GAMING LIFE
Fantastic heroes who represent you
Have you been searching for a brilliant and playable Black character in the games you love? We know that diversity isn’t always easy to find in games. So here we are highlighting five excellent examples that feature great Black protagonists – each with their own narrative. Check them out.
The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land: Michonne
Fans of The Walking Dead franchise will be familiar with the character Michonne Hawthorne. She arrives in the television series traumatised by the loss of her son and partner but also ruthless with a sword. In strategy game The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land it is these sword skills you will put to use to defeat the undead horde.
You unlock Michonne by collecting Hero tokens, acquired by making calls with Radio Phones. Find more of these by completing challenges and quests.
Tennis Clash: Hope
Yes, this is a tennis game, but that doesn’t mean there’s no character development. The game’s designers at Brazilian developer Wildlife Studios wanted to make each character feel authentic.
Hope is from New York City and her appreciation for the crowd is shown in both her celebration – a hand on the heart and a point to the spectators – and her stance between matches, in which she acknowledges fans. All of this makes her a loveable player – not to mention her on-court agility and strong forehand.
Choices: Stories You Play: Dr Casey Valentine
Technically, you can call your characters whatever you like in Choices and style them however you please. But the default character in the Open Heart story is a young, Black, newly qualified doctor called Casey Valentine.
How Dr Valentine’s romantic storyline unfolds is up to you – as are the ethnicities, styles and names of many of the characters in the Choices stories.
Frobelles: Coco, Kelli and Krista
Created by mother and daughter team Yvonne and Alyssa Ottley, Frobelles is a direct response to the pair’s desire to see better representation in children’s games.
Coco, Kelli and Krista are three sisters, each with their own unique style, who children can dress up in fun outfits and choose Afro hairstyles for. The game is voiced by Alyssa Ottley, who will talk you through a plethora of hairstyles including flat twists, Fulani braids and a pineapple pin-up.
Reset Earth: Sagan
This story has an environmental message and follows three teenagers – Knox, Terran and Sagan – who are on a mission to save the world. The trio will have to travel through time to search for clues about a disease called the GROW and how to prevent it.
Sagan’s special skills include his super-sharp chemistry knowledge, which he will use to create useful explosions. He also has a jetpack that will send him soaring for short bursts of time.