Have any of you noticed the complete lack of women in the battlefield when it comes to Infinity Wards blockbuster hit? How about in other titles that reflect war?
In WW2 titles, women are accurately placed as soldiers on the Russian front and in Resistance movements in France...but how is it that developers, who don't have a problem displaying women in that time period, don't act so fairly with our own?
In Modern Warfare, the only female character is the pilot. Now the lack of female commandos in squads like the Navy Seals does reflect our current state. But what about women in the Russian army in that village assault? Or when American forces stormed on "unnamed" middle eastern nation?
Other games don't give a favorable impression as to how we gamers and developers presently view women either...
In the Halo universe, the only females present (not counting Cortana) are the pilot leaving the "Pillar of Autumn" in Halo1, and commander related to Keyes in Halo 3.
Another blockbuster, Gears of War, provides only two women in the same roles as well. One is a pilot, the other is an officer talking in your earpiece far away.
So it would seem that as things stand today, the presence of women in our games about war must fit into two categories. In looking at Modern Warfare, Halo, and Gears, women must...
- Take a role separate of the dangers of war. (like the ones working in the safety of HQ)
or
- If they must be in battle, take a role that separates you from standing in the middle of all that testosterone. (like being a pilot)
The reason I bring this up and go out of my way to pick on Modern Warfare (despite how it is not the only guilty party), is just how funny its name is once you think about it.
I mean, we call it "Modern Warfare" for no other reason than the fact that it abandons WW2 armaments for current military tech. And yet it looks over one of the things that makes our military so different from those of the past. One crucial thing that makes us modern!!
So I guess this does ask a few questions...
1) How do you think this reflects developers? I don't think they are sexist, but do you think they don't believe women are integral in war? Is it possible that not a single member working on Modern Warfare walked up to his teammates and said, "maybe we should throw in some more female npc's..."?
2) How do you think this reflects us gamers? This is something we have all noticed at one time or another, but is the fact that we don't make a big deal about it signify that we, in a way, agree with it? That its appropriate for women to serve in the two present roles I listed? Would the presences of more female soldiers fighting by your side change the gameplay positively, negatively, or not at all?
3) How do you think this affects our appearance to outsiders? To the arguments that other people make that video games aren't really a serious medium like books/television/films can be?
4) How do you think this affects our appearance to women? There is already discussions on an absence of female protagonists, but does the absence of women merely appearing present in certain situations turn-off potential female gamers? Have any of you women reading this feel it makes a difference?
5) What are your expectations of this trend changing. Do you expect to see things differently in Modern Warfare 2?
~~~~~~
*I understand that women only make up about 15% of our current US armed forces...but looking at video games, it seems to reflect that percentage as being less that 2%...
In WW2 titles, women are accurately placed as soldiers on the Russian front and in Resistance movements in France...but how is it that developers, who don't have a problem displaying women in that time period, don't act so fairly with our own?
In Modern Warfare, the only female character is the pilot. Now the lack of female commandos in squads like the Navy Seals does reflect our current state. But what about women in the Russian army in that village assault? Or when American forces stormed on "unnamed" middle eastern nation?
Other games don't give a favorable impression as to how we gamers and developers presently view women either...
In the Halo universe, the only females present (not counting Cortana) are the pilot leaving the "Pillar of Autumn" in Halo1, and commander related to Keyes in Halo 3.
Another blockbuster, Gears of War, provides only two women in the same roles as well. One is a pilot, the other is an officer talking in your earpiece far away.
So it would seem that as things stand today, the presence of women in our games about war must fit into two categories. In looking at Modern Warfare, Halo, and Gears, women must...
- Take a role separate of the dangers of war. (like the ones working in the safety of HQ)
or
- If they must be in battle, take a role that separates you from standing in the middle of all that testosterone. (like being a pilot)
The reason I bring this up and go out of my way to pick on Modern Warfare (despite how it is not the only guilty party), is just how funny its name is once you think about it.
I mean, we call it "Modern Warfare" for no other reason than the fact that it abandons WW2 armaments for current military tech. And yet it looks over one of the things that makes our military so different from those of the past. One crucial thing that makes us modern!!
So I guess this does ask a few questions...
1) How do you think this reflects developers? I don't think they are sexist, but do you think they don't believe women are integral in war? Is it possible that not a single member working on Modern Warfare walked up to his teammates and said, "maybe we should throw in some more female npc's..."?
2) How do you think this reflects us gamers? This is something we have all noticed at one time or another, but is the fact that we don't make a big deal about it signify that we, in a way, agree with it? That its appropriate for women to serve in the two present roles I listed? Would the presences of more female soldiers fighting by your side change the gameplay positively, negatively, or not at all?
3) How do you think this affects our appearance to outsiders? To the arguments that other people make that video games aren't really a serious medium like books/television/films can be?
4) How do you think this affects our appearance to women? There is already discussions on an absence of female protagonists, but does the absence of women merely appearing present in certain situations turn-off potential female gamers? Have any of you women reading this feel it makes a difference?
5) What are your expectations of this trend changing. Do you expect to see things differently in Modern Warfare 2?
~~~~~~
*I understand that women only make up about 15% of our current US armed forces...but looking at video games, it seems to reflect that percentage as being less that 2%...
