Thanks to historical oversaturation of Caucasian characters as primary figures in almost all forms of literature and media, the Caucasian model is treated as the 'default'. Thus, it's less like a white person and more like a 'generic' person. Changing the race/color/gender immediately makes the character take on shades of uniqueness or alternate traits that everyone might not be able to identify with. GTA San Andreas is widely considered to be the best of the GTA series but many people won't play it because of its 'black' focus...not because they're racist but because it's harder to identify with such a distinct culture. Many people won't play a video game with a female lead because it either a) makes them feel like they're 'acting like a girl', b) are appalled or disconcerted with the sexism or some other reason.
But put your average, tough white man with a cool haircut, a leather jacket and a five o'clock shadow in the lead and almost everyone will love it because it's what we're used to from books, movies, cartoons and video games over time.
I'd like to see a world where there is no 'default' race or gender...where the lead character's visual design in a game doesn't affect the storyline or the quality of the gameplay. But alas, all I can do is write stories and draw comics about it...and stick to games where I can customize the character myself.
Dualmask
EGADS!! I was just bemoaning the fact that the threads on this forum were lacking of intellect and interest...but that is a wonderfully written post.
The only flaw I find in your reasoning is that of the female protagonist. I think that that's been proven incorrect as the Tomb Raider series can attest to. Also the last ten years has seen a somewhat significant shift in the construct of the default hero and other main characters, in cinema, gaming and literature. The Matrix, for example, while having Neo (yes pretty damn white) had a wide range of important characters derived from a wide variety of backgrounds. Morpheus' role of sage, the general who was black, the strong female roles (captains of ships, council members, etc) provided a refreshing twist to conventional western constructs. The popularity of those movies, and many others, I think shows a willingness by the western consumer to accept and indeed relate to any character of any background/gender/ethnicity as long as their motives are believable, their personality likeable and their fundamental humanness (forgive the word) distinctly developed.
On a side note: The japanese and asians in general have women predominantly placed in myth, legends and especially martial art flicks. They wield power, intellect and wisdom and play pivotal roles in many of these stories.
In essense, I don't believe it's the consumer who's been conditioned too far to accept variation in their hero. More so, it is the creator/develepor/writer who has been reticent in the past to try "new" things. But once one dares break from the norm, one will find an accepting public...as long as the story is good, people will watch it, read it, or play it. :)
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