8 réponses à ce sujet

[TKavatar]

I'm quite surprised that there are people here on BSN who are uncomfortable with roleplaying PCs of a different gender.

I myself have no issues with it, I like stepping into someone else's shoes and doing a play-through of the game. My canon Warden is a female dwarf commoner in fact.

So I'm curious as to why some people don't like it. I find it strange that they choose to miss out on content on purpose, but maybe that's just me.

[Allan Schumacher]

I'm quite surprised that there are people here on BSN who are uncomfortable with roleplaying PCs of a different gender.

I myself have no issues with it, I like stepping into someone else's shoes and doing a play-through of the game. My canon Warden is a female dwarf commoner in fact.

So I'm curious as to why some people don't like it. I find it strange that they choose to miss out on content on purpose, but maybe that's just me.

 

 

On a personal level, the mental hangup I have with playing a woman, when given a choice, is that I often struggle to convince myself that I'm playing as a woman, rather than As A Man Playing how He Things a Woman Should Be.  It's not that I can't, it's just that that feeling is always there and it presents a cognitive drain/distraction.

 

Oddly, when I'm not given a choice it's less of an issue.  Though it also comes up less in gaming.

[Allan Schumacher]

Allen not to put you on the spot but whats the difference between playing female and playing an elf or dwarf , i guess your not either ? Don`t want to sound rude just a thought 

 

Elves and Dwarves don't exist.  There's less reservation in my mind that how I am imagining my playthrough is that my portrayal isn't actually how an elf or dwarf react.

 

(Although I tend to play Human as well, but I think the racial options is less relevant to hang ups I have).

 

Basically I over think my behaviours and responses. 

[Allan Schumacher]

I never felt any disconnect. I don't know why. I tend to think there's less difference between men and women than people perceive and a lot of the supposed differences are just arbitrary stereotypes that get reinforced by society.

 

I won't dispute this, and I certainly won't suggest that the challenges I have with playing a female character exist anywhere else but in my own head.

 

I think it might also come across as it's a HUGE deal to me, and I just want to clarify that it's not.  It's just that minute little extra cognitive load.

[Allan Schumacher]

Slow down. Let's tackle things one issue at a time.

 

First of all, I don't know about 'metal bikinis,' but you just quoted the reason straight from me. It establishes character, as I said. It's the reason why characters like Vivianne wear the clothing she wears instead of armor. Why a character established as a cat thief wears a cat suit. Why a priestess wears robes and why a scientist character wears a scientific-looking outfit. And yes, that means wearing them alongside characters that wear heavier armor.

 

So...what do you have to add here to convince me? You're not revealing any new information or reasoning. I already see what's happening.

 

There's Vivienne, and there's Aribeth.

 

One of this is much more interesting to me as a player, and I'm not sure what "characterization" Aribeth's armor really gives.  And yes, I recognize that Aribeth is a BioWare character.  We can certainly look to improve.

 

I have much less issue with Vivienne than Aribeth.

[Allan Schumacher]

I think it's also important to share the entire entry (which is sensationalist in and of itself) of the Vivienne blurb on armor (emphasis mine)

 

"A thousand arrows would pierce her breast before Vivienne would don beaten steel for so base an urge as protection. If one must wear armor, then have it flatter the form. Hide it beneath fine fabrics more becoming of one’s status, for steel alone will not protect you from the barbed tongues of Orlais."

[Allan Schumacher]

Even in DAO, the difference between male and female version were sometimes laughable; the Ancient elven armor was kinda ok but the clothing with awesome stats I gave Leliana made her look like she came out of the Pearl.

 

But it was in 2009, DA2 was an improvement in that front, and so is DAI; Cass's armor is ten times more awesome with that Seeker's eye that it would ever be with a boobplate.

 

Yeah DAO had some eyebrow raisers.  I wouldn't be surprised if DAI still has some, but I think we're getting better in general.

[Allan Schumacher]

Tell me. What exactly do you imagine is the 'reasoning' for ever making a female character beautiful? Even if she wears armor you like or never sees combat and thus doesn't need it.

 

Why is she given pretty eyes? Perfect skin and hair? Flawless smile?

 

Does she need those pretty eyes?

Does she need that perfect skin and hair?

Does she need that flawless smile?

 

Is it necessary? Does her characterization depend on it? Could she function as a character without it?

 

If she can function as a character without it, why does she have it?

 

The issue you need to ask is more: "Why are they almost always portrayed that way?"  Because it's never an issue with a single instance.

And then ask "Is that a good thing?"  (My answer is "No" by the way).

 

 

What's your opinion on Aribeth's armor?  Why do you think BioWare gave her that outfit?

[Allan Schumacher]

I think it's fine. Haven't played Neverwinter Nights, so it would depend somewhat on the tone of the game.

 

Can you understand how someone may not think it's fine?  Because that seems like it could be part of the problem here.

 

Aribeth de Tylmarande is a Paladin charged with helping defend the waterdhavian creatures so they can be used to cure the plague that is ravaging the city of Neverwinter.  She is pretty much the person that tasks the player character throughout the first two acts of the game.

 

What do you think her outfit would even suggest about her characterization?  You think she's submissive because of her pose?  What if she wasn't?

 

For more information on Aribeth, read this: http://forgottenreal...h_de_Tylmarande

 

 

So...you're saying it's bad. That unless a woman's attractiveness is an element of the story, she should be plain or ugly. Is that right? Which would be upwards of 90% of female characters in fiction.

 

No, no one is saying that.  Variety.  There's less of it for women than there is for men.  Which is how this all got started when you replied to a poster that pointed out that the depiction of women in media isn't accurate, and postulated that it becomes difficult for both men and women to identify with women in media because of such things.

 

 

EDIT:

 

 

Anyone, in your mind, it's perfectly okay to have as gorgeous of a face as possible, because that doesn't contribute to a woman being sexually alluring, but she shouldn't have full breasts or hips because that does make her sexually alluring. Because the evolutionary process that developed sexual selection in humans only worked below the neckline for some reason. That about right?

 

No, it's not.