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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39329
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39329
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

### For a video game:

One approach to being post-racial is to just have racial mixing. As many cultures today are, due to migrations (forced by slavery or not) and inter-mixing of genes. We have had the same thing here on Earth forever: The modern human genome shares genes that are distinctly Neandertal, and distinctly Denisovan. Those lines of early hominids clearly interbred.

Since your world is not Earth and has its own history, an implied part of that history can be widespread migrations prompted by population pressure, Malthusian wars over food, water, space, access to the coast or rivers, etc.

In the end, your people can be many colors without being racist. The Roman culture was this way. They did not discriminate by skin color; rulers, citizens and slaves could be of any color. The discriminated based on **other** characteristics, but "race" in the modern sense was not one of them. They considered inferior the uncultured, "barbarians" (a reference to not speaking the Roman language), people in non-Roman dress. Basically xenophobic, but to the Romans "like us" was not exclusively one race, it was about Roman attitudes, beliefs, life style and behavior.

So in your position, I would just make "racism" something people have not really invented yet. All populations are of mixed race, and one mixed race population achieving victory over another should not trigger any racism.

Write your game so race truly is only a decoration on a character and not a factor in game play, and ensure outcomes are determined on the merits of battle and play. If you have control in a story, assign race to leaders in such a way that no particular races seems to win or be defeated disproportionately versus any other.

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**_I originally screwed up on this answer, because as Galastel pointed out to me in a comment, I overlooked the fact that this was a video game! So my advice below applies to novels and won't really work for a video game. However, I still regard it as useful advice if novel-writers come to this question, and like me do not realize it is about a visual medium._**

Why is it necessary to mention skin tone at all? Can't you let the reader assume whatever they wish to see?

I have written multiple books without mentioning anything about the race of the characters. My narrator never describes them, they are only described by other characters (in thought or dialogue), and that never mentions race either.

The only reason to mention race is if race **matters to the story** , and if what you want is a story without racism, just be "post-racial" and do not mention the race or "skin tone" of any character, ever. It is not necessary to the story so you shouldn't care, or insist that the reader see the same skin tone you see. If you do insist upon that, then race actually DOES matter to you that the reader see one character as White and another as black or Asian or Hispanic or Indian, you should let go of that. Or, change your mind and have their skin tone matter to the story, since it matters to you.

Original score: 6