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Neil Druckmann's Response To Uncharted 4 Black Character Controversy

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Guys, stop "one and done"ing like its a prize fight and he just knocked someone out. He saw a conversation and he contributed constructively to it. We should be very happy he addressed it as he did and it's an important conversation to have.

Frankly, I'm sorry Neil reads GAF against his better judgment. He's a highly respected figure here with highly respected ideas and highly respected works of art. I hope he can look past what he perceives as noise.
 
Olengie said:
I honestly don't see a problem.

If this was a movie, I would understand.
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gb5khoG.jpg
 
This was a rather silly controversy, voice actors have played characters of different races and sexes for years. In a medium where the physical appearance of the actor is not connected to the in game character there is creative freedom to create whatever character they wish, regardless of skin colour, nationality or sex.

Where people outraged when they found out the voice actor for Bart Simpson was not a child but a woman, or when they discovered that the Greek Kratos was voiced by a Black guy?
 
Surprised he even addressed this. Glad he did though and I hope it quells some of the imo misplaced outrage.
 
I was chocking in laughter when I hear (for the first time) that there was a controversy regarding why a white actress was doing the voice of a black character and remind me of the "controversy" over a black actor working in star wars and thought how much alike this two factions that scream at each other are.

A talented actor got the job, end of story Druckmann told it as it is and how it should be.
 
There was no controversy. The panels discussion on it was great, everyone was very comfortable and honest. The rest of the panel was great as well.
 
Ironically, it's more racist to disagree with a different coloured actor than it is to cast one. Who are you to say a job shouldn't be done by a person of different colour? You're effectively supporting black supremacy if you think this actress shouldn't be voicing Nadine.
 
I'm glad the response showed that he understood the situation and issue without taking it lightly as well as showing the process behind the casting.
 
if everyone kept their cool it wouldn't even be labeled a controversy, just a discussion. and clearly it was one worth having because druckman thought it was worth addressing.

tldr: chill. people jumping down the throats of others when issues like this are brought up are actually helping elevate it into a controversy, rather than keeping it as just another discussion
 
Ryuuga said:
Amazing response. That all this created controversy still boggles my mind.
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I didn't find it strange that she voiced the character, and explained why in that thread, but I get it. Heck ND even thought it might cause controversy. The internet is huge and when people start asking questions it don't take much for it to float to the top of the discussion. An actress that looks very much like Nadine was sent a tweet asking her how she feels about the character for crying out loud hah.

All in all it's good that this was responded to. People had a small trailer of a new character, and who's voicing her, that was it. It's easy to run out of things to talk about given the limited information that was available.
 
Neil, if you're reading this I think its great you keep your finger on the pulse of the community, but make it the last post you read and stop coming here,


We aren't worth your time and you have nothing to prove to anyone here.
 
I must have really not followed the thread at all since I didn't even know it was a controversy.

Ive been personally in my entire life a fighter for black peoples rights and such. I did not find the scene at all controversy, I did not even think about the woman being black, until I found this thread. So thanks for that gaf.

It's most likely due to me not seeing/caring about the color of peoples skin, I just see the person.
 
I don't think the question was uncalled for. But it got really out of hand. Here is the answer and i hope we can move on now.
That doesn't mean we can't be critical.
 
Posted this in another thread, but since this thread is dedicated to the topic in question:

LDMyakk.png


I didn't mind their responses at all. She had her design finalized after Laura was brought on. No controversy, no problem.
 
Y2Kev said:
Guys, stop "one and done"ing like its a prize fight and he just knocked someone out. He saw a conversation and he contributed constructively to it. We should be very happy he addressed it as he did and it's an important conversation to have.

Frankly, I'm sorry Neil reads GAF against his better judgment. He's a highly respected figure here with highly respected ideas and highly respected works of art. I hope he can look past what he perceives as noise.
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Thanks for the post Kev, will edit it into the OP.
 
caleb1915 said:
What does "if it's true" mean besides "if it's true"?

I'm legitimately curious.
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"If it's true" = Just my way of verbalizing "I'm listening to his explanation, understanding and interpreting it, and drawing my conclusions".

If someone comes to me for advice, tells me about a situation they're dealing with and they explain it to me, I say "if this is true" just as a way to confirm what I've heard. That's all.
 
It's good he addressed this.

Also lol, everyone keeps going on about how the other thread was full of shitposts etc but most of the "shitposts" I saw were people being outright racist or dismissing other people's opinions, thus shutting down the discussion. Most of the people who were actually trying to address the situation, either bringing up the concern about PoC VAs or trying to explain why it was an issue were being reacted to as if they'd just compared Naughty Dog to the KKK.
 
Initially, I raised an eyebrow at finding out Nadine was being played by a white actress, but I am OK with the answer. Makes total sense. It is cool to see an awesome, fierce black woman in the game. It was good of Miller to ask the question and for Druckmann not to shy away from giving an honest answer.

Still, I'm not sure if the game will cover this, but if Nadine as a character ever deals with racism in UC4 or has to recount past experiences, it might be a bit strange. But then we can throw ourselves down another hole, asking ourselves is it OK for a white woman to pretend to talk about pretend experiences with racism written by someone who might be white. But, I ultimately don't think UC4 will really delve into that kind of weighty stuff. And again, the answer Druckmann gave is good, in my opinion.
 
Led_Zeppelin said:
I was chocking in laughter when I hear (for the first time) that there was a controversy regarding why a white character was doing the voice of a black character and remind me of the "controversy" over a black actor working in star wars and thought how much alike this two factions that scream at each other are.

A talented actor got the job, end of story Druckmann told it as it is and how it should be.
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This is quite different actually. Unless the black actor in Star Wars was playing a white character. Well unless you mean the Darth Vader voice actor.
 
But if that prominent white character is voiced by a black person, why could the character be black in the game? Answer me THAT Neil.

/s
 
Y2Kev said:
Guys, stop "one and done"ing like its a prize fight and he just knocked someone out. He saw a conversation and he contributed constructively to it. We should be very happy he addressed it as he did and it's an important conversation to have.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much. Some people are really excited about the possibility of a discussion like this being brought to a close for all the wrong reasons.
 
Glad they put some thought into, too often video game companies lack self awareness, and ignorant of issues and just choose the "deal with it" option.
 
I feel like "controversy" really overstates the level of venom in that earlier discussion.

It's the classic sort of internet noise amplification where a few people bothered by a creative decision becomes the entirety of NeoGAF beside themselves with anger.
 
Auctopus said:
Great answer by Neil, I'd surprised if this was put to bed though.

Shame Neil had to suffer like that though
enduring Greg Miller's terrible interviewing
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Really? I think he's so good. Why do you feel his interviewing is terrible?
 
I raised an eyebrow when I saw Nadine was being voiced by Laura Bailey, but kinda shrugged it off. But somehow I just knew there'd be a shitstorm somewhere. Me? Black character, not a stereotype? I won. You might call that a small victory--I do not.
 
imagine idris elba playing michael fassbender, and michael fassbender playing idris elba.

imagine.
 
Why would anyone make a huge deal about this? Doesn't this happen a lot when dealing with voice actors?

Aren't male characters sometimes played by female actors?
 
Glad he addressed the concern the myself and others had. While I don't 100% agree with some of his answer, I do respect it.
 
This happens in voice acting. Kratos is lily white, for example, but his voice actor is black. Jet black in coyboy bebop is white, yet his voice actor, Beau Billingslea, is black.
 
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