tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post8425810015697847287..comments2024-03-09T03:49:50.699-05:00Comments on Your Critic is in Another Castle: Ego of the Gamer cont'd: In which I appear to be sexistK. Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554183349391372039noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-21819751401233583002011-06-23T13:41:21.118-04:002011-06-23T13:41:21.118-04:00Are you me? Or am I you? Or are our gaming schedul...Are you me? Or am I you? Or are our gaming schedules just implausibly synced? I've been meaning to replay KOTOR as a darksider. Not so good? I played Kotor2 as villainous scum and really liked it. I think in KOTOR2 everyone is dirtied up including the Jedi so it feels like a more plausible choice than "Hey, I've decided to be bad."RedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-81339061308140666802011-06-23T13:41:15.565-04:002011-06-23T13:41:15.565-04:00ME2 is fantastic. I don't like the story quite...ME2 is fantastic. I don't like the story quite as much as ME1 but it's still great, and the gameplay is much better. The NPC's are still fantastic. BS1 is probably my next RPG after DAO:ARedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-27861160957650791742011-06-23T13:41:14.984-04:002011-06-23T13:41:14.984-04:00i went most of the way through the first kotor wit...i went most of the way through the first kotor with a dark side female revan, but for some reason it never felt right. i can't decide whether it's because revan never felt like a female character, to me, or because revan's turn back to the dark side just isn't all that compelling a story compared to a redemption story.<br /><br />but yeah, seriously, synchronized game schedules or what. once i get through dragon age, i need to hit mass effect 2, finish bioshock 2, go through mirror's edge, and hopefully be done with all of that by the time the old republic mmo gets here.enstarstarstarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-90223499701731879382011-06-23T13:41:13.439-04:002011-06-23T13:41:13.439-04:00In my own experience, I tend to run female charact...In my own experience, I tend to run female characters as more extreme, whether for heroism or villainy. Male characters can be virtuous paladins or badass butchers, but ladies are more often <b>saints</b> or <b>monsters</b>. Like Joan of Arc / Mother Mary super-pure (even if the class says "Rogue"), or Child-Eating Gingerbread-House Hell-Witch (even if the class says "Cleric of the God of Freedom"). It's all martyrs vs. mean girls.<br /><br />As a pervasive example: In tabletop RPGs, I tend toward characters with high Perception attributes, but the dudes tend to use that Perception pragmatically to accomplish immediate tasks, while the ladies tend to use it more often either to morally inspire and encourage a vaster greatest good, or instead to immorally manipulate/blackmail others and coerce compliance with more grandiose, selfish goals. I don't know if this is because I have to exert more "active cognition" to run a female character, or if I'm less familiar with what "boring normality" looks like in a female character.<br /><br />As an experiment, I might try running a male super-sinner or super-saint next ... and then maybe see about running an apathetic, uncaring scoundrel of a woman.<br /><br />(Perhaps you could join the experiment and run a complete asshat female, followed by a punctillious team player of a dude.)Darth Thulhuhttp://www.sjgames.com/ourgames/cthulhu.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-84069685942146797662011-06-23T13:41:12.623-04:002011-06-23T13:41:12.623-04:00This was a third play-through in which I explicitl...This was a third play-through in which I explicitly attempted to romance Ash. Liara was definitely my first run crush, though I still carry a torch for dear, awkward Tali.groovinlownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-156369476392887552011-06-23T13:41:12.125-04:002011-06-23T13:41:12.125-04:00On Ashley? Homegirl could make the assault rifle r...On Ashley? Homegirl could make the assault rifle really sing, but I found her completely unlikeable as a person.RedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-43409843700388532422011-06-23T13:41:11.731-04:002011-06-23T13:41:11.731-04:00Just remember this is an obligatory ritual of the ...Just remember this is an obligatory ritual of the Royal Navy. Gender bendery doesn't get you out of it.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c548RjB8jzQRedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-41314199184139683532011-06-23T13:41:10.933-04:002011-06-23T13:41:10.933-04:00The part that surprised me was that apparently, th...The part that surprised me was that apparently, the <i>only</i> way I can play a villainous character, or one who makes bad choices, is by rolling as male. (This has kind of been supported in other games, too, although since they're all longer and more detailed I don't get the benefit of 3 or more chances to go start to finish in a single day. The only character I was ever able to make a jerk in Vault 101 was a dude, though.)<br /><br />It was interesting with <i>Broadsides</i>, though, and I've heard this from another female player of the game as well, that something about swapping <b>all</b> the genders creates a particular set of reactions. I don't know how it is for guys, but I feel that throughout my upbringing, I was definitely taught to socialize differently with an all-female group than with a mixed or all-male-but-me group. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Sums" rel="nofollow">Lisa Simpson</a> definitely explored this area for me. ;)K. Coxhttp://www.your-critic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-40618022457420067032011-06-23T13:41:10.506-04:002011-06-23T13:41:10.506-04:00BG2: Good man
Kotor: Good Woman
Kotor 2: Bad man
M...BG2: Good man<br />Kotor: Good Woman<br />Kotor 2: Bad man<br />Mass Effect: Good woman<br />ME2: Good woman, bad man<br />FO3: Good man<br />FONV: Good woman<br />DAO: Good (elf) woman, Bad dwarf lord<br /><br />So although I don't instinctively and automatically hate all males like our critic I'm clearly less inclined to make a negative female character. Which is funny because Kerrigan and Morrigan are my two favorite personalities in gamedom. Or maybe gamedom already provides interesting wicked female characters for me.RedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-63211774554159524732011-06-23T13:41:10.133-04:002011-06-23T13:41:10.133-04:00Pretty fascinating... I wonder if I would do the s...Pretty fascinating... I wonder if I would do the same.Sarahhttp://simplesunshine.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-15420464047971933762011-06-23T13:41:09.755-04:002011-06-23T13:41:09.755-04:00For sure, and that was a thought I was having in a...For sure, and that was a thought I was having in an initial draft of the post. If His Majesty's navy was integrated, would your reactions have been different? Would I be harder on dude subordinates being jerkasses to their female crew mates than if they were jerkasses to other dudes? Was I harder on Garrick's loose cannon impulses than Ashley's xenophobia because I had a crush on the latter? I don't know.groovinlownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-6923863264562500442011-06-23T13:41:09.343-04:002011-06-23T13:41:09.343-04:00Not to say you aren't a horrible sexist, but.....Not to say you aren't a horrible sexist, but...I think that character generation is an important part of getting you into the right mindset for your play-though. If I'm getting set up for a deliberately villainous playthrough I'll probably make different character choices. Usually the opposite of my first (almost always virtuous) run. <br /><br />The intervening variable is often the romance subplots. My first KoTOR playthrough used the PC that looked like a young Denzel with a high fade. He was a light side rock star. The second playthrough with a female PC started as an attempt to be evil, but I couldn't break Carth's heart (also, I couldn't be an villainous couple with Bastila). Finally, I picked the white dude with the scar over his eye (because obviously deformity=evil, oh good, more baggage to unpack) and managed to be a dark side jerkass for the duration.<br /><br />So...don't beat yourself up too much? Admirals Strange and Smythe sound like they were a lot closer to having the Nelson touch than Villiers.groovinlownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-90384164763898868182011-06-23T13:40:07.067-04:002011-06-23T13:40:07.067-04:00DAO Awakening: Female Elf who does what I honestly...DAO Awakening: Female Elf who does what I honestly think I would do (not counting cowardice) so basically good.RedJennyhttp://unwarr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-5304930986540234272011-06-23T13:39:52.723-04:002011-06-23T13:39:52.723-04:00i think the only character i've ever managed t...i think the only character i've ever managed to complete an entire game playthrough with as evil was a dark side female exile in kotor2.<br /><br />i dunno, for all of that game's flaws, the exile is a pretty great character. i think the reason i was able to finish as totally dark side in that game was because it felt more natural and plausible than in the first one. dark side revan, by him/herself, works just fine, but clashes with the other members of the party. dark side exile, on the other hand, pulls the people around her down into madness alongside her. that slow fall into the dark felt real.<br /><br />i still haven't found another game i can pull off the evil side with, though. i'm going through dragon age right now, and naturally i have to stick up for the people who need defending.<br /><br />i'm such a sucker for good alignment, it's ridiculous.enstarstarstarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-38868021685032127042011-05-23T17:22:31.908-04:002011-05-23T17:22:31.908-04:00Thanks for commenting on my blog, I'm really i...Thanks for commenting on my blog, I'm really interested to see that I'm not the only one! One of my twitter followers and I were discussing doing a more expansive study into this because we found the phenomenon really interesting! Minniehttp://playingwiththebb.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com