Data shows that 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent textured hair, and 91% percent are eager to see themselves as characters reflecting their own experiences. So Dove joined forces with the Open Source Afro Hair Library to create Code My Crown – the first for coding natural hair in video games.
In partnership with natural hair experts, Dove and Open Source Afro Hair Library identified the top styles currently missing or misrepresented in video games, from twist outs to afro fades. Together with global communications firm Edelman, they enlisted a team of Black 3-D artists, animators, programmers and academics to develop 15 original hair sculpts that can lay the foundation for hundreds of virtual hair possibilities.
“Code My Crown, a 230-page guide, is half a celebration of culture and half a tech training manual, all authored by the community itself,” says Jamie Cordwell, executive creative director, Edelman. “The ambition is that this guide will live on as the ultimate resource until one day when it will be completely unnecessary and video games reflect the real beauty of natural hair.”
The gaming and development community has responded positively, including Xbox President Sarah Bond, who has championed the campaign on Twitter and LinkedIn.
