erttheking said:
Um...That's what I said? I...I have no idea what you're trying to say here. I'll just say that my copy of Mass Effect 1 & 2 have a nice big picture of Male Shep's big generic face on it.
No, what you said was "Every game", I've pointed out it was a minority of Bioware's released titles, because it is.
erttheking said:
That's because the majority of sexy female characters aren't sexy for the sake of complimenting their characters. They exist only for the sake of pandering The majority of games suck anyway, so call me a supporter of sturgeon's law if you must. Besides, it wasn't hostile at all.
While maybe not openly hostile, painting games in such a broad brush - such as saying the majority of them suck - makes one sound more like an ideologue or a self-proclaimed elitist than someone who's just interested in sharing characters they like.
erttheking said:
People aren't logical when they're angry, people get angry when they get passionate and people really get passionate when talking about gender in gaming. I know for a fact that a lot of the people who talk about sexism in Mass Effect love it, but no one is going to stop in the middle of a heated argument to say "by the way I really do like this game I'm just criticizing the flaws I disagree with." The human brain doesn't work that way.
Think about how rarely we actually excuse people's behavior simply because they're angry, or in love, or drunk. Split-second decisions can be rationalized away as the reptilian brain going haywire, but when we're talking about forum posts and internet messages they clearly had time to think them out, but chose not to.
erttheking said:
She is cold, ruthless, and arrogant
How does this at all speak to her not using her sexuality? If she's willing to do anything to get the job done, why would seduction, or even simple flirtation be off the table? And just because we don't see it in-game doesn't mean it never happened, how would we ever know half the cast was ever good at their professions prior to joining the Normandy? Shepherd does all the talking, there's very little other dialogue or espionage involved, all but the character's combat talents are pushed to the background because ultimately the game is a third person shooter.
erttheking said:
Her tits and rear didn't enter the conversation at all.
She absolutely does mention her looks, even if she doesn't specifically outline parts of her anatomy.
erttheking said:
What's more, she wears high heels and has long hair that she doesn't tie up to battlefields.
Most of the cast doesn't dress battle-ready. Thane wears an open jacket and slippers, Jacob has a skin tight zip-up leather jump suit and Jack is practically naked. Trying to point out inaccuracies in combat attire when the primary method of damage mitigation in the mass effect universe is personal shields and barriers made out of mind-powers is disingenuous. The fact of the matter is every character has an outfit designed around them to make them unique. If everyone was walking around in nearly identical environmentally sealed plate armor...then you'd have Mass Effect 1, which people probably complained about and Bioware changed.
erttheking said:
And it's not male gaze? Her ass isn't facing Shepard. It's facing the camera. It's meant for the player, not Shepard.
That's exactly what I said. In those scenes, her body language and dialogue is not just speaking to the player character, but the player themselves. At that point in the game, what Shephard thinks of her is utterly irrelevant, only her immediate appearance matters, because it's all Miranda has allowed the viewer to see. It isn't until her quest line is resolved and her loyalty gained that she (mostly) remains seated and Shephard is allowed to pursue a serious relationship. Besides, in order for Shepard to be staring at her ass, she'd have to be turned away from him and that would be an awkward conversation.
erttheking said:
This is a nice touch and a nod to people who are tired of heterosexual white men dominating a game that's supposed to be about choice and variety.
Two things. First: That is a lie. Nobody dominates the game except for what the player decides to create, any statements to the contrary are conjecture. Bioware has been as open to differently gendered characters for almost as long as they've been in business and it hasn't changed now, just the public perception of them. Second: That is wrong. No Bioware game has ever just been about "choice" and "variety", even the old Baldur's Gate games ultimately featured a linear narrative structure with chapters segmented by near-mandatory cut-scenes and locales, even though you had far, FAR more choice in what to make of your character than most games have noawadays. Now, Skyrim and it's ilk of open world rpgs and sandbox games like Saints Row? Those are all about freedom of expression, variety, and choice.
erttheking said:
Ok, one thing that never fails to irritate me is people who say that every game ever is accused of sexism. I'd be very surprised if it turned out that 1% of games were actually accused of it. It's hyperbole, pure and simple.
One could also say that accusing most sexualized female characters of existing solely for purpose of being sexy, and that the majority of the games they inhabit suck is also hyperbole, but I don't think that's going to stop anyone from bringing it up, because it seems true enough.
erttheking said:
It's just that pandering has gained a very negative connotation over the years.
Indeed it has. It might have something to do with everyone being accused of pandering to the straight white male demographic for the crime of featuring a straight white male character, but that would be hyperbole, wouldn't it?
erttheking said:
It may not have an impact on individual games, but the default character can reflect the attitudes of the company, and it is a nice inclusive and friendly thing to make people who want female main characters feel more welcome.
And like I keep repeating: This hasn't changed for Bioware, not in years. They adopted the male/female model I believe - in part - because it sprang from the DnD origins of which many isometric RPGs hail, namely games such as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. In DnD you can be any gender, any color, any sexuality without being penalized for it, it existed for the fantasy of the players and I believe many fledgeling RPG developers took that to heart when they designed these games. But many are eager to forget where these developers and gamers stood, and where they still stand today, just because a trailer didn't suit their fantasy, just so they can grind an axe of misogyny claims against people who have done nothing of the sort.
