"Kri" Comes Under Fire
Tatoos are cool and all, but watch what tribes' style you bite.
Published: April 23, 2003
We can all agree that The Mark of Kri – or more specifically it's tatted-out barbarian lead character – is cool. We also can't deny that anyone with tribal markings on their face is more than just a little bit bad ass, which we're sure can't help but make Rau, the game's hero, just a bit cooler than if he was lacking them.
Unfortunately, cool or no, it seems the influence from Rau's face makeup is hitting a little to close to home for the Maori in New Zealand. SCEA San Diego, the game's developer, has admitted that certain Maori tribal influences played a bit part in the game's design (the Maori taiaha weapon is even used in the game), though they say they weren't necessarily going for a complete clone with Rau's look.
"It was hard because everyone liked the Polynesian flavour that the game was taking on so we tried to make things with a more contemporary or inventive Polynesian twist where we could," Jeff Merghart, The Mark of Kri's art designer, told New Zealand paper the Sunday Star Times. "Like Rau's chin tattoo. In New Zealand women are the ones who traditionally wear a tattoo on their chin. But Rau's isn't Maori and he's not from or in New Zealand, so we kind of keep our ass covered that way. We do apologise for any coincidences."
Nevertheless, the tribal look too closely resembles Maori imagery according to Maori intellectual property frontman Kingi Gilbert, who told the Sunday Star Times Sony shouldn't be using the likenesses for blatant commercial profit, and claims the Maori deserve compensation.
"I primarily find it offensive that a person of non-Maori descent would use these symbols for commercial reasons and not invest time and effort back into the Maori community," Gilbert said in a letter to Sony.
Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand has gone on record as saying the complaint is being taken "very seriously," but the issue is being handled by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The company agrees that if Maori imagery was specifically used that it should be represented in as faithful a way as possible, but it doesn't feel Rau's look was specifically Maori, and claims feedback from Maori that did see the game was positive.
"Sure, there's some elements of the Maori tattoo and there's a taiaha used in the game. But to me the main characters look more Japanese or Eskimo," SCE NZ Managing Director Steve Dykes told the Sunday Star Times. "At the end of the day, video games - like movies or books - are pieces of art and the developers have licence to be creative."
This isn't the first time the Maori have gone up against a corporation over the use of supposed Maori property. In 2001, toy manufacturer Lego agreed to stop making one of their Bionicle models after complaints of the use of Maori words like "tohunga" and "whenua" were brought against the company.
It's an interesting issue, and one that we probably wouldn't have known about if it weren't for our message boards resident New Zealander, Tom Atkinson, who brought the conflict to light. See what you're missing? Head on over to the forums now and say hi!
Unfortunately, cool or no, it seems the influence from Rau's face makeup is hitting a little to close to home for the Maori in New Zealand. SCEA San Diego, the game's developer, has admitted that certain Maori tribal influences played a bit part in the game's design (the Maori taiaha weapon is even used in the game), though they say they weren't necessarily going for a complete clone with Rau's look.
"It was hard because everyone liked the Polynesian flavour that the game was taking on so we tried to make things with a more contemporary or inventive Polynesian twist where we could," Jeff Merghart, The Mark of Kri's art designer, told New Zealand paper the Sunday Star Times. "Like Rau's chin tattoo. In New Zealand women are the ones who traditionally wear a tattoo on their chin. But Rau's isn't Maori and he's not from or in New Zealand, so we kind of keep our ass covered that way. We do apologise for any coincidences."
Nevertheless, the tribal look too closely resembles Maori imagery according to Maori intellectual property frontman Kingi Gilbert, who told the Sunday Star Times Sony shouldn't be using the likenesses for blatant commercial profit, and claims the Maori deserve compensation.
"I primarily find it offensive that a person of non-Maori descent would use these symbols for commercial reasons and not invest time and effort back into the Maori community," Gilbert said in a letter to Sony.
Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand has gone on record as saying the complaint is being taken "very seriously," but the issue is being handled by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The company agrees that if Maori imagery was specifically used that it should be represented in as faithful a way as possible, but it doesn't feel Rau's look was specifically Maori, and claims feedback from Maori that did see the game was positive.
"Sure, there's some elements of the Maori tattoo and there's a taiaha used in the game. But to me the main characters look more Japanese or Eskimo," SCE NZ Managing Director Steve Dykes told the Sunday Star Times. "At the end of the day, video games - like movies or books - are pieces of art and the developers have licence to be creative."
This isn't the first time the Maori have gone up against a corporation over the use of supposed Maori property. In 2001, toy manufacturer Lego agreed to stop making one of their Bionicle models after complaints of the use of Maori words like "tohunga" and "whenua" were brought against the company.
It's an interesting issue, and one that we probably wouldn't have known about if it weren't for our message boards resident New Zealander, Tom Atkinson, who brought the conflict to light. See what you're missing? Head on over to the forums now and say hi!
