Duke Nukem Forever Multiplayer Exchanges Flags for "Babes"

CNKFan

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j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
awesomeClaw said:
You do realise it´s stupid getting offended by this, right? Duke is a JOKE.

And bud, when you "Grow up and enter the real world", you´ll realise that yes, we should be fighting sexism in REAL LIFE, but that it´s perfectly fine to joke about it. Hell, it´s fine to joke about everything. And if you´re offended by a joke, then i believe that you need to grow some thicker skin.
Am I personally offended? No. I am a guy. I'm not the affected party here. The issue is that I'm sick of games pandering to the lowest denominator in a desprate attempt to generate controversy and sales. There are already enough braindead, meat-headed games out there. We don't need more, especially ones that deliberately cross the line of gender representation, purely to generate shock and outrage.

Also, the thing with a joke is that there's usually, y'know, a punchline, or at least some kind of wit involved. There's nothing witty about picking up women and slapping them against their will. It doesn't parody misogynistic behaviour, it reinforces it. There's a difference between satirizing something, and playing something straight for stupid laughs. By the sounds of it, this falls firmly in the latter. The thing with satire is that, through ripping the piss, it points out all the negative points of its object of derision. Dr. Strangelove is a piece of satire that rips the piss out of the Cold-War, whilst never endorsing it. This, however, is just another example of a male power fantasy, where all women are around simply to serve the needs of the men. Gearbox aren't making any kind of comment, they're not challenging sexism in any way, they're just being douchebags.

If Gearbox wants to use the Duke for proper satire of game conventions, then that I can get behind. This isn't it. It's a stupid idea designed to either appeal to misogynistic teenagers with no actual experience of women, or offend those of us who like to think gender equality is a serious issue.


CNKFan said:
Ok well in the game world all of the stupid nonsense is the norm. For example in the Duke-averse Las Vegas there is a hotel/casino called the "Felatio" a play on the name of our worlds Belagio. The humor comes from the fact that in the game world all of the sexism and other stuff that seems to offend you is taken seriously.
Which would be fair enough if the developers then tried to make some sort of commentary on that, like how fucking stupid such a world would be. But as far as I can tell, they don't. They create a world based around sexism, and portray it more as digital wish-fulfillment than as anything to be ashamed of. You want proof? Look at the number of gamers who think of Duke as being 'awesome' and 'kick-ass', despite the fact that he's an ignorant, sexist, alcoholic loser.

There's nothing wrong with creating a shitty world, then pointing out how shitty it is. Look at Bioshock, Half-Life 2, Fallout. There is a problem with creating a shitty world, and revelling in how shitty it is. That's not 'a joke'. That's puerile and offensive.
The lead developer said so in the OXM article that this story came from. You might have to pick up an analog copy though. I dont know if they put all of the side page charts and such on the web article.

In fact on page 47 of the April 2011 issue in a section called "Pitchford Unplugged" Why the comedy works(all from Pitchford's mouth)-"The secret to Duke's humor is that he and his universe actually at serious. In his world, it makes perfect sense for families to be visiting the Fellatio(i.e., The Bellagio) in Las Vegas. Everything in the world is real for them, authentic. Its='s only when we look at it through the lens of our world that we get the joke."
 

Dastardly

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Apr 19, 2010
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Galad said:
Dastardly said:
Tom Goldman said:
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While I get the joke and all.... it's really poorly timed, and pretty poorly delivered.

It doesn't have the refinement or credibility to be seen as a satire of the "chauvinistic ideal." It reads instead as fan service pumped directly into the occipital lobe of the target audience (immature man-children). And that means a game that is outdated, which for DNF comes as no surprise...
..I take it you also scoff at the sight of Bulletstorm, my good Sir? :)
Not really. Bulletstorm is over-the-top, but in a way that is pure parody. It's childish and immature, but in a way that is so clearly not taking itself seriously.

Now, I know that it seems odd to try to paint "the Duke" as taking himself seriously. But the humor in Duke is far more single-mindedly anti-woman. Bulletstorm makes its main characters look like immature jackasses, and the player steps into that roll almost making fun of himself. Duke is a power fantasy that makes women look bad, and the player takes advantage of that.

It's not like it's the worst thing ever, but hopefully that helps you to see the distinction I'm drawing between these two kinds of humor.
 

Dango

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Feb 11, 2010
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I originally misread it as "Duke Nukem Forever Multiplayer Exchanges Flags for Babies"...

...and a "reassuring slap" doesn't sound offensive or funny. It just sounds stupid.
 

Zechnophobe

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So, if I play Coop with my Girlfriend, can she play as the 'flag'? Hmm, this may work even if the game hasn't come out yet.
 

Zorg Machine

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the gaming industry has to be able to make these once in a while. Have you seen what the movie industry gets to make?

btw, do not see this movie...ever.

anyway, this looks awesome and I can't wait to play it.
 

Sean Strife

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Jan 29, 2010
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My stance on this is, while in most games, this sort of thing would piss me off and make me facepalm: it's Duke Nukem, who's pretty much becoming the quintessential parody to the meathead protagonists that seem to infest any non-Valve FPS.

I really think some people need to take a chill pill on this: it's a video game. It's a series of pixels and polygons getting spanked, not a real woman. And I think most of us on here know that these aren't the sort of things we're supposed to do for women, and those that think they can do that for women in real life will get what they deserve.
 

cefm

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Mar 26, 2010
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Will they have a "desperately trying to be edgy and appealing to an audience that forgot about them 15 years ago" mode?
 

Thyunda

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It's childish, it's juvenile, and it appeals to my base sense of humour.

Awesome.

I'm not reading 'misogynistic developers create hate-game against women to glorify men', or 'developers attempt to generate controversy to get sales'.
I'm reading 'Developers make one damn funny game!'
It's dropped all pretences, and the very fact everyone's getting so upset about this proves their point. Duke Nukem was once a male icon, so to speak, and now everybody sees him as pathetic and a pervert. Even his hair is out of date. Still, I'd far rather play a game about being a has-been manly man, than some American soldier in another game where 'America prevails against a much more dangerous opponent'.

That said, I suppose I should finish the Black Ops campaign...I'm actually curious to see what happens.

but I'm definitely buying this. My parents will probably be a little confused or ashamed, but it's only as bad as watching an awful action movie. Golden rule - if a film shows tits without context, it has all the plot of Michael Bay's childhood poetry. Which rather resembles that of Baldrick's 'The German Guns'.
 

Stan Kramer

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Mar 12, 2011
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CNKFan said:
The lead developer said so in the OXM article that this story came from. You might have to pick up an analog copy though. I dont know if they put all of the side page charts and such on the web article.

In fact on page 47 of the April 2011 issue in a section called "Pitchford Unplugged" Why the comedy works(all from Pitchford's mouth)-"The secret to Duke's humor is that he and his universe actually at serious. In his world, it makes perfect sense for families to be visiting the Fellatio(i.e., The Bellagio) in Las Vegas. Everything in the world is real for them, authentic. Its='s only when we look at it through the lens of our world that we get the joke."
Dude, you know how when a comedian tells you his joke was funny, it's not actually funny? Just because Pitchford says it's all a joke doesn't make it a funny joke, especially if he has to actually TELL people it's all a joke. Doing something completely straight and then saying you didn't mean isn't parody or satire. And if Pitchford actually thinks he's making a parody or satire he should probably go take some writing classes, because he's waaaaaay off. In my eyes, DNF is way more reveling in it's shitty sexist horrible world then trying to make a joke out of it.
 

The Electro Gypsy

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Aug 10, 2010
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Sounds like a helluva lotta fun, shame it's limited to 8 players tho, I assume we've got the console players to thank for that :/
 

Stan Kramer

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Mar 12, 2011
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How come it seems that it's just accepted that "funny" and "debasing women" is just sort of accepted as something that has to go hand in hand?

I agree that most FPSs are faaaaaaar too serious and gray nowadays, and that there really needs to be more lighthearted fun and goofiness in our action games. But would it really be such a huge horrible tragedy if women participated in the jokes and mayhem and fun, not just the butt of them?
 

krychek57

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Apr 13, 2010
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NAHTZEE said:
thaluikhain said:
So...you kidnap women and slap them if they get annoying?

*headdesk*
i think its applied to the bum not the face.....
I would have thought this was a "No Shit Sherlock" moment for some.
seems that I was wrong.


Edit: http://twitter.com/DuvalMagic/status/49884569175994368 needs more love