projecting a black image. And this is where I agree with him.
Are there black people who have 4th century southern African games that they want made? Possibly. Is it racist that publishers don't make their game? Possibly, but not in a specific sense, just in a rational sense - they can't subsidise a game from every corner of the globe, they have to limit their production to rational output.
The rational output is based on what they perceive as demand. So is the perceived demand a racist decision? Not really, it's basic conservatism, being as risk-free as possible. No-one's tried yet, so no-one knows, so it's a risk.
Is the actual demand racist? Perhaps on a subconscious level, in that perhaps if people saw a game with just black people in it then they might meta-assume the game was not "marketed" at them and not buy it for that reason.
Would people in black southern Africa buy the game? What's the PC ownership like there and what's their gaming culture like? would it represent a profit? Are they demanding a 4th century southern African game there? etc etc.
Myself, as someone who loves variety, would love to see such a game, but, as someone who's a realist, I don't necessarily view absence as direct racism. After all, could black southern Africans be as equally insulted by an African American's take on their history as they would a white guy?
If someone did make such a game and it was shit, would you feel racist for thinking it was shit?
