I'll be honest: I like scantily-clad women in my games, running around in a bikini made of stainless steel and Kevlar just as much as the next guy. I'm not the kind of guy who will buy Tomb Raider or Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 just because I want to see some digital jugs, but I do appreciate the time and effort that my artistic brethren put into the characters in games I play, like Guild Wars. Still, I can't help but find it amusing at how women are portrayed in games, and the debate surrounding the issue.
Let's get the obvious out of the way right now - women are usually overly sexual in games because most people who play games are male. More importantly, they are teenage / college-age males... you know, the kind of males who really like polygons formed into vaguely female shapes. So naturally, in order to make this target audience want to buy, developers feel the need to pepper their games with this sort of thing. I guess I can't blame them though, because it works, even if it gives gaming a distinctly bad taste for women who feel adventurous enough to give it a try.
So where does that leave the socially conscious developer? If I want to include a female character in a game, should she be uber-sexy? Would it be more tasteful or real to include a not-so-shapely female character? If the rest of the characters in my game are war-scarred, trash-talking heavyweights, doesn't it follow that any female characters I throw into the mix should be the same? And would anyone (even the ladies out there) really want to see an overweight, scorched and scarred, trash-talking woman running around in the typical spandex armor, shooting people?
I should mention that I also enjoy female characters with real stories, who seem more real than the typical ladies of electronica, like Jade (Beyond Good & Evil) or April Ryan (the Longest Journey). But I still find the debate over the sexiness of women in games amusing at times... Because, despite all the grit and grime that usually covers the male heroes of our games, aren't they too usually physically perfect specimens?
You know who's hot? Princess peach from the retro Super Mario Bros. Damn.
Anyway, it kinda goes with the fact that nobody wants to be playing an ugly guy character unless it's part of the story. Same goes for anime shows. Even the nerds are drawn hot. It wouldn't be aesthetically appealing no matter who you are.
#21
Posted by
chiggerfruit on January 19, 2007 at 09:10 pm
Perfect example of a female character who kicks ass and is not scantily clad, Samus Aran, unless of course She's Just in bailey.
#22
Posted by
Master_Kakashi on January 20, 2007 at 02:30 am
Samus is a great example.
#23
Posted by
melee-master on January 20, 2007 at 04:23 am
I detest fantasy games where the male characters are in full body armour and all the female characters wear is a chainmail bra and an Adamantium thong. It detracts from the believability.
Once again I say, games should be played with TWO hands.
I think that scantly-clad women in games aren't great. It usually makes the game look worse rather than better. I'm not objecting to having your chick be hot, just make it fit.
