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Author Topic: Female game portayals  (Read 21642 times)

« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2006, 08:59:39 PM »
Ah yes, Cate Archer. Quite positive.

As for the Amazons, that's just what situation popped into my head while reading the thread.

Hirocon

  • June 14-16, every year
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2006, 09:40:43 PM »
Super Princess Peach is an example of a heroine rescuing a hero.  Mario may be in distress throughout the entire game, but he's been a hero so many times already that the game is understood to be a temporary role reversal.

Amazons aside, there is no real cultural basis for a woman saving a man, because that theme never appears in culture, e.g. in video games, movies, or an other sort of media.  But the theme of the man saving a woman does appear in culture, all the time.  That's my point.  I don't really have a problem with it.  It's fine for video games to reflect and perpetuate existing culture.  While video games can and do shape culture, I feel no pressing desire to see this particular aspect of culture to change.  But many do, and I wouldn't be offended in any way if the culture did change.  In today's world I don't think the man-saving-woman theme has any more of a natural basis than the missing woman-saving-man theme.  Neither do I think there is any natural basis for the theme of mushrooms which, when eaten, cause the consumer to double in size.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2006, 09:44:41 PM by Hirocon »

« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2006, 09:16:47 AM »
It's even worse in RPGs: Every single female character that will join your party will always be a healer or magician, wear impractically skimpy clothing that barel even qualifies as clothing, and will, 99% of the time, have an attack where thay blow a kiss, visible as a giant pink heart.

Ever played Fire Emblem? I can name about five girls from the game that don't fit that stereotype.
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2006, 01:30:30 PM »
Fire Emblems aren't really RPGs, but more Turn-Based Strategy. But your point in general is good.

Glorb

  • Banned
« Reply #19 on: May 24, 2006, 01:43:56 PM »
Okay, on non-sexist Team 1 there's Fire Emblem. On Team 1 there's most of the Dragon Quest (especially VIII) and Final Fantasy (especially X) games, along with almost every other non-FE game.
It doesn't matter really how "strong" the female characters are; as long as they're in absurd, impractically skimpy clothing, I still consider it fairly sexist. And I'm a guy. Not that I hate any of these games, or I'm a southern Quaker/born-again Christian, but come on! It's ridiculous.
every

« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2006, 11:42:24 PM »
It's a proven point that sex sells. Sad but true. I mean, as shallow and superficial as it sounds, people are going to want something that not only plays good, but also looks good too and what looks better than girls with exagerated features and skimpy clothing? I'm also betting it has something to do with real girls never looking like that unless they're going to a cosplay expo.
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

Glorb

  • Banned
« Reply #21 on: May 25, 2006, 09:12:08 AM »
Well...true. Apparently, game execs think that, because some wierdo thinks that the only game-playing demographic is 18 - 30-year-old men, then all games should objectify females in some way. I mean, look at G4 - They used to be a channel anyone who plays games could watch, then once their CEO got fired and replaced with some random jerk, they got rid of most of their video game programming and replaced it with the leftover table scraps from Spike TV, which is to say it's all beer/cars/boobs now.
every

SolidShroom

  • Poop Man
« Reply #22 on: May 25, 2006, 01:00:28 PM »
...look at G4 - They used to be a channel anyone who plays games could watch, then once their CEO got fired and replaced with some random jerk, they got rid of most of their video game programming and replaced it with the leftover table scraps from Spike TV, which is to say it's all beer/cars/boobs now.
Thank You! I hate G4 now. They aren't a video game network anymore. They're Spike's neice.

Glorb

  • Banned
« Reply #23 on: May 26, 2006, 08:11:41 AM »
Actually, they're more like Spike TV's wierd, spazzy little brother who wants to grow up to be just like Spike TV.
every

SolidShroom

  • Poop Man
« Reply #24 on: May 26, 2006, 01:08:27 PM »
Yeah and the only vidoegame shows they still have suck. Cinematech is stupid, why watch, when you can play. Arena, same thing, why watch others play when you can? Electric Playground is G4's way to suck up to the creators of announced games thet end up bad. AOTS was good when it was TSS and had Kevin Rose and Sarah Lane, but now it is pure crap. Lastly, X-Play. Morgan Webb is not a gamer! Sessler is but Webb wouuldn't know a fire flower from a super mushroom without the true talent of the show, the writers. As for Triumph, Man Show, Fastlane, street fury, Star trek, happy tree friends, and brainiac, some may good, but they belong somewhere else. Now they're bringing back Filter and I know it won't be as great as it used to be.

« Reply #25 on: May 26, 2006, 02:05:26 PM »
call me a nerd but i have a huge crush on morgan webb. not because of here looks because of her tom boyish personality. too be honest if morgan webb wasnt a gamer i wouldnt think she was hot.

anyways samus is a strong female video game charcter. who says girls cant kick alien butt?

« Reply #26 on: May 26, 2006, 02:51:23 PM »
I guess Sypha Belnades is a strong female character. But then again, Everybody thought Sypha was a dude.
Aeris/th from FFVII is probably my favorite female portrayal in a videogame. No massive breasts or skimpy outfits (in fact, she wears a full length dress), she has an important role in the story that goes beyond being "the love interest", and her untimely demise was probably the most emotional moment in any videogame I've ever played.

I'm not dead certain that Morgan Webb is a gamer at all. Perhaps I'm just subconsciously unable to accept the existance of an attractive female gamer (after all, Sapphira is obviously a sophisticated computer program and holographic projection), but Morgan Webb seems...fake.
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Chupperson Weird

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« Reply #27 on: May 26, 2006, 04:02:42 PM »
Should I make a list of all the female characters in video games that don't conform to this supposed pattern? I mean, off the top of my head, I can think of tons of just Final Fantasy characters that aren't healers with hearts and skimpy clothing. Seriously guys, play some games.
That was a joke.

Glorb

  • Banned
« Reply #28 on: May 27, 2006, 03:22:01 PM »
...after all, Sapphira is obviously a sophisticated computer program and holographic projection...
Wha? The Sapphira here?
every

« Reply #29 on: May 29, 2006, 09:06:38 PM »
Have any of you guys beaten a metroid game really fast before? Or seen the screenshots to the new smash bros game?

Personally I don't find a problem with a plot as simple as "gorilla captures girl, man who jumps must save girl" offensive. I mean, does anyone care about the plot in MB, or SMB, or pretty much any Super Mario game (with a few exceptions). Peach has done her fair share of keeping her pathetic little partners alive in SMRPG. But I would agree that a game like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball does much work edgewise...
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