• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

#1reasonwhy - Exposing sexism in game industry

G

Gomu Gomu

Member
https://twitter.com/search/#1reasonwhy

It’s always healthy to seek out new perspectives, especially when they're coming from folks whose life experiences couldn’t be more different than your own, and it challenges your assumptions.

It’s why I’d strongly encourage you to scroll through the #1reasonwhy hashtag on Twitter, a movement over the weekend to encourage women in game design to relay stories from being a female in the video game industry, and why it can be so hard.
Click to expand...

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/gamin...ess-with-1reasonwhy-movement-on-twitter/4458/

Other blogs covering it:
http://kotaku.com/5963528/heres-a-d...-the-games-business-have-to-deal-with-in-2012

http://www.destructoid.com/twitter-reveals-why-there-aren-t-many-women-in-videogames-239385.phtml

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...ReasonWhy_exposes_sexism_in_game_industry.php
 
S

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
I noticed quite a lot of my friends on Twitter posting about this today. Pretty shocking (yet effective) movement, really. Can't believe some of the shit they've had to put up with.
 
S

scar tissue

Banned
Mirror's Edge, featuring one of gaming's most memorable protagonists regardless of gender, was (surprise!) written by a woman.
Click to expand...
How about no? Faith really isn't anything remarkable, apart from the fact that she is one of few female protagonists with normal proportions.
 
W

WiiredShawn

Member
scar tissue said:
How about no? Faith really isn't anything remarkable, apart from the fact that she is one of few female protagonists with normal proportions.
Click to expand...

From a writing perspective, maybe she's not a showcase, but I'd say her normal proportions and an athletic ability unmatched by like 99% of the population (male or female) render her pretty remarkable.
 
S

shinobi602

Member
It's not like devs are going to start putting females in main roles in games just because people start complaining.

If they have an idea for their game, they're (hopefully) going to stick with it. If I was a developer, I probably wouldn't even give this a second thought.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Looking forward to reading about this! I'm glad the issue of sexism in games isn't just going to fade away and new forgotten like some people want it to.

WiiredShawn said:
From a characterization perspective, maybe she's not a showcase, but I'd say her normal proportions and an athletic ability unmatched by like 99% of the population (male or female) render her pretty remarkable.
Click to expand...

scar tissue said:
How about no? Faith really isn't anything remarkable, apart from the fact that she is one of few female protagonists with normal proportions.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Faith is one of the best female protagonists simply by virtue of not being a completely terrible one. On an absolute scale, we've still got a long way to go.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
WiiredShawn said:
From a writing perspective, maybe she's not a showcase, but I'd say her normal proportions and an athletic ability unmatched by like 99% of the population (male or female) render her pretty remarkable.
Click to expand...

What does this have to do with a female writer? There were no strong characters in Mirror's Edge anyway. The colors used in the environments in that game were more memorable than any of the "humans".

Sexism in the game industry is a much more pressing matter when it actually involves humans (employees) and not collections of pixels.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
Anyone else getting a massive chill down their spine?

Anyway, something has to be done about this asap, this sexual harassment versus women has to stop.
 
H

HoosTrax

Member
#1ReasonWhy because your studio never orders any women’s t-shirts in swag orders, and certainly not in sizes bigger than XS or S.
Click to expand...
Pet peeve of mine. Unisex sizes don't translate into anything on a women's size scale. Other than nightgown size maybe...

I'm doing free advertising for your game by wearing your swag, at least make it look presentable.

This is particularly weird in my mind when some games like TF2 actually have a sizeable female playerbase.
 
S

Schweinehund

Member
Wasn't there a kickstarter for something similar to this? Wonder if that went through.

Seems like a good cause. I enjoy characters like Alyx Vance, and Ellie from last of us seems to be well written. With stuff like gears out there must not be that much of a female voice in a lot of hit games.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
As I mentioned in the GiantBomb thread, Elena is of realistic proportions and written by a woman. Nathan Drake? Also, mostly written by a woman.

So, no, Faith is not 'good' by virtue of existing.

also, Dahlia was always a cool villain written by Roberta Williams.
 
R

Raging Spaniard

If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
Yeah, from my time working in Utah I feel like I could fill a book with stories like these.
 
H

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
WiiredShawn said:
From a writing perspective, maybe she's not a showcase, but I'd say her normal proportions and an athletic ability unmatched by like 99% of the population (male or female) render her pretty remarkable.
Click to expand...

Well that still doesnt make her memorable.
 
Majukun

Majukun

Member
faith is not a good character.
she isn't memorable either

and pretty much 90% of characters in videogames are stereotypes,both male and female.
 
N

netBuff

Member
aeolist said:
Do not read the comments on any of these stories

Giantbomb may be OK though
Click to expand...

Absolutely not, GiantBomb's comments on this story are absolutely terrible: They should close the comment section at least for this story.

Majukun said:
faith is not a good character.
she isn't memorable either

and pretty much 90% of characters in videogames are stereotypes,both male and female.
Click to expand...

She is very memorable: Upon seeing the article picture, I immediately recognized the character.
 
S

Skyzard

Banned
WiiredShawn said:
From a writing perspective, maybe she's not a showcase, but I'd say her normal proportions and an athletic ability unmatched by like 99% of the population (male or female) render her pretty remarkable.
Click to expand...

Yeah it wasn't the highlight of the game.. but to be fair not much could match the gameplay.

BadWolf said:
Yeah, her design is what made her stand out. She herself, as a character, was nothing special.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I'd have to agree but it could partly be the way the story was presented (bit on cheap side it felt)...it has been a while and all I remember are the running sounds, jumps, visuals and soundtrack.
 
A

aeolist

Banned
HK-47 said:
Well that still doesnt make her memorable.
Click to expand...

It depends on what makes a character memorable to you.

To me she's memorable because the game itself was so good and unique, and playing such an intensely immersive experience as a female character (mainly conveyed through the sound effects) was really different.

I could see someone arguing the opposite because the story was so mediocre though.
 
C

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Glad to see more widespread recognition of the issues unchecked sexism can cause. I seriously hope people aren't afraid to speak out against their employers for being wronged and join in on this.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Bonnie MacFarlane is probably one of my favorite Rockstar characters of all time. I don't know if she was written by a male or female, but it shouldn't matter since she didn't fit either stereotype. Reminded me of one of my teachers too.
1385921-bonniemacfarlane_hd_large.jpg

And it was kind of cool that they mentioned her gender but didn't make that her entire character. Where as Faith has no character.
 
eot

eot

Banned
This one made me chuckle

leighalexander said:
‏@leighalexander
#1reasonwhy because my male colleagues are allowed to occasionally be obnoxious, silly, immature, annoying, drunk. i'm not.
Click to expand...
 
H

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
aeolist said:
It depends on what makes a character memorable to you.

To me she's memorable because the game itself was so good and unique, and playing such an intensely immersive experience as a female character (mainly conveyed through the sound effects) was really different.

I could see someone arguing the opposite because the story was so mediocre though.
Click to expand...

She is a flat character with little interesting or deep about her. She just happens to exist in a fun video game world with a lot of personality that is never transferred to the story or its characters. You might as well say she is a memorable symbol.
 
N

netBuff

Member
HK-47 said:
She is a flat character with little interesting or deep about her. She just happens to exist in a fun video game world with a lot of personality that is never transferred to the story or its characters.
Click to expand...

A character doesn't have to be deep to be memorable: It's clearly a well-designed, very recognizable and striking character.
 
P

patapuf

Member
Mirrors Edge is one of my favourite games of all times but Faith has as much character as any other silent protagonist in a First Person game: none.

There's better examples of well written women in games.
 
A

aeolist

Banned
HK-47 said:
She is a flat character with little interesting or deep about her. She just happens to exist in a fun video game world with a lot of personality that is never transferred to the story or its characters.
Click to expand...

You could say the same thing about Samus in Metroid Prime but I still remember how cool it was to see the reflection of her face in the visor and hear her grunt in pain when she got hit.

Games that are about immersive experiences don't necessarily have the best stories or overt personality but they play to the medium's strength. You get to inhabit someone else's skin and when that person isn't a bulky white male with a shaved head and gravel in his trachea I sit up and take notice.
 
H

hamauzu kaito

Member
Bravo to some of you! Degenerating the conversation down to a character analysis instead of focusing on the actual topic. Clearly any opinion of faith is subjective, so leave it alone. I am glad to see people female and male taking a stan on this issue. The thing is people's rights, not just women, are under attack all over the world right now. It's sad it seems we have to fight in discrimination in every level of our lives. Dealing with the societal pressures, the professional hinderances, and the complete government power grabs is going to get pretty tired soon.
 
M

mnemovore

Member
How many of the people saying Faith isn't a great character would consider Mario or Link a great character despite them being less developed?
 
A

Artemisia

Banned
oh look there are people on twitter already spewing out the usual BS like "why don't you say something" or "I'm a man and I have problems too!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Locked
Bloomberg Op-Ed: "Video Game Industry Struggles to Shake Sexist Attitudes" (Ties in "sexism" with harassment at companies like Activision)
Opinion Cringe 2 3 4 5 6
253
16K
DeepEnigma replied
  • Locked
Rolling Stone: They Fought for Diversity in Gaming. Then the Abuse Began
2 3
142
9K
AeonGaidenRaiden replied
  • Locked
How The Last of Us became 'the greatest story' ever told in video games
Opinion Analysis 2 3 4 5
203
18K
Elysium44 replied
How Super Mario 64 changed the face of the games industry – 25th Anniversary
Retro 2
79
9K
IKSTUGA replied
Who is on your personal Mt. Sh*tmore of the games industry?
2 3
110
6K
infinitys_7th replied
Top Bottom