The NZA Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Sen did a paper recently for a culture class talking about women & video-games, and how not only are more dames playing them, theyre branching into genres that were formerly guy-only territory. While more casual games (lookin at the Wii here) have always been big with girls, speaking generally: Tetris, Puzzle Fighter, Sims, etc - there's a common ground being found in new projects like LittleBigPlanet, as well as a rush of females delving into RPGs like Final Fantasy since VII opened the floodgates. And that's not even discussing the World of Warcraft following, its huge all around. Still, some companies treat it like an anomally theyve no idea how to handle. One company sponsors a pretty-girl team of hardcore FPS players, i think theyre called the Frag Dollz or something? But surely that's not as bad as this: which is no better than this, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benz Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 My former Guild Master and Main Tank in WoW is a girl. Pretty cool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Hmm...while it's true that most women can't resist the cute little furry things with dainty paws and oh it's so sweet i want a kitten. But they've approached this entirely the wrong way. Rather than rapidly developing a series specifically with girls in mind, creating quality games of neutral genre should suffice. As women become more comfortable with spending their evenings gaming rather than watching TV, or ironing...or whatever, no doubt many traditionally male titles will start to appeal anyway. There's nothing like coming home and pumping out a few virtual rounds/watching some heads explode after a stressful day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senshik Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Sen did a paper recently for a culture class talking about women & video-games, and how not only are more dames playing them, theyre branching into genres that were formerly guy-only territory. The studies I read showed that women are TYPICALLY stimulated by games that have: Character Designing - which could explain the big appeal of the moRpgs - WoW, Maple Story, RO, etc. Challenging puzzles - playing tetris games and such Complex story lines - perhaps is the appeal to girls playing FFs Great graphics - again, games such FFs Interaction with others - The appeal of MoRpgs, Playing the Wii Those are a few I remember at the top of my head, but that's not to say a woman may enjoy games with gore and violence, as Lottie puts it: There's nothing like coming home and pumping out a few virtual rounds/watching some heads explode after a stressful day. (Right on Sista Lot-tie!) Obviously these games "imagine babies and home cooking", "Barbies fashion", "cosmo make-over" are a terrible sterotype and definitely renforcing girls into typical gender roles. I am completely opposed to those games. Now, If these games were like "imagine your SUPER BABY BLOWING UP SHIT" kind of game.... who knows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Jax Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycaon Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Those are a few I remember at the top of my head, but that's not to say a woman may enjoy games with gore and violence Indeed, I know those that've really enjoyed GTA and the Jak X: Combat Racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archangel Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 OMG, I didn't see this post. I almost spit coca cola out of my nose it was so funny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HypnotizinChikns Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 o hay now! I play the Sims! You can put them on fire! and kill them! And it's funny! I also love Grand Theft Auto and other types with funny voilence. becuase death is funny... when it's not fuh-reelz. I also got into Tomb Raider. err boob raider whatever. and guitar hero!!! and Metal gear Solid. I'm not sure what the connection to any of those is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senshik Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 I'm still not sure what your post really means. Are you trying to demean pink hardware or what? Cuz honestly, I don't really see anything wrong with it, other than it's hello kitty on it. This is no different than trying to appeal to males: exhibit A however, yes pink is still reinforcing the typical "girly" colors, but at the same time, at least the hello kitty game isn't like, "hello kitty gets a date" or "hello Kitty raising a baby while baking cookies for her date". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benz Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 I'm still not sure what your post really means. Are you trying to demean pink hardware or what? Cuz honestly, I don't really see anything wrong with it, other than it's hello kitty on it. This is no different than trying to appeal to males: exhibit A however, yes pink is still reinforcing the typical "girly" colors, but at the same time, at least the hello kitty game isn't like, "hello kitty gets a date" or "hello Kitty raising a baby while baking cookies for her date". Where am I supposed to put it? Dammit I'm calling customer service it won't fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senshik Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 Where am I supposed to put it? Dammit I'm calling customer service it won't fit. I'm sorry... but "put" what? your penis???? oh god, never mind. Please don't answer that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperEeyore Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 why did you bother to ask... you know what he was trying to stick in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 This is as brilliant & accurate as it is tragic. "This is a man's world," James Brown once argued. "But it wouldn't be nothing without a woman on this Earth." Of course, he then proceeded to beat such women to within an inch of their lives, but the old abusive bastard had a point. Women are important, and while this male-dominated games industry overlooks them, the female of the species has its crucial place in the world of interactive entertainment. Of course, as with most things that we have discussed in this series, any woman who wants to be in a videogame has to obey Ten Golden Rules in order to become a success. Ten concessions must be made if any videogame character hopes to be up there with the great female leaders of our medium. If you too wish for the fame, fortune, and ultimately respect that comes with being a female in a videogame, then you'll want to read and take note of the Ten Golden Rules of videogame women. 1. Armor is useless against enemies: While any sane man would go into battle against a horde of demons wearing a full suit of armor and as much skin covered by protective clothing as possible, it's a well-known fact that the flesh of a woman is hard as diamond, and as such, armor will only slow them down. This is the reason why most videogame heroines decide to go into battle wearing little more than a G-string and two eggcups. Anything else would get in the way. Should you hope to become a famous videogame heroine, you must cast away bullet proof vests and hard helmets. It's a well known scientific fact that if a woman fights a seven-foot-tall werewolf with ten-inch claws and her bare belly isn't exposed and vulnerable, she will die because of reasons. This is proven using science, so you can't argue with us. 2. Look as non-age specific as possible: As a videogame female, your job is to be as attractive to as many men as possible, and since pedophiles buy videogames too, looking like a ten-year-old boy with huge tits can't hurt. Japanese female game characters are masters of this, their faces carrying an ambiguity that can be attractive to anybody, which allows salarymen to be naughty pederasts without their wives suspecting a thing. The perfect women will have completely androgynous faces to ensnare both straight and gay men, with the huge dewy eyes and small mouths of creepy, doll-esque children for the pervoids. Finally, a wazzo pair of jugs sprouting from the ribcage like a two balloons full of custard just to make sure nobody feels guilty about cracking one off over the videogame box art. Everyone's a winner. Oh, and on the subject of breasts ... 3. Tits must not obey the laws of physics: In order to be accepted by the gamer community, you need to have a pair of norks that would make Charles Darwin's head explode. Apparently, having a pair of breasts that hypnotically sway up and down, like those little plastic birds that pretend to drink water, is sexy. It's not something we understand, but it's the rules, and the only way that thirteen year-olds with no concept of reality (and Itagaki) can find you sexy. There are operations on the surgical black market which replace the tissue inside your breasts with marmalade and helium. This is how Nina Williams got her job, so we recommend you look into it. 4. Remind everyone not to underestimate you because you're a woman: Women are strong-willed and indomitable -- that's the message videogame heroines pretend to relay to children. Basically, the best female videogame character will constantly tell people not to judge her on grounds of gender while constantly pointing out that she is, indeed, a woman. It's what we call the "Spice Girls method," where a woman acts as if she's all about female empowerment and ignores the irony that she was created by a room full of men to appeal to a room full of boys. 5. You must be weak, but agile: Male characters are strong and slow, female characters are agile but weak. Thus it was written, thus it shall never change. Apparently being "agile" in a videogame is some sort of equal trade-off for not being able to put so much as a dent in a baby's cranium, but it is, unfortunately, the law. 6. High pitched voices are paramount: This more than likely ties in with appealing to the kiddyfiddler demographic, but the best female characters have to be shrill and unbearable to listen to. The kind of voice that could set off an entire neighborhood of dogs into a whining frenzy. If possible, try raping a cat with an overhead projecter. As you attempt to insert the projection machinery into the hapless feline's arse, take note of the sound it makes. Now try and emulate that sound. You'll fit in with the most iconic of videogame females in no time! 7. If you're not the heroine, develop an obvious but spiteful love for the hero: Just because you're a member of the supporting cast doesn't mean you don't have rules to obey! The primary objective for all female supporting cast members in a videogame is that they must fall in love with the hero, but be a right nasty bitch to him at the same time. Don't worry, it's character development, and nobody will think you're being a completely stupid twat who can't get her life sorted out. It's important that you make the hero think you hate him, but get insanely jealous when he quite rightly takes an interest in a woman who isn't a stuck-up cunt. Yes, just like in Hey Arnold!. By the end of the game, however, your true feelings will be known, and he suddenly won't mind that you're an egregious fuckspanner with schizophrenic tendencies. It's how love works in real life, too. 8. Prepare for Hentai: If you don't want fifteen year-olds drawing pictures of you with a massive dick between your legs, then you don't want to be a famous female videogame character. It's simple as that. 9. You may only have one of three personality types, and none of them are very likable: Everybody knows that women don't really have personalities, which is why you must stick to one of the tried and tested archetypes. You can be one of the following characters if you insist on daring to speak in front of men: * No-nonsense bitch * Sarcastic bitch * Condescending bitch If you're very good, you'll try and roll all three stereotypes into one dissociative character, with no regard to consistency or continuity. If you do deviate from one of these archetypes, don't expect to be very successful, but take solace from the fact that people who love talking about videogames will constantly bring you up as an exception to other female videogame characters and talk about how "truly beautiful" your development was like the pretentious ghouls they are. 10. No fat chicks: Well ... duh. #'s 5 and 7 have been the standard for as far back as i can recall, but # 1 drives me fucking insane. its not always that way; i mean, in Resident Evil 1, Jill Valentine looked like a SWAT trooper (sans beret) ready to go to work. By part 3, she's running from zombies in a skirt with midriff or some shit. its like in Ultimate X-Men, when Wolvy, Cyk & co started rocking kevlar-looking black leather, and storm and the girls got cutoff shirts and leggings with random openings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal08 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 is this appropriate or inappropriate for here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HypnotizinChikns Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 ^ not really. For one i assumed this thread was safe for work, and 2 this is for the most part, a serious discussion. If you're not the heroine, develop an obvious but spiteful love for the hero: -It's like they stole the plot from a romance novel! 6. High pitched voices are paramount: This more than likely ties in with appealing to the kiddyfiddler demographic, but the best female characters have to be shrill and unbearable to listen to. The kind of voice that could set off an entire neighborhood of dogs into a whining frenzy. Not true! Lara had a nice voice, almost smoky and, Ivy from Soul Calibur. on the other hand they meet most of the other criteria... 2. Look as non-age specific as possible: As a videogame female, your job is to be as attractive to as many men as possible, and since pedophiles buy videogames too, looking like a ten-year-old boy with huge tits can't hurt. Japanese female game characters are masters of this, their faces carrying an ambiguity that can be attractive to anybody, which allows salarymen to be naughty pederasts without their wives suspecting a thing. I find that disturbing...becuase it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal08 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Im with what the doctor diagnosed on that last part there... if it looks like a 'toomah' then its prolly a pedophile... er wait but yea, shes right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Not true! Lara had a nice voice, almost smoky and, Ivy from Soul Calibur. on the other hand they meet most of the other criteria... Yes, Lara was almost insultingly British. I think where that particular rule comes in is in RPGs. For example, Final Fantasy X where Rikku (voiced by the woman who does Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls) and Lulu who by all rights should have had a very whispery deep womanly voice sounded vaguly like Naruto. Fortunately the voice acting for XII was awesome, especially the woman who played Fran. I could listen to her talk until the end of eternity about nothing at all... Lets be honest though when it comes to good female role models in gaming we pretty much get: -Samus Aran (iffy due to the fact you get to play as her in a skimpy outfit if you do well) -Jade from Beyond Good and Evil -Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2 who essentially is Jade only in a world not populated by furries. -Lili from Psychonauts (I refuse to discount her due to her crush on Raz as last I checked attraction was not a weakness) -Maureen Ripley from Full Throttle But Ms. Pac-Man is the worst role model of all time. Cause she dresses like a tramp. And she swallows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal08 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 uhm... that is why she should be a role model... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 uhm... that is why she should be a role model... Ah Sig, people like you are the reason I'm afraid to have daughters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal08 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 ... you do know I said that bc the humor in the compair contrast right? I am gonna be the kind of dad that sundown ='s curfew for my daughters, and I will do a background check on all of their dates... mebbe even do a stakeout on their dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 ... you do know I said that bc the humor in the compair contrast right? I am gonna be the kind of dad that sundown ='s curfew for my daughters, and I will do a background check on all of their dates... mebbe even do a stakeout on their dates. That would be the purpose of the smiley of the top. I was making a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal08 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 well... DAMN YOUR JOKES! baytor has to go bein' all likeable n stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alive she cried Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 is this appropriate or inappropriate for here? That's always appropriate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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