Chinese MMOG Bans Men Playing Female Characters

[Andy Chalk]

Chinese MMOG Bans Men Playing Female Characters

Chinese game company Aurora Technology has placed a ban on men playing as women in its King of the World MMOG.

A subsidiary of Chinese MMOG powerhouse Shanda Interactive Entertainment [http://www.snda.com/en/index.jsp], Aurora froze the accounts of all male players who chose to play as females in the game. The company stated that only female players may play as females, although it did not comment on female players who wish to play as men. To enforce this policy, Aurora now requires any gamer who selects a female character to provide proof of gender via a webcam.

Shanda, which generated revenues of $157 million in 2004, publishes numerous MMOGs for the Chinese market, including Three Kingdoms [http://ragnarokonline.com/]and more. Shanda acquired Aurora Technology in July 2007. China has one of the largest online gaming markets in the world, but Chinese MMOG operators, spurred by tight government regulations, are notorious for imposing restrictive and occasionally bizarre policies on many of their high-profile games.


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[John Funk]

....huh.

 

[Arbre]

Next Shanda's big move: free accounts for women.
All men have secret transvestite desires, but do not look good enough on a webcam.

Here's your solution [http://www.transformation.co.uk].
Try to match this [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/384624/girl_looks_like_a].
Good luck.
Arbre. Out.

 

[imcaseyimhott [deprecated]]

hahahahahah poor Chinese.

 

[Redfeather]

Aurora now requires any gamer who selects a female character to provide proof of gender via a webcam

Hoooooney, would you c'mere in front of the webcam for a moment?

Seriously though, I would so be rolling a male toon. The fact that manginas exist are what allows me to game in a relatively harassment free environment.

 

[twilight_dweller]

D:

But... but... I'm a woman! On the inside.

Is there really a good reason why? And all these webcam applications will really slow down character registration.

 

[Redfeather]

Is there really a good reason why?

To ban it? Sure. Look at their attitude towards homosexuality. Now, imagine that attitude coupled with the idea of interacting with, and treating someone as though they're female...but they're not! This is the virtual Crying Game as far as they're concerned.

And it's not just the Chinese government, there are gamers who are deeply bothered by it. If I had a nickel for every time someone in gaming asked me privately if I was really female, I'd have a big sack of nickels to slam into heads. Why is it so important to some people? Well for some it's just pure curiosity and I don't mind that. In some instances it's misogynic; they either believe girls/women do not game or if such a beast exists...they can't play this well!!!111.

And for the larger group, it's because most men can't help having many sexual thoughts. And it disturbs them that they might have sexual thoughts about someone they interact with who they believe to be female...but is not! Again the whole Crying Game thing.

Is that a 'good' reason? I don't think so, but I'm of the opinion that's primarily the reason.

And all these webcam applications will really slow down character registration.

Honestly what ran through my mind when I saw the 'prove it via webcam' was some asshat screaming, 'SHOW YOUR TITS'.

 

[imcaseyimhott [deprecated]]

I'm a guy, I play girl characters because they are more aesthetically appealing, and yes, if somebody asks me if I'm really a girl, I tell them that I indeed am

 

[danimal1384]

Is there really a good reason why?

To ban it? Sure. Look at their attitude towards homosexuality. Now, imagine that attitude coupled with the idea of interacting with, and treating someone as though they're female...but they're not! This is the virtual Crying Game as far as they're concerned.

wow, i'm glad to see that some one here is familiar with the crying game. however, i'm also mad at you for using it before i could... but its entirely true. i have nothing to add because you summed it up perfectly.

 

[OrenA]

Umm... Shit. To bad all you women who wanted to play female characters but don't own a web cam. This is kind of like what I imagine hearing that Blizzard had decided to ban Priests from going Shadow Spec once they hit 60 would be.(I'm probably a bit out of date on that one. That was the big "OMG WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?!?!?!11" when I was playing.)

And yeah, I don't play MMORPGs anymore, but If I'm going to stare at an ass for 70 levels, it might as well be a hot ass.

 

[Redfeather]

Most men I know that play female characters give the exact same reason, they like looking at a hot female character while they play. I suppose it's the difference between players who see their avatar as an extension of self, and those who see their avatar as something they're playing with.

There were a few people in EverQuest I knew and/or knew of who had female toons, but also built a web of lies about them being female. As time went on and the internet continued to evolve and voice chat became popular ...well some of them got caught. I knew one person who maintained being female for years, had an "in-game marriage" with another player and presented themselves as female to everyone. Turns out they're a 40+ married dude with kids. Their "in-game spouse" literally fled the server never to be seen again. Ah, drama.

Anyhoo, people with issues...sure they exist. The majority of people making choices with their avatar are making them about what they like.

It's the same reason my priest in World of Warcraft was a night elf, even though dwarves can fear ward. Dwarves are ugly. So every time my group or raid got feared to hell and back I'd remind them...at least I was pretty!

 

[Andy Chalk]

I feel weird playing female characters. It's probably a sexist thing, and I'm certainly not above admitting that I'm sexist in that I do in fact believe there are certain roles in society that are more suited to one gender than the other. Which isn't to say that I don't think women are incapable of undertaking any particular task, just that they don't always have as natural an aptitude for it as men.

Which I suppose doesn't relate much to my original point, that I'm never 100% comfortable playing a female character. The best top-of-my-head example is Cate Archer. I loved the NOLF games, thought they were a brilliant Austin Powers-style send-up of the old spy movie genre, and everytime someone pulls a copy out of a bargain bin somewhere and asks if they should get it I say GOOD GOD MAN YES. (Which has happened maybe twice in my lifetime, but you get the idea.) But I never felt completely in Cate's skin. Most games, even shallow killfests like Doom, it's me in there: I'm not playing the guy in the game, I am the guy in the game. With NOLF, couldn't do it; it was a game about Cate Archer and I was the guy who was playing Cate Archer. I never felt a total immersion into the game, and as much as I loved it, I think I could've loved it even a little more if I had. It's very much what Redfeather said regarding the difference between playing the character or being the character, minus the weird, awkward interpersonal relationships with unsuspecting innocents.

 

[Redfeather]

Which I suppose doesn't relate much to my original point, that I'm never 100% comfortable playing a female character.

One of the things that sucked a LONG time in gaming was the fact that I was forced to play male characters. In games where the character isn't even close to an extension of self, but rather is a character in a storyline that really no one male or female is going to see as an extension of self...fine. That Donkey Kong or Mario was male...not a BFD. But every other game? Yeah it sucked.

Obviously gaming evolved, and so did choice. I find I'm very intolerant for games today as a result that don't offer choice of gender, or who do so half-assed. The rerelease of Sid Myer's Pirates had that problem. The only option was to play a male, and the game's mini-game of dancing with and wooing the various daughters ...ugh. Love that game, and I have high praise for it, but considering it was a rerelease, that was something they could have easily addressed.

I completely get wanting to be the guy in the game, and I immerse myself in all forms of media that way...but some of us wanting to be the guy in the game, we're not really guys. And we wanna play too.

A bit offtopic, but it's one of my pet peeves.

 

[Arbre]

But the women need to wear miniskirts, high heels or something sexy, otherwise it's a badly designed female character.

I completely concur that playing a character female on such games is, as far as I'm concerned, just to have my hormones filled with a daily quota of voyeurism.
Since female characters are, in the near absolute majority, nothing more than cliché or glamourous representations as typically envisionned by males, there's not much any other motivation to play them.
Safe to deceive people on the other side of t3h chat, hehe.
Considering that MMORPG have little to do with RPGs at all, and where playing a female character is as superficial as playing a male one... it's just for the eyes.

 

[OrenA]

Well yeah. If I'm gonna stare at an ass for 70 levels, it might as well be a hot ass.

 

[Franz [deprecated]]

lol, my friend plays as a chick on ro cuz he gets free stuff and better treatment, neverthelss i give better treatment to girls cuz ... dunno. i love gaming chicks!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CrystalShadow]

Lol.

I don't know what to make of this one... Since this is closely related to what I registered on these forums for to begin with (strange reason. I know.)

This... Would annoy me a lot. - I don't feel comfortable most of the time with presenting a male persona, even though that's officially what I (still) am.
I only do it as a last resort, because it's easier when people act weird about it.

Then again,

Next Shanda's big move: free accounts for women.
All men have secret transvestite desires, but do not look good enough on a webcam.

Here's your solution [http://www.transformation.co.uk].
Try to match this [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/384624/girl_looks_like_a].
Good luck.
Arbre. Out.

Ahem. Interesting link. Especially since I'm, you know... A transsexual, when it comes down to it. >.<

Still. The weirdest part of this whole story has got to be the 'proof' they ask for...
Seriously? WTF?

 

[The Shade]

Aurora now requires any gamer who selects a female character to provide proof of gender via a webcam.

Sneaky, Aurora. Very sneaky.

 

[xHipaboo420x]

So essentially, this game will now have no female characters in it.