The FPS genre and female characters/gamers

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**rubiksnoob**

blah blah blah, shouldn't you be making someone a sandwich?

**Monster Rain**

rubiksnoob wrote:blah blah blah, shouldn't you be making someone a sandwich?

I just literally did this, with my beer, all over my keyboard.

**BaronIveagh**

Somehow this seemed apropos...

Also relevant:

**Whatever1**

There's actually a reason why female characters haven't permeated the FPS shooter market as much as they have other genres. From a psychological perspective,in other game genres,you are playing a character. You are controlling the on-screen character through the adventure. In a FPS environment,while you are still technically playing a character,the game is set up so that you essentially ARE the main character. That's one reason why leads in FPS campaigns tend to be fairly generic,so that players can better imagine themselves in the lead role. Even though there has been an increase in female gamers through the years,the majority of gamers are males right now,so in a genre where the player essentially becomes the lead,it's not surprising that the lead tends to be male so the majority of gamers can better put themselves in their shoes...er...combat boots.

There have been some strides in which FPS campaigns in which the campaign either centers around a female lead[Metroid Prime and Perfect Dark] or players are given the option to play a female lead[Halo:Reach,Borderlands,Rainbow 6:Vegas 1+2]. That said,they are lagging behind in the genre,in part because the "sex sells" strategy doesn't work for a FPS character that sees a very limited amount of screen time in the course of a game.

With all that being said,it is somewhat of a glaring omission when FPS's don't have any female skins for multiplayer use. It takes minimal effort to make a female skin to keep female gamers happy.

**micahaphone**

Didn't Portal have a female main character named "Chell"? Then again, you could only see what she looks like by manipulating portals.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

BaronIveagh, you win this thread.

**Prawnkus**

Why are ghettos mostly black populated? Why are Americans generally represented as hicks and rednecks? It's a thing that I nor you will never understand.(keep in mind this is rhetorical and I am not racist.)

**Frazzled**

How can females be playing when they should be bringing tasty treats for the boy, rum and popcorn for me, and fresh steak for Tbone and the SHanker? There's only so much time in the day and you just overburdening the fairer sex!

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Melissia wrote:Yes, and I care how?

I'd like to play a badass female character in a shooter for once. It hasn't really happened very much, and usually you're right, she IS done for sex appeal. That doesn't mean that's how it has to be, nor does it mean that women can't be done properly in the setting. So why should I want to settle for less, again, while you don't have to?

Say, why not have a female soldier in a modern army? Is that realistic? Of course it is, it's not like it's not already happening, it's not like twenty minutes into the future it won't be even more common. And there's already at least one game that does it. Now if only Combat Arms wasn't inherently flawed for being styled off of Korean MMOs. But major releases never even bother to try, hell, most of hte time they don't even have female models in them period, not even as NPCs in single player. Because they are being lazy and they aren't marketing to us, mostly, and that is exactly what's pissing me off.

Or even a non-soldier. It's not like all modern games have to be about the army. Crimecraft comes to mind, but then again it's a 3PS rather than FPS, and it sucks anyway so it's hardly a good example, and besides, it also sexualizes its female PCs-- high heels, high skirts, and low cut tops are the order of the day. So a more appropriate one would be Left 4 Dead. Zoey was actually the most popular character in Left 4 dead (poll by Valve)-- there's pretty much noone like her. Yet nobody is taking advantage of this sort of popularity and adding these kinds of characters to their games, making me wonder about the (lack of) capability of the gaming industry's marketing departments.

Or hell, a badass female lead in a futuristic setting for an FPS game. These are a bit more common, from Samus Aran on the Wii, to Global Agenda on the PC, and a few more. Yet even here, where the rigors of fiction take place and lower the barrier for believability (yes, I've seen and heard some male gamers openly despise Zoey and Rochelle for this reason, as their sexist beliefs are so ingrained in their heads that they can't comprehend a woman actually doing anything heroic), it's incredibly rare to see a woman for any purpose other than sex appeal.

Hell, older games such as Quake or Unreal Tournament or Doom managed to do it, yet newer games seem incapable of it, the devs usually citing that it's too much work. Unreal Tournament 3, for example had believable female characters who were armored up like everyone else, and it's a pity the game itself was kinda flawed and unpopular. Halo Reach has them (and it basically only really means new voice acting there, which I'm perfectly fine with), but as before, I'm not going to be able to play THAT for a long time no matter how much I want it. Maybe I should try and sell my PS3 so I can buy a 360 because it's not like my PS3 has many games I actually want to play these days...

Will I still play FPS games? Of course I will, I like the genre for it gameplay.

I just haven't been enjoying it as much as I would like.

wow. Call me when you have a real problem.

**Monster Rain**

What if, for the sake of argument, the game was set up in the kitchen?

That way she could keep an eye on dinner and play at the same time?

**Frazzled**

Monster Rain wrote:

What if, for the sake of argument, the game was set up in the kitchen?

That way she could keep an eye on dinner and play at the same time?

Then the steak would get burnt. Do you really want TBone's steak to get burnt? What are you, some kind of sicko ruining a dog's steak? Perv!

**dogma**

I think I smell a new genre:

First Person Turkey Baster

**Iur_tae_mont**

They already have Cooking Mama for the Wii.

**Monster Rain**

Frazzled wrote:
Monster Rain wrote:

What if, for the sake of argument, the game was set up in the kitchen?

That way she could keep an eye on dinner and play at the same time?

Then the steak would get burnt. Do you really want TBone's steak to get burnt? What are you, some kind of sicko ruining a dog's steak? Perv!

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. Besides, if the lady of the house has extra energy that needs expending it should go toward knitting or baby-making.

dogma wrote:I think I smell a new genre:

First Person Turkey Baster

I really can't deal with how funny this is.

**BaronIveagh**

... what would be really funny is if I put any of you in a room with my dear sweet old mom and had you say any of this.

Well, the hospital bills, ammo bills, repair bills, and legal fees wouldn't be funny. But the youtube video would go viral in within an hour.

So far though, she hasn't figured out why I call her 'Boss'.

**Medium of Death**

I am against putting characters in for the sake of it. The game should work with either male or female leads.
It doesn't really effect me to be fair, as I have the jawline of a god, abs on my abs and have an assault cannon for an arm...

Look forward to portal 2, Chell is back. Although she is mute.

Zoey from Left for Dead is great, and she could count for this year if you include DLC.

**BearersOfSalvation**

Melissa is irate about women in a game either not being obvious enough or being too obviously female? STOP THE PRESSES!

Also, women can't be space marines because of biology. SHE WONT RESIST THIS!

**Emperors Faithful**

BearersOfSalvation wrote:Melissa is irate about women in a game either not being obvious enough or being too obviously female? STOP THE PRESSES!

Also, women can't be space marines because of biology. SHE WONT RESIST THIS!

Are you alright there?

**snurl**

So somebody slam out a quick patch that lets female gamers play as females. Then they will both be happy.

**Phryxis**

I don't get why all this worry about the gender of the main character in an FPS game. You can basically see part of the hand, and a big gun. Just assume it's a girl with man hands. Done.

**Geemoney**

I would choose not to play an FPS just because the lead was female.

**The Dreadnote**

Any particular reason?

**Frazzled**

BaronIveagh wrote:... what would be really funny is if I put any of you in a room with my dear sweet old mom and had you say any of this.

Well, the hospital bills, ammo bills, repair bills, and legal fees wouldn't be funny. But the youtube video would go viral in within an hour.

So far though, she hasn't figured out why I call her 'Boss'.

I think if your mom saw this thread, she was tell the poster to shut up and get a job you whining sack baby.

**rubiksnoob**

Call of Duty: Kitchen Warfare

Heed the Call!

**Tyyr**

Redbeard wrote:As an aside, be careful what you ask for too. My wife, and most of her friends (who are also gamers) are huge Final Fantasy fans. (Go figure, it's a game with a story and a plot, so the girls like it). But FF11 (I think) had some feature that was clearly aimed at women, (powers changed when the characters changed their outfits, or something like that), and they all hated that one, for that reason.

Seriously, what misogynistic moron thought that was a feature that women would be clamoring for? I'm not exactly Mr. Sensitivity and even I groan at hearing that.

There's two ways to include female leads. One is to target them to male players, ala tomb raider or tekken. Give her huge tits and show some skin and voila, female lead character. The other is to make realistic female characters that are obviously targeted for female players (Zoey in Left4Dead). Given that FPS games are marketed towards males (and you can complain all you want about how this isn't fair, but that's the economics of the situation), I'd be concerned that asking for more female leads results in more of the first type and not more of the second.

I'm pretty much a caveman and even I prefer Zoey to Lara. In the context of the game Zoey is far more appropriate for fighting zombies, Lara looks like she'd be more suited to a pole down at the Pussycat lounge. I'll take full plate over a chainmail bikini any day. Big tits and skimpy outfits are more likely to convince me not to buy a game than to put down $50 on it.

Monster Rain wrote:Not that it really matters. FPS protagonists tend to be males, because statistically men and women have different interests.

Which to me makes the lack of female characters in FPS' even more bizarre. I like girls. I like guns. Why isn't a "male dominated" genre over-run with girls carrying guns?

Geemoney wrote:I would choose not to play an FPS just because the main the lead was female.

You just prefer men that much do ya?

**asimo77**

Phryxis wrote:I don't get why all this worry about the gender of the main character in an FPS game. You can basically see part of the hand, and a big gun. Just assume it's a girl with man hands. Done.

Well what about that one game where you fought dinosaurs, and when you looked down you didn't see feet but your bewbz!! There was even a little heart tatto on them that was your life indicator. What the hell was the name of that game?

**notprop**

Hmm strange thread?

Surely the Bewbs would change the FPS completely. Jiggling as they would be at the botom of the screen pushing the arms and gun to the sides of the screen and leaving no where for the score and ammo HUD.

Accuracy on the move would be attrocious and no more lying face down when sniping!

**BaronIveagh**

Frazzled wrote:
BaronIveagh wrote:... what would be really funny is if I put any of you in a room with my dear sweet old mom and had you say any of this.

Well, the hospital bills, ammo bills, repair bills, and legal fees wouldn't be funny. But the youtube video would go viral in within an hour.

So far though, she hasn't figured out why I call her 'Boss'.

I think if your mom saw this thread, she was tell the poster to shut up and get a job you whining sack baby.

That's what she said when I was stabbed. Minus the job part.

**sexiest_hero**

I don't care, I'd love to see a woman in a fps, but then she'd just be a short skirt or short shorts. I'd rather have no woman in a game than some 12 year old slab of jail bait. Nobody would play a game where the female lead looked like a scarred sister of battle, and that's really a shame. It seems that games like Medal of honor would have females in them.

But hell I'm still waiting for a Black lead in an RPG or anygame where his names isn't Mace barrel Blunthammer, Or D-Brick, T-bone.

**Frazzled**

BaronIveagh wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
BaronIveagh wrote:... what would be really funny is if I put any of you in a room with my dear sweet old mom and had you say any of this.

Well, the hospital bills, ammo bills, repair bills, and legal fees wouldn't be funny. But the youtube video would go viral in within an hour.

So far though, she hasn't figured out why I call her 'Boss'.

I think if your mom saw this thread, she was tell the poster to shut up and get a job you whining sack baby.

That's what she said when I was stabbed. Minus the job part.

I see you mom and my mom graduated from the same school of empathy and parenting.

on the positive she makes a mean cornbread.

**halonachos**

Okay, so you want some more female leads/characters in first person shooters. That's understandable.

First off; Battlefield Bad Company, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and "insert 'realistic' army shooter here" are vaguely based off of realistic military ranks/traditions/history and last time I checked no woman led a charge except for Boudica, so when they make a game based on Boudica charging at some Romans we'll go ahead and put her in there.

Secondly, the notion of you not caring about the fact that some games are based on books about male characters is really upsetting. In fact, screw Boudica, she's a dude in the game now because who cares if she was a female in real life.

Thirdly, sex does sell.

Fourthly, first person shooters mean that you can't exactly see yourself unless you look in a mirror and even then the mirror is usually horribly done. So yes, you can be a chick, but you wouldn't be able to see it.

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sexiest_hero wrote:I don't care, I'd love to see a woman in a fps, but then she'd just be a short skirt or short shorts. I'd rather have no woman in a game than some 12 year old slab of jail bait. Nobody would play a game where the female lead looked like a scarred sister of battle, and that's really a shame. It seems that games like Medal of honor would have females in them.

But hell I'm still waiting for a Black lead in an RPG or anygame where his names isn't Mace barrel Blunthammer, Or D-Brick, T-bone.

I believe the marine character in the new Aliens vs Predator was black.

I also believe that this is relevant.

**Geemoney**

Tyyr wrote:

Geemoney wrote:I would choose not to play an FPS just because the main the lead was female.

You just prefer men that much do ya?

That's funny.

I prefer playing a man over playing a women; why because I'm a man. It also bothers me when men play female characters in MMO's. I also don't like watching movies where the lead hero is a female (like Tomb Raider).
My wife says I'm sexist.....I'm pretty okay with that.