From time to time feminists appear on some gaming issue. They are usually right and completely useless in the same time. This time it's about the cliché "Damsel in distress" by Anita Sarkeesian, where the (male) lead character is motivated to save a woman, who is helpless and lost without the strong, powerful man. Is it sexist? Yes it is. Is it disgusting, demeaning and outright wrong towards women? Yes it is. Are the feminists right that it's overused and need to stop? Yes they are. Do feminists make any sense? Never.
I coined the "The Devil is sexist" term when I heard some feminist being outraged that in Africa various militias mass-rape women. What the good feminist forgot that the same militias also killed the women. And the men. And the children. And burned the villages. "The Devil is sexist" term refers to feminists focusing on the sexism of something that is overall terrible and sexism is its smallest issue. Fixing its sexism wouldn't make it much better (would the African women be better off if they wouldn't be raped before slaughtered by machetes?). However focusing on its sexism separates men and women on an issue where they have no conflicting interest.
The "Damsel in distress" cliché in video games is a typical "The Devil is sexist" issue: in contemporary gaming everything is just a tool to advance the story of the player. There is no world in the games (except EVE Online) where players must adapt to and live in. The mock world is forged in a way to adapt to the player. In World of Warcraft, despite it's a multiplayer game, by phasing they made it possible that I am the hero who single handedly stopped multiple horrible evils by my outstanding ability to press any key.
When Blizzard developers quickly needed some new foe, they turned the long-term allies of the players, the Zandalari trolls into a world-conquering evil, so they could reuse the Zul Gurub and Zul Aman instances. Isn't it funny that feminists whine that a female character is abused as story object when whole civilizations are abused? In Mogushan Vaults the poor Zandalari appear again for no other reason than the scriptwriters ran out of ideas. They are introduced as "old allies of the Mogu", so now even their past is twisted, retroactively. We were always at war withEurasia the Zandalar Tribe.
The sexism of the video games is just a symptom of what's rotten in video games. Other games (like table-top games, sports, puzzles) are designed to have a fixed rule set that the gamers must obey and present a challenge they need to overcome to win. In a usual contemporary video game, the rules are constantly changed in order to make sure that the player - regardless of his merits - always wins and gets what he wants. Could you imagine a "nerf" to the games soccer, American football or basketball where the goal zone (the gate, touchdown zone or basket) is greatly enlarged to make sure that "more casual" players can score?
If a game is designed as "press any key and receive reward", can it not fulfill the immature sexist wishes of boys for a sexy and attractive woman being at their mercy? Can the kidnapped woman escape on her own, practically saying "I'm fine, I don't need you"? No, because like everything in the game her only purpose is to serve the desire of the player to be rewarded for his inadequate and mediocre performance.
However it is still just a consequence. The games aren't made this way by some evil mastermind trying to corrupt the good and healthy youth into a bunch of entitled, leeching punks. They are just following the demand. EVE Online, where the game world doesn't bend to your will and you won't be made the greatest man ever lived for killing 10 rats, have like 100K players (not accounts), World of Warcraft where you literally are, have 100x more (though declining, so probably more nerfs incoming). The sad fact is that the people are indeed a bunch of leeching, non-performing punks who feel entitled to everything including a blowjob from a supermodel. So yes, they are sexist, just like the Devil.
What can the feminists do, besides whining and demanding developers fix it against their financial interests? (It's funny that Sarkeesian doesn't notice that by asking the developers/Holywood to get rid of the sexism she is declaring herself and women in general damsels in distress who can only be saved by the powerful men at the helm of media companies.) There is a famous statement that I might don't remember absolutely correctly:
First they came for the raid difficulty,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a raider.
Then they came for game economy,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't an AH-wizzard.
Then they came for the Zandalari,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a lore nerd.
Then they came for the me, turning me into an E-cup blondie in a cell or a fridge,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
Say no for games that provide rewards for nothing, that bend the game world for the enjoyment of the players, where players are automatically placed into a position of power and entitlement! Just stop giving the makers of these games money!
Give it instead to games where players progress according to their merits. In EVE Online there is absolutely no sexism or even male-normality programmed in. Sure there are horribly sexists morons among the players, since the playerbase is largely the same as of the other games (even if they think otherwise). But you can blow them up. Or rob their group from their goods. I haven't seen horrible behavior on e-sport tournaments, just on the "for fun" games, where you can't really stand out with your performance.
PS to feminists: I don't support your cause not because I consider your views incorrect or your goal a bad one, but because I think sexism isn't an idea at all. It doesn't have theoretical points, scholars or literature. Sexism is the product of "reward/respect me without merit or effort". The typical sexist is also racist, nationalist and hates other religions, simply because he means "I'm in the top 1% of the mankind just because I'm male, white, Christian and member of my nation". The cure is the idea that one can only be rewarded/respected for his actions and in the case of gaming the implementation isn't giving another speech on gender equality but simply pwning his ass in the game. However that's impossible in games where everyone is a winner, and the game company goes an extra mile to reassure him of his awesomeness. So fighting sexism is just as stupid as trying to protect the walls getting black from smoke. I'd rather fight the fire instead.
I coined the "The Devil is sexist" term when I heard some feminist being outraged that in Africa various militias mass-rape women. What the good feminist forgot that the same militias also killed the women. And the men. And the children. And burned the villages. "The Devil is sexist" term refers to feminists focusing on the sexism of something that is overall terrible and sexism is its smallest issue. Fixing its sexism wouldn't make it much better (would the African women be better off if they wouldn't be raped before slaughtered by machetes?). However focusing on its sexism separates men and women on an issue where they have no conflicting interest.
The "Damsel in distress" cliché in video games is a typical "The Devil is sexist" issue: in contemporary gaming everything is just a tool to advance the story of the player. There is no world in the games (except EVE Online) where players must adapt to and live in. The mock world is forged in a way to adapt to the player. In World of Warcraft, despite it's a multiplayer game, by phasing they made it possible that I am the hero who single handedly stopped multiple horrible evils by my outstanding ability to press any key.
When Blizzard developers quickly needed some new foe, they turned the long-term allies of the players, the Zandalari trolls into a world-conquering evil, so they could reuse the Zul Gurub and Zul Aman instances. Isn't it funny that feminists whine that a female character is abused as story object when whole civilizations are abused? In Mogushan Vaults the poor Zandalari appear again for no other reason than the scriptwriters ran out of ideas. They are introduced as "old allies of the Mogu", so now even their past is twisted, retroactively. We were always at war with
The sexism of the video games is just a symptom of what's rotten in video games. Other games (like table-top games, sports, puzzles) are designed to have a fixed rule set that the gamers must obey and present a challenge they need to overcome to win. In a usual contemporary video game, the rules are constantly changed in order to make sure that the player - regardless of his merits - always wins and gets what he wants. Could you imagine a "nerf" to the games soccer, American football or basketball where the goal zone (the gate, touchdown zone or basket) is greatly enlarged to make sure that "more casual" players can score?
If a game is designed as "press any key and receive reward", can it not fulfill the immature sexist wishes of boys for a sexy and attractive woman being at their mercy? Can the kidnapped woman escape on her own, practically saying "I'm fine, I don't need you"? No, because like everything in the game her only purpose is to serve the desire of the player to be rewarded for his inadequate and mediocre performance.
However it is still just a consequence. The games aren't made this way by some evil mastermind trying to corrupt the good and healthy youth into a bunch of entitled, leeching punks. They are just following the demand. EVE Online, where the game world doesn't bend to your will and you won't be made the greatest man ever lived for killing 10 rats, have like 100K players (not accounts), World of Warcraft where you literally are, have 100x more (though declining, so probably more nerfs incoming). The sad fact is that the people are indeed a bunch of leeching, non-performing punks who feel entitled to everything including a blowjob from a supermodel. So yes, they are sexist, just like the Devil.
What can the feminists do, besides whining and demanding developers fix it against their financial interests? (It's funny that Sarkeesian doesn't notice that by asking the developers/Holywood to get rid of the sexism she is declaring herself and women in general damsels in distress who can only be saved by the powerful men at the helm of media companies.) There is a famous statement that I might don't remember absolutely correctly:
First they came for the raid difficulty,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a raider.
Then they came for game economy,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't an AH-wizzard.
Then they came for the Zandalari,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a lore nerd.
Then they came for the me, turning me into an E-cup blondie in a cell or a fridge,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
Say no for games that provide rewards for nothing, that bend the game world for the enjoyment of the players, where players are automatically placed into a position of power and entitlement! Just stop giving the makers of these games money!
Give it instead to games where players progress according to their merits. In EVE Online there is absolutely no sexism or even male-normality programmed in. Sure there are horribly sexists morons among the players, since the playerbase is largely the same as of the other games (even if they think otherwise). But you can blow them up. Or rob their group from their goods. I haven't seen horrible behavior on e-sport tournaments, just on the "for fun" games, where you can't really stand out with your performance.
PS to feminists: I don't support your cause not because I consider your views incorrect or your goal a bad one, but because I think sexism isn't an idea at all. It doesn't have theoretical points, scholars or literature. Sexism is the product of "reward/respect me without merit or effort". The typical sexist is also racist, nationalist and hates other religions, simply because he means "I'm in the top 1% of the mankind just because I'm male, white, Christian and member of my nation". The cure is the idea that one can only be rewarded/respected for his actions and in the case of gaming the implementation isn't giving another speech on gender equality but simply pwning his ass in the game. However that's impossible in games where everyone is a winner, and the game company goes an extra mile to reassure him of his awesomeness. So fighting sexism is just as stupid as trying to protect the walls getting black from smoke. I'd rather fight the fire instead.
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