<p>As I mentioned in the previous blog. Japan doesn't share the same world view as the USA. The ideas of cultural sensitivity and political correctness did not apply to global pop culture. When a country lacks a visual and vocal group of colored minorities then their image, sometimes in a negative light, is propagated through TV, online and in theaters. "Regular" minorities did not end up on the news, sports or in entertainment. These were only the most flamboyant, athletic or criminal aspects of an ethnic group. There was no litmus test for Capcom of Japan to see what was and what was not appropriate when depicting an ethnic group. Unless the designers at Capcom of Japan frequented the USA and visited cities with a large ethnic constituency then most of the cues they knew were the ways minorities were depicted by pop culture. The ways in which manga, anime and film depicted blacks seemed circular, artists were simply copying from the same template. These characters lacked personality when designers didn't know how real ethnic characters spoke or acted, or in the worst case were made from cues of racist origins. Dee Jay was not far removed from the grinning, happy-go-lucky dancing stereotype of the black sambo. In fighting games the most popular black protagonist had been borrowed from archetypes featured in films from over 30 years ago. The two most visible black protagonists were best remembered in their roles opposite Bruce Lee. Kareem Abdul Jabar was a basketball player and student of Bruce Lee. He was one of the villains in Lee's final film Game of Death. Known to many as the movie in which Lee wore his iconic yellow jumpsuit. The height difference between the two men made for a very memorable match up. In a few of the concept sketches for Rufus he was going to be a very tall black man for which his karate gi would have appeared very short on him. How Capcom went from one look to the polar opposite defied description. But I digress... The other, and more popular black fighting archetype from the Lee films was Jim Kelly. The afro-sporting athlete was an actual karate champ. Playing the supporting character Williams in Enter the Dragon Kelly went on to play the main protagonist in a black exploitation film titled Black Belt Jones. The character Williams wore a yellow gi in Enter the Dragon and might have been the reason why Sean was given a yellow gi in Street Fighter III. This actor, his look and style was possibly the icon most used by Japanese designers for black fighting character archetypes. Unfortunately the look was frozen in time. The bell bottom pants, patent leather boots, sideburns, afro and wide-collar look haven't been seen since the 70's. Thus causing subsequent black characters to look dated and absurd rather than cool. Such was the case for the characters Mr. Jones from Rage of the Dragons and Tiger from Tekken. Capcom was not immune to the dated look either. The original concept art for Urien saw some familiar stylings. The thing holding back many of these designs were prevalent not only in Street Fighter but in games from other developers. It seemed that they did not know how to present some of their black fighters to the gamer without attaching a recognizable gimmick to them. If it weren't the smiling, afro wearing, retro look then it was a different stereotype attached to them. In some instances it was playing basketball or dancing or sometimes both. The look and purpose of these gimmicks showed how little insight these studios had into actual minority culture. Black culture was different all over the USA and had different mixed ancestry or in different regions. Abroad these cultural and identification issues were different as well. However the popular image of blacks that Japanese pop culture referenced were either athletes or entertainers from the USA. Many designers did not bother to present a black character as a regular person in their games. In the fighting game world it seemed that Japanese designers were unsure as to what style to pin on black characters. Would the average Japanese gamer have accepted a black character that wasn't a familiar caricature based on popular media? Would the elements that I have been highlighting with regards to Archetype have made sense to a different group of gamers? Or would the Japanese gamer be more willing to accept a fighter that was a black man as long as he looked and behaved the way he was "supposed to." There were the certain shared elements placed on Lucky Glauber, Sean. Magic Dunker and Bobby "Brown Bullet" Nelson. All four fighting game characters could not escape the black basketball playing stereotype. Could these gimmicks be the result of poor planning on the part of designers? The character that Rufus was in concept had an inspired look. Back in the early stages he was a young, athletic black man named King Cobra. King Cobra was a character with an exceptional design. The Color of his uniform was a solid black. It balanced the iconic white gi of Ryu. The color of the gi was contrasted by the gold belt and gold punching gloves of the character. These elements were repeated with the gold necklace. His Costume looked classic but actually had a non-traditional cut. He was one of the rare SF characters that had a mid-sleeve gi. Ken, Ryu and Sean all wore sleeveless tops. Makoto had a traditional long sleeve gi, but King Cobra had a mid sleeve. The sneakers were a perfect modern touch. They were very subtle, and yet, could not be ignored. Cobra represented just a hint of Hip Hop culture, truly an artistic global culture and not limited by USA ideals. It was just enough to remind audiences that he was the modern urban youth, not a jet-set playboy like Ken, nor a wandering solemn Ryu. The gold chain on his neck was not too bold or thick, nor did he sport any sort of earrings, medallion or emblem that would have dated his appearance. His jewelry was very clean and simple. The ruffled edge of his gi gave him personality. The sneakers were classic, something that would have worked in any decade of the modern era. They were appropriate for the look that this character represented, a cue from the traditional and modern, not unlike the wrestling boots that contrasted the dress of Chun-Li. The sneakers were something that could be worn while traveling down city blocks walking into dojos and beating people up. The legend of the barefoot master did not make much sense in the city. He was young and bold and not scared to bring just a little bit of his world into the Street Fighter universe. His design was not so bold as to try to change the universe and our attitudes towards the established characters. His belt and uniform reminded us that he was mindful and respectful of the martial arts. Yellow was usually the first belt awarded to students learning karate. However Cobra's belt had more of a golden hue to it, allowing us to ponder if he was a master and of what form. The characters on his belt spelled out an additional layer of detail. Most SF fans know that Ryu had writing on his belt. Thanks to my friends for coming through with the translations. Ryu's belt, the one on the right reads Fūrinkazan, literally "Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain" It was paraphrased from Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "Move as swift as a wind, stay as silent as forest, attack as fierce as fire, undefeatable defense like a mountain." An epic sentiment that shaped the character and personality of Ryu. King Cobra had a different statement on his belt, Jyakuniku kyoushoku wich roughly translated to "survival of the fittest; law of the jungle." These things combined with the gold and black and cobra logo on the back of his gi made him a subtle homage to the Karate Kid villain Johnny Lawrance. This was much more refreshing that using the tired Williams character. This was a design for a strong black fighter that would have been very appealing to Americans. It was much better presented and respectful than Dee Jay. King Cobra followed the traditions of the classic characters yet visually did not have to bring up racial prejudices or gimmicks to make him stand out. When combined all of these elements made for a character that had Timeless Design. Unfortunately Capcom would have made a misstep with the character, they would have fallen back on stereotype rather than have had the confidence to trust in the natural cues of the design. The original idea called for a dance gimmick on the character. King Cobra's fictional Technique would have been dubbed "breakung-fu," a breakdancing form of kung-fu. Japanese designers thought that breakdancing was a popular fad in the USA and would have gone over well with gamers as a form of fighting. The idea of a breakdance form of fighting was also placed on Bobby Nelson. Players from all over the world would have understood that the character was a cool black guy because he did something that was typical of cool Americans. The assumption was that the only way for the gamer to identify a Nationality was to apply a Stereotype to them. Gamers, artists, designers, students and professionals need to learn how to separate assumption from great design. Assuming that a character becomes identifiable to a gamer, any gamer from around the world, by placing a stereotype on them only serves to weaken the overall design. King Cobra did not need to have the same moves of Ken, Ryu or Sean to be interesting to gamers. He did not need the style of Makoto either. However he was dressed in a variation of the karate uniform. An offshoot of karate without being tied to a stereotype would have made him a strong Archetype. We do not have to look at a concept character that almost was in order to understand how to create a memorable black character. Capcom had actually been creating very memorable boxing Archetypes for almost 15 years. Beginning with Mike in the original Street Fighter and ending with Dudley from Street Fighter III. They were three of the earliest and with the release of Street Fighter IV which features both M. Bison (I use the Japanese names) and Dudley, are now the most recognizable black boxers in videogames. Nintendo fans would say the Sandman was older and more recognizable, but I digress... Each version of the boxing Archetype featured in Street Fighter was better than the last. They all had the design elements that I had been discussing with this series. Clean designs, solid Color choices, limited elements that would make them appear dated all contributed to their Timeless Design. Although they were boxers, no two looked or fought with the same style or Technique, thus making them each a unique Archetype. M. Bison was a good character and a very powerful fighter in canon, he was an enforcer for Vega and a general in the Shadowlaw army. His look evolved from a Mike Tyson clone to something more brutish and muscular, eventually becoming his own character rather than a caricature of an actual fighter (the same thing could not be said of Fei Long). As great a design as Bison was it was the third character that elevated the boxer to new heights in the universe. In order to truly understand and appreciate the design of Dudley we have to compare the best boxing game characters to have appeared in contemporary titles. TJ Combo from Killer Instinct, Rob Python from Buriki One and Joe Fendi from Fighting Layer. Each of these characters represented a different aesthetic and ideology. The TJ Combo character was meant to bring up cues of the boxer Apollo Creed from the Rocky films with flashy moves and a contemporary haircut instead. Rob Python was the dangerous boxer, a professional that was not concerned with anyone but himself. Joe Fendi was the talented thug, a boxer that was only a hair away from criminal. While fun characters in their respective fighting games, none of them could be considered a "Street Fighter design." The Python and Fendi characters came close based on the list of design elements I had presented. But none of them were as cohesive, timeliness or as strong an archetype as the boxers featured in SF continuity. The other boxers did not share the same qualities were because the designers did not have the confidence to create simple, clean designs devoid of outlandish elements that would have made them "cool." A pop and stylish design is actually based on current trends and tastes. It is a great idea for a character meant to hold onto the gamers attention for a season, but unless the character is in an exceptional game then they will be throw-away designs while the next "cool" design is put together. An actual Timeless Design is boring for many observers. The character ends up looking plain and uninteresting when compared to more colorful character designs. Compare the three Capcom boxers to those done by rival studios. The other three characters look very unique when compared to the SF cast. It was the look combined with the other elements, like Moves, Stance, Technique, etc. that made the characters memorable. Boxing character designs, at least from Japan, had a tendency to highlight the more thuggish atmosphere of professional fighters. Joe Fendi was an exceptionally dirty boxer in Fighting Layer. He would stomp an opponents foot so they would not be able to dodge his punches, he could also put metal spikes over his hands and do great damage to opponents. These things were interested, worked well in the game and showed an extreme style of boxing. In canon and official character art some of these boxers were presented as shallow and materialistic. While they were not untrue of many popular fighters, they were also a gross generalization of the athletes. Dudley was a boxer presented in a completely different light. It was a refreshing change of pace that was clearly the antithesis of everything gamers had come to expect about boxers in a videogame. My friend Cesar said that Dudley was everything that the Japanese were not supposed to know about black people. He was not a thug, he did not come from "the hood," he did not speak in slang. The character was a bold change in presentation, and as many hoped, would also be a change in attitude when it came to designing blacks in fighting games. Dudley observed all of the elements of great design. His Color choices were basic and not contrasting, green and white. His Costume was a very classy tuxedo. While not traditional fighting attire it did observe the cues to suggest to the gamer that he was a serious fighter. His sleeves were rolled up to demonstrate a range of movement and show off his large forearms, and he wore boxing gloves at all times. He was a gentleman that observed the rules of boxing and not a thug that would battle with his bare knuckles. He was well spoken and the epitome of class, albeit a little eccentric but never stereotypical of a fighter. In canon he was the new undisputed, unified heavyweight champ. Capcom could have very well presented him in the game with his traditional fighting trunks and even his belts. However they decided to instead incorporate the fighter outside of the typical boxing uniform. Even in his suit Dudley had a Stance very much like a real boxer. Shuffling and dancing on the balls of his feet. His Moves were an exaggerated and fantastic form of boxing, complete with soaring uppercuts and dash punches that worked well against the other caricatured fighting arts in the game. The quick-step stance allowed for the lightning fast moves to be pulled off in rapid succession. This amazing boxing Technique rounded out the character. Even though his look was unorthodox for a boxer, and seemed bland compared to the other boxing characters, it turned out to work very well because of all the elements that went into the character were very well planned. These details include the forethought that went into his concept, as well as his canon. For the first time in a long while the boxer would not be a thug and would not have the same stereotypical elements that previous minority SF characters had. The designers at Capcom, most notably Kinu Nishimura, had the confidence to create a character devoid of many of the elements that Japanese designers had placed on black characters. The only way gamers can expect to see change is if the rest of the people working at Capcom learn to have the same confidence in a minority character. They can be strong and memorable contributors to the series, if only they are willing to see that blacks, or any other ethnic group, can succeed on their own merit. Visual gimmicks need to be left behind, the player does not need to be told that a character is hip, trendy or cool. If the character design works without a gimmick then the player will determine what their final reaction will be. Gamers around the world are willing to accept clean and consistent minorities in games. Sean succeeded despite the basketball gimmick. he even succeeded despite his joke character underpinnings. Sean was, after all, a loser in each of his SF III endings. For a character that was supposed to be the understudy of Ken, he sure did spend a lot of time getting beat up in canon. Despite these things his youth and vigor were infectious, gamers could not wait to see how he developed in the series. The best contemporary black character from an SNK game, Marco Rodriguez, succeeded despite his reto-stylings and passionate fervor in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. These things worked because his passion and ability were inspired by a real-ife karateka named Willie Williams. Just as Ryu was a fantastic variation of the Mas Oyama template, one in which gamers would not and could not confuse the character from the real man, so too was Marco inspired by a real man but restyled into something that did not have even a passing resemblance to Williams. A solid character design does not need to rely on Stereotype or Nationality to have Universality. It was the Ability that allowed gamers to use their Suspension of Disbelief. The most memorable fighters from the real world possessed genuine fighting Ability and seemingly impossible strength and endurance that made them legends. These fighters were perfect models to inspire great character designs. The proper use of this Ability in game form would shape the world they inhabited. Tomorrow we shall look at how the element of Ability convinced gamers that the impossible was possible. </p>