Firstly, the game looks awesome. I really like the direction the game is taking. This is a small question, and please don't think I believe any offense was intended. The term "thug" is used to describe some of the baddies, and I totally get why that would be used. It's been a word used to describe criminal baddies for a looooong time.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but the word has taken on some political meaning recently. It has kind of turned into a disguised slur for black people, and it doesn't have a great origin story either. (It was a word used by the British to create panic about Indian people.)

It's not a huge deal, but just be aware that another word might be preferable. Black people are part of the target audience for this game especially.

One of the best things about City of Heroes was that you could make your character look like anyone. A lot of people looked at it and noticed "Hey, I can make a character that really reflects me."

This was a big advantage over the usual MMOs who typically just included non-white people as an afterthought. You'd often get basically just a white person with black skin or sometimes that weird grayish color. Nobody is that weird gray color, people!

Sometimes black people were just erased. Both Warcraft and ArcheAge took my black characters and made them white with different patches.
gameranx.com/updates/id/24693/article/wo...ve-been-whitewashed/

I'm sure it was an accident, and they promptly fixed the problem, but dudes! Pay attention!

Thanks for your consideration. I'm in no way trying to spark a political debate or anything. Just something that could be missed. And hey, it's not your fault people took that word and made it loaded. But they did.

You may have a point but I saw the word "thug" in other games, too.
I remind Chaos Engine where one character was called thug.

I think everyone can see the relationship between the word and it´s meaning in the game. You have a picture and a description so I don´t think people would get this wrong.

I agree with OP, Thug has really become a quite harmful word. Maybe if you saw how often it's used to justify police executing innocent black people, while never ever seeing it used to describe anyone else, you'd understand?

Although I can see your point, I would also point out that I could call a mob within a game the White Robes and Black Robes - two related gangs of street fighters, or maybe mages. Somebody will tell me it is racist and/or belittling in some fashion.

On an end note - there was a reason for the British using the term Thug. I won't waste everyone's reading time as I tend to get way too long winded, but suffice it to say that India itself has regulated, deregulated, and re-regulated again the various 'thieve castes' or criminal tribes. The information is easy to find. Just look it up.

Basically, any word you use can be twisted into a racist or offensive word. Regardless of your intent. A perfect example is that I really can't stand it when people use the term 'non-white'. It speaks to an arbitrary that doesn't exist outside of a twisted mechanic for comparison.

Don't get me wrong - I realize you aren't trying to make this political or anything, and I'm not trying to be argumentative about it ... I'm just pointing out that there is no manner of pleasing everyone and I really hope they don't change a term 'thug' just because there are a few idiots out there. I think we can all agree that anyone insulted by the idea that Thugs are... well, thugs... are just looking for something to be upset about.

My $.02 anyway. I also agree that I think the more customization the better!

It's a good point and we're looking at changing how mobs are named and we'll probably just use gang names for mobs.

So, for example, "Kings Minion", "Perps Minion", etc.

Or maybe we'll just name them all "Kanye".

Kanye please do that last one? I think it's the West idea I heard yet.

Ouch!

Thanks everyone for being cool. I know it can be a touchy subject. The issue is just something to think about.

I just don't want anyone to feel weird with the game. I thought that CoH was really aware of what they were doing. The bad guy groups didn't really reference anything real - good gravy can you imagine the Skulls or Hellions actually running around the streets with their machine guns or ability to set people on fire? I'm way more okay with pretend enemies in games than realistic ones, but that's just me.

I also just think it's more creative to have gangsters and whatnot that aren't just plucked from reality. It doesn't ruin my day if a game has uncomfortable elements. If it's both uncomfortable and kind of intellectually lazy, though, I get disappointed.

And I look forward to your continued experience. We've put a lot of work and effort into our groups, heroic and villainous. I've spent the few months working the word processor day and night so we can deliver a fun for everyone. As I always say in what I write...

"I dedicate my work to the ever important 'Audience of One,' the one whose life may be made better with a momentary escape from reality. Whoever that one happens to be, I hope you enjoy the story. I will do my best to tell it."

I'm in general agreement with the OP and the thoughtful counter posts. I think anything tastefully done takes everyone's sensibilities in to consideration. This can go far and wide beyond the OPs topic. Gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. I don't like stereotypes myself, but as part of a broader sense where every facet of a culture is realized. Obviously there are gang members of every race or culture. But let's see the counterbalance to that. Political representation, corporate representation, representation in the scientific / meta community.

My .02-worth anyways.

Ye will try to sue everybody, even the players knowing him.