Bioware Receives Cupcakes as a Thank You for Female Inquisitor

[putowtin]

Well. Come for the cute cupcake story, stay for the inexplicably depressing comment threads, I guess.

You win!
Seriously people, nice little story trashed by the cupcake team being generally crapped on! If they want to celebrate a gaming company doing something right let them! Half of the commentators on here were the first to jump on the "Ubisoft won't make a female protagonist" wagon, and now your moaning again cause a gaming company did something right?!

For shame

 

[Bergthor86]

Why have people suddenly lost their shit? This is supposed to be good news in the way of gender of equality, something that is VERY RARE for this site. The devs got a thankyou from some people who wanted to see a female character brought to the front and everyone loses their shit. What the effing hell guys...

[small]Edit: and I'm usually the voice of overreaction, and posts that aren't well thought out. I'm scared.[/small]

The thing that somewhat bothers me about this, is it's praising Bioware for making a trailer, not a good game. Bioware haven't released an emphatically 'good', generally well received game since DA:O/ME2 (can't remember which one came out first). This fawning over them for a trailer suggests that they still have too many fans blinded by hope/the studio they used to be. It's an ego boost to a studio who should really still be on the humble pie until they've tucked away at least one solid, Bioware-quality release. But it looks like they won't need to, as their mistakes have already been forgiven.

This isn't really about whether it's a good game or not, though. It's about BioWare acknowledging that there is a large amount of female gamers out there and having a female PC as their primary showcase at the largest gaming event of the year. In a time when the default is ALWAYS the dudebro, as evidenced at that very same event by AssCreed Unity, this is just a way to highlight that female PCs are more than welcome, and even though it's sad that the gaming industry is in a state where showing off a female PC is enough to get sent cupcakes, this initiative is a way to send a positive message in regards to this issue instead of all the hating we're usually exposed to.

 

[SeptemberAMonth]

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?

It would, yes.

From what I can tell (after doing some quick web-researching) pandering comes from Pandarus(from Shakespeare's Trolious and Cressia, where he's the creepy uncle of one of the title characters who try to enable their sexual relationship(at least that's what secondary sources say))

Also, a lot of online dictionaries and similar services mention pandering having an additional meaning of "To act as a go-between or liaison in sexual intrigues; function as a procurer." I've never heard that used, so I guess it might be archaic? If anything pandering's negative connotations have lessened over the years.

Calling "marketing a game with a female character" pandering is quite a stretch.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Am I missing something? Is promotional art, showing a woman in a game, something that is celebrated now?

 

[Riotguards]

but cupcakes symbolize female oppression because it was women who original baked cakes in the kitchet!

 

[StriderShinryu]

Kudos to Bioware and kudos to the cupcake senders.

Is this something that could be seen as being a little overzealous? Sure, I suppose it could be, but maybe that's what it's going to take. Obviously given some of the more recent blunders when it comes to the representation of women in gaming, just getting angrily vocal isn't getting the message across. Maybe a more positive gesture like this will do what an angry uproar hasn't.

 

[Kerethos]

I find this to be a rather cute initiative to show appreciation for them presenting a female hero.
Yes, Bioware games have just about always had the option for male or female as the main characters gender. But this is marketing - which so far has always defaulted to male.

This change to show that women are just as valid and welcome as men is a good thing - gaming should be for everyone regardless of gender.

 

[PunkRex]

Holy crap people really need to calm the hell down. It's a nice gesture by fans who aren't usually acknowledged in gaming thanking Bioware for acknowledging them.

Fucking chill.

Seems that way, I understand peoples complaints but it's just a batch of freaking cupcakes to say thank you, they're not giving them an award ceremony. It's nice to see a company get thanks instead of bile when they actually do something right, the gaming community has enough negativity to last a life time.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Why have people suddenly lost their shit? This is supposed to be good news in the way of gender of equality, something that is VERY RARE for this site. The devs got a thankyou from some people who wanted to see a female character brought to the front and everyone loses their shit. What the effing hell guys...

[small]Edit: and I'm usually the voice of overreaction, and posts that aren't well thought out. I'm scared.[/small]

The thing that somewhat bothers me about this, is it's praising Bioware for making a trailer, not a good game. Bioware haven't released an emphatically 'good', generally well received game since DA:O/ME2 (can't remember which one came out first). This fawning over them for a trailer suggests that they still have too many fans blinded by hope/the studio they used to be. It's an ego boost to a studio who should really still be on the humble pie until they've tucked away at least one solid, Bioware-quality release. But it looks like they won't need to, as their mistakes have already been forgiven.

I've still heard people say ME3 and DA2 were good, it's just popular to hate on things. Also, the majority of the people who hate ME3 say they hated the ending. Minus that it was supposedly pretty good. Not to mention that two dissatisfactory releases out of many widely loved ones, doesn't suddenly make them deserving of "Humble Pie".

Also, saying their mistakes are forgiven is way off mark. The internet isn't quick to forgive and forget the mistakes of others.

 

[zerragonoss]

Am I missing something? Is promotional art, showing a woman in a game, something that is celebrated now?

Traditionally its the marketing and business departments that are most reluctant to show female characters even if the game that have them. They are the idiots trotting out lines like female characters don't sell, as they both tend not to know about games and are also more usually focused on the money than the rest the staff. This is why games even where you can choose your gender its almost always generic white dude in the marketing. For more examples of this both bio-shock infinite and the last of us had complications putting their female supporting character on the box due to marketing concerns. This is celebratory as its a win over the most backward portion of gaming not any particular game developer or a single game but against a business executive, albeit a small one but its not like its really that hard to get a cupcake order together.

 

[the December King]

Just figured I would step in and clarify a few things, since I was one of the main organizers of this.

First and foremost, this WAS done as a genuine thank you to BioWare for giving the female protagonist choice a LOT of coverage at E3. Yes, we've always been able to choose male or female in the actual game. We know this. This wasn't the point. The point was that BioWare had only showcased the male version of the protagonist for DAI up until this point. For ME3, FemShep's trailer came very late in the game, almost like an afterthought, and she was the backside of the game cover you could flip over. But most folks think of Shepard as the male version.

We had a thread on BioWare's forum asking "Could we please see more of the Lady Inquisitor?" The thread got big. Some BioWare devs actually conversed with us. Then, at E3, Lady Inquisitor got a trailer all to herself (the first for DAI), and then one of the demos they showed in several of their (publicized) interviews featured a female Qunari mage.

We thought it was wonderful and unexpected representation at a large stage like E3 to acknowledge the female protagonist option like that. We were surprised and happy by it, and enough of us were surprised and happy enough that we wanted to DO something to acknowledge that. So, we grouped together, pooled resources, and did this little Cupcakequisition.

We chose cupcakes for two reasons: 1. They were extremely economical in that we could purchase a LOT to try and make sure most the team got something and 2. Yes, for the irony to counteract the ME3 ending cupcakes. Those ME3 cupcakes were sent to show severe disappointment, and were donated by BioWare to a local youth charity because they felt properly chagrined and scolded by the action. Whereas these cupcakes were ones of praise and just general thanks, and, yes, they were accepted and eaten. They were also accompanied by 8 pages of personal message to BioWare from the individual members of the group who made this happen.

If you choose to see this as a publicity stunt, or a "social justice warriors go bananas" event, or an insincere or stupid act - that is your prerogative. I am sorry that you feel that way. But to us, it was just a genuine way to say "thank you" in a yummy way to a team that makes games we appreciate and that we felt went the extra mile at E3 to really show respect to female gamers. That's really what all this boils down to.

Thank you kindly,
DragonRacer

Good on you, DragonRacer, and you know, thinking on it now, why not showcase a game featuring a female character if it encourages inclusiveness? It's still medieval fantasy action, and all that.

I also think it's fascinating that fans are using cupcakes as a form of communication, one that can mean different things in the context they are given. S'like a new language that has icing.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Holy crap people really need to calm the hell down. It's a nice gesture by fans who aren't usually acknowledged in gaming thanking Bioware for acknowledging them.

Fucking chill.

Thank you! Who cares if it's "pandering by the un-intelligent" and stuff? It's a gesture of freakin thanks from a certain part of the gaming community. Be HAPPY for that! Calling them part of the problem works both ways. Telling these people they're wrong for thanking BioWare for showing a female protagonist and character in trailers and interviews is also making you sound like the other half of the problem. The half that tells female gamers to shut up and sit down and stop complaining for asking for more female protagonists

 

[Seydaman]

Company does things fans want

Fans are happy

*Improbable!*

But really, that's sweet...ha...sweet

 

[lady nuggins]

Because asking why it is always a man being advertized is a criticism laced with the perceived need for female representation to get the female market involved.

The question, "why is it always men being advertized" is never the true intent of the question and criticism. The intent is to decry male characters being advertized and that to cater to a female audience a percieved need for female character representation is necessity.

Though you can believe the question is just "why always men" is just that if you really want. I've seen enough of this specific criticism in longer worded posts to know what it's really getting at.

I never said that a game featuring a female protagonist would sell better or worse than one featuring a male. My point is: if it does not matter either way, why does it always have to be one instead of the other? Why not both?

We wanted to recognize Bioware for showing BOTH male and female protagonists. They have trailers and demos featuring a male and trailers and demos featuring a female. They are deliberately switching between the two so that nobody is left out. And they are giving the female ones the same respect and coverage as the male ones.

If you look at the marketing for their previous games, the female version has been hidden. This is the case for most games where you can choose your gender. Many do not even specify clearly on the official website or game box that you can play as female. Given that games that give you this option are more rare to begin with, this does matter to people who want to play a female character. It is not a given that the female option will be included--just look at the Assassins Creed fiasco. So yes, advertising that it exists does matter to many people.

Traditionally its the marketing and business departments that are most reluctant to show female characters even if the game that have them. They are the idiots trotting out lines like female characters don't sell, as they both tend not to know about games and are also more usually focused on the money than the rest the staff. This is why games even where you can choose your gender its almost always generic white dude in the marketing. For more examples of this both bio-shock infinite and the last of us had complications putting their female supporting character on the box due to marketing concerns. This is celebratory as its a win over the most backward portion of gaming not any particular game developer or a single game but against a business executive, albeit a small one but its not like its really that hard to get a cupcake order together.

Exactly. The fact is, before E3, this was a very specific complaint that we had with Bioware, and we had been discussing it on the forums for months. Femshep was only advertised in the THIRD game of a trilogy, and only as an afterthought. Lady Hawke doesn't exist outside of the game. The official Dragon Age Inquisition website STILL doesn't specify that gender is something you can choose, although it now has some of the trailers featuring the female Inquisitor. Their marketing department has never been as progressive as the games they represent, and this was a step in the right direction.

 

[soren7550]

I honestly was under the impression FemShep was the face of mass effect series, at least after Me2 and most definitly for Me3. In forums it was common to big up femshep, on commercials and trailers I remember it being Femshep,etc...

To point I felt like a naughty rebel for sticking with MaleShep and even enjoying Hamils voice acting.
Just goes to show how hanging out on the net distorts my vision of reality.

Hamil? As in Mark Hamill? He didn't do any voice work in the Mass Effect games, and most certainly wasn't MShep. That was Mark Meer.

OT: Well, that's a bit weird. First given cupcakes as a sign of dissatisfaction, now as a sign of approval? Also, I thought that the back that graces the covers of DAI was gender neutral? As for the trailers, I thought that they all showed male inquisitors?

 

[Frankster]

Hamil? As in Mark Hamill? He didn't do any voice work in the Mass Effect games, and most certainly wasn't MShep. That was Mark Meer.

Hahahaha nicely spotted xD Goddamn now I really wish the voice actor of the best Joker really did voice MShep!

 

[Genocidicles]

I know, right!? Bioware should stick to its true audience and only pander to straight white men like always. Anything else is bowing to the evils of obscure tumblr blogs!

Well going by Mass Effect, more than 80% of their audience made a male character on their first playthrough.

So I mean, shouldn't they be demonstrating a character that most of their audience would probably make, rather than the idiots on BSN and tumblr?