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[jon bones]

What train should we be stopping if i may ask?

progress.

diversity and fair representation in gaming are finally getting their time in the spotlight and it's clear that it's working.

despite goobergates and the "men's rights" kids throwing hissy fits on the internet, developers and publishers understand what's going on: real gamers want a more diverse cast of player characters.

next stop: more colored people! ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

 

[Kinyou]

how in the hell do boob physics become a bug?

I'm guessing there is boob physics, it just isn't meant to be that over the top.

 

[User 73706]

progress.

diversity and fair representation in gaming are finally getting their time in the spotlight and it's clear that it's working.

despite goobergates and the "men's rights" kids throwing hissy fits on the internet, developers and publishers understand what's going on: real gamers want a more diverse cast of player characters.

next stop: more colored people! ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

can't wait for some to interpret this as "they're trying to take away all the white men!"

 

[Vlaphor]

Progress and diversity are great things, but every single instance of fanservice is not a case of " leaps back".

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

Different tastes and all but my main point is that neither her facial features nor the way she's presented is meant to represent a dream babe character to ogle on. I also like Faith, Quiet and Lara as strong female characters but there is a clear difference in the level of how attractive they are or should look (on a sexual level).



If you don't see this then we can just agree to disagree.

Yeah I was surprised when I saw her. Have to give GG credit for not only going with a female protagonist, but not making her model-thin or model-pretty as well.

 

[Endo Punk]

This is a good day. All seem to be strong and well realised women without pandering to men. Aloy in particular has my attention, great design in an awesome new IP with robot dinosaurs.

 

[wsippel]

next stop: more colored people! ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

I don't see all games being MMOs in five to ten years.

 

[SliceSabre]

how in the hell do boob physics become a bug?

The same way there's bugs that make characters naked or make their faces invisible but you can still see their eyes and tongue.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Oh the irony. Just as a misogynistic hate group gained some relevance for a couple of weeks the in last year this happens.
Awesome.

 

[thelastcrusader]

Sooo excites for Hellblade!!!

Spoiler

And Cammy for obvious reasons

 

[Finaika]

I don't know. I'm getting really used to having physics-modeled secondary animations in games. Like I tried Life is Strange the other day and it was really bothering me that the main character's hair looked like a plastic helmet. Chun Li's breast movement doesn't have any subtlety to it, but maybe it doesn't need to.

Dunno why this sentence made me laugh.

 

[SolidSnakex]

how in the hell do boob physics become a bug?

Because if boob physics exist then it's possible for them to glitch just like any other type of physics. Like you could run over a body in Bloodborne and it'll fly into the air because the physics glitch.

One interesting note about boob physics is that earlier this year Kotaku posted an article about a developer that was doing research for their game and found that female gamers found is just as stupid to have DoA like physics as it was to have no physics at all

"Across the board, [the response from women] wasn't a neutral response, it was a negative response," Alex said. Curiously, the negative response occurred both when the physics were unrealistic, and when the physics were turned off. It seems as if there's a very fine line to walk when it comes to breast physics: they can't be too exaggerated or too toned down without having people feel as if something is wrong. You might think of it as "the uncanny valley of breasts."

http://kotaku.com/how-video-game-breasts-are-made-and-why-they-can-go-so-1687753475

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

"The uncanny valley of breasts"

What remarkable creatures we humans be

 

[Figboy79]

I was just talking about this with my wife yesterday. On the show floor, not just the press conferences, I was surprised at how many games I was seeing that had female protagonists. It was really awesome to see, and I hope it continues.

 

[BPoole]

can't wait for some to interpret this as "they're trying to take away all the white men!"

You can't wait for someone to call it exactly what it is?

I'm all for more diversity in games and agree there are far too many white male protagonists, but calling for an outright extinction of white men in video games is ridiculous

 

[Agremont]

You can't wait for someone to call it exactly what it is?

I'm all for more diversity in games and agree there are far too many white male protagonists, but calling for an outright extinction of white men in video games is ridiculous

Who's called for an outright extinction of white men in video games?

 

[Jigorath]

It's nice to see gaming finally moving forward on diversity.

 

[BPoole]

Who's called for an outright extinction of white men in video games?

"Ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years."

 

[Figboy79]

I'm hoping this paves the way for more women/men of color as protagonists as well. Remember Me was a really cool game, with a badass woman of color lead, and I want more like it!

Athletic brunette women aside, I'm so happy we are getting change. My wife flipped out when she saw Horizon, and that the lead was a female. It made her day.

 

[Envelope]

"Ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years."

you don't see the difference that word makes?

 

[shoreu]

progress.

diversity and fair representation in gaming are finally getting their time in the spotlight and it's clear that it's working.

despite goobergates and the "men's rights" kids throwing hissy fits on the internet, developers and publishers understand what's going on: real gamers want a more diverse cast of player characters.

next stop: more colored people! ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

Hmm i read your original post wrong i'm glad i'm not the only person who feels this way

 

[Stone Ocean]

you don't see the difference that word makes?

So every game will need multiple playable characters to satisfy racial quotas?

Variety doesn't mean we should stop having white protagonists, it means we should have more protagonists of other races. Not less, more.

 

[wsippel]

you don't see the difference that word makes?

Character driven games usually have only one playable character and that character is part of the narrative. Asking for multiple characters in every game is just as nonsensical as limiting what a character can be.

 

[Wiktor]

, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

That's utterly terrible vision of the future.

 

[Temporal Mess]

I look forward to the future of gaming more and more, tbh.

Soon, maybe we'll also have more characters that aren't white or fetishized Asian women.

 

[John Kowalski]

Emily looks super cool and mean.

 

[Kinyou]

I look forward to the future of gaming more and more, tbh.

Soon, maybe we'll also have more characters that aren't white or fetishized Asian women.

Are you alluding to Faith? I don't see what's fetishized about her.

 

[Nozem]

I really like Horizon's protagonist design. The 'regular' look (instead of the common supermodel heroine) makes it more relatable/believable.

 

[Startropic1]

progress.

diversity and fair representation in gaming are finally getting their time in the spotlight and it's clear that it's working.

despite goobergates and the "men's rights" kids throwing hissy fits on the internet, developers and publishers understand what's going on: real gamers want a more diverse cast of player characters.

next stop: more colored people! ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

I guess you need a reminder:
Barrett from FF7 (PS1)
Stranglehold (PS3/360)
Rise To Honor (PS2)
Sleeping Dogs (PS3)
True Crime: Streets Of LA (PS2/GC/Xbox)
Shadow Man (PS1/N64)
Prey (PS3/360/PC)
Mortal Kombat Special Forces (You play as Jax) (PS1)
The entire Street Fighter series (One of the two primary characters is Ryu, who isn't a "white" man)
The entire Assassin's Creed series (None of the protagonists, not even the future guy yo play as or the Assassin you use in the Americas, are "white" men.)
The entire Prince of Persia series
Magic Carpet series
The plethora of games in which the protagonist isn't even human.

I could keep listing games but I think I've made my point. I haven't even gotten into the ones with female characters, and there are plenty of those as well. Lack of diversity in video games is a myth. In the vast majority of video games, the protagonists aren't even human. Maybe you would like Insomniac to make Ratchet a non-"white" male or female?

My only concern with all the female protagonists in these new E3 games is whether or not the developers felt forced to make their protagonist female. If they always intended the games to be that way, then more power to them. These look like very interesting characters, so I sincerely hope they didn't feel obligated to go this direction. Never force art to meet the status quo.

 

[v0yce]

I really like Horizon's protagonist design. The 'regular' look (instead of the common supermodel heroine) makes it more relatable/believable.

Agreed. Having an attractive woman fighting mechanical dinosaurs in the future with a bow would be ridiculous.

 

[Deified Data]

Agreed. Having an attractive woman fighting mechanical dinosaurs in the future with a bow would be ridiculous.

She's not attractive? Seems subjective to me.

My only concern with all the female protagonists in these new E3 games is whether or not the developers felt forced to make their protagonist female. If they always intended the games to be that way, then more power to them. These look like very interesting characters, so I sincerely hope they didn't feel obligated to go this direction. Never force art to meet the status quo.

Can someone link me to this all-powerful feminist lobby that may or may not be twisting the arms of devs for greater female representation in gaming? Who are they? How do they have more influence than the very real forces of focus testing and profit margins? Why is everyone so concerned?

 

[AAK]

A lot of posters sure do come off that way. Look at how Cammy is being body shamed.

Sigh... I guess it won't hurt to educate yourself.

 

[Ragnorok64]

Not to reduce the clear progress toward equal representation but some franchises are taking leaps back

[tweet]https://twitter.com/KyleOrl/status/610982634286530560[/tweet]

Street Fighter V, first you had my curiosity, now you have my attention.

 

[Tapejara]

Yeah I was surprised when I saw her. Have to give GG credit for not only going with a female protagonist, but not making her model-thin or model-pretty as well.

GG has had some pretty solid female characters (in terms of design):

Jammer - Killzone 3

Echo - Killzone: Shadow Fall

 

[jon bones]

I guess you need a reminder:

I could keep listing games but I think I've made my point. I haven't even gotten into the ones with female characters, and there are plenty of those as well. Lack of diversity in video games is a myth. In the vast majority of video games, the protagonists aren't even human. Maybe you would like Insomniac to make Ratchet a non-"white" male or female?

My only concern with all the female protagonists in these new E3 games is whether or not the developers felt forced to make their protagonist female. If they always intended the games to be that way, then more power to them. These look like very interesting characters, so I sincerely hope they didn't feel obligated to go this direction. Never force art to meet the status quo.

meaningless anecdotal evidence followed by a straw-man argument, yawn. unless you show me some actual numbers, your idea that "Lack of diversity in video games is a myth" doesn't have any merit. i do love the straw-man follow up about Insomniac though lol

i know you're "concerned with all the female protagonists" but these are AAA games we're talking about, not indie pieces of art. the indie scene is booming with female fronted games, which shows that when given the option, devs like inclusiveness.

lastly, the "status quo" is a bunch of white dudes, who ya foolin

also...

That's utterly terrible vision of the future.

You can't wait for someone to call it exactly what it is?

I'm all for more diversity in games and agree there are far too many white male protagonists, but calling for an outright extinction of white men in video games is ridiculous

no need to feel threatened, guys. plenty of white males in every piece of media America puts out lol.

 

[Infinite]

Hopefully we get to see more black women

 

[Karkador]

I guess you need a reminder:

Barrett from FF7 (PS1)
Stranglehold (PS3/360)
Rise To Honor (PS2)
Sleeping Dogs (PS3)
True Crime: Streets Of LA (PS2/GC/Xbox)
Shadow Man (PS1/N64)
Prey (PS3/360/PC)
Mortal Kombat Special Forces (You play as Jax) (PS1)
The entire Street Fighter series (One of the two primary characters is Ryu, who isn't a "white" man)
The entire Assassin's Creed series (None of the protagonists, not even the future guy yo play as or the Assassin you use in the Americas, are "white" men.)
The entire Prince of Persia series
Magic Carpet series

I could keep listing games but I think I've made my point.

Your list looks like it's already scraping at the bottom of the barrel to find examples.
A lot of these games use stereotypes of the people they're supposedly representing.

I haven't even gotten into the ones with female characters, and there are plenty of those as well. Lack of diversity in video games is a myth. In the vast majority of video games, the protagonists aren't even human. Maybe you would like Insomniac to make Ratchet a non-"white" male or female?

Let's not compare playing as a different race or gender to playing as something that isn't human

My only concern with all the female protagonists in these new E3 games is whether or not the developers felt forced to make their protagonist female. If they always intended the games to be that way, then more power to them. These look like very interesting characters, so I sincerely hope they didn't feel obligated to go this direction. Never force art to meet the status quo.

Artists working in a professional capacity like this are "forced" to do many things every day. By that, I mean that they have a job, and working on a project as a team means that they are taking feedback and orders from other people, about EVERYTHING. This whole thing about "they were forced to do it" is nonsense.

 

[jon bones]

Your list looks like it's already scraping at the bottom of the barrel to find examples.
A lot of these games use stereotypes of the people they're supposedly representing.

a quick look at his (short) post history highlights his goobery agenda:

Gaming has been inclusive for women from the beginning. For starters go learn about Roberta Williams, not only did she create King's Quest, among other classic games, but she created the graphic adventure game genre with Mystery House and is the FOUNDER of Sierra, one of the most prolific PC gaming developers in history.

That's just one of many examples I can give of women impacting video game history. The whole feminist gaming thing is a crock, and doing just a little research proves it.

So, you think there is a problem with inclusiveness for women, yet in a time that by your logic would have been the worst for women in gaming, a woman was not only able to create an entire genre, but she was able to start a highly successful game development company. This ONE case highly contradicts your logic. If this inclusiveness problem really existed, her ventures should have been a complete failure, but they were in fact highly successful.

 

[BPoole]

meaningless anecdotal evidence followed by a straw-man argument, yawn. unless you show me some actual numbers, your idea that "Lack of diversity in video games is a myth" doesn't have any merit. i do love the straw-man follow up about Insomniac though lol

i know you're "concerned with all the female protagonists" but these are AAA games we're talking about, not indie pieces of art. the indie scene is booming with female fronted games, which shows that when given the option, devs like inclusiveness.

lastly, the "status quo" is a bunch of white dudes, who ya foolin

also...





no need to feel threatened, guys. plenty of white males in every piece of media America puts out lol.

At least you're not denying that you're calling for white males to be taken out of video games. That's all I needed to hear. Thanks for your reply

 

[jon bones]

At least you're not denying that you're calling for white males to be taken out of video games. That's all I needed to hear. Thanks for your reply

i mean i would call for taking white males out of everything but apparently "inciting genocide" is still sort of a deal breaker for most employers

 

[BPoole]

i mean i would call for taking white males out of everything but apparently "inciting genocide" is still sort of a deal breaker for most employers

Gotcha. Well thanks for not even attempting to veil your racism and hatred towards white people. You left nothing to the imagination

 

[Karkador]

Maybe we should get this thread back on topic

 

[jon bones]

Gotcha. Well thanks for not even attempting to veil your racism and hatred towards white people. You left nothing to the imagination

i thought absurdist humor would work where your basic reading comprehension has failed, but i guess that was a swing and a miss too.

i've never said "take all white males out of gaming." if you re-read my original post (and the poster who quoted you and pointed out where you misunderstood) you'll see that my ideal vision of gaming (and it appears to be one that many AAA devs share) is that in 5-10 years we will see a distinct change video game casts. being forced to play as a white male will become a rarity as opposed to the case in the vast majority of games.

it'll be a welcome change, and i'm happy we're seeing the start of it.

Spoiler

and to pull the reverse of the "my best friend is black" - my wife is white

 

[BPoole]

i thought absurdist humor would work where your basic reading comprehension has failed, but i guess that was a swing and a miss too.

i've never said "take all white males out of gaming." if you re-read my original post (and the poster who quoted you and pointed out where you misunderstood) you'll see that my ideal vision of gaming (and it appears to be one that many AAA devs share) is that in 5-10 years we will see a distinct change video game casts. being forced to play as a white male will become a rarity as opposed to the case in the vast majority of games.

it'll be a welcome change, and i'm happy we're seeing the start of it.

Spoiler

and to pull the reverse of the "my best friend is black" - my wife is white

You said that playing as a white male protagonist would be all but dead. I'm not the only one scratching my head at your comment either, and your later post with absurdist humor clear racism made it look like you're doubling down on it.

Anyway, I was just going to point out in this thread that not only were there more female characters this E3, but there were also a lot more female presenters and developers this year compared to previous E3s.

 

[jon bones]

You said that playing as a white male protagonist would be all but dead.

yeah you're not really getting it

ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

big difference for those not just looking to be offended

 

[Agremont]

Agreed. Having an attractive woman fighting mechanical dinosaurs in the future with a bow would be ridiculous.

Looks plenty traditionally attractive to me. Just less make-up.

 

[ChamplooJones]

Agreed. Having an attractive woman fighting mechanical dinosaurs in the future with a bow would be ridiculous.

She's not attractive?

 

[cerulily]

Funny story, I was watching the e3 conference with someone I usually consider a friend when Horizon came up this exchange happened...

Sometimes I don't even...

 

[User 73706]

You said that playing as a white male protagonist would be all but dead. I'm not the only one scratching my head at your comment either, and your later post with absurdist humor clear racism made it look like you're doubling down on it.

Anyway, I was just going to point out in this thread that not only were there more female characters this E3, but there were also a lot more female presenters and developers this year compared to previous E3s.

ideally, having a white male as the only protagonist in a video game will be all but gone in 5-10 years.

"Ideally, video games [the media form in general, not on a game-by-game basis] will not exclusively have white male protagonists. Hopefully, other races and women can have equal representation alongside white male protagonists." That's what he said. He's not saying "hopefully white males will be completely out of the equation in 5-10 years." Come on, now. He's asking that white males being the dominant, one-and-only option will be a thing of the past. But hey, yeah, "muh white boys" and all that.

 

[Hahs]

Looks plenty traditionally attractive to me. Just less make-up.

Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder; Even Grace Jones was attractive in Conan the Barbarian - but then again any female that can hold her own is attractive - so that's just about all of them - to me.