Female Gamers

[Domi]

Yes, like I said, it was clearly a wasted gesture.

 

Maybe you should add giant cod-pieces. That will be quite distinguishing. But really, not a problem in 3D games, thankfully. Though, go figure. NWN2 features some sort of reasonable aromour (at least with the coverage), and there those nude packs out. Notably for both males and females though. So you can get a male in a thong next to a female in a bikinie charging a dragon. Magic.

[Bri]

Maybe you should add giant cod-pieces.

 

It probably is a good thing I'm not in charge of visuals for a game because in such a case, the poor male character would be running around with a fish on a string covering his groin...

 

 

More seriously, that is one thing I will have to give NWN 2. Overall, they have done a reasonable job giving 'realistic' clothing/armor to females (the Warlock leather not withstanding)...

[Sorrow]

I have, perhaps, a most bizarre question. What exactly do we mean when we say "people gamers". I know it probably seems self-evident to many but humor me please. And how exactly does this effect game content/story arch? Or is it more a terminology change?

I don't know why, but when I hear "male gamers" or "female gamers", I have distinct impression that someone is talking about some kind of hiveminds.

I don't want to be a part of a hivemind.

[Riviera]

In games, I like hot women in beautiful robes and dresses with awesome hair. Chainmail bikinis get old after a while (although I often quite enjoy the view), but too realistic outfits are boring, too.

 

Noooo!!! I like my female PC's to look like women. Also I imagine that flat plate mail with out any allowance for breast room(shape) would be very uncomfortable, especially at certain times of the month.

 

I agree. I like revealing armor, robes and clothing.. to an extent. A bit of flesh never hurt anyone. Nearly naked is another matter, and I haven't seen that in very many games at all. Fantasy armor really ISN'T practical armor, as berelinde mentioned, and I think everyone knows it. It'd be nice if there were options for more or less revealing armor/garments available, but the differences would likely not be very much.

 

I mean, female mage robes have a slit up the leg. That's something not unusual in fancy dinner clothing, and is hardly overly revealing. The avatars are too small to really show much flesh, after all.

 

I don't think we should stick quite so much to the stereotypes. I have been playing with Minsc-type females (Hildury and someone who stayed on paper) for a while and it was fun. Shar-Teel was one of my all-time favorite characters ever. Kaelyn, who is very much a female Valygar is a popular character in MotB, and I really like her, with her narrow-minded, complete devotions, no-nonsense and inner strength.

 

I agree here as well. There can be interesting male or female characters of all types. Men who are physically weak, women who are physically strong, men who simper, women who lead armies. The opposite of these as well. Games have been doing better about having strong female characters, I think.

[Sorrow]

It'd be nice if there were options for more or less revealing armor/garments available, but the differences would likely not be very much.

With proper AC penalties for a revealing armour, of course.

Such dilemmas should be solved by actions and consequences in games - i.e. if one wants to be protected, one chooses a proper armour, when one wants to be a sexual predator, one chooses a revealing clothing.

 

I agree here as well. There can be interesting male or female characters of all types. Men who are physically weak, women who are physically strong, men who simper, women who lead armies.

Actually, women fighters tend to be physically strong, at least in Bioware's games. Amusingly what is really absent is women who are physically strong who look like women that are physically strong, not like models (ekhem... ekhem... Aribeth ).

[KIrving]

Yes, like I said, it was clearly a wasted gesture.

(heh..you can't please everyone, you might as well please yourself.)

 

Oh, I don't deny that you can do a poor job at characterization and that many stories can be told just as easily with a female or male protagonist. I'm just saying that for those companies that like to go the extra distance and actually deliver a good story with interesting characters, a fixed gender for the protagonist can be a benefit. Then again, as has been bemoaned more than once, quality stories and interesting characters are not too common amongst video games. Of course this is the same as any form of media, '90% of everything is crud', to paraphrase Theodore Sturgeon.

Yes, they need to stop thinking about what the target market is (or at least aknowledge that it is changing instead of putting their hands over their ears and going "La, la, la, la") and focus on making, well written, quality games. Of course I probably need to stop encouraging the big developers by buying a crud game just because it is $5 on the bargain table.

Well, I mean, if one is going to portray the females in hawt chainmail armor that is molded perfectly to their form, one had better make sure to include the perfect makeup that NEVER runs or gets ruined.

 

Please, take special care to ensure this happens, all you game developers. It's important.

Mass Effect has makeup for the female PC. None for the male PC though. (There goes my Adam and the Ants bandmember) The male PC gets 'manly' scars instead.

 

It'd be nice if there were options for more or less revealing armor/garments available, but the differences would likely not be very much.

With proper AC penalties for a revealing armour, of course.

Such dilemmas should be solved by actions and consequences in games - i.e. if one wants to be protected, one chooses a proper armour, when one wants to be a sexual predator, one chooses a revealing clothing.

I think there is ...um...wiggle..room between proper armour and sexual predator clothing. In a game (this is fantasy after all) decorative and attractive armour can work. Also, one should be able to wear tight leather pants without chaffing.

[Rabain]

Just pretend it is a +6 to AC mithril chainmail bikini.

 

Problem solved.

 

Anything is possible with magic, you probably need magic anyway to prevent the chafing.

[Daphne]

I think KIrving summed up "people gamers" quite well - don't think, "well I need to add this element so the girls will like it and this because the guys will like it" because we're all amazingly different and trying to appeal to such a broad group like that will ultimately fail. They should, instead, think "let me make this [romance] character someone interesting and well written".

 

Mass Effect has makeup for the female PC. None for the male PC though. (There goes my Adam and the Ants bandmember) The male PC gets 'manly' scars instead.

 

Arghh. My Shep had that little crescent scar under her eye. :< The scars for girls were hard to see and there were only a few clearly visible. Shep almost always comes from a bad background; why does the dude get scars and not the girl?

 

I don't know how in other games but in BG2 romance choices were very poor. Three bitches for male protagonist and one asshole for female protagonist.

 

I didn't really think Anomen was an asshole, but I like arrgoance as a character trait, so I don't think I count anymore. I couldn't stomach Aerie or Jaheira and Viconia really got on my nerves, but it's probably sexism on my part.

 

I never got far enough in NWN to comment, nor NWN2. In Jade Empire, I really liked Sky. I never got why people said he and Carth were whiners: I've played in a party with whiners before and really, there are too few dialogues and not enough repetition to make them truly annoying. I grew pretty fond of Anomen and Sky, Carth was decent (would've liked Canderous better), and Kaiden was pretty cool.

 

 

I saw a real chainmail bikini at a RenFair once. It disturbed me. D:

[Sorrow]

In a game (this is fantasy after all) decorative and attractive armour can work. Also, one should be able to wear tight leather pants without chaffing.

Fantasy doesn't necessary mean unrealistic or downright absurd - AD&D armour was strongly based on RL.

 

Generally, revealing armour can simply be replaced by wearing some semi-practical "sexy" clothes and magical items for defence just as Jarlaxle does.

 

I didn't really think Anomen was an asshole, but I like arrgoance as a character trait, so I don't think I count anymore. I couldn't stomach Aerie or Jaheira and Viconia really got on my nerves, but it's probably sexism on my part.

I couldn't stand three bitches too. Also, I found having motherly feelings for a romance character a bit too disturbing.

I mean he was arrogant, but he wasn't really noble, he was more like a pathetic puppy .

[berelinde]

Speaking of "manly scars," has anyone ever noticed how character portraits show scars in the most unlikely places, and how little they actually disfigure the face? After all, look at the scar over Imoen's eye in her BG2 portrait. Does it make her look like a hardened adventurer? Not really. If that were an actual injury, would it have taken out her eye? Probably. Would anyone play the game if it featured a female character with a scar and one puckered empty eye socket? Probably not. So I can only conclude that she had a run-in with a sticker-bush on the way to the photo shoot.

[Sorrow]

Would anyone play the game if it featured a female character with a scar and one puckered empty eye socket? Probably not.

Why not?

[Caedwyr]

Sadly, it appears that there still is the belief in the gaming industry that this is what appeals to female gamers....

 

 

*sigh*

[Kulyok]

Oh! I should absolutely post it somewhere childfree.

[Bookwyrme]

Sadly, it appears that there still is the belief in the gaming industry that this is what appeals to female gamers....

 

 

*sigh*

 

*shudders

[Domi]

Speaking of "manly scars," has anyone ever noticed how character portraits show scars in the most unlikely places, and how little they actually disfigure the face? After all, look at the scar over Imoen's eye in her BG2 portrait. Does it make her look like a hardened adventurer? Not really. If that were an actual injury, would it have taken out her eye? Probably. Would anyone play the game if it featured a female character with a scar and one puckered empty eye socket? Probably not. So I can only conclude that she had a run-in with a sticker-bush on the way to the photo shoot.

 

In RL, yep. But FR is such a screwed up setting with its healings and ressurections, that I won't be surprised if Imoen's scar was cosmetic to make her look more 'savvy'.