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Denver, 6:15 PM
Wed Dec 2
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07/19/09
07/19/09
Two animals: Black Bears and Mountain Lions. The bear is twice as heavy and almost three times as strong, and despite its bulky appearance, surprisingly fast and agile, even when compared to a big cat. But when confronted, cougars (even females!) have been known to severely injure and even kill black bears to protect themselves, their territory, their kills, or their cubs. Sometimes they even start the fight. Just because they are not as strong does not mean they pose no threat to bears.
I hate to be nitpicky about this, usually this is the kind of thing I'd glaze over, but I see it so much, it's really starting to get on my nerves. Cautionary tales about "you're just a FEMALE child, don't talk to strangers; they might RAPE you!" really could do without the gender specificity thrown in there. Little boys are every bit as vulnerable to peer pressure, drugs, "stranger-danger" and physical abuse by authority figures as little girls are. Statistics notwithstanding, there is almost nothing so physically or mentally different between young/tweeny girls and boys that makes one more able to protect themselves (or make more reasonable decisions) than the other side. A game about "what it means" to grow up female and "what it takes" to "become a woman" strikes me as just another artistic/commercial reflection of a mentality whose sole purpose is to reinforce the second-rate human status quo; you're a girl, so there are special dangers for you, dangers no one else has to deal with: bad guys are out to molest you, better watch out. And vilifying men is just as damaging; kids so often grow up to be what they're told they are.
That said, the game itself is utterly beside the point. I mean, I'm looking through descriptions of the gameplay on various sites, the screenshots, the dialogue, and...I'm thinking, "I'm supposed to relate to this? What are they talking about? I have nothing in common with this girl. This isn't about me, this is about someone else." There's no commentary on femininity, here. It's a game inspired by someone's bad dream of a life.
Which is fine; I guess it's not the game itself I have so much of a problem with. That it's being treated here as some kind of window into A Year In the Life of the female gender is what raises my hackles. It feels insulting because they're saying that playing this game will somehow make someone understand me better. I beg your bleeping pardon.
Before someone starts in with "but it does apply to a lot of women; you're an exception"--no, I'm not. Estrogen-saturated or not, my brain is basically the same as everyone else's. The very idea that a nerdy, video game-loving, technologically oriented woman who likes jet fighters and big explosions is an exception or unusual (or a lesbian) is a prime example of the kind of stupidity I'm talking about, here. There is no reason for women like me to be seen as a "deviation" from the human norm. It's attitudes like that, and the sentiments expressed by in this article that turn my stomach; they reflect with stunning clarity the prejudices and harebrained assumptions we take for granted, and in doing so, inadvertently support and perpetuate the very sexism most of us openly revile. And because we're so unaware of it, we will probably pass it on to our spawn.
While I'm all for teaching kids in general to make decisions based on reason rather than authority, the very implication that boys and (strange) adults are somehow dangerous to girls by default gives the male gender and people of "higher rank" ("adults" is later transmuted to your boss/celebrity hero/religious icon/political figure/anything else you could have a god/hero fear/worship complex about) an authority they wouldn't otherwise have, and in any case, don't deserve.
When you treat someone like a victim before they've even been victimized, you're not helping them succeed, you're setting them up to, at best, adhere to a sub-par standard, and at worst, see themselves as too weak by definition to control their own lives. I've been lynched for saying this before, but I seriously would not be surprised if it turned out many of the rapes of women came about because they felt powerless to even attempt to defend themselves. We even tell women NOT to fight back. How messed up is that? The advice we give women, supposedly in an effort to save lives, I think often does more to hurt them than help. No. If some guy grabs me and puts a knife to my throat and holds me down and tries to rape me, I am not sitting still and letting him do it because "it's better to live." I'm spitting in his face. I'm twisting and struggling, I'm screaming, and if he drops that knife, I'm slamming my forehead into his teeth. If he cuts my throat, well, that's that, I guess, but that is not my fault, it's his fault, and to blame me for doing something to give him reason to hurt me is as full of bullcrap and lies as saying women who wear tight skirts are "asking for it." You can be sexy without wanting to be raped and you can defend yourself without wanting to die. There is no excuse for teaching anyone, women, girls, children of any sex, to be passive and compliant when they are being threatened with immediate harm, even from someone bigger or stronger than they are. Negotiation is only appropriate when time to talk and some physical distance between parties are applicable. When you are under attack, open and--if possible--calculated aggression is more affective than any crying, begging, or closing your eyes and tapping your heels will ever be at making the bad things go away.
At this point I'm just ranting. These things set me off; we teach people from an early age who is supposed to be strong and who is supposed to be weak, and we give men the mistaken impression that women are easy victims, and we tell women that they're naturally victimizable because they don't have quite as much muscle by default (and other equally stupid reasons) and therefore they should live in passive fear of the other half, while men are less likely to feel intimidated by the idea of engaging a woman in physical conflict because they've been told we can't fight them. So men DO victimize women, and women validate the stereotype that's been put to them for ages. The only difference is, no one's forcing it on women anymore; they get by with just proposing it.
So what's it like to be a girl? Well, I imagine it's a lot like being a boy. But, here are some differences you can reasonably expect: It's true that you're not as strong. Moving big things around will probably be a little harder. You might feel a little more "swing" in your emotions, and you might find yourself having to wrestle with them a little more sometimes. Peeing sitting down will be a fact of life, but that's not too bad. Periods are kind of gross and you'll have to put up with some pain and fatigue, but you can probably control that with pills to some extent and after a week or so, you'll feel better. You'll have boobs. You can think of them as an aesthetic touch or a minor annoyance, or both. You'll probably be a little more sensitive to heat and cold, but you also might not notice the difference. Your pain sensitivity might go up, but so might your threshold, so make of that what you will. Your life expectancy will go up. Your libido will go down. You'll keep your hair for longer, maybe even your whole life, but you won't have any on your face. You won't get sweaty so much. You'll probably have to change your underwear every day, but not because of fun dreams, just daily excretions. No one will ever kick you in the balls, but don't get too cocky (haha); a well-placed kick still hurts like hell, it's just not quite as damaging and it's harder to do. Your voice will get higher. Your sensitivity to color might increase.
...Yeah, that's about it. There are probably some other things, but pretty much everything else will stay the same. You'll still like your cars, your music. Your interests will not change, and you're not going to get any dumber. You'd probably be a lot like me, actually; I didn't start liking computers because I have a chemical imbalance, I just happened to be exposed to it, and when I tried to learn more about computers, my parents encouraged that, because, hey, learning is good, right?
You'll notice "you shave your legs, not your face" and "your clothes selections will be different" and "people won't take you as seriously when you're mad" and "you'll like the color pink better and get the urge to shop more" weren't in there anywhere. That's because those things have nothing to do with "what it means" to be female. Really. They don't. And no one should ever state otherwise. Those things have nothing to do with anything. They're personal choices, situations, and feelings. But people assign those choices, feelings and situations a gender; there are man things and there are woman things. These assignments create artificial gender roles that are limiting to both sides, but they're very hard to get out of because, since they're self-applied, we don't even realize we're subjecting ourselves to them, and in the end we wind up selling each other short.
It's so much circular crap I just want to stick a wrench in it somehow. Really, seriously, the differences are marginal from every standpoint except biological. What people need to understand is that regardless of what body you're in, we all share the same human experience. There's no victor side, no victim side. We're all victims and victors in our lifetimes. The world is a dangerous place no matter who you are, but you can do some damage, or some good, yourself.
We just need to start realizing this stuff for how it is; if women were less afraid to fight and to think, they'd be harder to victimize, and if men were better educated, they'd respect the physical injury women could potentially inflict on them in spite of lesser muscle mass and so even the jerks would think twice about picking fights. We'd stop making up stupid cautionary tales about how "vulnerable" females are while sweeping under the rug the fact that Very Bad Things happen to guys, too (which is a completely different rant I will save for a later time, but it's also one that pisses me right off).
I guess this is all to say that making stupid assumptions about people based on X and Y is counterproductive, both to understanding the human experience and teaching our children important lessons. Teaching someone to be a woman should be as uncomplicated as showing her how to use a tampon and explaining how babies are made. There's nothing more to it. Of course, we want to keep our daughters and sons safe, but if we're going to make up stories that are supposed to show our kids how to avoid danger, let's not start with chivalry and chastity. Let's start by teaching them how to think critically, instead of just telling them what they should and should not do.
As far as the game is concerned, it seems to be a compelling fiction through the eyes of the main character; but a statement about the female "condition," it is not.
07/19/09
Well said. And I think it's cool that you dig jet fighters.
07/19/09
Every day there are researchers learning more and more about just how men and women are alike as well as different, and you clearly don't know much about it. The fact that you think you know so much about what it's like to be female when you are male just supports the fact that males in general don't understand the unique challenges associated with growing up as a woman.
...and that's just biological. Don't even get me started about societal and cultural differences in expectations, media bombardment-implied values, etc.
The problem is that people are very confused by what the women's rights movement has brought us. For some reason, people have assumed that if we have equal rights, logically we must be the same...or as some people seem to think, "If women want the same rights, they had better be the same."
Well, surprise, we can have equal rights without being the same. There are tons of innate differences between men and women, and we're learning more about them and discovering more of them every day. To assume we're so similar is to be blind to the plights of others...to try to use a slightly out of place word that I feel conveys the meaning, it's very ethnocentric.
We all need to take a step back and realize that we don't know everything and that there's a lot to learn.
07/19/09
@Mastrix
I definitely agree that this is a game which will most likely not make its way into the hands of too many kids.
The article makes a fantastic point in highlighting the fact the most terrifying elements of The Path are inferred and therefore the product of our own imaginations ( a tool which Stephen King has pointed out to be the most effective in horror writing).
What I found really interesting was the fact that so much of the danger these girls encounter is subtle, situational, and considerably more realistic than we're used to.
@Easternwave
Yes, there are broad generalizations in this article. That said, there are a lot themes here which transcend gender, nationality, or sexual orientation. Young girls are much more frequently the target of violence, and a game which explores this is certainly new.
Ultimately, though the use of female protagonists has its own connotations, The Path taps into the level of uncertainty that accompanies childhood in general. Through the unattended exploration of the woods, personified by the girl in white, all things become possible whether they be magical or horror in nature.
The Path is a symbolist game, and I think it does a marvelous job of bringing up a shared social consciousness of the danger, and the 'magic,' of exploring your way through childhood.
07/18/09
Same way one can argue FPS genre has a statistical bias toward a huge percentage of men in the genre even though you can find woman FPS gamers . Some of it might be cultural ,Gaming being a stigmatized media after all ,other thing might be biological . Think I read somewhere in a sampling it showed Woman on average played a wide variety of games just more causally statistically . But anyway.
When they say woman they do not mean and I’d wish they make this clearer" Ever woman in existence on the planet or even cross-culturally for that matter.I can name a couple of woman who hate the concept right now that I know " IT does not mean ever woman will relate to it or give a damn about it. It a particular way of talking that comes from North American social activism that makes one point of view seem larger and more broader than it might be in reality.
Probably should blame the Radical feminism for projecting a monothilic identity on all woman while talking about the individuality, it a little hypocritical . Completely ignoring both cultural and social-biological differences , I don’t expect a "Lesbian " to have the same experiences as a woman who "heterosexual" Then a whole other range of cultural and individual personality variables come into play .But when we read these article "Woman " are talked about as a Single cohesive group
Anyway off my rants back to games
At most we can say "There is a certain percentage of the population who want certain things out of games that differ from my taste "There a greater appeal of games with a social theme and social drama that have an illusions of realism attached to them, correct clothing or limited fantasy etc Lack of adventure epic story or central arch and world changing events and very limited fantasy .Story that are social emotional Interpersonal oriented stories. Simply creating a more developed female character isn’t enough to appeal to this group of people dominated by a certain percentage of the female demographic. But generally this is what they mean when they say "Games for Girls "
. Like someone said Laura-croft could be replaced by an "athletic action hero ", No amount of Personality or character develop will increase her appeal to the group of people that I mentioned above. It has nothing to do with her being attractive it just not appealing , if the audience want an entirely different kind of game and this audience happen to be made up of mostly woman . The kind of game that seem to be appealing to "This particular group of woman both biological and Culturally For whatever reason , Not to say you don’t have men in this group but there a stereotypical bias toward a precentalie of woman "
This does not mean your friend who a female and has feminine qualities, who play kill zone GTA and Mario and drinks beers will play this game or even relate to it . She probably might not give a damn about this game that talks about girlhood and consider it craft . It has a default bias that will appeal to some demographic of people though I spoke about.
. This is not an art statement , just trying to dismantle the "Monothilic assumption with the term "Woman" that usually comes with these things. Honestly could give a damn less about art, concept of art lost meaning when people defecated on stage and called it art and got paid 50,000 dollars . , Even so-called realism is only one person perspective on reality ,I’ve never experienced plenty of movies that where realism based myself so it still subjective point of view on events .
07/18/09
And the thing is, nobody notices how offensive this talk is, and how it holds people back.
07/18/09
I'm sorry. I don't think that's a valid stance to take, even remotely. But beyond that, games are simulations, and simulations allow us to learn, they can teach, they can give us space to explore and to be introspective. And they damn well should be being used for those things. It's fine to have games that are incredibly shallow, but fun, too, but it'd be like saying no, you can't make a serious movie, they all need to be popcorn flicks. You can't write a book about a touchy subject, books need to be feel good "fun" novels. Kids can watch those things, or read them! Games are no less diverse in their ability to communicate than books or movies, and to treat them as such is nonsense.
If you're for stripping games of the ability to be serious then you have to logically be for stripping everything else of the ability to be serious or you're special casing games in a way that makes no sense. And then you're left with a Fahrenheit 451 like world in which no one has any depth because the only things they're exposed to are hopelessly shallow.
07/18/09
Obviously, games will always have a place in the "for kids", "for fun" ideology, but the fact that we can have a branch off the tree that's a little different, or shows some semblance of verisimilitude to real life situations, emotions, or principles, speaks volumes on the evolution of the video game genre.
Furthermore, if a game can grab you or make you think, maybe it can shape you into a better person by showing you a different idea, a different culture, or by just getting you to care about something other than the next explosion or set of breasts.
Examples that come to mind on games that reach into this ideology: Dreamfall, Ico, & Shadow of the Colossus
07/18/09
There's always going to be dangers, that's life, however if we start by teaching our girls that you can still be a pretty pink princess as well as have a smart head on your shoulders then things should improve. One would hope.
Showing that girls are always the victim? Not a good thing, showing girls how NOT to be the victim is the right path to go.
07/18/09
Games are for fun, they are for entertainment. If stuff like this is going to get promoted it will at some point go badly wrong.
I would say that we have all at some point argued that games are just games, thats why its ok to shoot, slash or punch the guy on screen.
Now what are we doing, asking easily influenced young girls (guys would be the same) to be their character, that this can be real life and how you can deal with things?!
I've got an idea, lets churn out more games like this until it goes to far and then we will see if we can blame games.
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Games should not be relegated to a moral and political vacuum where only alienating things are allowed to happen. Just because games were born as mere entertainment doesn't mean it can't move on.
And an AO game has no responsability for what happens if a kid plays the game. The game is not to blame at all. Being a game doesn't mean it is okay for kids to play it. It is like worrying about a R rated animation being watched by kids just because it is an animation.
07/18/09
Am I doing it wrong, or are you?
Or is it possible that different people value the same things in different ways?
07/18/09
Look, I as much as anyone believe that it is up to the parents to govern the games that kids play but we all know that doesn't happen. As for the company, if they have no responsibility, then they shouldn't have given permission for this kind of statement. Saying this has now given them a responsibilty.
They can't pick and choose who they want to say they have influenced.
07/18/09
And it is thoughts like this that will never get games viewed as a form of art. Not all games are as simple as a summer blockbuster, and by God, they shouldn't be that simple.
I say, thank God there are people that make games that appeal to more than primal instincts and the id.
07/18/09
Yeah. Just like books or movies or TV or psychologists or friends aren't supposed to help you with problems either. You have a problem? You should lock yourself into a dank, dark cave, gouge out your eyes and eardrums, and make sure you don't interact with ANYTHING at all. Ever. Because problems are meant to be solved only by your own personal willpower, and not anything external.
Just because it's a "game" doesn't mean it can't have uses outside of entertainment. Books have certainly more uses than entertainment. Ditto movies. Music maybe. Theraputic, certainly.
07/18/09
Kids should not consume anything AO, simple as that, doesn't matter what the product is. As long as it is not advertised to children, or in a way that fools people into thinking it is for children, then there's no problem whatsoever, it could be a Lego set full of pornographic stuff, it doesn't matter.
07/18/09
If the only way a person will feel assisted is by playing a game, then surely we have serious issues with society.
07/18/09
07/18/09
What would you rather: A Sundance game festival? Do you want a gaming society to be full of critics where noting is no longer good enough?
Why are people so despret for it to become an art form? What, you don't appreciate it at its base form, does it still need to be more?
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Actually my preffered games types are story drive and have been for a long while. I enjoy deep games and their are some that I have played and have considered them as artistic in how they are presented.
But I can't see why just because I think that games should be fun means that I don't want them to be deep and meaningful. Can they not do both?
07/18/09
Is that because we a scared to take responsibility?
I have nothing against art at all, or freedom of expression. But I do believe that people do have responsibilities i.e. the parents.
07/18/09
07/19/09
Yes, I want games to be boring.
Seriously, what kind of straw-man argument is this?
What would you rather: A Sundance game festival? Do you want a gaming society to be full of critics where noting is no longer good enough?
Yes, I do want critics to actually take games to task. I'm sick of 7/10 being considered 'average'. As for a 'Sundance game festival', I take it you haven't heard of the Independent Games Festival, have you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Games_Festival
Why are people so despret(sic) for it to become an art form? What, you don't appreciate it at its base form, does it still need to be more?
YES, everything should strive to be more.
Look, did Schindler's List prevent Die Hard from happening? Did All The King's Men somehow kill the chances of Rush Hour being made? Did Amadeus make Lethal Weapon bite the dust?
No. Summer Blockbusters will - and should - continue to exist. I'm just saying that it is about time for video games to at least attempt to get some class - and when they do, the last thing I want is for people to say "This shouldn't be in a video game!" Why the hell not? They are just as viable of form of communicating ideas as books and movies - why not use them as such?
07/18/09
And to me, this sounds like something that a guy gamer might be interested in just as well. It's a pshycological horror/thriller game where the scary effect happens through the mind and the thoughts of a young girl.
Yeah, I think a lot of guys could absolutely be interested in something like this! But here's the catch: if this game is being branded as a game for girls, the guys - who still make up for the majority of gamers - will get totally turned off... 'cause they think this'll be just another "game for girls".
Thus I think it's okay to develop games that focus on the female audience like this... It's just... Don't say it's a girl's game! Let the players be the judge of wether or not the game is for them!
In the end both sexes want the same kind of things from the video games they play. Nobody has ever told me that I shouldn't play Killzone 2 because it's a guys' game. Don't tell the guys that this is a girls' game 'cause it really could be an interesting thing concept for them to experience horror as depicted through a young girl's psyche! But most of them will never even give this game a go if it's branded as a game for girls!
07/18/09
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07/18/09
We can enjoy the same games, but at different levels. The whole branding for girls, or for boys, that is another issue. Mainly marketing people have a big hand in this.
I disagree, we don't want the same things in game, however we do want to play the same games.
I really liked the Path btw.
07/18/09
But anyways, I think my point is still valid.
07/18/09
07/18/09
Absolutely it doesn't have to be a learning experience or a lesson or anything like that. The moment as was mentioned, the guy just sitting there on the bench beside you, that's the kind of subtle lingering creepiness that's effective in its own right and is actually largely missing from games as a whole (most of which rely on shocks and jumps these days)
Trying to make a more emotional game like this could actually be a very good first step in making just better games generally.
07/18/09
I'm also really interested in seeing exactly what kinds of scenarios are used...
07/18/09
07/18/09
Soooo... It's like... You think you KNOW that I - as a girl - enjoy an RPG because of its story and the characters? And NOT the fact that it has (for example) one of the most versatile character development systems and some really sweet battle mechanics?
Hey, just for your information, girls love to manage their skills and battle formations and sort their equipment just as much as any of you guys!
Also now I need to ask:
You play FPS games? And why do you enjoy them?
I think most FPS games are boring, but if I had to say why exactly I enjoy the above mentioned Killzone 2 (for example)... Honestly? ... I like the intensity of running into a crowd of enemies, all firing their guns at me. And I get a thrill out of cutting down five guys armed to the TEETH with a knife before any of them manage to do any major damage to me. I love popping bad guys in the head with a sniper rifle from afar. I love fightining my way out of an ambush. I love to take my boomstick, run straight up to a guy who's desparately trying to gun me down with some pathetic peashooter of an SMG and just mow him down with a blast from my 12-gauge.
These are some of the reasons why I enjoy Killzone 2 (and other FPS games) from time to time. This is where I get my kicks while playing Killzone 2.
So, now tell me what exactly are the DIFFERENT reasons why guys enjoy FPS games such as Killzone 2?
Care to kind of... elaborate where you got this idea that it's a fact that you enjoy a game for different reasons depending on your gender?
'Cause I've been playing video games for 20 years and I've been talking about the with both guys and girls for 20 years and I've never noticed anything that would indicate that being a guy or a gal has an effect on the reason why you enjoy a video game.
07/19/09
You do have a point, maybe I generalized too much, but I never said you enjoyed story or things like that, I just said our brains are wired differently and that makes us prone to view things differently.
Sure there is always exceptions, and that's nature for you.
07/18/09
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07/18/09
Granted, I haven't played the game, but I'm guessing that if I were to see a guy sitting on a bench my first thought wouldn't be rape. On the other hand, I haven't been raped. So you might cut her a wee bit of slack. No one raised her to be like that. She was attacked.
07/18/09
My wife is pregnant, and to a criminal, that makes her an ever better target. She knows this, which is why she has her concealed handgun license and is armed. A few pregnant women not far from me were not as fortunate(or were oblivious) and were kidnapped and never heard from again.
07/18/09
07/18/09
People may think your wife is paranoid carrying around a gun, but if the situation arises herself, she will be able to protect herself and her child. Instead of hiding behind a veil of ignorance, she takes action to properly protect things she cares about, rather then ridiculing those who do, and asking for their help when the situation comes.
I respect you and your wife completely, and don't find either of you paranoid in the least, rather, prepared.
07/18/09
Unfortunately, being a woman and thinking like this is something like learning defensive driving skills. It's a bit limiting, but could save your life in dangerous situations. Anyone who says that women shouldn't look at the world this way should criticize THE WORLD THAT MAKES THEM LIVE THAT WAY, not the women themselves. People who make statements like this have a lot to learn about what it means to be a woman in this world.
Plus in a lot of cases, nobody has to teach *us* anything of the kind. I had been sexually victimized by two different adult men by the time I was five years old. I learned that men could potentially take advantage of you in vulnerable situations JUST FINE from those experiences without anyone else having to tell me a damn word.
07/18/09
Behavior like this has become so common nowadays. Not trusting your priest because he might be a child molester, not trusting the guy down the street because he might be a rapist, not trusting the White cop because he might be a racist, even "not confiding in a spouse because she might reject you"...
Everywhere I go, I see the same examples of modern world paranoia. There's nothing wrong with locking your doors, or carrying a gun, or even feeling scared from time to time. But if you let this paranoia dominate every single encounter with people in public, you'll end up being dominated by fear.
07/19/09
Well, learning defensive driving skills is not the same as being afraid to ever drive a car. A woman exercising (extremely appropriate given the world and the way it treats women) cautions when dealing with her surroundings is not the same as a reclusive shut-in who's afraid to ever leave the house. It is inappropriate to fault women for taking necessary precautions to safeguard themselves in a world that all too often condones violence against them.
07/18/09
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07/18/09
I can't comment specifically on this game since I've never played it, but there's a tendency for female-perspective art pieces like this to just paint men as the worst thing on Earth. Some of us are, but most of us aren't.
Granted, the author of this excerpt had her own personal trauma to project on the situation, but I hope that people try to remember that not everyone who's just out by themselves is hunting for a girl to rape. Again, I'm not saying this game does that, but rather that I hope that's not the implication of situations in this game.
Teach caution, but also teach balance.
07/18/09
I can't say for certain how women in general feel (any more than I can say how men in general feel, I guess), but if the choice is to be afraid of physical power or sexuality, I'll be afraid of physical power. (See: non-choices.)
Of course, these are generalizations. I loath sensationalist warnings or reporting that paints all men as slobbering date-rapists as much as the next guy. But I have to think that, were I a woman, it wouldn't seem so much sensationalist as it would a reasonable caution. I also have to think that most women are smart enough and comfortable enough with men to filter what truth there may be out of such things, and discard the alarmist craff.
If anything, articles like this sort of say to me: Consider all you'll never know, 'cause you've got an Outie down below.
07/18/09
(grr, i clicked elsewhere and lost a whole friggin reply - fix this!!)
I would agree with Leigh in that these are our inherent powers, but I find that defining it so simply is incredibly limiting. These are things that are beyond our control be it natural athleticism or good looks. You cannot help the way you're born, but more importantly, you're not the sum of your physical traits.
The most powerful thing either gender has is their brain, and yet so few of us, when compared to the rest of us, exercise that power or wield it with responsibility. How many people have you met simply take things at face value, no questions asked, especially when it comes from a position of authority? As an example, I bet there's a lot of people out there who would love to tell you that Leonardo da Vinci was a member of the Priory of Scion... and claim it as fact. To the quick, it's not that we don't question the material in front of us, but that we're too lazy to find the answers. For this reason, you can say that people are generally open to suggestion.
All that said, I'm not saying that all the people who play this game (if indeed it makes any claims of the sort) are going to paint men as villains, but there are going to be many that do for the reasons above. No, it's not the responsibility of the developer or the author or the film maker or what have you to ensure that the audience is taking a reasonable caution, but let me spin it like you have.
Were I a woman, I would find that I've got 60 sources telling me the same thing is true to every 1 that tells me it's not. My whole life, I would be told that skinny is hot, men are rapists, acai berries make you lose weight, waxing doesn't hurt, all Internet people are pedophiles, etc. It's hard to argue with that, wouldn't you agree? Another one on the pile isn't a reasonable caution; it's an affirmation... and it's simply not true.
So yeah, not everyone is going to take it that way, of course, but if the game or any other medium teaches the right balance - that we can co-exist and not have to be afraid of each other - then I can at least have faith in the people who have the means to convey a message.
07/18/09
Naturally, that's a generalization, and (if I may generalize), generalizations tend to be pretty darn inaccurate.
Edit: and, about Leigh's comment - yes, it's a generalization too (and doesn't hold up, when applied to certain individual cases). But looking at popular culture, and our own video game culture, it's also - generally - a fair assessment.
07/18/09
I agree about the whole notion of games that used to just be about fun. I understand that the medium as a whole is growing, and that as a result there are going to be much different interpretations of whats considered a game to different people. I'm just not sure how I feel about something like this becoming more mainstream. I don't mind that it exists, I'd just prefer it to exist on the edges, very much in the indie space.
07/18/09
07/18/09
To a certain degree I really do feel for female gamers. Guys have this wide breadth of content available to them. There are a few games that present strong female characters, but they are almost always dolled up in large breasted small wasted bodies. Sadly I fall for the eye candy, i mean how can i not, but women shouldn't just have those examples. I don't really know what the compromise is necessarily, but there should be one.
07/18/09
07/18/09
To add to that, this is certainly not a bad idea. As recently discussed on Kotaku, there are far too many negative female stereotypes in video games. If this game can help girls and also provide a decent portrayal of females then I'm definitely for it. Even as a guy, it bugs me that females in video games are reduced to being weak, whiny, and/or sex objects
07/18/09
07/18/09
Yeah, I know what you mean; Bayonetta, Lara Croft, Jill Valentine, Faith...their all weak...
Yeah, they have sex appeal, but think to how many male protagonist or antagonist look like average Joe; Cloud, Dante, Raiden. Their all ugly mofo's.
07/18/09
It isn't an issue of whether the female characters is 'strong,' it is an issue of whether the female character is being reduced to a sexy face or fan service and those strong character aspects -- like their personality -- take a backseat to their, you know, their cleavage.
Personally, I'd just as soon as hypersexualize men in video games in equal parts as the women than to dictate that all protagonists should be 'Average Joes.'
07/18/09
07/18/09
She's like... wearing almost nothing but guns. That is exactly how you dress to win a gunfight.
07/19/09