"Far Cry 4" Creative Director Alex Hutchinson didn't understand the controversy caused by the title's cover art, according to Eurogamer.
Soon after Ubisoft unveiled the new "Far Cry" cover, fans were outraged at the allegedly racist image of the a "white" villain resting his hands on the head of a "minority."
Hutchinson explained to Eurogamer he was frustrated and confused with the reactions the cover initially received. While the cover was always meant to be evocative, Hutchinson didn't expect race to come up in conversation.
"It's funny when there's one picture out there and there are so many articles jumping to conclusions," the creative director told Eurogamer. "It would have been interesting for someone to ring us up. That would have been cool. For someone to say, 'Hello. We think this. What's actually happening?'
"That's why I jumped on Twitter and was like, '[Pagan Min is] not white. That's not the player. It's more complex than that,'" he continued. "So it's been fun to see now that the video is out and more gameplay is out people are like, 'Oh, okay. No big deal then.'"
There are reportedly only five "white" characters in the title, but they are not main characters in the story. According to Hutchinson, there are 30 or 40 speaking roles in "Far Cry 4."
"We're being accused of being stereotypical, but the assumption is stereotypical," he explained to Eurogamer. "This character is meant to be a melange of different things. [Min's] mixed race. The way he dresses is unique to him. It's part of the character. It's not a comment on gender or race at all."
As for the assumption the villainous Min is a gay man, Hutchinson claimed the conversation never came up in the production and doesn't believe the way he dresses is connected to his sexuality.
"Far Cry 4" will be released to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC on Nov. 18.
[Warning: the below trailer is NSFW]
