# Race & Animal Crossing



## monochrome (Mar 4, 2013)

I saw this brought up on another animal crossing forum and thought it would be an interesting topic of discussion here as well;

*Why do you think animal crossing has yet to make a way for us to be able to choose our race at the beginning of the game? How do you think they could incorporate it into the game in future titles?* 

Yes, there is a way to tan yourself to the darker skin colors but that should not be something that you would have to work toward and maintain.

Some argue that there would be no way to do this in the way animal crossing does this (like ask weird ominious questions to get eye shapes and hairstyles) but I'm sure if they had one of those strange questions and included a instructional in the booklet that comes with the game on what to say to get what race, it could be done. 

I believe that it may be because Japan not as diverse of a country as say America is. But regardless of that, every race should be allowed to be represented. The lack of customization with race is a little odd.

An interesting idea would be to have "patterns" for race. So just like you have patterns for clothing you could change your skin by making a pattern. Then again, that would require effort which defeats the original purpose--but its something to think about.


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## Prof Gallows (Mar 4, 2013)

Because it's a Nintendo/Japanese game.

A lot of games don't let you pick your race. I don't think there is any reason behind it other than it would take up time and resources for something that isn't really needed to enjoy the game completely.


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## monochrome (Mar 5, 2013)

Well of course a lot of other games don't let you pick your race. But then again, a lot of other games are story based. You're playing the character, not playing yourself. The difference between those games and this one is your character on animal crossing is supposed to be a representation of you. 

I can imagine it being uncomfortable especially for a little boy or girl arriving at their new town excited to play the game only to discover that they have no choice and must be white, _again_. This kind of thing causes identity issues in young children and its really sad to see. Especially with nintendo being regarded as sort of a more "family gaming" company you would think they may consider this. So I think in some cases, it _would_ intervene on enjoying the game completely for some players.


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## Kabune (Mar 5, 2013)

imo, they should allow a way to pick your race/color. Im black, and even though we will most likely get a mii face feature again, i don't want just my face and skin color then not be able to use accesories. I rather they gave us skin colors, cause the people who are white don't have to try and do something like tanning everyday.


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## Officer Berri (Mar 5, 2013)

I've wondered this for a while, myself. But I really don't see how they could do this without just giving us the ability to customize our appearance completely from the beginning of the game. Unless Rover asked us a question like "How much sun do you like?"

"I want to be in the sun all day every day!" -very tanned
"I like a little sun, but not too much." -lightly tanned
"I like to stay out of the sun as much as possible." -no tan

But even that feels awkward.


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## Dustbunnii (Mar 5, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I've wondered this for a while, myself. But I really don't see how they could do this without just giving us the ability to customize our appearance completely from the beginning of the game. Unless Rover asked us a question like "How much sun do you like?"
> 
> "I want to be in the sun all day every day!" -very tanned
> "I like a little sun, but not too much." -lightly tanned
> ...



I think that would be a good way to do it... but that's just me.

I also think it's a bit odd that they haven't added skin color to the character creation...
With the island, it would be relatively simple to keep your skin dark, but like other people have said, it shouldn't really be something that one should have to work towards...
I also feel like the addition of skin color choices from the beginning might make tanning irrelevant unless each skin tone could get darker and lighter...
Either way, I don't think it's really fair that they don't have skin-tone options outside of tanning... oh well.


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## Bambi (Mar 5, 2013)

Officer Berri, I don't think your idea sounds awkward at all. How is that anymore awkward than answering random questions for certain eye shapes and hairstyles?

Of course its easy for white people to say "Nah, it's not necessary." For me though, If I was black or brown or anything I would probably be P.O.'d.  The character is supposed to be a representation of yourself. The more you feel like it's a little "you" running around doing these things, the more fun IMO.

 I think I mentioned this before that I would love to make a character of my bf, who is brown but I can't since no little white boys will be relatively close. As you said Monochrome, it affects enjoying the game completely. If I HAD to be dark skinned in the game I wouldn't be as happy as being white and vice versa.


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## Officer Berri (Mar 5, 2013)

Well, I only mean awkward because there would be people who have natural dark skin and don't like going out in the sun at all, and people who love going out in the sun bug for one reason or another cannot get a tan at all. I dunno.


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## Bambi (Mar 5, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> Well, I only mean awkward because there would be people who have natural dark skin and don't like going out in the sun at all, and people who love going out in the sun bug for one reason or another cannot get a tan at all. I dunno.



Ahh I see what you mean  

Although I highly doubt it will be incorporated as its a Japanese game not an American or Canadian game where our population is much more diverse. Still would be nice for people to have the option though.


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## Officer Berri (Mar 5, 2013)

I just wish we had the option to choose our skin tone and have an option to pick so we don't have to worry about tanning. I have the ability to get very tan (comes from my native american genetics. I was a _really_ tan baby. xD), but I like the way I look without a tan. I'm really pale now and have been most of my life since I tend to stay ou tof the sun. I just don't like the way really super tan skin looks that much. I want my character to match me! :3


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## monochrome (Mar 5, 2013)

People I notice are also mentioning that it shouldn't take up extra resources for the game to create these skin tones...but when you think about it--how could it be more complex than say adding another type of furniture ready to buy at r-parkers? It would require a bit more dialogue for Rover to say, and a few more options created. I don't see how this could be a real strain on Nintendo's coders especially since they program all kinds of _much_ more complicated features for the game. Not only that, but they already have most of the skin images for the players already made. 

 Sure, this game is made for japan. But they have to recognize how popular it is statewide as well. If they didn't think it was popular enough, they wouldn't go through the trouble of importing it. So if they can go through importing it, they can make this minor change. Sure, its too late for New Leaf (unless this feature is whats taking them the extra time, but i highly doubt it) but this can be implemented in future games.


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## oath2order (Mar 5, 2013)

Identity issues? Are you kidding? It's a *game*. I'm pretty sure most kids realize this.

Just because they don't have interracial options in the game doesn't disqualify them from being a family gaming company.

I mean, it's very clearly not an issue because as far as I'm aware, Nintendo hasn't gotten major complaints about it.


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## Mary (Mar 5, 2013)

Ever noticed how some people might react, though? You mention one thing about race and you're declared racist. I can understand where you're coming from, but i must say I think it's better left as-is.


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## Sora (Mar 5, 2013)

oath2order said:


> Identity issues? Are you kidding? It's a *game*. I'm pretty sure most kids realize this.
> 
> Just because they don't have interracial options in the game doesn't disqualify them from being a family gaming company.
> 
> I mean, it's very clearly not an issue because as far as I'm aware, Nintendo hasn't gotten major complaints about it.



I 100% agree with you.
As soon as Nintendo gets a complaint that AC is giving children "identity issuses" they will change it. But right now, I think it is just fine. I mean, if some of you really want to get into it, why are there no dark skinned Mario franchise characters? I mean wouldn't that also give children these "identity issues"?


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## monochrome (Mar 6, 2013)

oath2order said:


> Identity issues? Are you kidding? It's a *game*. I'm pretty sure most kids realize this.
> 
> Just because they don't have interracial options in the game doesn't disqualify them from being a family gaming company.
> 
> I mean, it's very clearly not an issue because as far as I'm aware, Nintendo hasn't gotten major complaints about it.



Sure it's "just a game" but just because Nintendo hasn't received major complaints about it doesn't mean it's not important. If you don't think these type of things are affecting kids you should google the Clark experiment.

 I also never said that Nintendo should be disqualified as a family gaming company, just that they might want to concern themselves with this since they are a family gaming company.

 And likely the reason why they haven't received complaints is because people of color who play the game might not know that they can. Lack of resources is why a lot of things that should happen don't. Either that or they have become so repressed by the clark experiment type of living that they would rather be a character who is not representative of themselves. Maybe there has been an amount of outcry that Nintendo has either ignored, or has not prioritized as something that needs to be addressed quickly amongst the other tasks they need to preform within the company.



Mary said:


> Ever noticed how some people might react, though? You mention one thing about race and you're declared racist. I can understand where you're coming from, but i must say I think it's better left as-is.



I fail to see how this helps the situation, or how my comments could be construed as racist. I could care less of what people would say because making this change is in the best interest of the population of gamers as a whole. Support and activism is something that transcends race and ethnicity. I can't imagine Nintendo making the change to have more skin tone options looked at as a bad development from any interest group that isn't a hateful one.




Sora said:


> I 100% agree with you.
> As soon as Nintendo gets a complaint that AC is giving children "identity issuses" they will change it. But right now, I think it is just fine. I mean, if some of you really want to get into it, why are there no dark skinned Mario franchise characters? I mean wouldn't that also give children these "identity issues"?



It sure wouldn't hurt to add more diverse characters to franchise titles like that, but that is not really the point. The kids go into the game knowing that they are not Mario, but they are playing Mario. 

In animal crossing this is different, you are a resident in a fantasy town, but the game makes it obvious that the character you are playing is supposed to be a representation of yourself. But people of color don't have that option because they literally do not have that customizing option within the game.


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## Bambi (Mar 6, 2013)

I don't see why people wouldn't want this option. It wouldn't affect the current gameplay it would only ADD to others gameplay experience.

Those of you saying "oh it's fine like it is", "They don't need to change anything" etc.... Are you light skinned?


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## oath2order (Mar 6, 2013)

Bambi said:


> I don't see why people wouldn't want this option. It wouldn't affect the current gameplay it would only ADD to others gameplay experience.
> 
> Those of you saying "oh it's fine like it is", "They don't need to change anything" etc.... Are you light skinned?



Yes. I am.

Are you and the other supporters darker-skinned?


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## Sora (Mar 6, 2013)

Bambi said:


> I don't see why people wouldn't want this option. It wouldn't affect the current gameplay it would only ADD to others gameplay experience.
> 
> Those of you saying "oh it's fine like it is", "They don't need to change anything" etc.... Are you light skinned?



I am light skinned.

The reason I don't think it needs to be added is because if you feel it is necessary to really make the character a representative of yourself, why not just tan on the island? It doesn't really make sense to add the option to a Japanese based game.


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## Enyeto (Mar 6, 2013)

All of this has got me thinking! 

In the recent Nintendo Direct, they said there will be an exclusive feature for the North American versions of New Leaf. A lot of people seem to think it will have to do with the StreetPass houses thing, but is it possible that the 'exclusive feature' could be skin color selection?


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## Officer Berri (Mar 6, 2013)

I certainly hope that the exclusive feature involves the street pass. |: While the tanning is a great option for those who want their skin to match real life, I'll never be able to get any street passing in order to even use the streetpass housing... 

): I r lonlies n stuff!


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## one_eye (Mar 7, 2013)

I personally feel like a cat trapped in a human body. I think Nintendo should give us the ability to be animals.


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## monochrome (Mar 7, 2013)

Sora said:


> I am light skinned.
> 
> The reason I don't think it needs to be added is because if you feel it is necessary to really make the character a representative of yourself, why not just tan on the island? It doesn't really make sense to add the option to a Japanese based game.


 
The notion that you would have to still start out as a white character is still unsettling regardless of the fact that you would eventually be able to attain the skin tone you possess . Proposing that as an acceptable measure also unfortunately suggests that the "original" or "default" person is white, which also makes an even stronger suggestion that people of color are deviations from the "norm". 

It's hard for a lot of people who are light skinned to see this, because they simply do not run into these situations in their every day lives. This doesn't mean light skinned people shouldn't make an effort to correct this way of thinking, however.

What's also upsetting, is that given the option, many children of color would stick with the lighter skin tone. But if more skin tones are at least offered it will encourage children with healthy racial identities to further that thinking.




Vann said:


> All of this has got me thinking!
> 
> In the recent Nintendo Direct, they said there will be an exclusive feature for the North American versions of New Leaf. A lot of people seem to think it will have to do with the StreetPass houses thing, but is it possible that the 'exclusive feature' could be skin color selection?



This would be great. I have also heard rumors that it would do with street pass but I don't really get what they could do with it to improve it. Maybe allow an entire town to street pass through the Internet? I'm kind of hoping if skin tones are a new feature that they aren't the only feature, because lack of another feature for gamers who don't care for skin  tone choice will cause outrage and overshadow the example setting step Nintendo would be taking in the gaming world. After all, if we can have different skintoned miis, why not our animal crossing characters too?




one_eye said:


> I personally feel like a cat trapped in a human body. I think Nintendo should give us the ability to be animals.


 Aren't there cat hats you can get in game? This kind of thing is a lot less important than being able to represent yourself as you have been since your birth in a game bent on customization and self expression...


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## Joey (Mar 7, 2013)

If whoever wants it changed then make a complaint if you want it that bad but I don't see the point in doing that.


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## Stevey Queen (Mar 7, 2013)

I never really noticed they haven't gave us the option to be a different color.

But that just might be cuz I'm white.

It would be nice though to actually have black AC characters.


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## oath2order (Mar 8, 2013)

one_eye said:


> I personally feel like a cat trapped in a human body. I think Nintendo should give us the ability to be animals.



I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.



monochrome said:


> The notion that you would have to still start out as a white character is still unsettling regardless of the fact that you would eventually be able to attain the skin tone you possess . Proposing that as an acceptable measure also unfortunately suggests that the "original" or "default" person is white, which also makes an even stronger suggestion that people of color are deviations from the "norm".
> 
> It's hard for a lot of people who are light skinned to see this, because they simply do not run into these situations in their every day lives. This doesn't mean light skinned people shouldn't make an effort to correct this way of thinking, however.
> 
> ...



In Japan, the Japanese *are* the norm. You can't expect them to cater to such a small group in their game.

I'm gay and light-skinned. Would it be nice to have a gay character in a Nintendo game? Sure. But I'm not going to complain about it and say that Nintendo is causing identity issues in young LGBT children.

They could improve it by making it so SpotPass would work too? >.> I highly doubt skin color is going to be a new feature.

You can't pick and choose what identities are more or less important. Maybe one_eye is being sarcastic, maybe not. But maybe one_eye truly feels like a cat trapped in a human's body. This is an identity and you seriously cannot pick and choose which one is more or less important than another. That's discrimination.


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## XTheLancerX (Mar 22, 2013)

I really wouldnt care if I had to play as an african american person, or whatever. Even if I HAD to play as a female it wouldnt bother me too much.. like portal. you have to play as a female obviously. I dont know, I am not very sensitive at all.. theres this dumb kid in my grade who tells me to die in a hole and tells me I Fail at life and I personally, dont even care xD It makes me laugh and I say "Yeah, dieing in a hole is my favorite recreational activity!" I am a very strange child. I really dont care what people think about me. lol


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## Kip (Mar 26, 2013)

X_The_Lancer_X said:


> I really wouldnt care if I had to play as an african american person, or whatever. Even if I HAD to play as a female it wouldnt bother me too much.. like portal. you have to play as a female obviously. I dont know, I am not very sensitive at all.. theres this dumb kid in my grade who tells me to die in a hole and tells me I Fail at life and I personally, dont even care xD It makes me laugh and I say "Yeah, dieing in a hole is my favorite recreational activity!" I am a very strange child. I really dont care what people think about me. lol



That's good, i applaud you! I would want to have choose able skin colors, but since you can get a tan  i don't mind.


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## Arisu (Apr 5, 2013)

I feel that its not necessarily needed, well, I?m what you would call white so I?m light skinned and have gray eyes and light brown hair but my female cousin who is also "white" has much darker skin that a lot of colored people since she is born. So she has dark skin, dark brown, almost black eyes and dark brown curly hair. So if this feature was in this game and she would play with someone else they would always be "are you black? / are you afro(-in-this-case-)romanian?". 
What should she do then? Different races have different facial bones structures, should that be included then too? http://youtu.be/zd7RRr5Eubg So whats with albinos that have "black ethnik background? I think the game is good as it is ,though I have alot of friends who would like to be all time tan in this game (especially one girl who is white and would like to be colored/black in real life). And sine this was just about brown to dark brown skin, what is with Indians who have red skin, wouldn?t they feel discriminated against as well because the would be left out in matters of skin color? Because someone will always be, you can?t make everyone happy. In my opinion Animal Crossing is nice as it is, if you want super customisation, play Sims. And if you say I don?t understand because I?m white, well I played old Harvest Moon games were you had to be MALE, no choise, as well as in Rune Factory. 
If Nintendo would change the game to include special skin color , they would have to do much more as well, so that everyone would be included. (Don?t forget the people who put rings around their neck to make it longer, they would want that to be included too, dont you think so?)

I hope what I wanted to point out was made clear and not misunderstood, skin color and ethnic backgrounds are a difficult topic so hopefully nobody feels offended by my post.


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## Lauren (Apr 5, 2013)

one_eye said:


> I personally feel like a cat trapped in a human body. I think Nintendo should give us the ability to be animals.



Crying at that

I've never actually noticed but I'm white and a natural blonde with blue eyes but I hated being blonde, although I do notice on the game when I have a tan and as I made my character me i don't want the tan seeing as I don't. I do think there should be an option though.


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## tigereyes86 (Apr 5, 2013)

You look so young to be dying your hair and eyebrows such a dark brown .  Your choice of course, but I'd be wary of such a huge change, maybe because my hair doesn't seem to like dye too much and gets a bit straw-like when I do haha!  Having said that, it does suit you and I'd never have known you really have blonde hair.

Sorry back on topic, a lot of games as we have said have no customisation and I've not seen it brought up anywhere as an issue.  I also agree with the fact that if it bothers you so much, go to Nintendo who can do something about it, with enough backing they may revise their character options in future across the board.  I've always been the type not to bother too much about the characters I use anywhere though, but I can see both sides.

Someone said that children go into Mario knowing that they're playing Mario and it's not a representation of themselves.  This is true.  AC involves a character that's moving into a town populated by animals and depending on the game, you're either a resident or the Mayor.  It doesn't promise that you're that character though (neither does any other game unless they let you use your Mii to represent yourself) and I think kids can see this and I'd think they're more likely to ask why there was a crazy mole with a weapon shouting at them over why their character was not black/brown/hispanic etc.

Again, these are just my views and I enjoy seeing both sides of this story (Loving how no-one has descended into an argument or name calling or attacking here, my kind of forum-nice work TBT  !!!)


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## Shiny Star (Apr 5, 2013)

It's probably annoying for non-white people having to have a white character, I agree that there should be a bit of customization.



Lauren said:


> Crying at that
> 
> I've never actually noticed but I'm white and a natural blonde with blue eyes but I hated being blonde, although I do notice on the game when I have a tan and as I made my character me i don't want the tan seeing as I don't. I do think there should be an option though.


If you have a hat or an umbrella, it can stop you from getting tanned but yeah, there should be sun cream or something.


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## Schim (Apr 5, 2013)

I don't see what's so difficult about being able to choose your default skintone.

You shouldn't be forced to have a specific color as your default. It's a customizable game, you can choose other features, but not your skintone? It promotes the idea that white is "default". Even the Japanese argument is a little weak considering that in Japanese media a lot of characters, especially main characters, are white rather than Japanese. And Japan has a big problem with people trying to be more white through surgery and treatment. 

Harvest Moon recently added color choice. It's not anything spectacular, but it's something. Change has to start somewhere. And it won't happen unless there is a big enough voice for it. 

Tanning is not a solution. It's a temporary change in the game. It's not fair for millions of kids to basically have the color of their skin written off as something as temporary as a tan. 

It may not bother you personally, but it does bother people. Maybe not even directly, but you have to understand that race issues aren't just the upfront and obvious oppression, but a good portion of them come in small seemingly subtle packages. When games constantly have white only playable characters, you're silently telling every child of color that to be someone important in a game, you have to be white.


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## Sena (Apr 5, 2013)

Schim, that was a perfect post. Perfect. 
I was getting all geared up to contribute to this thread, but you said everything much more eloquently than I would have.


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## Lew (Apr 9, 2013)

Does your skin have to be the correct colour in-game to enjoy the game? No, not really.


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## Sena (Apr 12, 2013)

L3WIS said:


> Does your skin have to be the correct colour in-game to enjoy the game? No, not really.



Sure, but you could also argue that you don't have to be able to buy 10 different kinds of silly colorful glasses to be able to enjoy the game either. That sort of argument doesn't hold up in this situation.

It might just be cosmetic, but it's important. Perhaps if they had kept customization to the bare minimum level it was in the GC game it would be defensible. But they added new hair colors and styles, new facial features, and the option to change your eye color. A logical supplementary addition would be to add a choice of skin tone OUTSIDE of just the tanning feature. The fact that such a thing was omitted is disappointing.


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## Lisha (Apr 12, 2013)

It'd be nice if we could choose our skintones. I have a brown skintone and the only way I can effectively (permanently) portray that in the game is with the Mii mask. It doesn't detract from my love for the series, I played Wild World without the Mii mask and still enjoyed every second playing that game. It just sucks that we can't use accessories/hats when using the masks, I know why it's not possible but yeah. I just hope that the 3DS has more Mii style options than the Wii.


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## kittycate (May 20, 2013)

They definitely should, it would only improve the game. The new Pokemon game revealed options to change your skin color and that's a Japanese game as well, so it's not like it can't be done or they aren't aware of other races besides Japanese people. I'm willing to guarantee that the next Animal Crossing after New Leaf will include this because it's past the point where it's okay. It's basically like having The Sims with only white people, wouldn't that seem really crazy? There are all kinds of people out there and in a game where you essentially get to customize the way your character looks, the color of your skin should be an obvious addition too. It wouldn't hurt anything. It's like boys being able to wear dresses in this game. If you want that option, there you go. If you don't, don't use it!


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## amerlene (May 22, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I've wondered this for a while, myself. But I really don't see how they could do this without just giving us the ability to customize our appearance completely from the beginning of the game. Unless Rover asked us a question like "How much sun do you like?"
> 
> "I want to be in the sun all day every day!" -very tanned
> "I like a little sun, but not too much." -lightly tanned
> ...



I think the different skin colour option would be nice. I agree with Officer Berri that it may be awkward. I know that I misunderstood the questions in the beginning, when I first played the game and ended up naming my town Home and had to correct my gender. You'd have to get Rover to phrase it in a natural way or it may take you out of the AC experience. I guess Rover could comment on your appearance on the train and ask if you're naturally dark or tanned from a holiday away.


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## Cardbored (May 22, 2013)

^ That could be easily remedied by upgrading the hair salon so that it's also a tanning salon. And the reason for not including something like it in the first place is simple: Japan isn't as diverse as America. Though now in other Japanese games they're doing it, I'm sure they had more things to worry about, like making New Leaf not suck as bad as City Folk.


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## oath2order (May 22, 2013)

Cardbored said:


> ^ That could be easily remedied by upgrading the hair salon so that it's also a tanning salon.



Well, I did read about the tanning salon idea somewhere, and I thought of a small problem with that. What about the starting race?


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## Superpenguin (May 22, 2013)

You give one thing and people are just going to start focusing on another, my guess would be body size next.

Tanning is very easy to do, now more than ever because of the island in New Leaf, so it is not too much of a problem that there are not other skin tones. I personally don't classify skin color as race though.


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## Cardbored (May 22, 2013)

oath2order said:


> Well, I did read about the tanning salon idea somewhere, and I thought of a small problem with that. What about the starting race?



It'll be what it's always been, why change it? It's kind of like your hair or your eyes; you have to deal with it until you get the chance to change it.


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## Bambi (May 22, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> You give one thing and people are just going to start focusing on another, my guess would be body size next.



Rover: "How much would you say you eat?"

-"I eat all day every day." - Obese
-"I eat when I'm hungry." -Average
-"I starve myself. - Anorexic

Easy fix  lol.


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## Superpenguin (May 22, 2013)

Bambi said:


> Rover: "How much would you say you eat?"
> 
> -"I eat all day every day." - Obese
> -"I eat when I'm hungry." -Average
> ...



When I first played Animal Crossing, I actually thought weight was an element. Animals would always tell me that if i keep running around, I'd be all bone. I took it seriously(I knew I wouldn't ever be a skeleton, of course, just skinnier) so I would constantly eat a ton of native fruit until I convinced myself my character was 'back to normal weight'. xD


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## Bambi (May 22, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> When I first played Animal Crossing, I actually thought weight was an element. Animals would always tell me that if i keep running around, I'd be all bone. I took it seriously(I knew I wouldn't ever be a skeleton, of course, just skinnier) so I would constantly eat a ton of native fruit until I convinced myself my character was 'back to normal weight'. xD



lol!! When I first started playing I didn't even know eating the fruit was an option  lol


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## Superpenguin (May 22, 2013)

Bambi said:


> lol!! When I first started playing I didn't even know eating the fruit was an option  lol



I actually figured that out after animals told me I was getting skinny. I was like, okay then maybe I am able to eat something and I tried fruit and it worked. xD


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## oath2order (May 22, 2013)

Cardbored said:


> It'll be what it's always been, why change it? It's kind of like your hair or your eyes; you have to deal with it until you get the chance to change it.



People will complain about white being the default race though. "Why is white default? Does Nintendo think white is superior?" That'll happen.


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## sassberg (May 22, 2013)

I think the lack of different skin tones is a really sad problem. It most likely stems from the developers simply not thinking about it rather than any sort of malice (this is a Japanese game, after all), but I see no reason why it hasn't been added in by now. The game is played internationally, and that international audience is not all white. 

Although not everyone thinks of their player character as a representative of themselves in the game world, a lot of people do. Sure, the character will never look _exactly_ like you do in real life, but skin color is often a very obvious visual characteristic. I see absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be included in the game. It can't be all that hard to implement -- a ton of other games let you change your skin color -- and there are absolutely no downsides.

I don't think tanning is close to a solution either. The tanning in game is simply the modification of white skin, not the inclusion of actual darker skin colors (and it's only temporary). I'm white, and I think I would upset people in real life if I tanned and started running around saying I was a different race. 

I'll definitely be adding a comment about skin colors on the Club Nintendo survey -- thanks for the reminder!


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## oath2order (May 22, 2013)

Can't you tan at the island all year long?


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## Superpenguin (May 22, 2013)

sassberg said:


> The game is played internationally, and that international audience is not all white.
> 
> I don't think tanning is close to a solution either. The tanning in game is simply the modification of white skin, not the inclusion of actual darker skin colors



This isn't meant as an argument or anything, I just like responding to people...

The international audience also isn't all skinny and have round heads. 

Also, if/when skin tones do get implemented, I'd be willing to bet they will be the options of the various tones from the tan.



oath2order said:


> Can't you tan at the island all year long?



In New Leaf, yes. Just as long as there is no rain(which only seems to appear in certain minigames) and that it is daytime and you aren't wearing/holding any items that prevent tans.


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## oath2order (May 22, 2013)

Superpenguin said:


> This isn't meant as an argument or anything, I just like responding to people...
> 
> The international audience also isn't all skinny and have round heads.
> 
> ...



Oh. Then in that case, you can essentially be whatever your race is ._.


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## Mirror (May 23, 2013)

Honestly? I wish they would simply skip the question altogether and let you choose your own skin tone, hairstyle, hair color, eye style, eye color, etc. at the start of the game. While some people do like the questions because it surprises them on what their face will be, they could always put a "random" option. Overall it would be more convenient for everyone to just pick their own appearance, and no, I do not think people should have to tan in the sun for many hours (and only in the summer) just to get their own skin color. Even if this is Japan, they could always change for the next game, right? It's not like they have to add new skin colors, all the colors are already there, it's just hard to get to them.


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## oath2order (May 23, 2013)

Honestly? I've never actually seen anyone complain about this before. Never saw it on ACC or the other minor forums I used to be on >.>


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## Pyon (May 23, 2013)

I don't think anyone really complains about it openly, because it's taboo 
Race / skin color is a touchy subject.


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## tigereyes86 (May 23, 2013)

oath2order said:


> Honestly? I've never actually seen anyone complain about this before. Never saw it on ACC or the other minor forums I used to be on >.>



It was on ACC, but they were getting pretty worked up about it so there's every chance it's closed off and gotten swept aside by now, this was months ago.


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## brinstar (May 26, 2013)

I think they should just give you an option to select skin tone at character creation. I understand that the multiple choice thing is a game design decision and selecting a skin tone from a menu might bring the player out of the 'moment' but one of the draws of Animal Crossing is that this town is yours and that you create a meaningful character to play around in that town. It seems rather limiting not to include an option to select skin tone.


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## one_eye (May 26, 2013)

one_eye said:


> I personally feel like a cat trapped in a human body. I think Nintendo should give us the ability to be animals.



I think those who consider my statement to be silly, but believe the option to have whatever skin colour, should reconsider.

I was born this way, and so were you. I am not some weird person who wants attention. This is who I am, and that is who you are. I think this is a particularly appropriate game for this as well, considering the rest of the characters in this game are animals.


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## Mark (May 26, 2013)

Edit: I got carried away


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## oath2order (May 26, 2013)

one_eye said:


> I think those who consider my statement to be silly, but believe the option to have whatever skin colour, should reconsider.
> 
> I was born this way, and so were you. I am not some weird person who wants attention. This is who I am, and that is who you are. I think this is a particularly appropriate game for this as well, considering the rest of the characters in this game are animals.



Oh, you were serious? Oh.

Mark, what the hell are you talking about? Nintendo is based in Japan, and the majority of the players over there are...Guess what? They're Japanese. Of course the games Nintendo makes are going to feature predominantly light-skinned characters. Your Rosa Parks analogy falls apart because, again, it's freaking Japan.

Racist? Again, what are you on about? How is anyone here racist, or being bigoted? Nobody is actually saying "No, I think every character should be white". Hop off your high horse and chill out.


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## brinstar (May 27, 2013)

Japanese people have a wide variety of skin tones, from dark to light. Japan isn't as homogeneous a nation as people in this thread seem to think. The argument that AC only lets you select a light shade for skin tone because Japanese people all have light skin is invalid.

Secondly, can we please take the aggression levels down a notch?


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## Cardbored (May 28, 2013)

oath2order said:


> People will complain about white being the default race though. "Why is white default? Does Nintendo think white is superior?" That'll happen.


If that's what people think about when it comes to Animal Crossing then maybe they shouldn't be playing this game.


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## Roknar (May 28, 2013)

Officer Berri said:


> I've wondered this for a while, myself. But I really don't see how they could do this without just giving us the ability to customize our appearance completely from the beginning of the game. Unless Rover asked us a question like "How much sun do you like?"
> 
> "I want to be in the sun all day every day!" -very tanned
> "I like a little sun, but not too much." -lightly tanned
> ...



I feel like that would be a great way to go about it. It wouldn't require much other than having to answer a question, just like it would be to select a face.


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## Lampokos (May 30, 2013)

I think it's fine.

See, the only thing that makes this an issue are the people that point this stuff out.
There are a select few people out there that are actually offended by this, and even then, it's not anything big.
There are plenty of games without the choice of race, and nobody complains.
Animal Crossing is more about the game, not the look of someone or anything like that.
It's about the fun you have, and when you're having fun, does it really matter if your character is Caucasian?


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## TheObscure (May 30, 2013)

Everyone in Animal Crossing should be a transgendered homosexual feminist race mixing albino.


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## zilke (Jul 20, 2013)

It would definitely improve player immersion if they were able to choose their race. Yes, Japan is very racially homogenous, that isn't an excuse. Pokemon X and Y will have player customization that will allow you to choose an anime-approximation of your race. 
A lot of players want their characters to look like them, so it's unfair to anyone who's skin tone isn't naturally pale that they have to spend play time maintaining a tan.


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## RedNoverian (Jul 20, 2013)

I don't see an issue with somehow selecting skin tone. It would accomodate all people (there are some very dark Japanese individuals, after all).


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## Niya (Jul 20, 2013)

I've wanted skin tone selection in this game for I don't know how long. I'm mixed so I'm neither neither pale white nor really dark. And I don't see why we should have to go out and tan for hours just to get darker skin and make our characters look more like us. What bothers me more in this game is that they removed the skin colors for the Mii masks. The skin color of your face doesn't transfer to the rest of your body like in City Folk. :T


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## Ilona (Jul 20, 2013)

I think it is very sad that New Leaf doesn't let you choose your race. There is no technical excuse for this either, it would be easy to resolve. 

The gaming industry has a long way to go as a whole on this issue. There are so many games which fail to allow people proper representation, so many games with one token black character and one token women. A women usually shown in an immodest outfit. 

Tanning is not an acceptable solution. Black people are not just white people with a tan. Personally I feel that's an inappropriate way of looking at the situation and it's not a fix by any means. 

I think it would be nice to have other choices too. I'm fat in real life and I'm comfortable with that fact. For the brief period that I played Second Life, I made my avatar fat too because I see no reason to feel ashamed of the way I look. I would love to have the opportunity to make my New Leaf character fat too.

Disabled characters are rarely represented in games. It would be nice for AC players to have the choice to show their avatar using a wheelchair for example.

I suggest that if you feel this is wrong, as I do, that you write to Nintendo and express your views. Perhaps someone can work out how to get a petition going?


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## Cranky Squirrel (Jul 20, 2013)

Choosing a default skin tone should absolutely be a choice when creating the character. That tanning is an option only demonstrates that the programming for five (?) different skin tones are already programmed into the game. There should be a way to make them permanent--and something you can choose from the beginning. In an international game with character customization, there is no reason for white to be the default--there should be no default skin tone; it should be up to the player to decide at the start of the game.

From what I've been lead to believe, Nintendo is taking a lot of flack over this. I hope the get the message. As has been mentioned, the new Pokemon game is adding skin tone choice, so it looks like things are improving.


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## Jizg (Jul 20, 2013)

Ilona said:


> I think it would be nice to have other choices too. I'm fat in real life and I'm comfortable with that fact. For the brief period that I played Second Life, I made my avatar fat too because I see no reason to feel ashamed of the way I look. I would love to have the opportunity to make my New Leaf character fat too.
> 
> Disabled characters are rarely represented in games. It would be nice for AC players to have the choice to show their avatar using a wheelchair for example.
> 
> I suggest that if you feel this is wrong, as I do, that you write to Nintendo and express your views. Perhaps someone can work out how to get a petition going?



While I agree that body types are a problem I feel like inclusion of disabled player characters might come off as counterproductive

Games are supposed to be a fantasy. I imagine someone who is disabled doesn't want to be reminded of that in what is supposed to be an escape. And on a practical level, playing a disabled character would only hinder you and remind you of the things you may not be able to do in real life(like swim). I feel including such an option would just be a depressing reminder rather than thoughtful inclusion.


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## Octavian (Jul 24, 2013)

I think the biggest issue here is that there is already a way to change your skin color, but it's inconvenient and time consuming, and you can't nail it down very easily. The argument that Japan isn't as diverse is completely irrelevant because of all the other customization that is available in the game, as well as the fact that skin color change is already a factor in the game. I think what people want is a convenient, simple way to change your character's skin color the same way you can change their eye color or hair color and style. Maybe Shampoodle could have a tanning booth that gets you your desired color until you decide to change it. I don't know. But that's what I want. I just think it is a feature in the game they could have made much more convenient and permanent. I'm a little tired of going to the island and leaving my 3DS open for an hour just to keep my tan going.

What bothers me the most is people who say something like "Do you really NEED this feature?" or "Can't you enjoy the game without it?" are asking the wrong question. Would it be so bad for you if skin color customization were an option? Because it seems in a lot of people's attitudes that it would be. And that's not okay. There are a whole lot of people who want this feature, so what difference does it make to you if it's in a future game or not? Stop telling people that their desire for this feature is invalid. Just because you don't care about skin color customization doesn't mean that other people don't. I'm noticing a lot of attitude that seems very racist, like "well it's not that important of a feature, why can't everyone just accept that the character is white"? And I think the reason is that there are a ton of other ways to customize the character, but still not a convenient way to customize skin color. I'm not sure you would be saying the same thing if customization was as limited as it was in the original game.


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## Batofara (Jul 25, 2013)

I'm pretty sure you're not really white in most Japanese games like Animal Crossing, you're actually Asian lol. Everyone in the US just keeps assuming they're white

Japan isn't exactly diverse (99.4% or more Asian), so I guess they weren't really expecting to accommodate less than 0.6% of their people x.x

I guess it would make sense if they were planning to make it widely available in the US, they would give a skin color option. It could have been in the NA exclusive version or something


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## Jaymes Keller (Jul 26, 2013)

It's not often that I jump into any forum both-feet first, but in this case, I'm going to do it.

I feel that the ability to choose your race is very valid. I can see that the game is made by a Japanese company, and the diversity in Japan isn't nearly as much as the US or Europe, but still, I argue it would make people feel more inclusive.

Maybe, what could be done, is have two character creation systems, the "classic" method, in which you answer cryptic questions to choose what you look like, and an "advanced" method, which let's you choose every part of your character, along with starter outfits. Does it fit in with AC? Maybe not, but I can't think of anything better than that.

People will argue until they're blue in the face that it's not needed, but I have to disagree. There is a chance that someone may feel that they're not welcome in the AC universe, which is sad, in my view. In all honesty, Nintendo should do more to welcome anyone into the game, no matter what race.

Finally, just to lighten the mood slightly, yes, I know I'm making AC sound like a Star Trek series, but hey, you've got almost every animal under the sun, and you're pretty much like Picard (or any other captain in the series, really, take your pick XP)


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