An Impromptu Witcher Lets Play - now with the Witcher 2!

[exxxed]

In that I agree.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Hardly, after every spell there's a chance that she'll loose consciousness or be completely overwhelmed and drop dead if it wasn't for her training, it's not all flowers and fairies in this world, there's no absolute,so to speak, regarding anything.

I wasn't suggesting she couldn't be killed. I meant aging. The short stories make it quite clear that any/all Sorceresses (and Witchers?) have access to a potion that keeps them young and beautiful forever.

I know this because Yennifer in the books has the body of a 16 year old, but she's known Geralt at least that long, and the bard (not Dandelion, the one in the short story) comments that she must've drunk a "gallon" of the youth potion to look like that. He also wonders if she's 200 years old or not.

Or, to use TV Tropes, I was talking about Type 2 immorality, whereas you were talking about Type 1. Triss (and Yennifer) don't age (or can 'unage' if they do) and will never die of old age. However, they can be killed like anyone else.

As to the involuntary aspect, for Witchers that only came up at the VERY beginning of the game, maybe. I haven't bumped into that plot point anywhere else. So my mistake. As for Sorceresses, I'm not sure I've ever stumbled across that plot point in game or in story, so again my bad. Although... does that mean that all spell casters are born sterile (except witchers)?

 

[porous_shield]

SNIP

I love The Order vs. Squirrel thing and I could easily fall on either side (frigging Yaevinn). People like The Order were honestly people I did not think I would ever side with and yet the game somehow got me to (frigging Yaevinn). I look forward to, as always, to reading about some of the major, and not so major, decisions you have coming up. The next act has my favourite area to run around in. You liked the swamp so I think you'll like the next area but it's kinda big so you may not.

That Triss/Shani decision is bad writing caused by game play technicalities. I felt it was kinda weird how they settled down in a happy little family so quickly so I think the reason they did this was because they obviously couldn't have this stretch out over months that it would actually require so they condensed it to a creepy degree. Then, have both women drop everything to raise a child when they could have made it work with their respective personalities. Reading what you've written though, it makes me wonder about some of the views the writers have and whether it's subconscious or conscious decisions they've made. Subconscious would arguably be worse.

I chose Shani so it looks like your play through is the opposite of mind for the most part. I didn't particularly like Triss. I felt Shani would be a good down to earth influence on him...and I saw how well that turned out.

Also, didn't Shani know Geralt from some point. They were familiar with each other weren't they? It doesn't really matter that Triss and Geralt have an history since he's completely amnesiac.

 

[exxxed]

@Bara_no_Hime

''Forever'' how beautiful, but it's wrong, they can indeed prolong their life, but certainly not indefinitely, and quite interestingly I haven't realized immortality was classified, the more you know...

If I recall correctly, Vesemir or Eskel mentioned the part about witchers if you pulled their tongues enough (partly the rest is up to you if you will figure out when things unfold after you leave Vizima), as for mages being born sterile, they're not, it's a side effect of their magical abilities that manifests over time or they impose it on themselves as a trade-off to prolonged life spans and the relatively high risk of giving birth to ''morons, cretins and women in catatonic state'' so it's a choice between becoming a brain-dead ''oracle or prophet'' or keeping your sanity and risk sterility.

May I ask where your nick comes from, it's a tongue sore to pronounce and it's been puzzling me hehe.

Cheers!

@porous_shield

Aye, I love that area, it's probably my favorite place in a game yet, after all the cold and harshness of Vizima it felt like a breath of cold mountain air, plus the warm fuzzy feeling you get running around the fields and lakeside until you hit face first in the mud again...

Also curious how she'll deal with the upcoming events, especially considering her rather fresh perspective on the whole lore and world for a first time player, I never met anyone who decisively chose a faction over the other in their first playthru', they all kept joggling about depending on the situations they found themselves in.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

''Forever'' how beautiful, but it's wrong, they can indeed prolong their life, but certainly not indefinitely, and quite interestingly I haven't realized immortality was classified, the more you know...

Gotta love TV tropes. They classify everything there.

As to "forever" - so far no limit to the super youth potion has been noted. Yennifer may or may not be 200, but she's certainly not 16 - and she looks 16 according to that story about the dragon.

If she really is 200, then that's pretty damn immortal. True, not forever, but that's like D&D Elf lifespans. 200 years is three average human lifespans back to back (assuming 65 as average) - and while never growing old. As a person currently in my early 30s, I certainly wouldn't mind reverting back to my 22 year old body and staying in it for two and a half more lifetimes.

as for mages being born sterile, they're not, it's a side effect of their magical abilities that manifests over time or they impose it on themselves as a trade-off to prolonged life spans and the relatively high risk of giving birth to ''morons, cretins and women in catatonic state'' so it's a choice between becoming a brain-dead ''oracle or prophet'' or keeping your sanity and risk sterility.

Okay, then I was half right originally. Triss (and Yennifer) had a choice. A sucky choice, but I don't think this world has non-sucky choices. Triss (and Yennifer) could have had children if she wanted to give up her prolonged life span and risk a likely bad outcome. Both had a choice - and both chose power, long life, and eternal-ish beauty.

One character regretting it later I could understand. Both implies that ALL female spellcasters who make that choice regret it later. And that has some very sexist implications. As porous_shield noted above, it is likely subconscious on the part of the writers - they literally couldn't IMAGINE a woman who didn't want children and wouldn't regret becoming a mage later in life. That is shitty.

I have a kid, and I love him, but if I'd been given a choice to live 200 years in the body of a 22 year old and not having him, I'd have said SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.

Yennifer is actually a worse character in my mind. She comes off as ungrateful and wants to undo her choice entirely. At least Triss is using adoption (of a magic-potential child) to have her cake and eat it too. I feel like Triss was a better character before the writers shoe-horned in all the worst aspects of Yennifer into her.

Here's a question - is Triss in the short stories/novels? Or was she made up for the game? I'm wondering because Triss seems like an Expy of Yennifer and Dandelion seems like an Expy of that bard in the same story. If that's the case, then I'm less offended at the writers of the game (since they were just ripping off the sexism in the stories). For that matter, if Triss is IN the stories, and acts like Yennifer there as well, then... yeah, can't blame the game creators for keeping to the established character, even if said character is sexist and shitty. Well, yes, I can blame them, but it's a different sort of blame.

May I ask where your nick comes from, it's a tongue sore to pronounce and it's been puzzling me hehe.

It's Japanese. Bara means Rose. Hime means Princess. (and 'no' means of) Thus: Princess of Roses. More specifically, it is a reference to Revolutionary Girl Utena.

As far as pronounciation, remember that Japanese letter are typically one consanant and one vowel.

So it is pronounced: Bar-rah no Hee-Mei

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Another short update:

Leuvaarden is indeed still at the Inn (and so is Triss, weirdly, in her party dress) and indeed won't buy my Salamander badges. Suck. Seriously, is there anything I can do with these damn things anymore?

Anyway, on to the swamps. On advice, I go talk with the Druids. They tell me they can arrange a meeting with the Salamanders and ambush them if I can get some special shrooms from the cave. Awesome.

I head over that way and kill some Cockatrices. They go do remarkably easy for the massive amount of XP they give. 700 xp each is really awesome for enemies that die this fast. Do they do a lot of damage? I took a Swallow potion outside (due to an Archespore encounter) so I had awesome regen the whole time. Oh - this was one made Rubido-heavy potion that gives me additional regen. Super regen!

Not that I'm complaining. Do these guys respawn? I could do some awesome grinding here.

Anyway, I get the shrooms. I take them back to the druids (fighting random critters on the way) and then we head off to ambush the Salamanders.

VERY VERY SLOWLY. I stop every so often to let the old man catch up, but damn.

Anyway, we FINALLY get there and the ambush begins. AND giant spiders too, just cause. Since I was still on my Silver sword, I take out the spiders first, and then switch to my awesome Wyvern sword for the Salamanders. I stay in group style for both sets, so that my silver sword is also chipping the Salamanders.

Anyway, I loot their corpses and find the letter that Leuvaarden wants. Maybe he'll buy my badges now? Maybe?

Probably not.

Anyway, I talk to the Druid and confirm we're good. And then I head back to the teleporter in the tower and head back to town (killing more random monsters on the way).

In town, I drop off some monster-bits quests that I finished off (like the Cockatrice feather quest) and level up again. I stop by Triss's to rest and spend my points.

... I only just realized that there were learnable spots ABOVE the main spell levels. Did not realize that before - none of the other skills have things above. That's... awkward. No wonder I'm only getting 90 degrees on my force spell.

Anyway, I seem to have wrapped up all the quests I can find aside from the main plot. I still haven't learned anything about Carmen's Werewolf or about Thaler's problem with forged documents. So... unless someone thinks I need to do something about those (and offers advice as to where to go) there doesn't seem to be anything left but to advance the plot via Leuvaarden.

Thoughts?

 

[Norrdicus]

Anyway, I seem to have wrapped up all the quests I can find aside from the main plot. I still haven't learned anything about Carmen's Werewolf or about Thaler's problem with forged documents. So... unless someone thinks I need to do something about those (and offers advice as to where to go) there doesn't seem to be anything left but to advance the plot via Leuvaarden.

Thoughts?

Okay, I don't know about the forged documents, but I do believe I know what's up with Carmen. You just have to go through the main story a bit, and after you complete a certain quest, you can progress in that side-quest.

You'll know it when you see it

 

[porous_shield]

To answer your question, yes, Triss is in the novels. She's somewhat of a minor character. I'm guessing they maybe based a lot of Triss on Yennifer and the same with the bard.

 

[Ryotknife]

First off, the societal standpoint has nothing to do with a lack of characterization and bad writing. Triss and Shani are two very different characters, but they have exactly the same reaction? It was written that way for ease of programming, but it is BAD WRITING that reduces women to stereotypes.

Please, don't try to defend this to me - it is indefensible. It treats women as if we are interchangeable - just like the stupid card collecting.

It seems like your entire argument could be avoided if they never gave you the choice of who to give Alvin to. Binary choices in games usually make little to no difference in the end. It is not bad writing or characterization, lazy writing perhaps. Although there is actually a reason within the apparent laziness.

And no, it does not treat women as interchangeable at all. It might treat those TWO women as interchangeable (and there is a damn good reason for it), but not women as a group. Not to mention the story being staying the same in a binary decision is basically the norm in games.

Hey, in Bioshock infinite Elizabeth has the same reaction if your draw your weapon or not in a certain scene. According to this logic this must mean that the developers are saying that women always react this way

Meanwhile, as far as I know, becoming both a Witcher or a Sorceress is entirely voluntary. And, from what I've read, both processes render one sterile.

That means Triss VOLUNTEERED for this. She chose to give up having children in return for being able to BEND PHYSICS WITH HER MIND. Or at least runes. The same with Yennifer.

I could understand ONE of them being like "Oh, now I regret my decision" - but both of them is that same "all women are the same" crap I was upset about above. The game is basically saying that, no matter how devoted to a career a woman is, she will always regret her decision, seek a man, and settle down.

Don't give me this medieval crap. Triss has insanely powerful magic and is effectively immortal. That whole reproductive impetus doesn't apply to her. She only seriously interacts with other Sorceresses and Witchers - all of whom made the same choice she did. No one is putting pressure on her to have children.

So I call bullshit on this not once but twice. Your attempt to defend this game with an analysis of the average commoner is fallacious because Triss ISN'T an average commoner. She's a Mage. She makes the laws of physics her personal ***** every day of her life. No one expects her to have children, so she doesn't feel any reproductive pressure. And, when she can easily provide for herself, she doesn't need a father figure to help her take care of Alvin if she decides she wants to.

And all that said, Shani isn't the same as Triss, so why is she acting like it? For that matter, why are both Triss and Shani acting like Yennifer from the stories?

It's just bad.

dear lord, calm down. Nothing ive said was sexist nor deserving of you spitting fire all over the place.

-minor spoiler, the whole family thing IS actually important to the plot at the end of the game (and even into Witcher 2), so your suggestion of two different paths would kinda ruin the game in this particular case, or at least take a significant amount of punch away from the ending. I know the whole thing FEELS rather pointless, but this is kinda a major turning point for geralts character.

-You know, the whole card collecting and Geralt being unable to walk 5 feet without every woman throwing her panties at him I can get behind in it stereotyping women, but a pointless binary choice that involve two women wanting to settle down (which is important later on and sets in motion a chain of events) is now victimizing women?

Did you miss the part where Geralt also wants to settle down? You are squeezing blood from a rock here. Geralt essentially wanting "out" is also a big component of the Witcher 2.

- her being a mage means nothing in terms of societal pressure. She can be the most powerful human in the world and it still wont matter. Maybe if she turned into a God, then it would matter. Nobility were under intense pressure to marry and have children to carry on their line. Her being sterile, on the other hand, would change things and I didn't know that. I knew Geralt was sterile but that was about it, however he was forced into being a Witcher.

In the end though, you are getting angry over a pointless binary decision, and games are full of pointless binary decisions. It gives the player an illusion of choice, like they actually have power to manipulate events to the way they want.

 

[exxxed]

One character regretting it later I could understand. Both implies that ALL female spellcasters who make that choice regret it later. And that has some very sexist implications. As porous_shield noted above, it is likely subconscious on the part of the writers - they literally couldn't IMAGINE a woman who didn't want children and wouldn't regret becoming a mage later in life. That is shitty.

Why are you exaggerating like that, there really is no point to it, where was it stated that Triss regretted anything, she doesn't actually, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't like a family to begin with and this would be a perfect opportunity for her, wouldn't it?

As for the ''regret it later'' part, think about it with an open mind and not your current train of thought, they start off as humans, then they chose a very much prolonged life span... but humans are not meant to live that long... so no matter how powerful you become and how long you live, your mind gets fed up eventually, so you have two choices... end up losing it or settle down and fuck-it-all, most mages chose politics so they don't have to deal with that exact thought, so they keep themselves constantly occupied, but even that doesn't work forever.

Another thing about ''implies all women want children'', in fact in Sapkowski's universe Witchers are sought of by women for the very reason that they're sterile, might explain a few things, hence the ''no five feet without fuck'' in this game, everyone loves sex and witchers are basically walking dildos in some women's eyes, no commitment.

Now for the game, I do also believe you should continue the main quest, this section won't be over that fast and it will be fairly obvious when the point of no return comes (basically it won't be handed out to you in an inn or some-such).

Have fun and a good day to you!

P.S.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Edguy]

Probably because it reduces women to objects to be collected. This isn't just figurative objectification - you actually get objects (cards) to collect.

I've got nothing against sex in games - I think more games should includes sex (and if they did, maybe people would get better at writing sex scenes in games). It's the card collection that makes is very icky.

I don't get this.. They're cards--what's the problem? It's not like you collect a bunch of women only to keep in your trophy room..

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Hey, in Bioshock infinite Elizabeth has the same reaction if your draw your weapon or not in a certain scene. According to this logic this must mean that the developers are saying that women always react this way

One person reacting a particular way is a character.

Two characters, both female, having identical reactions in two different locations is a pattern.

It's lit theory. One data point means nothing, but two is a trend.

Did you miss the part where Geralt also wants to settle down? You are squeezing blood from a rock here. Geralt essentially wanting "out" is also a big component of the Witcher 2.

No, I didn't miss that. If you read my other comments on this, you'd have seen that. I actually quite liked Geralt's character development on those lines.

What I don't like is the fact that they are acting like all women must have children in order to feel whole.

Moreover (see below):

To answer your question, yes, Triss is in the novels. She's somewhat of a minor character. I'm guessing they maybe based a lot of Triss on Yennifer and the same with the bard.

Ahh. I guess I'll have to read Triss in the novels then. Still, if you're making that assumption, then it is likely true.

To Ryotknife, in one of my other comments, I suggested that my real beef was with Andrzej Sapkowski, original author of the Witcher stories and his incredibly sexist portrayal of Yennifer. Yennifer is far worse than Triss in the game, but they are similar enough - particularly since, for Triss, this came out of fucking NO WHERE without any previous characterization in that direction - that it pissed me right off.

However, it is more likely that game Triss is, at least in part, an Expy of Yennifer. In that, the game designers did manage to improve her. However, they also lifted several very sexist aspects from Yennifer and crammed them into Triss with the rest. At least THIS Triss (in the Witcher 1 - I can't say about 2).

Yennifer is pathetic and shallow. I disliked her in the stories, so seeing her bad character traits crammed into Triss - a character I really like - is upsetting. Triss is a better character than Yennifer in every way, and she's one of my favorites in the game, so when she suddenly stops everything to play mommy (and demands that Geralt do the same) it is just... wrong.

Why are you exaggerating like that, there really is no point to it, where was it stated that Triss regretted anything, she doesn't actually,

As noted above, that's Yennifer, not Triss. Yennifer directly states that regret. However, since Triss is now doing the same basic song and dance, it makes it seem like Triss regrets it too.

Now, that may just be Expy issues (ie, unintentional subtext due to lazy copy/paste character arc). I hope so.

Another thing about ''implies all women want children'', in fact in Sapkowski's universe Witchers are sought of by women for the very reason that they're sterile, might explain a few things, hence the ''no five feet without fuck'' in this game, everyone loves sex and witchers are basically walking dildos in some women's eyes, no commitment.

Yes, but sleeping with a witcher doesn't make YOU sterile. Wanting some casual, risk-free sex (witchers are also immune to disease, so no STDs in addition to no pregnancy) has nothing to do with not wanting children with someone else. That's why some of Geralt's partners are married - they've had or will have their children with someone else.

Actually, the women lining up to have guilt-free sex with Geralt is one of my favorite aspects of the universe. Women taking control of their sexuality is an example of female empowerment. It is anti-sexist.

This game has a very weird habit of swinging back and forth between very sexist aspects (the cards, Triss weird character arc) and very empowering, non-sexist aspects (women controlling their sexuality, women being seen as equals in positions of power). It has some great stuff for women - and some bad things. It's kind of all over the place.

It makes me wonder if the game writers weren't trying to update the world some while they made the game. So far, Andrzej Sapkowski's world has not been this pro-women. Most of his stories (all three that I've read so far, so grain of salt) have either been neutral or sexist.

Of course, he's an older author. The game world seems more pro women, but it (mostly through Expy characters) has brought over a lot of Sapkowski's issues with it.

Some of my frustration is born of the polarity this creates - the game seems to jerk back-and-forth between empowering and sexist at random and very strongly - sometimes within the same scene.

In fact, here are a few more (minor) Jeers and Cheers for sexist or empowering moments.

Non-celibate priestesses. - Cheer! I really like that the Nurses at the hospital, how wear obvious Nun habits, aren't celibate. I know this for two reasons. One, one of the nurses complains that she wishes the plague was over so she could go party. The way the dialog is handled, it is clear that party = get laid. Secondly, while looking for my avatar pic, I came across a card that I assume Geralt can pick up here (although I have no triggered any such activity).

Vampire Prostitutes - Cheer and Jeer. The Jeer is because Vampires have often been a way to vilify sexually active women, bisexual women, or lesbians. It is pretty clear that this very unfortunate trope is what inspired this bit. However, a Cheer because the writers also subverted the trope by making the Vampires the "good guys" in this scene. Yes, you can kill them anyway, but they make it fairly clear that the Rose Knight/brother is the one in the wrong. Oh, and another minor Jeer for making all of the vampire prostitutes (other than the madame, who is an off-pallet Carmen) have identical character models to the blue-eyed girl.

Carmen's Werewolf Boyfriend - Cheer! It's nice to be rescuing a cursed man for a change. Also, it is implied that they have a serious relationship going on, which is sort of sweet. I was a bit turned off by her dialog where she called him her "man" - it sounded off - but I liked the characterization behind that bit of awful dialog.

Princess Adda - Cheer...ish. Her writing is pretty interesting and clever. She's playing political games and seems very in control of herself and her situations. Good female character all around.

The ... ish comes from the fact that she is entirely off-character from the story. She's supposed to be a simpleton, not a cunning politician. I teased about her being a former monster back at the beginning of the chapter, but it is really creepier that she's supposed to be - forgive the term - a "retard". And with good reason - she was dead for 7 years and a monster for 7 more, so she was basically an infant at 14 years old. I get the impression that the authors just threw that part of here character on the trash to make someone more interesting and... that I applaud. Even if it still kinda creeps me out that Geralt had sex with her.

Anyway, the point of that was this: I don't mean to imply that the whole game is sexist. It isn't. It has some great moments for the female audience.

But it ALSO has some very sexist aspects. Sometimes mixed right in with the awesome, and sometimes elsewhere. It makes the ride very jarring sometimes. I'll be enjoying the female empowerment, only to crash back down to earth thanks to some casual bit of sexism. I still find the cards annoying - particularly since it means that the game can get away with having little or (in some cases) NO cut-scene prior to the sex.

I don't get this.. They're cards--what's the problem? It's not like you collect a bunch of women only to keep in your trophy room..

I explained it on page 1. And you quoted one of the better explanations.

If you mean "it's not like he kidnapped a bunch of women and locked them in a trophy room" then yes, that would have been worse and also non-nonsensical.

You have heard the term "objectifying women" yes? Well, collecting cards of one's sexual conquests objectifies women by reducing them to a collectable quest. It literally reduces them to objects - cards - to be ogled and stared at for your male-gaze pleasure. And by "your" I mean the (assumed to be male) player.

 

[exxxed]

@Bara_no_Hime

Enjoying our little debate, there's a simple explanation to the whole back and forth ''thing'' you seem to notice and opiniate on, Europeans tend to not give a damn regarding these things, entertainment is just that, entertainment, things like this tend to affect 'us' (I don't speak for everyone, but a good majority of the people I know and interact with seem to just let it fly and have fun) if they happen in real society not in some game or movie/tv show.

As for the ''card collection'', I really don't see those sexy portrayals of in game characters as cards, even less so as a a collection, if you check your Journal you can easily see that every character you interacted with until that point has a nice description and a picture, as for women Geralt had intimate relations with (à la Sapkowski) have an extra sexy picture, I really don't see the big fuss about it, it's not like there's a section called ''Card Collection''(as far as I recall) where you can just scroll through sexist cards as you would some Pokemon card collection, like I said, probably (assuming you're not form anywhere near Europe hihi...) different worlds...

Looking forward to your next update, HA! LETHO IS DEAD!!! about time too, I can now start over and see the full implications of my decisions (sometime this week if I play my cards right, pun intended of course).

Best of luck to you!

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Europeans tend to not give a damn regarding these things, entertainment is just that, entertainment, things like this tend to affect 'us'.

**raised eyebrow, pursed lips**

Really? You're going to pull the "Americans are Prudes" card? I'm a sex-positive bisexual woman who has happily talked about her open marriage and group sex encounters on this very site. I am not a prude.

Like I said, it isn't the sex that's the issue. It's the stereotyping.

Also, I don't know what gender you are, but male is a fairly safe guess. I've noticed that most of the Europeans who say "oh, this doesn't bother me" are men. No shit - it doesn't bother most American men either. That doesn't make it any less sexist.

When I hear it from some European gamer women, then I might be willing to discuss the America/Europe thing. Otherwise, it just sounds like a cop-out.

As for the ''card collection'', I really don't see those sexy portrayals of in game characters as cards, even less so as a a collection, if you check your Journal you can easily see that every character you interacted with until that point has a nice description and a picture, as for women Geralt had intimate relations with (à la Sapkowski) have an extra sexy picture, I really don't see the big fuss about it, it's not like there's a section called ''Card Collection''(as far as I recall) where you can just scroll through sexist cards as you would some Pokemon card collection, like I said, probably.

First off, many games make Journal entries a "collectable mini game" quest. Even in the Witcher, many of the books you read only add to your Journal, enriching the game. Same for games like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, or Mass Effect. Just because the cards are physical doesn't mean they're not a collectable.

Secondly, the viewable sex cards in the Journal feel like a "reward" for having sex with the women in the game (even if the artwork on the cards is often dubious at best). It says "here is your reward for in-character sex - a picture of boobies for you to jerk-off too". It's creepy, exploitative, and objectifying.

Looking forward to your next update, HA! LETHO IS DEAD!!! about time too, I can now start over and see the full implications of my decisions (sometime this week if I play my cards right, pun intended of course).
Best of luck to you!

Thanks!

I try not to come off as too grouchy. Honestly, I sometimes find the "aww, why do you have a problem with this" complaints more annoying than the stuff in the actual game.

Perhaps it's this - just because there's sexist crap in a game doesn't mean I dislike the game. Several of my favorite games have some sexist elements. Case in point, Planescape: Torment. I love that game, but it has several very sexists moments. However, it also has a great plot and good characters and makes up for that fact.

I tend to be critical of things I like. I could go on for hours about the problems with Xenogears (my favorite game of all time) because it is a very flawed game. But it is also the best game I have ever played. I have put more hours into Xenogears than any other game I have ever played.

I tend to complain the most when something is GOOD but FLAWED. The Witcher has proven to be much better than expected - better gameplay, better story, less sexist than I expected. But that means, when it goes and disappoints me, I complain. Loudly. Because the game has shown me how good it COULD be, but occasionally fails to live up to itself.

I mean, I bitched for several posts about no Fast Travel system, and most of you just laughed and said "yup, it sucks that way." You recognize that is a major flaw in the game, but you love it anyway. For me, the sexism is the same thing - it's a flaw that pisses me off because I'm enjoying the game so much, and it adds a level of frustration to an otherwise enjoyable experience.

I never expected to like the Witcher as much as I am. It isn't breaking my Top 10 yet, but it's certainly doing well. I'm having more fun with the Witcher than I did with Dishonored or Lollypop Chainsaw, releases from the past year or so that I played prior to it. Not bad for a game I didn't want to play that I bought for a dollar.

 

[exxxed]

**raised eyebrow, pursed lips**

Really? You're going to pull the "Americans are Prudes" card? I'm a sex-positive bisexual woman who has happily talked about her open marriage and group sex encounters on this very site. I am not a prude.

Like I said, it isn't the sex that's the issue. It's the stereotyping.

Also, I don't know what gender you are, but male is a fairly safe guess. I've noticed that most of the Europeans who say "oh, this doesn't bother me" are men. No shit - it doesn't bother most American men either. That doesn't make it any less sexist.

When I hear it from some European gamer women, then I might be willing to discuss the America/Europe thing. Otherwise, it just sounds like a cop-out.

I'm not one for cop-outs, I was just explaining how I perceive things from where I stand, and your assumption is correct I are man.

All joking aside, now I fully see where you're coming from, quite curious though why you feel so strongly about it, it's not like they're diminishing anyone's view of real women right?

And if anyone takes examples from video games about real women... then that's fucked up as far as I'm concerned, as for pushing for more serious views of women in media and entertainment, I'm all for it, I actually love strong independent women and they need to be more properly exemplified, but getting all worked up about these ''little'' mishaps in older games is not the way to go about it ...probably... but I'm fairly sure it ain't.

First off, many games make Journal entries a "collectable mini game" quest. Even in the Witcher, many of the books you read only add to your Journal, enriching the game. Same for games like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, or Mass Effect. Just because the cards are physical doesn't mean they're not a collectable.

Secondly, the viewable sex cards in the Journal feel like a "reward" for having sex with the women in the game (even if the artwork on the cards is often dubious at best). It says "here is your reward for in-character sex - a picture of boobies for you to jerk-off too". It's creepy, exploitative, and objectifying.

That's funny, but it also depends on how you view things, it's up to the respective individual on how he/she perceives these ''sex cards'' (yea I gave up), so is it really a game fault that some may find them offensive and others don't?

And about your first part, yeap... yes, like most things in most games, just that this one emphasised on the fact that Geralt gets laid allot.

I try not to come off as too grouchy. Honestly, I sometimes find the "aww, why do you have a problem with this" complaints more annoying than the stuff in the actual game.

You don't, more like feisty than anything and I can see why you would find them more annoying, so I do apologize for mine, I'm just new to this shite (never cared much to be honest), so do excuse my ignorance on the matter.

It's good to criticize things you don't get along with, same as myself, I tend to be vocal about everything I hate or annoys me, or things I have a poor understanding of and wish to be enlightened on, like in this case.

Have a good evening, still very much curious on how you will deal with things that come.

Cheers!

 

[Zantos]

I'm struggling to follow this Let's Play. Apparently me and Bara are making the entirely opposite choices. I am wondering though, if events of later will change anything with regards to some of the sexism issues with the game. I think some of the later events offer a more alternate viewpoint.

I really liked the game. I found it a bit difficult to follow sometimes, others I didn't really agree with what they were trying to do, but overall I enjoyed playing it and look forward to starting on the next one. If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy work week so far (and it's only Tuesday). However, I have finished up (for now) so I am going to play the game. A real update will follow.

If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

I'd suggest starting with some of the short stories. The Sword of Destiny collection has me reading (when I have time, which I haven't lately) stories of a generally manageable length. They're a good way to get a taste of the novels.

 

[Zantos]

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy work week so far (and it's only Tuesday). However, I have finished up (for now) so I am going to play the game. A real update will follow.

If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

I'd suggest starting with some of the short stories. The Sword of Destiny collection has me reading (when I have time, which I haven't lately) stories of a generally manageable length. They're a good way to get a taste of the novels.

Oooh, short stories are right up my alley. As tempted as I am to pick up The Sword of Destiny in French, I can't actually remember the last time I spoke French and I think I may have forgotten the entire language. Or at least forgotten the passable portion of the language I once may have known. I'm thinking The Last Wish may be more suited to my linguistic pitfalls.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Oooh, short stories are right up my alley. As tempted as I am to pick up The Sword of Destiny in French, I can't actually remember the last time I spoke French and I think I may have forgotten the entire language. Or at least forgotten the passable portion of the language I once may have known. I'm thinking The Last Wish may be more suited to my linguistic pitfalls.

There are fan translations of the books and remaining short stories. How accurate they are, I do not know, but it's better than nothing (and to be honest, the English translations are taking a fucking epochal amount of time, and they completely skipped over Sword of Destiny short stories). I plan on reading Sword of Destiny myself soon on here.

http://en.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?/topic/20967-our-community-fan-translations/