Dove has partnered with Open Source Afro Hair Library, a curated 3D model database of black hairstyles to launch a free guide to coding black hair textures and protective styles in video games.
The guide called ‘Code My Crown‘ was created by a community of Black artists in an effort to provide coders and game developers with more diverse and accurate depictions of Black hair in video games.
It features 15 original hair sculpts that can serve as the basis for many more virtual hairstyles in video games.
While video games remain a popular medium, diversity of characters and representation of textured hair has been a blindspot for the industry.
Many gamers, especially those of color, have also sought to see themselves more accurately represented and depicted in games.
Dove cited data that showed 85 percent of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent textured hair and more than 90 per cent said they would welcome seeing characters reflective of their own experiences.
Leandro Barreto, SVP of global Dove Masterbrand, said: “The importance of accurately and respectfully depicting textured hair in video games cannot be overstated, and we are proud to play a small part in taking action to set a new standard for diversity and representation in video games,”
“There is more to be done to ensure Black gamers see themselves in the games they play, but we can’t do it alone. We are calling on gaming developers and industry leaders to join us to help make virtual beauty a reality with Code My Crown.”
This initiative is the latest in Dove’s efforts to support a broad range of consumers and promote inclusivity among its products.
Dove has also supported developers creating more diverse, inclusive representation of girls and women in games as part of its ongoing Dove Real Virtual Beauty initiatives.
This story first appeared in Campaign UK.
