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GirlGAF |OT 2| Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Eve?
- Thread starter Devolution
- Start date
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
Fighting games are popular with women because they're one of the few games where they can be women who kick ass. They're sexualized? Sure, absolutely. But we're not precisely in a position where we can play any sort of game where we can play as a women who is strong and is the one kicking ass and taking names.
With my female friends I've always had a much easier time introducing them to fighting games (beyond strategy games like Age of Empires or stuff like The Sims) than any other. Even RPGs. Because most of my female friends don't really want to play long stuff that takes itself too seriously, even though I'm sure I could convince a couple to play through Dragon Age: Origins. They like fighting games. They can play right there, with a strong woman, and beat someone twice her size. Sure, maybe her boobs bounce too much, but for a lot of people that's part of the childishness inherent to videogames. The point is, they can, for once, play the closest thing to a female power fantasy. Why do you think Tomb Raider games were so popular with women, despite Lara Croft's notorious tits? Because she's one of the few fictional women universally acknowledged to be strong. Almost all my female friends have played at one point or another Tekken or Street Fighter, but Call of Duty or Halo? pffft
When we get to the point where strong female characters are commonplace, then more casual gamers will be picky. But right now? If you want to play a female power fantasy you'll have to take the ridiculous with it.
With my female friends I've always had a much easier time introducing them to fighting games (beyond strategy games like Age of Empires or stuff like The Sims) than any other. Even RPGs. Because most of my female friends don't really want to play long stuff that takes itself too seriously, even though I'm sure I could convince a couple to play through Dragon Age: Origins. They like fighting games. They can play right there, with a strong woman, and beat someone twice her size. Sure, maybe her boobs bounce too much, but for a lot of people that's part of the childishness inherent to videogames. The point is, they can, for once, play the closest thing to a female power fantasy. Why do you think Tomb Raider games were so popular with women, despite Lara Croft's notorious tits? Because she's one of the few fictional women universally acknowledged to be strong. Almost all my female friends have played at one point or another Tekken or Street Fighter, but Call of Duty or Halo? pffft
When we get to the point where strong female characters are commonplace, then more casual gamers will be picky. But right now? If you want to play a female power fantasy you'll have to take the ridiculous with it.
Al-ibn Kermit
Junior Member
Mirror's Edge is my power fantasy and I'm not even a girl.
idlethreats
Member
GAF is showing me ads for Chris Brown's new album. Um, no. O_O
No thanks GAF...no thanks.
Sounds like friends I'd like to have had at one point.
Um it is ok for guys to post in here occasionally right? I'm not trying to intrude if not I know people want their space sometimes
.With this I will say as far as fighting games go they have never really tried to hide it either,well the 3d one's anyway. When people usually say a game is more serious they are mainly talking about sex appeal not being the main focus of the game. Games like tekken and Soul calibur has never tried to hide its as its been there from day one. Not like the majority of characters in fighters have clothes you'd actually wanna fight in either kinda like superheroes. In soul calibur case there's only like 3 people wearing armor and its a weapons based game. Surprising taki actually wears protection even though her clothes are skin tight she has chainmail on which is more useful that having no shirt on like the majority of the characters in the game.
You should introduce them to Metroid.
Mineshaft_Gap
4077th
One of the things I like about live chat support is that I have the guts to say things I wouldn't ordinarily say.
Devolution
Member
DOA is popular because it doesn't front. Other games purport to be serious immersive adventures and then you see some dude in full fledged armor while the girl's tits, ass and mid-drift are out. DOA was always more honest.
Femmeworth
Banned
I find the fashion in Dead or Alive 5 to be more offensive than the T&A.
Even in games like DOA the men generally look much more respectable than the women. :\
Devolution
Member
Yeah I don't like the look of any of the DOA characters really. There are few female characters in fighting games I like the aesthetics of anyway. I think one of the few is Hilde even though she was still creating under the concept of "appeal" just from a different perspective. But it doesn't change that she's probably the best example of an appealing good looking character that's somewhat reasonable and covered up. Her personality is pretty flat though, but it's a fighting game. It's hard to find a female character for me in games that's strong, professional/competent, has an attire that makes sense and has depth. You might get 3/4 of the four but it's exceptionally hard to get all 4.
Do they? DOA characters in general are kind of bland and they all wear stupid clothing so I don't know about that one. It was a series still created for males so meh you might be right, but fighting game fashion in general has never been a strong point from a practical perspective weather male or female IMO.
Well it depends as it seems like all SC designs were made for appeal first and for-most. They all pretty much have zero depth to them but what they wear makes any of them who they are. I'm guessing its more the sexual appeal that makes you angry though.
Devolution
Member
Not really angry just kind of "welp there goes some more appealing to baser instincts rather than designing a well rounded character." When game designers talk up immersion they must mean they want people like me to ignore the obvious flaws in their female characters.
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
I haven't tried, but I can't see convincing a casual gamer to play Metroid Prime and I don't really think they'd like Super Metroid's aeshetic. Besides I think part of why they like the others is because they actually see the women.
And I'm sorry, but in my fighting games I like my female fighters somewhat slutty, insane, and evil as all fuck. That's not to say I don't enjoy Dark Souls' unisex armor, but I want my fighting game characters with some charm to them.
That is interesting, from what I've see rpg's seem to at least have it right when it comes to female armor. When it comes to fighters the problem is everyone with armor on is to generic and the look makes the fighter more so than the personality. As I was kinda explaining to devo it seems for fighters neither gender comes equipped for combat if we look at all the fighters. I think these fighting game developers need to go back to the drawing board on how they do battle attire in general I think.
Lol least your honest, but yeah charm is important because things would be generic otherwise and it wouldn't really sell, just look at the mma games. Ok i'm done not trying to derail the topic I just found this an interesting conversation is all carry on
.Edit:Waitaminute The anti-monitor? Are you named after that villain from DC?
Femmeworth
Banned
Yes Anti, we are quite aware you want everything to pander to your lady bits.
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
Of course I'm honest, I have one in my avatar.Lol least your honest, but yeah charm is important because things would be generic otherwise and it wouldn't really sell, just look at the mma games. Ok i'm done not trying to derail the topic I just found this an interesting conversation is all carry on
Edit:Waitaminute The anti-monitor? Are you named after that villain from DC?
And yes, that's the name. I've been told we share an uncanny resemblance.
Yes Anti, we are quite aware you want everything to pander to your lady bits.
I just like the look.
I'd totally rock a Tira cosplay if I knew how to do these things.
GAF would explode.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Heh, my wife actually enjoyed the outfit collecting part of that game. The first one anyway.
I tryed to play that game .... I turned it off because the game was ... sticky
=D
=D
Devolution
Member
You can have your slutty, insane and evil ones as long as others are also given a chance. It's not one or the other.
Figures as much cause I only know of one Anti-Monitor. I don't know you but you very well could give off his vibe.
Lol So you've always been a badass woman huh? If you do decide to make sure its one of the SCV designs I'd except nothing else.
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
I never said that and you know that perfectly, but those would be my pick.
I'd totally be up for some girl wearing this and fighting with a Zweihander
Devolution
Member
I never said that and you know that perfectly, but those would be my pick.
I'd totally be up for some girl wearing this and fighting with a Zweihander
=p
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Just think of it like when Toonami painted swimsuits on the girls during the hot springs scene in the original Tenchi Muyo.
Devolution
Member
Ugh. So the older I get the more invested I am in helping to search for my mom's birth parents since it's my medical history/background too and it's all so very shady. Basically she was adopted right after the war and apparently standards were a bit lax because of how many women wanted to adopt children. My grandmother found out about a woman who was looking to give her baby up through a fellow Church member and nurse. 6 days after she was born she was adopted right out of the hospital without the necessary "agency" protocol. Women could still however claim their children within a year. After a year the adoptive parents could opt to have the birth certificate altered and the original sealed. California has closed birth records so all my mom can do is opt to ask for non-identifying information, however little. The information provided from her adoptive mother was barely anything and scouring the internet on what little info I have to go on sucks. Oh and the hospital she was born in closed in the 70s. Uggggh.
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
Idea would be SCV.
And that's an... interesting thing to say.
leenes.
stahp.
That Church couldn't give any info?
Devolution
Member
Nope. I think that's one of the avenues my mom tried. My next step is to see if she was baptized and if they have records of it since she told me the hospital was Catholic. See if that goes anywhere. Like many possible roads though it could be a dead end.
SOuls game always surprise me with their female design, considering they come from Japanese developers. I despise slutty characters, always have, always will! I want women that dress like real/normal women like maybe Uncharted girls or the Mirror's Edge girl. Which reminds me, I want ME2 so bad, it needs to happen!
Why do you all mostly do the thing about wanting a guy more because you know he'll reject you? And yet there's a non-threatening guy who's been hovering around you for the last hour. Working on a poem about your magnet:
'Gurl, dat magnet that you have between your legs
Turns my iron penis towards that thing'.
I don't know where the next stanza will lead, but I'm hoping to factor in iron in a smelting factory and guilt.
'Gurl, dat magnet that you have between your legs
Turns my iron penis towards that thing'.
I don't know where the next stanza will lead, but I'm hoping to factor in iron in a smelting factory and guilt.
I want Mirror's Edge 2 if they won't let you pick up guns. Every part of that game where it's not expecting you to use a gun is amazing.
We can.
Lol so normal woman don't dress slutty...okay, I mean sluts are still normal people to you don't know how they ended up the way they did. Also depending on the country and timeline anything could be seen as normal. 25 years from now woman not wearing a shirt might be as normal as a guy not wearing it. Also souls character models are without personality all of them so it doesn't count but i'll give you Mirrors edge not ME2 either because they are all generic looking people to.
I don't know what cultural relativity has to do with video games being made for cultures that don't have women walking around with their boobs practically hanging out.
Devolution
Member
There's a difference between sex appeal and realistic immersion. Like let's be honest, is the military in the Halo universe going to make (or let an AI choose) a naked female form to give its spartan directions? Or in better comparisons, rpgs, the male characters are in full body armor while the females have their cleavage, mid drifts and thighs exposed. Despite the arguments that it's "just fiction anyway", this never applies to the male designs.
shanshan310
Member
There are a quite a few games that are bucking the trend (either with realistic clothing for both genders, or neither), but yeah.
I guess when I was younger I never noticed the sex appeal side to a lot of girls costumes. My friends and I used to play doa, and it was more about the cute feminine costumes and that there were so many female characters to choose from! I guess to an extent I still feel that way. The pandering can be annoying, but mostly its either easy to ignore or hilarious. Having more realistic characters a la Mirror's Edge or Elena from Uncharted is a nice change though.
Agreed. That game was so SO fun... when you were parkouring. I feel like it was just a prototype for things to come, and a sequel could perfect everything. But the sequel never came
The Anti-Monitor
Banned
Soul Calibur does have some male characters designed purely as fanservice.
Not gonna bother with the "Ugh sluts normal people plz" thing.
Devolution
Member
No doubt SC does but that's a game where everyone is ridiculous and not a very good example.
I'd personally like a ME game with better hand-to-hand combat for some reason. Although less or no guns would be fine.
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
Hrm I never really minded the designs too much in fighting games since I focus more on how it plays and if I find it fun or not. That said my mains for a few things aren't that revealing.
This results when you click on the Odin Quest ads on NeoGAF.
No wonder we have trouble getting women to enjoy games when someone goes "Let's do the female version of Rob Liefield's Captain America"
No wonder we have trouble getting women to enjoy games when someone goes "Let's do the female version of Rob Liefield's Captain America"
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