Why Is Every AAA Game Hero Suddenly Your Dad?

[Westaway]

The trend is obviously cashing in on the multitude of single mothers throwing their children in front of the TV because they're incapable of raising the child properly. Father figures are in desperate demand and supply is low.

 

[Therumancer]

My personal pessimist sees this less as a matter of the games growing up with their audience, or maturing, so much as a clumsy attempt to pre-empt criticism. "The Daddening" especially when it's literal means that the game developers can all go "well hey, look, this is about family".

While likely not popular here, understand that Hillary Clinton lead the crusade against Rock Star that created the "Hot Coffee" controversy and had the boom lowered on "Manhunt". There is a reason why "The Statue Of Happiness" looks like her in the GTA games. She's currently favored by many to win the presidency, and video games are one of her whipping boys of note. I wouldn't be surprised if "The Daddening" is a pessimistic, pre-considered trend intended to help defend these titles if challenged down the road.

Understand before you shoot off at me, the point it's about her, so much as I'm enough of a pessimist so as not to consider this trend a positive thing like the industry maturing.

I'll also say that I think immaturity in games is a good thing, the whole point is escapism, to get away from reality and the things we have to deal with. As long as you understand that it's fantasy bring out the bikini babes with DDs and heavy weapons, or whatever else. I have to go around acting like a normal, responsible, adult by default to the point where injecting this on escapist characters en-masse is not a positive thing. I mean having some responsible characters is fine, but the industry needs to mix it up, there shouldn't be an industry wide "Daddening"... and really I don't think there would be this trend people are noticing if it wasn't for concern over other things. "It's about family" is one of the quickest ways to dodge criticism and claim a work has merit in a legal sense.

 

[nitrium oxide]

Ass Creed: Syndicate has definitely not been "dadified", with the Frye twins being in their early twenties. Neither has Far Cry 3 or Far Cry 4. You can find counter examples easily enough.

 

[CaitSeith]

Geez, you seem really angry about this. It's not like it really means much in the end. Let's just assume for a moment that there is a particular trend in AAA games revolving around the "dad figure" right now. And lets also assume it's a refection of the audience the games are marketed to. So what? All that means is that this may be true for a particular subset of gamers, or that the AAA gaming industry at least thinks it is. Does that mean that every single person who plays the game is going to fit into that particular group? No, it doesn't. Does that mean that every single gamer has to stick to what ever stereotype the AAA industry is marketing the games to? Also no.

That doesn't mean people can't statistically gather trends and make theories about them. Stuff like "gamers are getting older" and "gender roles are changing" may be and probably are true enough to at least be reasonable. Is it an absolute truth that can apply to absolutely everyone? Of course not. Newsflash: Nothing is. What do you want, for everyone who buys a game to write down a paragraph about why? Do you have access to data like that? Could you be assured they aren't lying or being misinterpreted?

But of course it's only a theory, a prediction. It might be a useful guided to what games are being made and what games are selling, but in the end it's really up to who wants to buy them, and they all have their own reasons.

Yeah, let's assume that these asinine premises are true so that my argument is somewhere nearing logical coherence. Let's also just assume the conclusion before the argument so it can fit into my interpretation of skewed data. Don't be skeptical of spurious correlations, just accept them at face value without any need to calculate for other variables or even admit their existence. There's nothing wrong with that at all. And if you take issue with it, then you're "angry".

It's really quite funny that you argue against yourself in the last sentence. If you're going to admit that people all have their own reasons for playing different games, why are you defending such horseshit inferences about society based solely on one character trait? Is "it's only a theory" really supposed to be the defense? Do people think all opinions and theories are valid nowadays?

Who said all this was valid in the first place?

 

[Nurb]

I suppose I can see it, but this ranks pretty low on the list of bothersome trends in video gaming

 

[KilloZapit]

Yeah, let's assume that these asinine premises are true so that my argument is somewhere nearing logical coherence. Let's also just assume the conclusion before the argument so it can fit into my interpretation of skewed data. Don't be skeptical of spurious correlations, just accept them at face value without any need to calculate for other variables or even admit their existence. There's nothing wrong with that at all. And if you take issue with it, then you're "angry".

It's really quite funny that you argue against yourself in the last sentence. If you're going to admit that people all have their own reasons for playing different games, why are you defending such horseshit inferences about society based solely on one character trait? Is "it's only a theory" really supposed to be the defense? Do people think all opinions and theories are valid nowadays?

I think you are totally missing my point. I am not defending the argument at hand. I am just trying to point out how pointless it is to get indignant about. Do I think think all opinions and theories are "valid" nowadays? I guess it's hard to see why random dinky people saying random dinky things in a dinky little forum are any more "right" or "wrong" then any other random dinky people saying random dinky things in a dinky forum. You want to actually debunk it and debate it's rational failures? Great! Look forward to your peer reviewed paper and/or book of philosophy with lots of helpful citations to lay out exactly why everyone else is wrong about this. It would sure shut me up. No seriously it would, I don't think I could even imagining putting that much effort into it.

Here's the thing though. I don't think you are seriously angry about people making "horseshit inferences about society". Now as one of those before mentioned random dinky people who has no real experience and knowledge about you, or probably much of anything really, I couldn't really seriously think I know, but... It seems to me this is much less about people making "horseshit inferences" about society as a whole, and more about people making "horseshit inferences" about you in particular based on those inferences about society.

And that's fine. I understand that. Even if I admittedly probably just made one. It's always a problem for people who like games. Or anyone else really. You can't do anything without people trying to peg you into some hole based on their preconceived notions of who you are and what you like. It's annoying, and more then a little frustrating. Even scary why not. But honestly? That's kinda the only way humans have figured out how to deal with anyone or anything. I am not sure people can help it or even that it isn't ultimately the only way in the long run.

Okay... that was kinda a lot of crap wasn't it? I don't even know why I bothered to type all that. But it was kinda fun, so whatever else, thanks for giving me a chance to be a dumbass for a bit.

 

[bjj hero]

Why Is Every AAA Game Hero Suddenly Your Dad?

Has anyone else noticed that an awful lot of these action game heroes are becoming dads? Not literally. I couldn't imagine Rico Rodriguez slipping the D into except a ballistic missile.

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I see where you are coming from but I think the other thing is that we are now franchise crazy. If you are going to have the ninth installment of a title and want it to be chronological then the title charecter is likely to age through the games. The first game has the cocky bad ass and by the nineteenth episode he is a geriatric whos attacks are based on his lack of bowel control. We just happen to be at middle age right now.

Having said that, I am a 30 something dad who still trains, boxes and kickboxes. Life imitates art eh?