That's probably why it was removed, not a big fan of this nit-picking criticism. Sure, maybe it wasn't 100% accurate, but as someone else said here, more representation = better, stripping it away and making him a standard NPC is definitely not the solution to the representation problem.
afaik they contacted Maori people and other Maori content creators said that the moko was accurate. they must have removed it because of the "backlash"
Eh, that's a bit of a generalisation. The very loud entitled pricks are defensive. Most of the normal people don't care all that much and are usually pretty chill about it.
Why would it need to be "accurate" though? Starfield is hundreds of years in the future...I seriously doubt that there would be zero change to those designs. New artists come in and even traditional designs in a culture can change over time but still be traditional. Frankly, it should never have been removed.
Apparently this was one of the nicer cases of this kind of thing, iirc Lego Group some time ago got into a big legal tussle over the sheer amount of Maori cultural references in their Bionicle IP and it got pretty litigous. Not sure how it ended up turning out for either party though.
For anyone whos wondering, the markings is known a Ta moko or simply moko. In terms of cultural representation or cultural appropriation, im not too fussed with it, as a maori. The design itself is pretty poor in my opinion and doesnt accurately represent moko, which im guessing is why it was removed. Me personally i was just happy to see any representation for my people in space! Unless you're maori or just familiar with moko you probably couldn't tell the difference between this and the real thing anyway and the design isnt half bad either. More cultural representation than appropriation in my opinion.
idk man... it doesnt take a whole lot to send a rep down to New Zealand to ask your community in person and that way they could hire actual Maori artists to design moko for their characters. For us woodlands/great lakes indigenous folks some tats were medicinal, some were ceremonial that required songs to be sung(personal spirit helpers & stories, teachings), and during times of despair, martial tats. I know there would be elders, knowledge keepers, and artists who'd gladly give their blessing and talent for proper representation if actually asked.
No i understand what you mean, and i completely agree. If they're going to try to represent cultures is a respectful manner, consulting members of that community is the best way to do this, and i was saying it makes sense it was removed, maori are very passionate about accurate representation of our culture.
But at the same time, as a member of a small indigenous community, i cant help but appreciate any effort made. As a long time fan of Bethesdas games, i love that they're acknowledging us, taking interest and found it interesting enough to incorporate our traditions into their work. I stand by my statement, the design is very poor and clearly there wasnt much past "Wow that really interesting! Lets do something like that." Ta moko are very sacred and by custom aren't actually allowed to be worn by non maori (It just occurred to me this may be another reason it was removed) when a non maori wears the design its known as kirituhi, and with permission and respect, anyone can have this. Each is unique and tells a persons life story. I dont think that big paragraph answered much lol but those are my thoughts.
Haha do it! If there is a particular tattoo of your own design you want me to put in let me know. as long as it has a white background I can photoshop it and go over the black areas. :)
P.s when I made this mod it was kinda new for me, if you're happy with it great but if you want me to change the tattoo's from black to a more lighter variant let me know, happy to assist :)
Just letting you know, it seems installing via Vortex, it doesn't install this in the Data folder. It installs this alongside the data folder inside "maori face tattoo version x" which means you shouldn't have a folder above Data in each mod. So the file structure should just be Data\textures\actors\character\facecustomization\starfield.esm\0027a992_color not maori face tattoo version x\Data\textures\actors\character\facecustomization\starfield.esm\0027a992_color
I don't use Vortex, it's a manual install :) If you use my mods and want to go back to the original you just delete the file and then the game uses the original file from the games folders. :)
" It’s not the first time Māori images and characterisations have been used in video games. In 2020, the use of tā moko in Cyberpunk 2077 shocked one design consultant, who called it “appropriation”, and Māori broadcaster Oriini Kaipara, who labelled it “absolute ignorance”. Māori intellectual property expert Dr Karaitiana Taiuru said to appropriately incorporate tā moko into a commercial product, a Māori artist would have to be consulted "
man.... i have major Mixed feelings because YES Cultures should be represented respectfully, but that is WHY it was removed..... I mean ngl though, bethesda did a decent job astatically. but there was a fuss a always no days when someone doesn't like something, apparently we arnt allowed nice things... but yeah, not to be an ass but please at least fix the color... i have NEVER seen a tattoo that looks SOLID MATTE BLACK, it looks unrealistic and cartoonish.... If your gonna put a Ta Moko on someone at least do it decently....
So Bethesda includes being able to choose pronouns other than male/female to cater to a select few, but they remove something actually culturally significant to another group of people? Makes perfect sense to me. I play video games to escape this nonsense.
54 comments
That's probably why it was removed, not a big fan of this nit-picking criticism. Sure, maybe it wasn't 100% accurate, but as someone else said here, more representation = better, stripping it away and making him a standard NPC is definitely not the solution to the representation problem.
But at the same time, as a member of a small indigenous community, i cant help but appreciate any effort made. As a long time fan of Bethesdas games, i love that they're acknowledging us, taking interest and found it interesting enough to incorporate our traditions into their work.
I stand by my statement, the design is very poor and clearly there wasnt much past "Wow that really interesting! Lets do something like that." Ta moko are very sacred and by custom aren't actually allowed to be worn by non maori (It just occurred to me this may be another reason it was removed) when a non maori wears the design its known as kirituhi, and with permission and respect, anyone can have this. Each is unique and tells a persons life story.
I dont think that big paragraph answered much lol but those are my thoughts.
Khajiit likes to sneak...
Stay blessed my friend!
P.s when I made this mod it was kinda new for me, if you're happy with it great but if you want me to change the tattoo's from black to a more lighter variant let me know, happy to assist :)
Data\textures\actors\character\facecustomization\starfield.esm\0027a992_colornot
maori face tattoo version x\Data\textures\actors\character\facecustomization\starfield.esm\0027a992_color" It’s not the first time Māori images and characterisations have been used in video games. In 2020, the use of tā moko in Cyberpunk 2077 shocked one design consultant, who called it “appropriation”, and Māori broadcaster Oriini Kaipara, who labelled it “absolute ignorance”.
Māori intellectual property expert Dr Karaitiana Taiuru said to appropriately incorporate tā moko into a commercial product, a Māori artist would have to be consulted "