@sergio:
Also, those games are set in a fantasy world. A world that is based on real life, sure, but a fantasy world nonetheless.
I am reading a fantasy series at the moment, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, and there are no clear lines when it comes to gender. Women and men both are involved in all kinds of nasty / good shit. The gender is mostly irrelevant in most cases. Armies are made up of men and women in varying amounts. Positions of power are held by whoever was devious or lucky enough to get them, man or woman. It is a very pure kind of equality that only adds to the series and works really, really well.
There is one character, a fifteen year old girl, who deals with enslavement by basically becoming a prostitute for survival. She uses the only thing she has left to her, and in her situation her only advantage, her body. This leads to some very rough stuff (i.e. she gets hooked on drugs, is used as a bartering tool by her defacto pimp for favours etc) but it also shapes the character and moulds a huge part of her personality in ways you would not expect. She behaves like someone who had to use sex to survive in an otherwise fatal situation. IT becomes a very interesting character study that is never meant to titillate, but I imagine if I was to explain her character in passing to someone they would think I was a perv or something for reading the book in the first place.
Video games will never go that far now I think, and it is a shame, because it helps you realize how many similarities there are between men and women. I found myself thinking "If I was in her situation, I would probably do the exact same fucking thing, and feel like she did afterwards." And conversely, It also helps you realize that it is OK to view a woman as an enemy in a fantasy setting. Because, it's a part of the story. There definitely should be more women enemies in games. Where are all the women while these male thugs are being beaten around by batman all day? Are there no women in the city? What are they doing? Are they not capable of hating the Bat? Do women not have feelings of greed or fear or whatever it is that motivates the rank and file henchman?
IF anything I want videogames to grow up even more and respect that I am an adult who can handle adult content. And I don't mean sexy ladies who flash their tits everywhere, I mean real situations that can make what is a world of fantasy seem real. I want women in videogame worlds to have actual, real relationships. If that includes sex, so be it. If that includes promiscuity, so be it. If they are a nemesis who you have to beat the shit out of, so be it, as long as (same with male characters) I feel like my character is doing it for a reason. It is not hard to write for female characters and to put as much effort into them as male characters. For example, Dragon Age Inquisition does a fantastic job with the females in the story. I think any complaints about how they look or dress are myopic and completely ignore their carefully constructed, well written personalities.
Also, some women like to dress sexy. That's just life. There are plenty of women in Dragon Age who do not dress provocatively. (I know we arent specifically talking about DA: I, I just think it is a great example of the direction I would like to see some new games go in).
Log in to comment