are there any non-sexualized/stereotypical female characters in games?
- Thread starter Azaraxzealot
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-Ariebeth, from Neverwinter Nights 1
-Almalexia from Morrowind
-The female Leaders from the CiV-Games
-Tyrande and Sylvanas from Wc3 (you could argue that they ended up being sexualized in Wow, but is a skimpy outfit really sexualizing? I mean, most males in Wow have chests you could safely built your house upon, so that's kind of wows thing for both genders)
-Moira Brown, Sarah Lyons & Doctor Lee from Fallout 3
-The Pyro
-Lot's of women from the kotor and Mass Effect games. (Yes you can nail them, no, the abilty to have sex diesn't make you sexualized, it makes you being alive)
That's all I can think of right now. Quite a bunch actually. But I want to note that being stereotypical isn't a negative things. Mankind tells the same stories for about four thousand years now. Certain tropes and ideas are always constant. Gaming is no exception to that.
Male characters are stereotypes just as often as females. Think about it. The HEro! Capable of handling every problem. Strong. Imprenetrable. Is that how you males are? When was the last time an action hero cowered into a corner and cried, because he just shot an enemy into the head and now can't get the image of that guys eyes, starring into the abyss, out of his head? Can't thing of any? Exactly. The Hero is a stereotype that gloryfies not only men, but all humans. We aren't that indestructible.
Best excample is Gordon Freeman. While he can certainly be excused for a lot, because he is a silent protagonist and more a blank space for the player to place himself, he still has a name and a face himself, which makes him partially a character. That guy might as well be a brick. No sign of Emotion, no Grief, no Fear, no Dispair. You can accuse almost all modern action heroes of that.
-Almalexia from Morrowind
-The female Leaders from the CiV-Games
-Tyrande and Sylvanas from Wc3 (you could argue that they ended up being sexualized in Wow, but is a skimpy outfit really sexualizing? I mean, most males in Wow have chests you could safely built your house upon, so that's kind of wows thing for both genders)
-Moira Brown, Sarah Lyons & Doctor Lee from Fallout 3
-The Pyro
-Lot's of women from the kotor and Mass Effect games. (Yes you can nail them, no, the abilty to have sex diesn't make you sexualized, it makes you being alive)
That's all I can think of right now. Quite a bunch actually. But I want to note that being stereotypical isn't a negative things. Mankind tells the same stories for about four thousand years now. Certain tropes and ideas are always constant. Gaming is no exception to that.
Male characters are stereotypes just as often as females. Think about it. The HEro! Capable of handling every problem. Strong. Imprenetrable. Is that how you males are? When was the last time an action hero cowered into a corner and cried, because he just shot an enemy into the head and now can't get the image of that guys eyes, starring into the abyss, out of his head? Can't thing of any? Exactly. The Hero is a stereotype that gloryfies not only men, but all humans. We aren't that indestructible.
Best excample is Gordon Freeman. While he can certainly be excused for a lot, because he is a silent protagonist and more a blank space for the player to place himself, he still has a name and a face himself, which makes him partially a character. That guy might as well be a brick. No sign of Emotion, no Grief, no Fear, no Dispair. You can accuse almost all modern action heroes of that.
Oh indeed, definitely. I was actually lucky enough to get the Dreamfall Limited Edition, containing both games, the entire Dreamfall soundtrack, and an exclusive Art Book, for about £20 (this was bundled with some other awesome PC game, it was a special offer at GAME). So I played both right after each other.Onyx Oblivion said:
Anyway, for the record, although I feel Zoe Castillo definitely fits this idea as well, she doesn't fit it as much as April. Now that may partially be because April was a main character in both games (and thus had more time for character development), but personally I just wasn't as engaged with Zoe as a character as I was with April. Still a great character, Ragnar Tornquist seems to have a gift for coming up with great characters, but she just wasn't as awesome as April.
Then again, I have made clear on other threads about 'dating fictional characters' that if April Ryan was a real person I would be after her in a heartbeat...
Spoken by someone who's never played a Tales game, I'm assuming.Azaraxzealot said:
Or maybe took one look at Judith from Tales of Vesperia, and automatically assumed she overshadowed Colette, Raine, Presea, Sheena, Tear, Natalia, Anise, etc. Or maybe Xelha, Mizuti, or Milly from the Baten Kaitos games.
So even within those, the answer to your question is "of course." Even if you're one of those people who assumes that any female character who doesn't act like a man is "stereotypical."
Again? What's with all the repeat topics this last week?
I already commented on this the last time it came up this week.
And yes, I realize that the first response was already this (from Onyx).
Call ninja'd if you want; I don't really care.
I already commented on this the last time it came up this week.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.230751-Unsexualized-but-attractive-characters?page=7Atmos Duality said:
And yes, I realize that the first response was already this (from Onyx).
Call ninja'd if you want; I don't really care.
chinangel said:
Both true. I was talking about FFX's Rikku, not X-2 (X-2 is just...yeah...). I admit the strippy scene is a bit like whaaa? And when she was first in her diving suit I did think the skin coloured parts of the suit were....skin. But I think afterwards when she properly joins the party she's just, like Selphie, the ditzy "cute" girl.Timzilla said:
(Note: "cute" being different from flaunting giant breasts. "Cute" is acceptable)
However, she, like Samus before Metroid: other M(going on what I've seen and people have told me about metroid), is devoid of any personality beyond a blank space for the player to fill. I'm going to be blunt and say I'm very hesistant to call that a character at all, ESPECIALLY chell, who hasn't had a whole franchise to wade mutely through.subject_87 said:
You know what? Google "The game overthinker episode 40"(or 41), watch it and listen closely.
OT: I would say Faith, from Mirror's Edge. Yes, she's female, no, there isn't a big deal being made out of it.
Well I've been trying to play Uncharted 2 on Crushing lately and Elena seems pretty un-steriotypical, she is usually shaky during firefights (like any normal person would) and actually shows emotion whenever her cameraman gets killed, then again anyone would seem emotional whenever the only other female protagonist (Chloe, or 'that english one')is a cold hearted *****, honestly, just watch the cutscene towards the end where(SPOILERS)her boyfriend shows up and gos Al-Queda on their asses.
Two I know of:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090506203548/silent/images/b/b4/HeatherMason.png
Okay, yeah, she's mildly attractive, but she's not sexualized. She's dressed in an average teenage girl sort of way. I've seen girls her age (17) wear stuff a lot more revealing. Plus her skin has blemishes, areas of discoloration, scars and suchlike. Her eyes are slightly puffy, like she's been awake from one-too-many nightmares. This doesn't happen on women you're trying to make beautiful. Magazines would airbrush that stuff out. <spoiler=However>The only sexualized thing about her I can think of is that she's supposed to give birth to a god, but that's all ritualized in a process of suffering and torment, there's nothing really sexual about it. I had to put this in spoiler tags in case someone didn't know the ending.
<spoiler=Elanor Lamb from Bioshock 2>http://www.figures.com/forums/attachments/news/6227d1274120955-big-sister-eleanor-lamb-sneak-peek-1lambbio2.jpg
Come on, she's supposed to be your daughter, you're supposed to love her, not ogle her diving-suit clad figure. How could you ever think that about her?
In the same vein, the Little Sisters, especially the Little Sister version of Elanor Lamb. No. Just, No.
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090506203548/silent/images/b/b4/HeatherMason.png
Okay, yeah, she's mildly attractive, but she's not sexualized. She's dressed in an average teenage girl sort of way. I've seen girls her age (17) wear stuff a lot more revealing. Plus her skin has blemishes, areas of discoloration, scars and suchlike. Her eyes are slightly puffy, like she's been awake from one-too-many nightmares. This doesn't happen on women you're trying to make beautiful. Magazines would airbrush that stuff out. <spoiler=However>The only sexualized thing about her I can think of is that she's supposed to give birth to a god, but that's all ritualized in a process of suffering and torment, there's nothing really sexual about it. I had to put this in spoiler tags in case someone didn't know the ending.
<spoiler=Elanor Lamb from Bioshock 2>http://www.figures.com/forums/attachments/news/6227d1274120955-big-sister-eleanor-lamb-sneak-peek-1lambbio2.jpg
Come on, she's supposed to be your daughter, you're supposed to love her, not ogle her diving-suit clad figure. How could you ever think that about her?
In the same vein, the Little Sisters, especially the Little Sister version of Elanor Lamb. No. Just, No.
I would have to take your word for it because I have never heard of the character much less the game, sorry. But if what your saying is true then I would have to agree with you but you have to at least give Alyx some respect as to the situation that she is in. In a somewhat destroyed nation, fighting to overcome the oppressors, and coming across being believable character makes Alyx seem like a perfect fit. April Ryan does seem like a fairly attractive character (I Googled her) but Alyx is also attractive in the same sense not sexualized, but neither is April. Until I play the game your talking about that's all I can say.Trivun said:
Pretty much all the girls in Tales of Symphonia aren't sexualized (with the exception of Sheena), although some of them are slightly stereotypical. Also the girls from Golden Sun aren't sexualized at all (mostly because they're not very old) and I don't think they are very stereotypical at all either. For another couple of characters, Rinoa and Selphie from FFVIII. Sure Selphie wheres a skirt and is a little clumsy but they're both well rounded characters and the only sexualization from Selphie especially only comes into play when Irvine is talking.