Video games are no longer safe from our lady-clutches! Why, they’re starting to have female characters in them that aren’t totally worthless or in need of saving! And this has a lot of MRAs worried:
I call bullshit on this subject. Video games are the last place for guys to hang out and now women are taking over. Why not just save us the trouble and instead of eliminating our fantasy world just throw us in work camp to provide for thier bastard children (literally speaking) while they shit all over us…wait they already do that.
Oh noes, a space where we have to allow ladies?! How totally unfair! What does this takeover include? Why, portraying women as competent and equal to men:
You’ll see the same thing in most stat-based role-playing games as well, where you have the option of a female player character – like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, D&D, etc. The women never have any strength or intelligence penalties compared to the males. … They want to give the impression that people of any race, gender, and sexual-orientation are interchangeable – that there are no differences in ability between them, and that only a bigot could think otherwise. I’m sick of it too.
What do MRAs consider an accurate portrayal of women in video games?
It would be hilarious to portray the female characters realistically. If you chose the female character in your FPS [First Person Shooter] she would have to move very slowly, dragging the gun around. You could build in some extra shake to the crosshairs to represent hopeless accuracy. Every time you needed to reload your gun, instead of just pressing a button, you’d have to find a male character and go through some flirting dialogue options to persuade him to do it for you. One out of every four missions the game would tell you that you were sitting out this one due to ‘women’s issues’.
I’m sure women in the military would have a thing or two to say to this guy. You should read the rest of the silliness (like how Lara Croft somehow oppresses men) over at Man Boobz.
While we’re on the topic of video games: Does anybody play Valorant? I have seen a lot recently about Valorant boosting and would like some opinions on it. Also, my boyfriend and I only have one level left in the expansion pack of Pixel Junk Monsters, and we’re looking for a new game to play together. We’re patiently waiting for Skulls of the Shogun since we loved it at PAX, but who knows when it will finally be released. And we can’t play Civ 5 together (yet) because my desktop computer is on the fritz. Does anyone have recommendations for good multiplayer strategy/tower defense/tactical type games? Co-op prefered but not required. (EDIT: We have a Wii, PS3, XBOX360, and PCs, so platform is irrelevant).
Recommendations are appreciated. Because, you know, I have to love strategy video games in order to invade his one last man space and enslave him. Not because we enjoy playing them with each other or something.
172 comments
NoxiousNan says:
Jan 12, 2012
Skyrim would be my recommendation too, if it weren’t for the fact that it has sucked my life away. Do I dare expose anyone else to that risk?
Jurjen S. says:
Jan 12, 2012
Isn’t that the one with Stephen Fry doing the narration? That would be reason enough to buy it in my book.
Jurjen S. says:
Jan 12, 2012
That has been my experience as well, except with my niece, but she’s terrifyingly accurate with a rifle.
Jurjen S. says:
Jan 12, 2012
Sorry, glitch with the responses. My post #83 was a response to #33 re: Little Big Planet, and my post #84 was a response to the response to my post #48.
NoxiousNan says:
Jan 12, 2012
Thanks Jen!! Only halfway through the comments and I am giddy with the possibilities. MRA ridiculousness aside, I think my gaming dance card is going to be pretty full for awhile.
Amber says:
Jan 12, 2012
I want to second the recommendation for Monster Hunter Tri. Fantastic cooperative play, mostly online but there’s also some two player offline action as well. Play some of the single player game to find your footing. I bought it on launch and still play every Friday.
mynameistoey says:
Jan 12, 2012
Lately I’ve been hooked by Starcraft 2, which has a great multiplayer system and community.
Definitely recommended!
MonBon says:
Jan 12, 2012
@64, Art – agreed! I went the a gun range for the first time with my future in laws and fiancé, and had a similar discussion with his Dad about women and their prowess at fine motor skills… Long story short my future mom in law and I were kicking some butt at target practice that day.
We both knit so I suspect that has helped us hone our fine motor skills quite a bit :)
Rumtopf says:
Jan 12, 2012
I freaking love 2nd Lieutenant Mira in Warhammer: 40k Space Marine. http://spacemarine.wikia.com/wiki/2nd_Lieutenant_Mira
More like her, please :D
I get somewhat bummed by League of Legends. They do have several female characters, which is good to see, yet SO many of them are verrry sexualised, half naked, same-face(like a doll)/same-body type, boobs bigger than heads etc. There are a few different ones with practical armour and whatnot, but I’d love more variation, or maybe some more female monsters (there are a LOT of male monster type characters on LoL, and a lot of variation among the male characters in general, but *sigh*, can’t have “ugly”, unconventional looking wimmin characters now, can we?).
mero says:
Jan 13, 2012
You’re free to go whine to the boys over there that their behavior is unmanly.
I don’t anticipate seeing you do that anytime soon, though, so piss off.
Women don’t care if it’s an 8 year old or an 80 year old that’s projecting misogynistic bile. We just want it to stop. You can help by educating your own kind.
mero says:
Jan 13, 2012
Ergh, my comment @ #91 was meant for a reply to carpenterman @ #41.
Azkyroth says:
Jan 13, 2012
Who are you talking to?
Azkyroth says:
Jan 13, 2012
…ah, the “reply to” function seems to be glitching.
Svlad Cjelli says:
Jan 15, 2012
@ Ing: It was planned all along, but never followed through. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMOlEfhWGE
Svlad Cjelli says:
Jan 15, 2012
And oh, yes! Star Craft II. RTS with optional co-op.
Chrissetti says:
Jan 16, 2012
Fallout New Vegas might be buggy but It’s eaten away hours of my life. I only recently found out that youcan create a homosexual male charcter (some great dialogue options with closeted gays in the New Californian Republic army who lament that the NCR’s vicious enemies are actually more tolerant of homosexuality than his own nation)
Skepgineer, rusty knife of a thousand porcupines says:
Jan 16, 2012
Your post refutes itself. You demonstrate how even the vague mention of the possibility of differences in population means gets people riled up, without even making a specific claim which might be refutable.
Tomas DeSantiago says:
Jan 25, 2012
This reminds me of a conversation we had in my Human Sexuality course last morning… we were discussing Japan and it’s video game depicted violence against women.
I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say they have what basically amounts to a genre when it comes to games that the ONLY objective is to rape women. Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a54Pu9dTJfQ
Penny says:
Jan 26, 2012
I’m on the Skyrim bandwagon, too.
Also Amnesia. Scared me shitless.
TK says:
Jan 29, 2012
Stupid women! Their arms are so weak, they can’t even carry the 12 different guns you can choose from by pressing a button (unlike real live men, of course, which is why all soldiers carry 12 guns at all times then press A+B+enter to pick one. Ta-da!).
It is hilarious how much some male fans will suspend disbelief… until it comes to women.
‘So she’s 6-feet-tall, 120 lbs, the daughter of aliens, has the ability to fly and read minds…’ ‘Uh–huh, okay.’
‘Oh, and she’s the strongest character in the game.’
‘What? That’s so unrealistic!’
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Feb 5, 2012
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