I agree, games with a comical element can get away with it a little more. But as many games now, especially AAA games, are trying to be taken as serious games, it seems silly they still use the eye candy over realism approach.

I guess it depends on how they go about it. If it is done "tastefully" then it's okay, but others seem to think the players are school boys looking for a cheap frill and will sit there giggling at seeing the female characters arse on the screen every two minutes.

Somewhat relevant: XD

lol :)

Agreed, it's really odd to have the men in full body armor and the women barely dressed. As I mentioned before, it's not an issue for me when both genders are pretty much wearing bikini armor, because then it does not feel odd, and simply appears to be part of the setting. However, of course I also like eye candy. For instance, I kind of like the Blood Dragon armor set from Mass Effect on my women (picture below). It manages to be pretty without being completely useless.

And I agree with what you said about the giveaway, ddickinson. It is kind of odd to see people being so affronted by this thread when everyday there are women who are denied basic rights, women who are raped or killed for comitting 'adultery' or even just women who are not allowed to drive. Of course I'm not saying that it's only women who suffer, as there are many men without access to basic rights as well, but it seems especially skewed to complain about such a small thing as a giveaway in light of such matters.

That's a very good example of what the male armour would be like if it matched the female armour. But don't worry, I'm sure in that game a woman in full body armour will be around to protect him and rescue him from the nasty bad guy :-).

#GiveawayGate ;P

I don't see why a fairly innocuous giveaway needs to be politicized. So, +1 for the giveaway and for the nice idea for a discussion (the favourite genre one, that is).

The Mass Effect female lead ("femshep" as it's "lovingly" called) is also much better than the male counterpart. I tried playing with a male character but he was too wooden. Jennifer Hale's voice acting on ME is probably one of the most brilliant I've ever heard.
LOL

The armour does look nice, and fit for purpose. It looks like it is functional and practice, while still looking pretty at the same time.

I certainly hope so! ;)

.... That was what i would be saying if i cared about characters as anything other than meatshields for the strong, independent mage in the party. :P

There were always going to be a few dissenters to this sort of thing, though if you're interested, I suspect it was a mistake to add that subtitle. Something like ‘Just for the girls’ would've sufficed. ‘No boys allowed’ specifically mentions the group you’re excluding, which could be mistaken for a little passive-aggressive swipe at the guys.

Oh and it also brings up unpleasant memories of trying to get into our cousin's Playhouse and being foiled constantly like a Loony Toons villain, but that’s neither here nor there.

That's a pretty good idea for a kid's stealth game!

I couldn't have said this better myself. Hopefully, this can be the cork that plugs that conversation so the thread can get back to what it was meant to be.

More on topic, I have really enjoyed reading through the posts that the "fairer gamers" have been sharing here. The one thing that has really surprised me is the amount of posts that mention having been into games since the Commodore 64 days. This leads to my preface for a question I would like to ask:

Let me first say, as we all know, that it is much more socially acceptable to be a "geek" in today's society. Talking about geeky things is a lot easier to do these days, both in a real-world setting or online. When I was a kid through the 80's and into the early 90's, geek culture was very niche and made up of a rather quiet, private (and male-dominated) bunch. Most of the friends I made were people who I noticed as they sketched in a notebook at school lunch or sneaking a sideways glance at a comic book or a GameBoy in someone's backpack as they backed up at the end of a class. In short, being geeky wasn't something that you advertised.

Of all the times I went to a comic book store or a D&D meet-up, I never saw any girls there. Yet, now, in our much more progressive times, I always hear stories about girls who have been into comics and gaming and such their whole life. So, with all that said, I pose this question to the women here: Where were you back then? Were you forced into even stricter silence due to the unfair stereotypes of the day? Or did our proverbial paths just never cross until now?

Disclaimer: I ask this out of sheer and honest curiosity. I am not challenging anyone's "gaming cred" or attempting to make anyone feel awkward. If you are getting that vibe, please accept my apology and do not feel forced into replying. I just want to try and bring some light-hearted conversation back into this thread. Thanks!

I remember during the Pillars of Eternity KS campaign the devs modified the artwork of a female NPC because the backers complained about the armour (unrealistic boobs armour...)

Well, don't know how relevant my answer is because I'm not from USA, but I never was forced to hide my interest in games and comics, even with some people thinking this was strange in a woman

I can only speak for myself, but for me it was like this:
When I was a teenager I went to comic stores, I played MtG, I played computer games but I did that outside of those established mostly male circles. I recruited my mostly female friends for my hobbies. I lent them my comics to be able to talk with them about it, I got them to play computer games with me etc. And I had one male best friend who was also into all that stuff which was very lucky for me. :-D

When I got older and got into P&P RPGs my circles suddenly crossed with those male circles. And I was suddenly a unicorn. My hobbies, which until then felt pretty normal to me were suddenly kind of "special". *shrugs*
Strangely enough I never had trouble with my "male dominated hobbies" (including Blood Bowl) in real life, it's only online that I meet ... less understanding and friendly people.

So yeah, I'd go with the "our paths just never crossed" theory for my case.

My own experience wouldn't classify comics as "taboo" back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. My group of friends was a mixed bunch of boys and girls, and the comics made the rounds among us with no exception. Can't remember that there was an issue with girls purchasing comics, not even that they got heat at home from the parents for being into them.

Edit: typo