I like video games. Sometimes I like taking my video games online and playing with other gamers. Though, that notion is quickly snubbed out by the people who play video games. I don't know why, but gamers aren't very kind towards their fellow gamer. Now, it's always frustrating when the people on the other team continue to merciless you kill you again and again and not let you move two feet before you get killed again. Though, it's always made worse when you hear their voice spewing profanities and insults at you.
Xbox Live is where the dregs of human society seem to congregate, and they seem to wear that image with aggressive apathy. What I mean by that is, if someone like myself were to tell them to clean up their act, they would respond with an "I don't care" attitude and sling even more harsh insults at me. The thing is, that these gamers have anonymity with their gamer handles. While these handles are not completely infallible, as their location can be traced via their IP address, those who hide behind them figure that it gives them the ability to say whatever they feel. As this is America, we as Americans have the right of free speech. Though, while your right to free speech enables you to say whatever you please, there is also a thing called manners. Perhaps there should be a mutual respect for the people who play the same video game that you are right now?
However, none of this is helped by the general consensus of society who has deemed video games to be a waste of time. The average portrayal of a gamer is an anti-social, non-hygienic, moutbreathing neckbeard guy who still lives in his parents basement and doesn't know anything of the outside world. What have we as gamers done to deserve this image? What are we as gamers doing to change that images? Not all that much. Not only are gamers though of as losers, but also foul-mouthed thirteen year olds who know far too many bad words than they should at that age. There are a lot of reasons as to why both of these images are inaccurate portrayals of what a gamer is. Stereotypes will always exist, and there isn't anything that anybody of any kind of group can do about that.
Though, to make matters worse, games don't like gamers. Recently I was playing X-Com: Enemy Unkown, and I came across a bit where my squad of alien killing soldiers found some kind of laser light show that the aliens had in their ship. The game labeled it as "alien entertainment", then one of the COs chimed in with "This is what the aliens are doing with their free time? Oh well, at least they aren't playing computer games." Now hang on just one gosh darned minute! Here I am, trying to promote the positivity of games, and your game is saying that games are a waste of time? You make video games, and yet you still declare them as wastes of time? Are you not proud of the things which you create? Why would you even take the time to put that into your game. Sure it may just be a joke, but there is some truth to every joke. Turns out that not only do gamers have to be okay with playing video games, but also the people who make video games have to be okay with playing video games.
This is some kind of twisted paradox. We play video games regularly, religiously, fanatically, and yet we don't feel good about what we are doing with ourselves. If everyone around us is telling us that video games are a waste of time, how are we not to feel bad? Sure, we may be able to spout stats at those who say that video games are just no good, but what good does that do for us? What ground does that gain for us? I once read a quote that said something to the extent of, "Most people use statistics to support their argument, in the same way that a drunkard uses a lamp post for illumination" Statistics do not help. Reports that say that "Research has shown..." do not help either. What we need to do, is band together, and be friendlier towards one another. Gamers need to stop isolating themselves with other gamers. Diversify! Look at other forms of entertainment, and get a frame of reference. Watch a TV show, read a book, go see a movie, and critically think about it. Games are great. I would play them all day if I could, but I've got other things to do in my life. I've got people who depend on me. People can not spend entire days devoted to something such as video games, or television, or books. In everything, moderation. There are nerds for everything in this world. There is someone who knows everything that there is to know about Star Trek, and there is someone else who knows everything there is to know about the Detroit Redwings sports franchise. Yet, their stereotypes still don't cast as much of a negative light on them as gamers do. We can no longer sit idly by, huddled in front of our screens, isolating ourselves to these video games. Do not let go of your gaming passion, nor should you give it up. All I am asking of you fellow gamers, is just to be more positive.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Do You Even Lift?
I hate the phrase "strong female character" it's so boring. Let's just call them what they are: women. To call them female seems so sterile and scientific. Like calling an animal by its scientific name. These "strong female characters" are so engaging to us because they are foreign to us. It's a hip new thing to have a woman lead. Women are people too, and as stupidly simple as that sounds, the masses seem to be blown away by this fact. We humans are a varied lot, and there are strong people from all different walks of life.
The gaming demographic tends to consist of, generally male, white, 14-28 year-olds with a penchant for murder. Games are constantly being marketed to them, and as a result we are left with poorly written characters, and stupid and repetitious gameplay. However, statistics have been showing as of late that a majority of the people who play video games, are in fact female. So, where's the love game developers? Somewhere tucked away in the trash along with original game ideas from major developers. Most women characters in video games are just straight up eye candy. All of their abilities, if they have any, could easily be transitioned to a male character. Yet, these characters exist to pander to the video game demographic of 14-28 year-old men. Fighting games are a staple in this portrayal of women.
The most infamous of fighting video games is Dead or Alive. Originally the series was headed by a man named Tomunobu Itagaki, whose design philosophy was that a work wasn't entertaining if there were not both elements of violence and sexuality. As a result, this drove Tecmo, and Itagaki's team to develop a fighting game with breast physics. Because those are important. As gaming technology progressed, so did the girls of the game. Sadly, these buxom ladies became the standard design choice for women characters in video games. However, during the development of Dead or Alive 5, Itagaki was not a part of the team behind the game, and the design of the female fighters was headed in a better direction. The girls were getting a breast reduction, among other things, and they were absolutely stunning to look at. The director of the game wanted to change the image of Dead or Alive, and to do a small amount of justice to women. However, the fan community of the game revolted in anguish and demanded that the ladies be impossibly proportioned once more. This is a stigma in the gaming community. I feel like what we need, is better written, and better designed lady characters.
The gaming industry, along with every single other kind of industry, needs good girl characters. Not necessarily the kind of characters that we have for men, that would be redundant. What we need are characters that are compelling. Characters that engage the audience, and draw forth emotions other than frustration and anger towards the writers of these characters. I like the character of Ripley, from Alien, as the gender of the character wasn't decided until after the script was finished. Because the fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter if the character is male or female, so long as it is a human story. Ripley, along with many other elements from the Alien movies, had heavy influences on one of my favorite game franchises of all time.
The Metroid franchise is one that has stood the test of time, and has gone through a few different iterations as of late. Though, there has been one thing that has remained a constant: Samus Aran. Samus Aran was the first ever major female character to be in a video game. The decision came midway through the development process. Samus never had that much of a character to begin with, though the fact that she was a female, made a bit of a splash of the community of gamers. Samus was a character that got the job done, much like Ripley. Fast, efficient, and not one to show remorse, Samus blasted her way through the trials that she faced. However, this is not the character that Nintendo officially releases to the public. Instead, gamers are presented with nothing more than a petty reward. Gamers who complete Metroid games with efficiency, and 100% completion get to see Samus without her power armor. In that, often times she is presented with nothing more than a skimpy bikini or something equally revealing. For the endings of both Metroid: Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission, both for the Gameboy Advance, Players can unlock a gallery of pictures. In Fusion, the pictures depict Samus having a day about town. For Zero Mission, Samus is posed in ways that make her out to be playful and fun. Now, I've never gone on many life threatening adventures, or fought and killed abominations of science, though I'm pretty sure the last thing I would want to do is go out. I think that Samus, given all that she has endured, would have some kind of PTSD. Though she has returned successful from each mission, those things that she had to fight would have some kind of affect on her psyche. It always bothers me that Samus is portrayed this way, as a sex object, by family-friendly Nintendo. In my head, I've always thought that Samus was more cold than what she's made out to be. In her origin story, she's infused with Chozo DNA, which effected her physical traits to accomplish things that are impossible by human limitations. I can't help but feel that her personality might have also been affected by this. The Chozo are bird-like humanoid creatures that are the guardians of wisdom and have lived for millenniums. Do you really think that someone who has spent time around these kinds of creatures would be the kind of fun-loving girl next door that her official art shows her being? Even in the game mechanics portray Samus as a cold, efficient killer, who analyzes the situation before making any kind of action. In Metroid Prime, produced by Retro Studios, there was a Scanner Visor that players used to gather information about the world, and the enemies that inhabited it. The very action of this, and how much of a help it is to the game, show how important information is to Samus. I still believe that Samus is an important character to the video game industry, not because she's a girl, but because she's a great character.
Though, I feel like I've talked about Samus enough on this blog before. There are other ladies of the virtual world who have made a strong case for the female gender. Specifically the ladies of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher are two very capable women who kick ass. Uncharted is a game that takes the action genre, and ramps it up to 11. The action, gameplay, score, environments, graphics, gunplay, pacing, and writing all form the cohesive whole that is Uncharted 2. It's definitely one of the best video games of all time, because of how well everything works together. While most people will describe it as "cinematic", I feel like that does a bit of injustice to the game, though that's another topic for another time. What really stands out to me, was the quality of writing for the game. The story was kind of campy, but the characters and the dialogue between the characters was some of the best I've ever seen in a game before. Nathan Drake, the main character of the game and the one that the player takes control of, shoots off just as many clever quips as he does bullets. However, Drake would be nothing if not for his band of thieves. Chloe is the sexy and sassy lass with a lovely accent and looks that can kill. Chloe is introduced as the getaway driver to a heist early on in the game, and is also hailed with the title of "best in the business". In the heist, Chloe is also assigned to take out the lights on the tower so that the other members of the crew can gain access without detection. Chloe gets this job done right on time. She did her part of the job, she synced her watch, and she did what she needed to do. Now, it isn't Chloe's competency that makes her a good character. It's her clever dialogue, her ability to use her wits, her usefulness in a firefight, the way that she uses her damn fine looks to infiltrate and play the enemy. Chloe is constantly double and triple crossing to get to her own end. Chloe is a character that has motives and acts on them. Chloe plays the sassy one, but she can also be survivalist. There are several times when she gets mad at Nathan Drake for trying to play the hero. Chloe hates Drake's stupid selflessness. Unfortunately for her, Nathan Drake is some kind of demigod and is incredibly lucky.
The other femme-fatale is Elena Fisher. Well, she's more of the white-picket-fence-type, but she is tougher than she looks. Elena is a journalist that always seems to get herself mixed up in whatever harrowing events that Drake manages to get into trouble with. In Uncharted 2, Elena is investigating the whereabouts of Zorin Lasarovic, a war criminal who is killing countless innocence to find the lost temple of Shambala. Elena goes after this guy herself. Well, she brings along a camera man, but he dies in the first thirty minutes of meeting Drake. Elena fills the void of common sense that is left behind when Nathan gets separated from Chloe. While Elena certainly plays it safer than Chloe, she is still pretty handy in a firefight. Aside from her being willing to shoot at bad guys, but her ingenuity helps carry her alongside the likes of Drake without too much explosions or danger. Though, that doesn't stop her from leaping into the action alongside Drake. Elena may be but a simple journalist, but she isn't afraid of of anything. There is a saying: There are two kinds of people that run towards danger: the authorities, and journalists.
Lastly, I'd like to talk about Bayonetta. Stick with me now, she may be over-sexuallized, but hear me out. Bayonetta is a witch that punches, kicks, shoots, and summons demons of the underworld to fight angels. This lady knows exactly what she is doing when it comes to this kind of thing, on account of having amnesia and all. My favorite think about Bayonetta is exactly what others might not like about her. Bayonetta's character is sexy to the point of hilarity, though she uses it in the way that she fights. As though she embraces her sexuality, and her dominant nature to fight these insane creatures. Bayonetta ties up her enemies, kicks them down, and calls them very naughty, but it's all done with an air of extreme confidence. Bayonetta literally tears her enemies to shreds with her dark arts, and she has fun doing it. Flaunting off her figure with a skin tight suit, she's never too far away from a sucker to tease the boys with. I wish that I had a fragment of her confidence. Not to flaunt my sexuality, but to be confident enough to take control of the situation. Bayonetta is merely expressing herself, and it's kind of silly. Keep doing your thing, Bayonetta, and continue to kick large amounts of ass.
Speaking of kicking ass, I cannot forget about my favorite lady: Commander Shepard. The Commander has definitely been one of my favorites for a while. Mass Effect gives players the option to play as either gender, and either gender will still get the same results. However, Ladyshep has to deal with a few more assholes than Gentlemanshep. I liked these touches, because they made me mad. Though, the disgust on the Commanders face illustrated that well enough on its own. Even though both characters go though mostly the same situations, I feel as though Ladyshep is more of a compelling and engaging character. Largely in part due because of Jennifer Hale's amazing voice work for the character. Also, I can't help but feel as though Ladyshep has better romance options as well. Garrus and Thane are far more interesting than Miranda Lawson or Ashley Williams. However, what's more important than romancing crew members, is the fact that the galaxy's further existence hangs in the balance of Commander Shepard's actions. When playing as Ladyshep, this becomes a bit more heavy. Not only are you the first Human Spectre, you're a woman. Misogynistic assholes will look down on you, and try to hold you back; but the brilliant part about Commander Shepard is that she don't take no guff. Commander Shepard may have a duality about her or either Paragon or Renegade, but either way she will get the job done. She will get the job done well, or however she sees fit. Paragon Ladyshep wants to do the right thing, and make sure that everything goes well, even though she knows that it probably wont. Paragon Ladyshep is kind of like a mother in this way. It makes her a compelling character. If you think about the crew of the Normandy being her family that she has to look out for, not only as her fellow soldiers. Renegade Ladyshep on the other hand only sees that the ends justify the means, and will make any sacrifices necessary to accomplish her goals. In this regard she can kind of be seen as something similar to the Illusive Man, the antagonist of the series. Though, Renegade Ladyshep still believes in doing the right thing, and will fight for it, but just in a more brutal way. The relationship between Renegade and her crew is that more of friends riding through the galaxy in an iron beast looking for badguys to shoot up, because each kill is another step towards ridding the galaxy of evil. Kind of a Chaotic Good kind of gal.
I love the ladies, and I have always thought that they have been under represented in video games. Growing up, I loved the game Soulcalibur, and I still do. Though, my mom would always walk in when I was playing, and it always seemed to be when I was matched up against Ivy. My mom would always comment on her outfit, and say that it wasn't very good for a fight. I would always agree with that statement, and I still believe that. I know that I've left out a few ladies in my list of ladies, like Alyx Vance of Half-Life 2 and Jade from Beyond Good & Evil. Though, I think that we just need better women characters. We need better characters in general. It doesn't really matter if they're male or female, because that's equality. Though, a few ladies couldn't hurt.
The gaming demographic tends to consist of, generally male, white, 14-28 year-olds with a penchant for murder. Games are constantly being marketed to them, and as a result we are left with poorly written characters, and stupid and repetitious gameplay. However, statistics have been showing as of late that a majority of the people who play video games, are in fact female. So, where's the love game developers? Somewhere tucked away in the trash along with original game ideas from major developers. Most women characters in video games are just straight up eye candy. All of their abilities, if they have any, could easily be transitioned to a male character. Yet, these characters exist to pander to the video game demographic of 14-28 year-old men. Fighting games are a staple in this portrayal of women.
The most infamous of fighting video games is Dead or Alive. Originally the series was headed by a man named Tomunobu Itagaki, whose design philosophy was that a work wasn't entertaining if there were not both elements of violence and sexuality. As a result, this drove Tecmo, and Itagaki's team to develop a fighting game with breast physics. Because those are important. As gaming technology progressed, so did the girls of the game. Sadly, these buxom ladies became the standard design choice for women characters in video games. However, during the development of Dead or Alive 5, Itagaki was not a part of the team behind the game, and the design of the female fighters was headed in a better direction. The girls were getting a breast reduction, among other things, and they were absolutely stunning to look at. The director of the game wanted to change the image of Dead or Alive, and to do a small amount of justice to women. However, the fan community of the game revolted in anguish and demanded that the ladies be impossibly proportioned once more. This is a stigma in the gaming community. I feel like what we need, is better written, and better designed lady characters.
The gaming industry, along with every single other kind of industry, needs good girl characters. Not necessarily the kind of characters that we have for men, that would be redundant. What we need are characters that are compelling. Characters that engage the audience, and draw forth emotions other than frustration and anger towards the writers of these characters. I like the character of Ripley, from Alien, as the gender of the character wasn't decided until after the script was finished. Because the fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter if the character is male or female, so long as it is a human story. Ripley, along with many other elements from the Alien movies, had heavy influences on one of my favorite game franchises of all time.
The Metroid franchise is one that has stood the test of time, and has gone through a few different iterations as of late. Though, there has been one thing that has remained a constant: Samus Aran. Samus Aran was the first ever major female character to be in a video game. The decision came midway through the development process. Samus never had that much of a character to begin with, though the fact that she was a female, made a bit of a splash of the community of gamers. Samus was a character that got the job done, much like Ripley. Fast, efficient, and not one to show remorse, Samus blasted her way through the trials that she faced. However, this is not the character that Nintendo officially releases to the public. Instead, gamers are presented with nothing more than a petty reward. Gamers who complete Metroid games with efficiency, and 100% completion get to see Samus without her power armor. In that, often times she is presented with nothing more than a skimpy bikini or something equally revealing. For the endings of both Metroid: Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission, both for the Gameboy Advance, Players can unlock a gallery of pictures. In Fusion, the pictures depict Samus having a day about town. For Zero Mission, Samus is posed in ways that make her out to be playful and fun. Now, I've never gone on many life threatening adventures, or fought and killed abominations of science, though I'm pretty sure the last thing I would want to do is go out. I think that Samus, given all that she has endured, would have some kind of PTSD. Though she has returned successful from each mission, those things that she had to fight would have some kind of affect on her psyche. It always bothers me that Samus is portrayed this way, as a sex object, by family-friendly Nintendo. In my head, I've always thought that Samus was more cold than what she's made out to be. In her origin story, she's infused with Chozo DNA, which effected her physical traits to accomplish things that are impossible by human limitations. I can't help but feel that her personality might have also been affected by this. The Chozo are bird-like humanoid creatures that are the guardians of wisdom and have lived for millenniums. Do you really think that someone who has spent time around these kinds of creatures would be the kind of fun-loving girl next door that her official art shows her being? Even in the game mechanics portray Samus as a cold, efficient killer, who analyzes the situation before making any kind of action. In Metroid Prime, produced by Retro Studios, there was a Scanner Visor that players used to gather information about the world, and the enemies that inhabited it. The very action of this, and how much of a help it is to the game, show how important information is to Samus. I still believe that Samus is an important character to the video game industry, not because she's a girl, but because she's a great character.
Though, I feel like I've talked about Samus enough on this blog before. There are other ladies of the virtual world who have made a strong case for the female gender. Specifically the ladies of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher are two very capable women who kick ass. Uncharted is a game that takes the action genre, and ramps it up to 11. The action, gameplay, score, environments, graphics, gunplay, pacing, and writing all form the cohesive whole that is Uncharted 2. It's definitely one of the best video games of all time, because of how well everything works together. While most people will describe it as "cinematic", I feel like that does a bit of injustice to the game, though that's another topic for another time. What really stands out to me, was the quality of writing for the game. The story was kind of campy, but the characters and the dialogue between the characters was some of the best I've ever seen in a game before. Nathan Drake, the main character of the game and the one that the player takes control of, shoots off just as many clever quips as he does bullets. However, Drake would be nothing if not for his band of thieves. Chloe is the sexy and sassy lass with a lovely accent and looks that can kill. Chloe is introduced as the getaway driver to a heist early on in the game, and is also hailed with the title of "best in the business". In the heist, Chloe is also assigned to take out the lights on the tower so that the other members of the crew can gain access without detection. Chloe gets this job done right on time. She did her part of the job, she synced her watch, and she did what she needed to do. Now, it isn't Chloe's competency that makes her a good character. It's her clever dialogue, her ability to use her wits, her usefulness in a firefight, the way that she uses her damn fine looks to infiltrate and play the enemy. Chloe is constantly double and triple crossing to get to her own end. Chloe is a character that has motives and acts on them. Chloe plays the sassy one, but she can also be survivalist. There are several times when she gets mad at Nathan Drake for trying to play the hero. Chloe hates Drake's stupid selflessness. Unfortunately for her, Nathan Drake is some kind of demigod and is incredibly lucky.
The other femme-fatale is Elena Fisher. Well, she's more of the white-picket-fence-type, but she is tougher than she looks. Elena is a journalist that always seems to get herself mixed up in whatever harrowing events that Drake manages to get into trouble with. In Uncharted 2, Elena is investigating the whereabouts of Zorin Lasarovic, a war criminal who is killing countless innocence to find the lost temple of Shambala. Elena goes after this guy herself. Well, she brings along a camera man, but he dies in the first thirty minutes of meeting Drake. Elena fills the void of common sense that is left behind when Nathan gets separated from Chloe. While Elena certainly plays it safer than Chloe, she is still pretty handy in a firefight. Aside from her being willing to shoot at bad guys, but her ingenuity helps carry her alongside the likes of Drake without too much explosions or danger. Though, that doesn't stop her from leaping into the action alongside Drake. Elena may be but a simple journalist, but she isn't afraid of of anything. There is a saying: There are two kinds of people that run towards danger: the authorities, and journalists.
Lastly, I'd like to talk about Bayonetta. Stick with me now, she may be over-sexuallized, but hear me out. Bayonetta is a witch that punches, kicks, shoots, and summons demons of the underworld to fight angels. This lady knows exactly what she is doing when it comes to this kind of thing, on account of having amnesia and all. My favorite think about Bayonetta is exactly what others might not like about her. Bayonetta's character is sexy to the point of hilarity, though she uses it in the way that she fights. As though she embraces her sexuality, and her dominant nature to fight these insane creatures. Bayonetta ties up her enemies, kicks them down, and calls them very naughty, but it's all done with an air of extreme confidence. Bayonetta literally tears her enemies to shreds with her dark arts, and she has fun doing it. Flaunting off her figure with a skin tight suit, she's never too far away from a sucker to tease the boys with. I wish that I had a fragment of her confidence. Not to flaunt my sexuality, but to be confident enough to take control of the situation. Bayonetta is merely expressing herself, and it's kind of silly. Keep doing your thing, Bayonetta, and continue to kick large amounts of ass.
Speaking of kicking ass, I cannot forget about my favorite lady: Commander Shepard. The Commander has definitely been one of my favorites for a while. Mass Effect gives players the option to play as either gender, and either gender will still get the same results. However, Ladyshep has to deal with a few more assholes than Gentlemanshep. I liked these touches, because they made me mad. Though, the disgust on the Commanders face illustrated that well enough on its own. Even though both characters go though mostly the same situations, I feel as though Ladyshep is more of a compelling and engaging character. Largely in part due because of Jennifer Hale's amazing voice work for the character. Also, I can't help but feel as though Ladyshep has better romance options as well. Garrus and Thane are far more interesting than Miranda Lawson or Ashley Williams. However, what's more important than romancing crew members, is the fact that the galaxy's further existence hangs in the balance of Commander Shepard's actions. When playing as Ladyshep, this becomes a bit more heavy. Not only are you the first Human Spectre, you're a woman. Misogynistic assholes will look down on you, and try to hold you back; but the brilliant part about Commander Shepard is that she don't take no guff. Commander Shepard may have a duality about her or either Paragon or Renegade, but either way she will get the job done. She will get the job done well, or however she sees fit. Paragon Ladyshep wants to do the right thing, and make sure that everything goes well, even though she knows that it probably wont. Paragon Ladyshep is kind of like a mother in this way. It makes her a compelling character. If you think about the crew of the Normandy being her family that she has to look out for, not only as her fellow soldiers. Renegade Ladyshep on the other hand only sees that the ends justify the means, and will make any sacrifices necessary to accomplish her goals. In this regard she can kind of be seen as something similar to the Illusive Man, the antagonist of the series. Though, Renegade Ladyshep still believes in doing the right thing, and will fight for it, but just in a more brutal way. The relationship between Renegade and her crew is that more of friends riding through the galaxy in an iron beast looking for badguys to shoot up, because each kill is another step towards ridding the galaxy of evil. Kind of a Chaotic Good kind of gal.
I love the ladies, and I have always thought that they have been under represented in video games. Growing up, I loved the game Soulcalibur, and I still do. Though, my mom would always walk in when I was playing, and it always seemed to be when I was matched up against Ivy. My mom would always comment on her outfit, and say that it wasn't very good for a fight. I would always agree with that statement, and I still believe that. I know that I've left out a few ladies in my list of ladies, like Alyx Vance of Half-Life 2 and Jade from Beyond Good & Evil. Though, I think that we just need better women characters. We need better characters in general. It doesn't really matter if they're male or female, because that's equality. Though, a few ladies couldn't hurt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)