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‘Killmonger Locs’ Are Everywhere in Video Games. This Artist Is Sick of It
Ebonix (Nyjah Udogaranya), a technical artist who has spent over a decade creating custom hair content for life-simulation games such as The Sims, is speaking out about the video game industry's continued failure to represent natural Black hairstyles. She says developers still default to stiff, uniform "Killmonger locs" — named after Michael B. Jordan's Black Panther character — because the underlying hair-rendering code was built for straight hair and struggles to replicate coiled or kinked textures convincingly. This shortfall has fuelled huge demand for her fan-made content, with her Patreon now exceeding 115,000 members.
The problem has deep roots, from stereotyped depictions of Black hair in 1970s arcade games to the limited, largely immovable hairstyle options offered even in modern titles like Tekken 8, Spider-Man 2, Apex Legends and Horizon Zero Dawn. Industry efforts such as Dove and the Open Source Afro Hair Library's 2023 "Code My Crown" initiative, plus some free downloadable content from EA for The Sims 4, have made small inroads, but most natural hairstyles remain locked behind paid expansion packs costing $10–$40. Udogaranya has since turned to academic research, including a 2024 paper on coding techniques for highly coiled hair, to try to build better, more accessible tools herself.
In short
- Artist Ebonix criticises games' reliance on generic "Killmonger locs" for Black hair
- Rendering code built for straight hair struggles with natural textures
- Her Patreon has 115,000+ members downloading custom hairstyle content
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
More convincing natural Black hairstyles would give players fuller self-expression and help games reflect the diversity of their audiences. The recurring reliance on a narrow style, alongside technical systems built around straight hair, points to a design gap that developers can address; initiatives such as Code My Crown show that practical tools and collaboration are possible. Making a wider range of hairstyles available without extra cost would also reduce the burden on players who want their characters represented.
The case against
Developers work within technical, budgetary and production constraints, and rendering coiled or kinked hair convincingly may require specialised tools, expertise and testing. Studios may prioritise features they can deliver reliably across varied characters and hardware, while paid expansions help fund ongoing content development. That case does not make the limited options ideal, but it supports a gradual approach as tools and production capacity improve.
Explained simply
Video games build characters’ hair with software that shapes and moves strands on screen. Many systems were designed around straight hair, making tightly coiled textures harder to create convincingly. “Killmonger locs” refers to a uniform style resembling the locs worn by Michael B. Jordan’s character in Black Panther.
Ebonix, the creator name of technical artist Nyjah Udogaranya, has spent more than a decade making custom hairstyles for games such as The Sims. The popularity of her work, including a Patreon with more than 115,000 members, reflects demand for options that players say are missing from many games.
Some projects have developed tools and examples for representing Afro-textured hair, and The Sims 4 has received some free hairstyles. But access to a wider range of styles can depend on paid game add-ons. The issue matters to how players see themselves represented and to the technical choices developers make when designing games.
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