Dove Launches ‘Code My Crown’ Library To Bring Afro Hairstyles To Video Games

In a step towards diversifying virtual worlds, Dove, in partnership with the Open Source Afro Hair Library, has launched Code My Crown. This pioneering project stands as the world’s first comprehensive guide for accurately coding textured hair and protective styles in video games.

Developed by a team of Black artists, the instructional guide is aimed at empowering coders and developers to create more diverse, true-to-life depictions of Black hairstyles in 3D gaming.

Despite the technological advances in the gaming industry, the representation of textured hair and protective styles has remained limited and often stereotypical.

In fact, the company’s surveys indicate that 85% of Black gamers believe video games do not adequately represent textured hair, highlighting a significant gap for the gaming community.

Recognizing the desire among 74% of developers to play a role in promoting better representation of textured hair, Dove and its partners took action.

They collaborated with natural hair experts to identify the most significant textured and protective hairstyles currently missing or inaccurately represented in video games.

Code My Crown brought together Black 3D artists, animators, programmers, and academics from across the globe and the Black diaspora.

Together, these professionals developed 15 original hair sculpts, laying the foundation for a multitude of virtual hair possibilities in gaming.

Each sculpt in the guide is accompanied by step-by-step instructions, 360-degree photo mapping, and cultural insights so that all developers can accurately model textured hair.

“In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstyles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” explained A.M. Darke, Lead Code My Crown contributor and founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library. 

“When Black hair is absent from the games we play or are consistently low-quality, it communicates that Black players and our culture are an afterthought, that our stories aren’t worth telling.” 

“How else can we explain the ubiquity of matted Cornrows, bald patches instead of parts, giant disco ‘Fros, and the messy, Unstyled Locs? Why is a common Fade or Twist Out rarely an option?”

[via Happi and Game Developer, images via various sources]