Achieving better representation in virtual spaces doesn’t stop at skin color. Code my Crown, a joint initiative between Dove and Open Source Afro Hair Library is addressing the issue via the creation of world’s first free guide for coding textured hair and protective styles in video games—ushering in more true-to-life depictions of Black hairstyles in 3D.
Having identified the top textured and protective hairstyles currently missing or misrepresented in video games, the project enlisted a team of Black 3D artists, animators, programmers, and academics to develop 15 original hair sculpts that can lay the foundation for hundreds of virtual hair possibilities. Each comes with step-by-step instructions, 360-degree photo mapping, alongside important cultural insight.
According to a survey of 1,002 adult gamers in the U.K. and U.S. conducted by Edelman DXI, 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent textured hair.
“In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstyles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” A.M. Darke, Lead Code my Crown Contributor & Founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library said in a statement.
“At Dove, we believe every single person should see their beauty represented in the world around them – this is no different for the virtual world,” added Leandro Barreto, Senior Vice President, Global Dove Masterbrand.
“The importance of accurately and respectfully depicting textured hair in video games cannot be overstated,” he said. “We are proud to play a small part in taking action to set a new standard for diversity and representation in video games.”
Within the gaming world, the business of digital hair looks is becoming increasingly significant. According to Roblox’s annual report, Digital Expression, Fashion & Beauty Trends, users have purchased more than 139 million digital hairstyles for their avatars, (up 20% on the previous year) with over 7.3 million users investing in five or more.
Additionally, of the limited edition pieces in its Ancora activation on the platform, it was a digital hairstyle that proved the most coveted—currently changing hands on the Roblox marketplace for over six times more than the second most popular item—an Ancora branded digital baseball cap.
While textured hair is the most complex of all to recreate digitally, hair and fur is notoriously difficult to replicate, period so the initiative sets an important benchmark for digital creators across the board.