SOURCE:
Gamesradar.com (always remember to check it, guys! Further information about each part can only be read on the original source)
10 LIES GAMES TELL US ABOUT WOMEN
Over the past few months we've been recounting some of the lies video games have been telling us over the decades. Mostly they tend to get away with those lies because gamers have no experience in areas like space, war, and the apocalypse.
Perhaps the most insidious lies of all, however, are about women, because many (arguably most) of us are women. One would think this would make it really easy to notice the falsehoods--or to avoid them getting into the game at all--but in this case the game industry's latent prejudice is still constantly seeping through the cracks:
The problem hardly stops at Lara Croft though. On this issue, the prime-evil is no doubt Team Ninja. Their Dead or Alive series was once known for its "jiggle physics," a physics engine that was about as true-to-life as Mario Galaxy. And who could forget Rachel from Ninja Gaiden, (read: everyone) who embodies just about every problem on this list.
Not every female character is inept, but if they're not incapable of walking down the street without a brave man helping them they're a world-weary soldier who has nothing left to believe in or a sarcastic jerk who has seen it all. Optional additions include: dark secrets, or a nurturing heart deep beneath the gruff exterior that only needs to be reawakened by the warm manly embrace of compassion.
This might be the most prevalent lie on this list. We've all seen it. The female RPG character whose strength stat is at 3, but her agility is 14. Or the action game character who can't wield the bazooka, but has a special move where she cartwheels onto the enemy's head and breaks his neck with her mighty, dangerous crotch.
We won't be the first people to comment on the absurd outfits game developers put their women characters into, but it's worth dredging up this sore subject one more time. Video game ladies run off to battle in outfits that look more like they're headed to a Zumba class than a war.
Latex may not be the optimal battle raiment, but at least it might protect you from a few scuffs, bruises, and scrapes. Some game developers don't even have the courtesy to give their characters a t-shirt before sending them off to fight the prime evils.
Take a look at some average video game ladies, and a striking pattern begins to emerge: They're almost universally driven by the fact that they're women. The following is a collection of the usual character motivations of the average video game woman, usually said through fountains of tears: "Because I'm his mother!" "Because I love him!" "Because he's my husband!" "Because I can't have babies so I have no reason to liiiiiiive!"
Being a wife/mother/daughter/niece/love interest are generally the only traits average video game women have, and it's what drives them. While men get to be war criminals, duty-driven soldiers, pioneers, engineers, secret agents, Kings, princes, chosen ones, etc. Oh, and if she's a villain, watch out because we guarantee she has an alternate form where she turns into a monster that looks like a vagina.
So, what do you think about this? Do you agree, disagree? Are you going to put a picture of Ellie to say "they're wrong" despite the posibility that Ellie is the exception, not the rule? Tell us in the comments!
Also, I don't know if the latex part is true, but damn, who doesn't love latex? My male character in Saints Row as a latex-doll walking machine. :P
