stereotypes vs cybertypes

Stereotypes have infiltrated the internet, turning into cybertypes which are stereotypes framed through the systems of the game. This allows players to accept and understand reassuring versions of race that they are used to see in books and movies. In a way, I think this represents real society as it brings prejudices from society into the virtual online world.

I will discuss asian cybertypes vs stereotypes in this blog post.

Edward Said has a theory called "orientalism" which means that the world is seen through the eyes of the white man. According to Said, "The Orient was almost a European invention," a space of romance, exoticism, of "haunting memories and landscape," a cultural landscape upon which the West painted its Other." Therefore, the "other" is everything that the white man is not. This can be seen through binary opposites:

white black

dirty clean

rich poor

light dark

This can also be applied to cybertypes where characters are based on stereotypes and are built upon white characters. For example, in Lineage II, there are a selection of a playable race from human, dark elf, elf, orc, dwarf and Kamael. Once race has been selected, the player can customise the appearance. However, each of these characters have limited hair color/styles. Such as the Orcs, they are the only race allowed to have braids and dreadlocks suggesting a stronger link between the fictional race and real-life ethnicities associated with these hairstyles.Also, the minimal number of facial feature options total lack of skin tone modification lead to social exclusion. Humans, elves and dwarves are white as opposed to dark elves and Kamal who both have a pale gothic complexion. Orcs have dark and green skin.

Therefore stereotypes and cybertypes are effectively the same thing, except cybertypes are displayed through the medium of cyberspace.