@pbog13 I don't think the devs are fully at fault here. It likely came down to time and resources, and what it would take to get a new game made for two new systems within a year's dev cycle. I'd bet most of the devs for this game are probably really disappointed with the published product that's out there right now. Whereas the higher ups are probably just happily taking in all the money the game got them, and trying to ignore the negative press about the game.
@seph47 GTA has always been wildly satirical, which has been a major reason why it's been praised in the past for its quality writing and humour. It's a big foundation of the whole GTA universe, and how the game is crafted. It's basically the foundation for the game, among a few other key ingredients.
However, sometimes people drop the ball on their attempts at satire and it falls flat. And if you're the type of person who's usually tuned into satire, and enjoys satire, it's quite noticeable. Carolyn challenged that they did, in fact, drop the ball on it this time around in a specific area. It's perfectly acceptable to remark on that as much as it is to remark on a part of a horror game where it's not scary in the least.
@DarthLod @toffifee In roleplaying games like mass Effect and Dragon Age, the more inclusive you are in terms of character creation, the more creative opportunities there are. It provided more creative possibilities not only on the development side, but also with the player who could more easily immerse themselves and create a certain personal narrative around their character.
It would have sucked if both male and female Shep could only 'romance' Garrus in the game, people would have complained a lot about that, because most people wouldn't like being shoehorned into only having a homosexual relationship with an alien if they wanted any such character interaction at all. Yet, if Ashley was the only option in the first game, there would have been many less complaints. Because knowing your audience is key when creating interactive art like videogames. And when you have a diverse audience, and you want them to connect more strongly with your art, it's only organic in the creative process to be more inclusive, to use your audience as an influence. For so long, gamers kept cheering on devs who gave Gamers what they wanted, yet here Bioware is, doing that exact thing by letting people take a hand in the creation process, and suddenly that's them having an agenda and getting away from 'just making games'? Bull.
@DarthLod In games where you create the lead character, it's important to be as inclusive as possible in order to create immersion and character ownership in the gamer.
It'd be pretty crappy if you could design your character fully, yet have no relatable options when it came to a portion of the character interaction aspect of the game. Having something inclusive like that might seem minor to a lot of people, but it's pretty nice to play a game that has that sort of freedom in it. I figure, if there's going to be a canon hetero relationship in a game where the lead characters are fully designable, there should at least be other alternatives if there's a large cast of characters like in ME and DA. It just makes sense in the context of character creation that you wouldn't always be shoehorned into being hetero
The game got an 8.0 not just because of the lacking visuals, but because the scoring isn't subtractive. It's not "Oh, the graphics are bad, so let's do 10.0-2.0". A game can be great, with no major flaws, but still be an 8.0 or an 8.5.Notice 8.0 = Great on gamespot's scoring scale.
It's not just the visuals. It's the visuals and the fact that the game's not excellent. It's merely pretty darn great.
@Brumbek Hrm. On one hand, feminists are often criticized for having zero sense of humour and being too serious. On the other hand, you're criticizing her for taking a humourous song and using it to promote an opinion of hers.
A lose-lose situation.Either way she gains criticism that attempts to blindly swat aside her arguments.
Note that when she visited Bungie, she talked to them about creating complex and diverse male and female characters. Both Male and Female. Because you can't simply look at female characters in a vacuum, nor could you look at male characters in a vacuum. I would say that's certainly a healthy amount of respect.
@EvilDante666 I see where you're coming from. Pop culture has a subtle effect on a population, on a culture, not an overt one, and not everything is accepted.
That said, I agree that both male and female characters are portrayed in regard to media ideals. That much is evident. However, that's merely appearance. As annoying as that may be, it can be overlooked given that the characters are interesting and complex, with a good narrative supporting them. In this area, male characters are far more often the ones with decent character development, who have interesting personalities and traits, and who can wildly vary from person to person. Female characters are still very much restricted to ludicrous stereotypes and almost always lack diverse personalities and well thought out character progression that doesn't rely on their sexuality as a plot device.
it is in that area which I feel there's a large discrepancy. Male characters are often more like real people. Female characters are often more like sex objects.
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