I notice there was a thread recently I didn't get to take part in, where users, including the OP were basically making criticisms of Japanese games, for having a lot of manga or anime or whatever you want to call it, designs, and having "gay looking/seeming men". I kid you not. Seems pretty ridiculous, really.
Now, I'll admit to having my own bias in favor of anime designs. It may not have anything to do with gameplay, but I'll admit to really liking it. At least you can interact with it more than an anime figure, unless you're planning to make stop motion video. I've also made a lot of criticisms on a lot of the fixation on macho bodybuilder dudes video games.
But I certainly play a lot of non-anime games, and I think it should be considered pretty normal to play games if they have anime characters. If I only played games with anime characters, which I don't, you'd think me pretty closed minded and superficial, right? Then there's no reason to consider someone who refuses to play games based upon anime designs any less superficial, is there?
Plenty of anime games with guys that aren't macho hunks of muscle have sold plenty well. And to be honest, that seems like a fairly shallow thing to say about Japanese games. That the characters look too gay and anime. I can understand degrees of personal preference, but saying that they should chance, because the West, as a whole, will not tolerate effeminate male characters or manga characters in general, seems ridiculous. It's telling Japanese developers they should do what caters to the West, instead of making the games they want. And is saying that Westerners are shallow and gameplay isn't enough to look past manga designs.
I can understand all the arguments people make related to gameplay. Those are understandable, I respect those complaints. When talking about linearity and choice in jRPGs, there's a real argument to be hard there about things that matter. It may not be true, but it is substance. But this just seems superficial, incredibly superficial and unproductive.
And if the West does not want to look past androgyny or anime aesthetics, well then I think that's sad for us and I'm disappointed in us. And that Japanese developers should ignore the Western audiences that will refuse to play as such characters. They'd be better of pleasing the Japanese market that is happy to play as an anime character. And won't shallowly refuse a game because it has manga designs.
You can talk about linearity and overused storylines and things like that all you want. Japan certainly has room to grow and innovate as an industry where it is not. This, on the other hand, is meaningless, and should not change at all. If you refuse to play a game because of manga aesthetics, you're being as shallow about video games as it is possible to be, and Japanese developers do not need to cater to you. Again, how would you react to someone if they said they wouldn't play a game because it "wasn't anime enough"?
As long as it doesn't become another "World War II" thread like the other one, opening a thread like this should be okay, right? I hope I'm not going to get in trouble with the mods for this, I certainly mean no trouble.
Now, I'll admit to having my own bias in favor of anime designs. It may not have anything to do with gameplay, but I'll admit to really liking it. At least you can interact with it more than an anime figure, unless you're planning to make stop motion video. I've also made a lot of criticisms on a lot of the fixation on macho bodybuilder dudes video games.
But I certainly play a lot of non-anime games, and I think it should be considered pretty normal to play games if they have anime characters. If I only played games with anime characters, which I don't, you'd think me pretty closed minded and superficial, right? Then there's no reason to consider someone who refuses to play games based upon anime designs any less superficial, is there?
Plenty of anime games with guys that aren't macho hunks of muscle have sold plenty well. And to be honest, that seems like a fairly shallow thing to say about Japanese games. That the characters look too gay and anime. I can understand degrees of personal preference, but saying that they should chance, because the West, as a whole, will not tolerate effeminate male characters or manga characters in general, seems ridiculous. It's telling Japanese developers they should do what caters to the West, instead of making the games they want. And is saying that Westerners are shallow and gameplay isn't enough to look past manga designs.
I can understand all the arguments people make related to gameplay. Those are understandable, I respect those complaints. When talking about linearity and choice in jRPGs, there's a real argument to be hard there about things that matter. It may not be true, but it is substance. But this just seems superficial, incredibly superficial and unproductive.
And if the West does not want to look past androgyny or anime aesthetics, well then I think that's sad for us and I'm disappointed in us. And that Japanese developers should ignore the Western audiences that will refuse to play as such characters. They'd be better of pleasing the Japanese market that is happy to play as an anime character. And won't shallowly refuse a game because it has manga designs.
You can talk about linearity and overused storylines and things like that all you want. Japan certainly has room to grow and innovate as an industry where it is not. This, on the other hand, is meaningless, and should not change at all. If you refuse to play a game because of manga aesthetics, you're being as shallow about video games as it is possible to be, and Japanese developers do not need to cater to you. Again, how would you react to someone if they said they wouldn't play a game because it "wasn't anime enough"?
As long as it doesn't become another "World War II" thread like the other one, opening a thread like this should be okay, right? I hope I'm not going to get in trouble with the mods for this, I certainly mean no trouble.
