Games For Boys, Games For Girls
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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Ummmm... exactly what are they doing at Eidos and CD if 1.5 million sales at $60 bucks a pop for an established IP, engine, and style isn't generating profits?
Anyway I went back and read some of the reviews from the original game in '96, which acknowledged the novelty of playing a curvy female action character, but also described fun gameplay, interesting puzzles, and a lot of advancements in the first person action genre. Reviews now tend to cite "more of the same." It looks like Prince of Persia with guns instead of swords.
Anyway, that bit of news has generated enough buzz and the game looks interesting enough that I might buy it.
Anyway I went back and read some of the reviews from the original game in '96, which acknowledged the novelty of playing a curvy female action character, but also described fun gameplay, interesting puzzles, and a lot of advancements in the first person action genre. Reviews now tend to cite "more of the same." It looks like Prince of Persia with guns instead of swords.
Anyway, that bit of news has generated enough buzz and the game looks interesting enough that I might buy it.
You know what's really insulting? The implication that female gamers would somehow accept a strong, independent, intelligent character - but only if she's not beautiful, too. "Gee, I'd really like to play that game, but I'm too threatened by the main character's idealized physique!"
Complete crap.
Complete crap.
It is, but it seems like not all of Eidos think like this thankfully.Susan Arendt said:
I think the actual character of Lara has more varied appeal then it's given credit. Sure half of her model is joked about, her face which looks like she's visited a plastic surgeon a few too many times and the floaties are still as inflated as ever. But it has become an acceptable icon to the series which no longer distracts people from the actual gameplay.
I have only played actually played TR Legend (I think it was that one) and that was because my roommate bought it and didn't play it enough to satisfy my perked curiosity on the franchise.
It had it's appeal and the gameplay was a different enough from what I was used to that I played it in it's entirity. But I have no desire to repeat and reply and until there's a TR that's praised for it's gameplay or innovation even if they are more of my roommates copies for free.
Lara Croft is pretty much the only name in video games that garner any respect from the mainstream media. Does that not say anything at all to Eidos? Messing with the character is the worst move they can ever make. I say stick to improving the game play--give her more acrobatic moves, throw in cooler puzzle, and focus less on CQC and shooting, and they will truly return to the root of Lady Croft that we longed for.
I'm going to go ahead and agree with the other girls on here that I feel condescended to by Eidos. Making Lara less busty, move more realistically and making it sound less like she's "enjoying" herself if you run her into a wall over and over again does not make up for a camera that makes me punch the couch in anger.
I played the Underworld demo and while some of the new Prince of Persia-like acrobatics were nice, the fact that it took twenty minutes to calculate a jump because the camera hated me was enough to turn me off to buying the game. If Lara wants to be smart AND hot, I have no problem with this. What I do have a problem with is poor development.
I played the Underworld demo and while some of the new Prince of Persia-like acrobatics were nice, the fact that it took twenty minutes to calculate a jump because the camera hated me was enough to turn me off to buying the game. If Lara wants to be smart AND hot, I have no problem with this. What I do have a problem with is poor development.
Women play the same games as men as they have to, you cant find a decent game which is targeted at women. At least now in most games you have the choice to choose your characters gender but they still focus on the more masculine elements of gameplay such as big guns (Dr.Freud anyone?), big explosions and running around attacking people. These of course are not negative things - who doesnt love blowing up an entire wasteland city from time to time but in the end they do not appeal to a mass female audience.ReverseEngineered said:
However, many gamers are playing for the grander overall experience, and not just a single part, like gameplayMariena said:
Leave that to the Sims =) and Tomb Raider to smaller degree... and Age of Empiresjessieanne said:
well, i am a girl.
that said, i must say that if the plan is to make lara ride a magical poney to fairy-tale-land and dig care bear's graves for lollipops and sunshine... it kind of sucks. not all girls like fuzzy-wuddly things, at least not on games - and for that there's little big planet - which, by the way, i do not think is a girl's-only game. EVERYBODY LOVES SACKPEOPLE <3. i like playing fallout! i think it's quite ridiculous to assume girls, for being girls, don't like more violent games and are offended by lara's cup size.
i like the whole idea behind the tomb raider series, but it's tiring - and it should be, i mean, how many cool things can an archaeologist do?! as far as i'm concerned most tomb raiders are pretty good games, but at least i dont feel the need to play a new one every other year. and even if lara was flat chested and wrote novels while saving the whales - i probably wouldnt feel the need either...
that said, i must say that if the plan is to make lara ride a magical poney to fairy-tale-land and dig care bear's graves for lollipops and sunshine... it kind of sucks. not all girls like fuzzy-wuddly things, at least not on games - and for that there's little big planet - which, by the way, i do not think is a girl's-only game. EVERYBODY LOVES SACKPEOPLE <3. i like playing fallout! i think it's quite ridiculous to assume girls, for being girls, don't like more violent games and are offended by lara's cup size.
i like the whole idea behind the tomb raider series, but it's tiring - and it should be, i mean, how many cool things can an archaeologist do?! as far as i'm concerned most tomb raiders are pretty good games, but at least i dont feel the need to play a new one every other year. and even if lara was flat chested and wrote novels while saving the whales - i probably wouldnt feel the need either...
You want to know the one game that I can think of where every single female I've ever seen play it has immediately loved the title character for her philosophy on life, attitude to things and mannerisms?
Beyond Good and Evil.
Jade wasn't exactly built like a Greek goddess (nor was she wearing clothes so revealing that the people she worked with had their eyes popping out of their sockets.. although, to be fair, there's probably some sort of very perverted imagery on the 'net, given every single man in that game *was* built like a brick ****house or some random bizarre anthropomorphic giant in their own right) - but she was an honest person. She worked for the orphanage. She had a fun time of things. She didn't go around toting billions of guns - she was just someone trying to help people out, her own way (which did involve beating people up - but moreso in the Disney-friendly way.)
Yet that game was poorly timed against Sands of Time, so it kinda disappeared, where Croft's boobies continue to be somewhat of a cult phenomenon. Fact of the matter is - Tomb Raider is done, and not because of the gameplay, and not because of the fact that Lara's endowments are too small - or too large. It's because no game, unless it is Street Fighter, can go past 8 sequels with a completely unlikeable protagonist (since let's face it, Ryu is actually ultimately an extremely unlikeable character) and a very flimsy storyline to keep it going. People might still buy it.. but edging something on it? FRANCHISING it? That's just ridiculous. You'd have better luck franchising a series of games based around Bob the Builder.
Beyond Good and Evil.
Jade wasn't exactly built like a Greek goddess (nor was she wearing clothes so revealing that the people she worked with had their eyes popping out of their sockets.. although, to be fair, there's probably some sort of very perverted imagery on the 'net, given every single man in that game *was* built like a brick ****house or some random bizarre anthropomorphic giant in their own right) - but she was an honest person. She worked for the orphanage. She had a fun time of things. She didn't go around toting billions of guns - she was just someone trying to help people out, her own way (which did involve beating people up - but moreso in the Disney-friendly way.)
Yet that game was poorly timed against Sands of Time, so it kinda disappeared, where Croft's boobies continue to be somewhat of a cult phenomenon. Fact of the matter is - Tomb Raider is done, and not because of the gameplay, and not because of the fact that Lara's endowments are too small - or too large. It's because no game, unless it is Street Fighter, can go past 8 sequels with a completely unlikeable protagonist (since let's face it, Ryu is actually ultimately an extremely unlikeable character) and a very flimsy storyline to keep it going. People might still buy it.. but edging something on it? FRANCHISING it? That's just ridiculous. You'd have better luck franchising a series of games based around Bob the Builder.
As a girl gamer myself, I must agree with the majority here...what totally utter bs. I like "boy games" just as much as most guys I know. I hate that someone thinks that making changes to Tomb Raider to be "more chick friendly," whatever that means, will help them sell their product. Most girl gamers and even casual girl gamers I know play all the same games as our male counterparts. I used to play Tomb Raider for the "indiana jones" factor, and I didn't even care about the upgrades in boob-jiggle and shortshorts. And who really NEEDS to have a new game come out each year. Spend more time making a quality products and less time trying to come up with excuses as to why your games are not as good anymore. Make a better story line or even make it more of a RPG. Quit passing the blame on stupid things like it isn't "chick friendly" and start cracking down on the real problem with the games.
What I find most interesting is the fact that the developers haven't even seemed to notice the option of creating an original game instead.
Games for boys: Hentai
Games for girls: Dating sims. ^^ and anybody who contradicts me hasn't watched lucky star.
Games for girls: Dating sims. ^^ and anybody who contradicts me hasn't watched lucky star.
Tbh i really like the lara croft concept of shooter + puzzle solving + exploring ancient places and whatever. However i think they really need to get rid of lara, a new refreshing story about someone else with more focus on the exploring the pretty environments and you'd have a great game in my opinion.
I disagree with almost everything here.
First, I think the premise that the last Tomb Raider failed to reach it's targets because of any problem with the game is foolish. It failed to reach it's target because it faced insane competition. If it had been launched at the same time last year, it would read 2M easily.
Second, I don't think there's anything wrong or stale with the franchise. You certainly can't get 1.5M with a problematic franchise. The only competition to Tomb Raider is Uncharted. Which, btw, is about to see it's sequel AND has been selling fine, thank you.
Third, it's not a realistically proportioned body that will enhance acceptance by women. Now, if you go for freakishly THIN body, then, sadly, you might pull some women to it. Add about a hundred different fashionable shoes, boots, high-heels, etc which she keeps changing throughout the game, and I'll guarantee it. This whole paragraph might sound horrible sexist, but these ARE women magnets -- just like attractive boobs are men magnets, even if were aren't all horny teenagers. My point, anyway, is that both genders have their biases.
So, summing it up, there's nothing wrong with the game, if they keep doing what they did with Legend, Anniversary or Underworld they'll keep doing fine, and if they DID chose to appeal to female gamers, there ARE, like it or not, buttons they can push that will work just fine. Of course, they'll probably screw it up, in which case they'll manage to bury the franchise.
First, I think the premise that the last Tomb Raider failed to reach it's targets because of any problem with the game is foolish. It failed to reach it's target because it faced insane competition. If it had been launched at the same time last year, it would read 2M easily.
Second, I don't think there's anything wrong or stale with the franchise. You certainly can't get 1.5M with a problematic franchise. The only competition to Tomb Raider is Uncharted. Which, btw, is about to see it's sequel AND has been selling fine, thank you.
Third, it's not a realistically proportioned body that will enhance acceptance by women. Now, if you go for freakishly THIN body, then, sadly, you might pull some women to it. Add about a hundred different fashionable shoes, boots, high-heels, etc which she keeps changing throughout the game, and I'll guarantee it. This whole paragraph might sound horrible sexist, but these ARE women magnets -- just like attractive boobs are men magnets, even if were aren't all horny teenagers. My point, anyway, is that both genders have their biases.
So, summing it up, there's nothing wrong with the game, if they keep doing what they did with Legend, Anniversary or Underworld they'll keep doing fine, and if they DID chose to appeal to female gamers, there ARE, like it or not, buttons they can push that will work just fine. Of course, they'll probably screw it up, in which case they'll manage to bury the franchise.