Thanks, Bloth - posts moved
And OK, the questions:
Do you think videogames should be changed and more tailored specifically towards gender neutrality and equality?
Not when it's phrased like that.
I wouldn't want to see game developers feel that they need to make their games according to a political agenda, nor would I consider that there's a universal view of what makes a videogame sexist, which means that it would be impossible to please everyone. For example, I've seen views that if the game is set in a world that's sexist, the game itself is sexist. That if there are brothels, it's sexist. I wouldn't consider either of these viewpoints to be correct. On the other hand, there is sometimes an arbitrary and unnecessary sexism introduced simply because the developers don't think about it
at all, and I would like them to try to do better. (Example, in DA:O, despite Bioware making such big claims about being gender-neutral, there are armours that magically turn into bikinis when equipped to a female Warden)
Does a game that stars a male protagonist (and doesn't give you the option to play as a female protagonist) automatically make it less gender-neutral? How many of you ladies are bothered by the fact that you can only play as male Geralt?
No, it doesn't
automatically mean that. In a story-driven game, the character has a defined history, and there is absolutely no reason why the game should be designed to cater for two versions of the character. But if the game isn't story driven, and especially if the character isn't voiced, then the option should probably be there. I also recognise that a voiced character does involve extra costs, and would consider that to be an acceptable argument for NOT doing it in a lower-budget game. But maybe they should consider doing female-only more often if there are such budget constraints. (So I'm on the fence as far as this week's AC scandal is concerned)
Geralt is male, so I need to play the character as a male. That didn't annoy me. If CDPR had offered the option of playing as Geraldine, that WOULD have annoyed me, because it would have implied that they put political correctness above the story.
How important is the gender of the protagonist in a videogame to you, and what would you like to see changed
If I have the choice, I would normally play as a woman, at least on the first playthrough. In Torchlight, I used a "gender change" mod so that I could play as a female melee warrior. If the choice isn't there, I'll play as a man, without any second thoughts - if I can play as an elf and still feel connected to the protagonist, it shouldn't be difficult to play as a man. I wouldn't make a purchase decision based on the availability of a female protagonist.
I would like to see more games available with female protagonists, either as an option, or story-driven with JUST a female.
and what would you want to stay the same regarding to gender-neutrality in The Witcher and videogames in general?
I want diversity in games. Which means I don't want ALL games to be designed according to some political-correctness checklist. There is a place for games with freedom in character-building, there is a place for games with fixed protagonists, and there is a place for modern equivalents of Leisure Suit Larry if there's a market for it.
But I would also like game developers to take into consideration the fact that their audience is not exclusively male, and therefore NOT introduce sexist elements unnecessarily to please a male audience if those elements would put off female gamers.
And the only thing I would want from The Witcher is NOT to see sex cards, because that is the only thing I think they did wrong.
