As I said before the site's FB, I hope they sell those little figurines with the game, because there is no way I'm going to buy them for myself. I think that idea looks really cool, but I'd hate to see it used to further push merchandize that directly effects the player's experience. Then again I'm projecting way too much off of a small trailer.
Pat you may want to reconsider when the price drops, it's actually a very good game. The combat alone makes it worth a try.
I think the kind of misrepresentation that you are talking about with female gamers though stems from the media's representation of girls playing games (like G4). A few people who pretend to like something that they don't aren’t to blame for that. The truth is that most people growing up are somewhat disingenuous when they're trying to fit in. It’s part of growing up and part of finding yourself. In all honesty I'm not too worried about poser gamers. If anything it's flattering that gaming is getting to the point where people want to pretend that they play games, though I don't think it really has reached that point yet. But I will say this; I really think the public’s opinion of female gamers is shaped far more media than it is by the individual at this point. Female gamers are not transparent enough to have that widespread impact that the article was referencing. In my opinion that article was much more about her wanting to be the only female gamer in the group, her being territorial of her space, and not wanting to lose the identifier that made her unique.
As for the undesirables that might come with the growth of our culture, it's true that opening our hobbies to the public will let some assholes in, but I hate to tell you there were already assholes who were geeks long before that. Geeks can be just as superficial, just as mean, and just as snobby as any other culture in America. I’ve met plenty of fellow geeks who have written me off, because I don’t look the part or I haven’t played the same obscure titles that they have. Now I know that some of the bro’s that inhabit today’s current FPS games can be tough to deal with, but I think the good that comes with expanding our culture will far outweigh the negative.
Thanks Mike, that was an awesome analogy.
Certainly agree Michael, and like I said to Angelo the point of this article was to explain why we should face these uncomfortable inequalities and confront them. There certainly is no easy solution, and I think a lot of the ideas you discussed in your posts make sense. Raising those that come after us to be more tolerant and accepting of our differences will dramatically help to shape a better world, but that also means we must be willing to acknowledge that those differences exists.
I think that could work in some situations, but it would be much more difficult to employ that strategy when your pitted against a whole lobby of people. Simply being a jerk back will not end the cycle indefinitely, and will probably lead to more hate/problems in the future. Not saying it doesn’t have its place and I get you point, that things are never going to be the way we want them to on the internet.
But my point wasn’t that we should try to achieve that, it’s that we shouldn’t delude ourselves into creating an illusion of equality when it’s not there.
Please understand that this article is not directed at anyone particular person or persons. I’m not saying that any individual should be charged with the task of championing the cause of women’s equality in geek culture. I merely wanted to point out the possible dangers of adopting a gender neutral dialect, when gender inequalities still evidently preside in both our cultures and societies.
Yea lol weapons are nice, but nothing brings out the loot whore in me like beatiful armor sets.
Haven't seen/heard anything that would indicate that. I hope I'm wrong though because I love customizable armor. I'm with you I'd like a way to differentiate our characters.
Looking at these numbers one cannot help but ask, what does this mean for video games? Are we on the verge of a new trend? What will that trend be? Let us know what you think in the comments.
