For gamers and fans of this site this article may be particularly interesting...
The rest of you... if you can imagine video games as an art form and a form of media should find this interesting as well...
a powerful woman... who finds a good deal of her power in her sexuality..
http://www.gamepro.com/article/features ... loitative/
An interesting article...
-
CheerfullyInsane
- Explorer At Heart
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:37 pm
- Gender: Male
- Sexual Orientation: Bisexual/Bi-Curious
- I am a: Switch
- Location: Denmark
Re: An interesting article...
Hmmmm.
Can't really figure out whether I like this article or not.
On one hand it's nice to see an article on the gaming-busines written by a female, since they are something of a rarity.
Let's face it, the gaming scene is heavily dominated by males in various states of geekiness.
Don't get me wrong, I'm one of them. Love computer-games. Always have, always will, even if I'm pushing the envelope age-wise.
On the other hand, I find it something of an odd subject.
Exploitative or empowering?
Who the hell cares?
Looking for sexual controversy in a computer-game is just plain weird.
It's a bit like the gun-nuts who see a war-movie, and then spend the next 3 weeks berating the fact that the weapons had the wrong color magazines.
It's entertainment. If it entertains you, then it's good.
And thus, if the GFX fits the universe that is being created, then surely the fictional character could care less about how she's being perceived.
CheerfullyInsane
"There's a saying that just before you die, your life flashes before you. This is actually true. It's called living."
- Terry Pratchett
Can't really figure out whether I like this article or not.
On one hand it's nice to see an article on the gaming-busines written by a female, since they are something of a rarity.
Let's face it, the gaming scene is heavily dominated by males in various states of geekiness.
Don't get me wrong, I'm one of them. Love computer-games. Always have, always will, even if I'm pushing the envelope age-wise.
On the other hand, I find it something of an odd subject.
Exploitative or empowering?
Who the hell cares?
Looking for sexual controversy in a computer-game is just plain weird.
It's a bit like the gun-nuts who see a war-movie, and then spend the next 3 weeks berating the fact that the weapons had the wrong color magazines.
It's entertainment. If it entertains you, then it's good.
And thus, if the GFX fits the universe that is being created, then surely the fictional character could care less about how she's being perceived.
CheerfullyInsane
"There's a saying that just before you die, your life flashes before you. This is actually true. It's called living."
- Terry Pratchett
By the time you swear your his.
shivering and sighing.
And he vows his passion is,
infinite, undying.
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
shivering and sighing.
And he vows his passion is,
infinite, undying.
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
-
deathby.curiosity
- Explorer
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:32 pm
Re: An interesting article...
I think it has a fairly good point though.. many of the male characters in video games.. much like movies... are portrayed as capable people...
The typical female in a video game is portrayed as nothing more than a sex object unless she's a geek/nerd.... this is where it differs from other forms of entertainment, books and movies for example.
The only game I can really compare it to.. becaues there's only one widespread game that has female main character... would be that of Lara Croft.. which is the typical big-boobed no depth character.. but then again the games have no depth to them either.
Not that I think this is like.. "omg so serious," I just find it interesting that video games are developing a voice similiar to that of movies. How a character is portrayed can be as involved in a video game as it can in a movie, and as such we can actually use games to communicate some points about our society.
Food for thought I suppose.
The typical female in a video game is portrayed as nothing more than a sex object unless she's a geek/nerd.... this is where it differs from other forms of entertainment, books and movies for example.
The only game I can really compare it to.. becaues there's only one widespread game that has female main character... would be that of Lara Croft.. which is the typical big-boobed no depth character.. but then again the games have no depth to them either.
Not that I think this is like.. "omg so serious," I just find it interesting that video games are developing a voice similiar to that of movies. How a character is portrayed can be as involved in a video game as it can in a movie, and as such we can actually use games to communicate some points about our society.
Food for thought I suppose.
-
CheerfullyInsane
- Explorer At Heart
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:37 pm
- Gender: Male
- Sexual Orientation: Bisexual/Bi-Curious
- I am a: Switch
- Location: Denmark
Re: An interesting article...
Well, yes and no.deathby.curiosity wrote:...
The I just find it interesting that video games are developing a voice similiar to that of movies. How a character is portrayed can be as involved in a video game as it can in a movie, and as such we can actually use games to communicate some points about our society.
The comparison to the movie industry only goes so far, simply because 95% of the gaming industry is geared towards male gamers. And with both movies and games you need a character the viewer can identify with.
Besides which, the more I think about it, I'm not sure I agree that there's a lack of female leads in computer-games. In certain genres certainly, such as FPS and console games in general, but if you shift the focus to e.g. the adventure or RPGs, there's been a huge influx of female characters.
Not that I take the article particularly seriously either.
I just disagree with the implied criticism that the lack of deep female leads in some way is demeaning or speaks of a lack of respect for women in society.
Anyone that claims the above is true has, in my opinion, a particularly callous view of men, one that reduces the whole gender to a certain stereotype. Or in other words doing exactly what they claim is being done to women through their characters.
If someone were to seriously suggest that I can't distinguish between the characters in movies/games, and the women I meet in real life, that would quite frankly leave me more than just a little offended.
Okay, I'm done venting
CheerfullyInsane
"In the beginning there was nothing. Which then exploded."
- Terry Pratchett
By the time you swear your his.
shivering and sighing.
And he vows his passion is,
infinite, undying.
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
shivering and sighing.
And he vows his passion is,
infinite, undying.
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
-
deathby.curiosity
- Explorer
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:32 pm
Re: An interesting article...
Oh, I completely agree... then again I think there are some people who get completely caught up in comics, video games, or even movies and have trouble relating to people properly. This of course applies to both men and women, though usually the way it manifests itself in men appears sexist and the way it is manifest in women is usually... the crazy cat lady.
I suppose the interesting aspect of the article.. that made me want to post it here was the bit about "her" using sexuality as her weapon and finding sexuality as an empowering aspect of a woman's nature and not a demeaning aspect. Quite a bit of the domme role it seems to me.
I suppose the interesting aspect of the article.. that made me want to post it here was the bit about "her" using sexuality as her weapon and finding sexuality as an empowering aspect of a woman's nature and not a demeaning aspect. Quite a bit of the domme role it seems to me.