What I want, basically, is Black Cool. It's a kind of cool that improvises around all the random stereotypes and facile understandings of black people that have accrued over centuries and subverts them. Black Cool says "I know what you might think about me, but I'm going to flip it." Dave Chappelle's comedy is Black Cool. Donald Glover is Black Cool. Aisha Tyler is Black Cool. Marvel Comics's Black Panther character is Black Cool. Their creativity is the energy I want video games to tap into.
Here's the full essay: http://kotaku.com/5897227/come-on-video ... rrassed-by
When he starts pointing the finger quite appropriately at the lack of racial diversity in industry leadership positions (and in hiring practices more broadly), I can't help but think about something like Herman Gray's work on blackness in the history of TV and how for decades it was white producers and writers creating black characters on TV. There are some interesting parallels, to be sure. Here's a link to one of his best known pieces, if you are interested: http://www.sendspace.com/file/639vnr
What do you make of Narcisse's essay?