Would you like some Racism?

I personally think there should be more racism like a village of a race should attack you just because you are of that race. Like the hyloty attacking a floren just because they are a floren.
just my thoughts

 

The answer to this is yes, the Florans do have that reputation. They lull people into a false sense of security by being pretty plants, but they're terribly carnivorous (their racial 'plants' are all meat-based). They have their technology by killing and eating more advanced people, which is why their ship looks like an Apex ship with vines: it IS an Apex ship with vines (the seat smells of monkey).

Some of the racism is ignorance, in both the Florans and Glitch cases. Sometimes, they're commenting on stereotypes. Sometimes, there does just seem to be racial prejudice.

 

The dialogue may be over the top, but I believe the point is to make your choice of race a feel a little less cosmetic by having the game acknowledge it.

I think these sort of things are important in order to make the choice of race more tangible and this make the setting a little more real.

 

*i LOVE the hylotl (althou i call them Kytol)
*I really hate the floran and their ignorant way...I really love the feature that shows you some description on stuff with some perspective on your actual race....the more you explore and find the stuff the more you ask yourself.... ''how dumb can floran be?''
*I love when fantasy game apply real life issues like racism , economy issues,etc...makes the world more believable

 

I'm glad this conversation is taking this course! (Could have gone south really easy.) Thanks for all the replies.

I'm playing my Floran right now, and I found a Floran village for the first time. I really enjoy that race. They have a really... odd... perception of things.
An excerpt from a Codex entry "Greenfinger's Notes: Receiving Guests made me laugh:

Such racial tensions help the immersion imho. And I applaud the devs for such a degree of creativity.

 

I started out as Hyytolyltyiotyokokl fish guy, though I don't know why. Then I made a Glitch and had funtimes!
My Hytotl started next to a Glitch village, and they were very concerned about water.
My Glitch met a Floran village, where they mentioned the didn't like the taste of robot, and they were peaceful around me.
I made a Floran on another computer, but didn't get far before the wipe, and only met Avian Temples. Sadface. They attacked me.
Then wipe happend, and I made an Avian, and that is my main right now. I haven't met any villages yet, though. (yet)
I absolutely love Florans and Glitch(e)s. I don't really like Apex though. They're... monkeys. I just don't like their sprite-model. Hytotl is fine. Humans are casual. Avians seem cool, but would be cooler if they could jump a tad bit higher than the rest, or something.
And I haven't given racism much of a thought in fantasy, truth be told. I guess once my D&D group were complete racist againt Elves, if that counts.
(I wanted to make a Novakid, but since they're not out yet, so yeah)

 

Technically speaking, it's not racism, but rather, species-ism. Either way, I am currently playing a Glitch who hates the Apex so much that he kills every single one on sight. Lots of fun. My Glitch is also deeply offended when anyone tries to sell him food, as this is a source of insecurity to him (why would robots need food?? DOES NOT COMPUTE MUST KEEL YOU ALL NOW)

 

When Glitch ask me if I have any eggs, as a male avian, I'm pretty sure those are fightin' words.

 

Playing as a Glitch I find that most races are hospitable, oddly enough the Floran are ecstatic stating how happy my presence makes them. On the other hand the Glitch villagers are apprehensive because of my free will. An Avian asked me once if I could turn him into a robot, make of that what you will.

 

Every race definitely should have their own exclusive thing from the get-go ...that would make choosing between races a bigger thing other than lore/backstory/visuals themes

NOVAKIDS MUST SHINE LIKE THE SUN

 

Generally I don't see it as overly racist, I mean it can be a little but it is generally very mild. It is more like observations and stereotypes. Currently I generally play as human and floran. I like the way different races interact with each other and how different races examine things. It add depth, if it was just a case that every greeting was the same for all races (maybe if same race slightly different) then it would be less interesting to try another race and see how it varies. Floran are fairly primitive compared to some of the other races with their views (some of the examining quotes point this out in funny ways ). I think it adds to the game rather than takes away or causes problems. Racism is just a fact of life in the real world, it is to do with the tribal nature of humans, some may be more extreme or accept everyone but I think people are still wary around certain races due to stereotypes and such.
My floran is mainly multiplayer and a friend I play with is a human; who I call "Lunch". I think it is healthy to see things like this in games and show how it impacts since it can help fight racism since if you see what it is like to receive it (even if it is just a game) then it can help change your views on being racist. We were all born human (at least I believe the Apex and robots are not on the internet yet) but we are not a very accepting race even to our own kind, how do you think we would do if aliens do exist and we met them?
I personally don't see high hopes as a race for non-racist interactions with aliens. This game kind of makes it a bit normal really. If you met a floran in real life knowing only they considered all meat / non plant life as food and inferior how would you react to one? Generally I think a bit of racism would come out even if it was just caution to protect yourself.

 

I always read the comments toward my floran as benevolent ignorance. (for example, a glitch told me that they have good soil there. Glitch are pretty easy to judge since they state their intended mood up front but yes.)

Florans actually are rather violent and bloodthirsty by lore, though the player is characterized as being a floran who thinks somehow differently. The apex seem appropriately reserved, as do the avians. (from what I remember, avians are the first ones to get in trouble with the florans?)

Fantasy racism is ok if it is entirely contained within the characters. It is problematic when the "evilness" of a race is encoded in the entire work. Starbound seems to avoid this because the major races are all playable, and thus need to be relatable.

 

Well I dunno. They're a race characterized by being technologically backward and uneducated because they don't see the use in doing anything that isn't killing themselves/each other/other things.

So... pretty dumb?

 

I personally find it very funny to read the racist sentences. They just show of how much detail the dev's built the game. I would like to see more stuff like this. Not specially racist things, but details on how the races live together. Hate or friendship between different races, not everyone of the race having the same opinions, etc.

 

Racial preference? So far, I like the Floran. I really like the idea that they are sort of the barbarians of the universe, instead of space hippies, as most games tend to make the plant races.
Specific race I love/hate? None really either way.
Thoughts on racism in fantasy? Racism happens, in the real world, or fantasy. Every race everywhere has their own thoughts on the others, and if you're going to detail the what a race likes about another, you're going to have to detail the bad as well, otherwise you're only fleshing out half of your racial details.

 

This is a fantastic post. Thank you for taking the time to consider the writing/approach to this degree. Really means a lot.

 

I think you're going to enjoy how things will play out, then.

 

I like the 'racism' in this game, i bought what i needed from a vendor, I then proceeded to go all Anakin Skywalker on the whole village.

 

Well, the lore books seem to point into at least the general direction - not how Floran see themselves, but it appears to be they're somewhat the "Predator" race of Starbound. E.g., they have different morale values compared to other races, when it comes down to Murder, Killing-Sprees and general bloody and brutal mayhem. Hunt, or be hunted, if you may.
And to answer the question I quoted: maybe not all of them - but I know my Applejoice definitely is.

Also, a character feeling offended by some of the racist things they hear about their own race, isn't that somewhat understandable and to be expected? I like the idea that not every (playable) race gets along well with each other. They have prejudices based on hearsay, what else would one expect. If the bad guys in every bedtime book the Apex ever read to their children talked about the evul scaray Florans - it's no surprise everyone and their uncle expects a visiting Floran to freak out and go on a bloodsoaking rampage sooner or later.

So, since I like this: in the end, just about all comments I saw ingame where more of the "wink wink nudge nudge" kind of mood. But maybe that's just me, I have a crude sense of humour sometimes. ^^

 

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Red clash with green...
Stab stab stab...