Aaron Sylvester said:
Rebel_Raven said:
Like Yahtzee says, there's almost no games out there where being a woman is relevant. Males get treated better than that.
But how does one make a female's gender specifically relevant to a game in the fps/action/adventure/rpg/etc genres that dominate the industry?
Mother rescuing her children? But if you threw that idea at a publisher they'd just convert it to father rescuing his children since male protagonists sell better and make for slightly more convincing men-of-action.
Rebel_Raven said:
But if there's no point in the gender one way, or the other, then why not have both genders be available? Make your work a bit more welcoming in exchange for it being shallow? Of course its optional, but expecting people to like it when you only pick one gender when the plot doesn't call for gender, is not going to go well.
Because designing, coding and animating an extra gender isn't free and effortless. "Why not just have optional stuff catering to EVERYONE?" is a very easy question to ask when you're not the one having to create all that. At that rate people will start asking every game two have multiple genders and at least 4 races (of all those genders) because it's apparently just so easy. Where does it end?
Sure if we're talking about an indie game using basic sprites/models then having tons of inclusive options isn't an issue, but the cost
skyrockets if we're talking about AAA games using current/next-gen graphics. I mean when looking at something like The Witcher, a female option would involve cost/effort that I can't even begin to imagine. When you're sitting there as a dev for the 100th hour animating the woman's cheekbones (or something) you begin to wonder "exactly how many people are even going to play as her? Is this worth it?". If a dev doesn't ask that question, the publisher certainly will.
After Mass Effect had only something like ~18% playing as female Shepherd I think Bioware had to stay pretty damn determined to keep offering full-fledged female options. But not every dev is Bioware, not every dev has a corporate monster like EA backing them. They either have to create something that sells or shoot their own profits in the foot.
I don't fault you for wanting more female protagonists/options, it's perfectly understandable. But you'll having to keep putting up with this for a very long time to come
Of course the industry would chew up every woman dominated story, and spit out a male dominated one. I hate parts of the industry for a reason. Well, reasons, really.
Even if you get to play as a woman from start to finish, odds are good some guy would save them in the end, or something because the woman's too weak to finish the plot herself.
Really, honestly, just give women -relationships-, and that'll do a good bit. It's rare a played woman has one. Give them sex scenes. Have them married.
You pretty much nailed it on the head. In short, give them plots that involve their gender.
I'm pretty easy to please. A character creation engine, even recycled from another game works for me. It'll help cover appearances. gender, skin color, maybe a bit of shape of assorted parts like the face, and body. It'd be up to the plot if it covers LGBT.
Indie seems more likely to lack a character creation engine than AAA, IMO. I'm sure almost every major company out there has a character creation engine in some game some where. If a boat load of companies can get away with poaching, and recycling them, others can, too.
I think Mass Effect had a bit of a PR problem, really. It wasn't until late in Mass Effect 3 that they even really advertised femshep. Until them, Femshep was word of mouth. I think it helps to advertise inclusiveness. Heck, I don't really remember anything but the war/shooting being advertised. What about romances to let people know the game isn't some third person shooter/war game?
Mass Effect seemed to have something for everyone, but almost all of it was ignored as far as advertisement goes.
Still, I loved the series. I played it from start to finish, and carried over many femsheps, and liked Multiplayer for the most part, but that's another can of worms. I ended up wondering a bit if they wanted to keep being so determined to put it brief.
And again, I'm not saying -every- game needs gender choices. I just wish women would be more on the front lines of the games that don't have them.
I'm not asking a game to cater to everyone. I'd like to think I know better than that, though Saint Row got close, I'd say.
Anyone that stops, and thinks about it will likely realize that you can't please everyone, I'd like to think.
I look more into the big picture, unless there's companies playing politics, or some such, like Ubisoft did with their most recent games. The industry can be more diverse, especially in the AAA area.
The industry could advertise a bit more inclusiveness, IMO. Let people know these games are out there as opposed to force people to scour the internet for games with potential. I've been there. It sucked.
Advertising can make or break a game, honestly. Sure, we have unstoppable juggernauts like GTA, Cod, and battlefield, but if people don't know the game exists, they aren't likely to buy it, and they certainly can't be expected to look for it reasonably.
Honestly, I think it's getting a little better than what it was a few years ago, or even a year ago, women being playable, I mean. It might keep getting better. It's why I'm generally not as ticked as I was.
Then again, I feel like it was like this in the girl power era of the 90's, and, well, that dried up for a dozen years which lead to me being ticked off something fierce.