Sexism in modern video games....
May. 11th, 2013 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brendalaSometimes, you CAN judge a book by it's cover.
For example, my initial reaction upon seeing the rebooted design for Carmelita Fox (the main female character and all-around badass from the original Sly Cooper trilogy) was, "WTF!? There is no way in HELL that this game will be good!! Why is it directly pandering to the wierdo pervs who draw furry porn!!!!?!??"
For those who aren't familiar with Sly Cooper, here's a side-by-side comparison of the old and new designs (hint: the original design is the one that DOESN'T SUCK!!!):
...but, in the end, I opted to give it the benefit of the doubt and buy the game anyway. That was a mistake.
I wrote a comprehensive essay about this game's problems and put it on DA (here's the link). But, since most of my LJ pals aren't die-hard Sly fans, I'll condense it here so you don't have to be familiar with the series to get my point:
As a woman, I felt like this game was actively alienating me in a way that the previous Sly titles NEVER did. I’m sure this wasn’t an intentional move on the part of the writers and artists at Sanzaru; but I felt actively uncomfortable during many points of the game. And that feeling made it difficult to enjoy all the things that Sanzaru (the new developer that took the series from Sucker Punch) did right.
My main beef is with the sexualization of the only two major female characters in the series (Carmelita and Penelope). While all the Sanzaru re-designs of the MALE characters were mostly unchanged from the classic Sucker Punch look; Penelope and Carmelita look so different that they’re virtually unrecognizable! And they stand out a LOT because, aside from normal stylistic tweeks, all the male characters retained the same basic appearance and wardrobe that we all remember from past games. And the sexualized redesigns of the girls combined with their new personalities just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I’ll start with Carmelita:
I see a lot fans defend her re-design by saying things like "Carmelita wasn't exactly a nun in the other Sly games" or "The boys don't even wear PANTS! So what does it matter if Carmelita runs around in a mini-skirt and high heels?". And I think the major difference is this...
While the original Carmelita design didn’t wear very realistic police-lady attire; the character was never drawn, posed, or characterized in a way that felt like she was ONLY there to titillate the male furries. Her character was always treated with respect and, aside from the dopey corset-top, her clothing wasn't ridiculous or laughably impractical.
And her body was drawn to look strong and athletic. She was attractive while still looking like someone that you could believe is tough enough to take on men twice her size. IMO, most of her appeal stemmed from her strength and confidence rather than her physical beauty and/or "sexiness".
Also, she almost always saved and/or assisted Sly in the final boss battles. And even in the few instances where she needed to be rescued, she never came across as a wimpy damsel-in-distress who needed her manly love-interest to rush in and save her. In short, she was awesome.
As for her personality, she always came across as professional and driven by her love for her job. And she always behaved like a mature adult who was torn between her law enforcement career and her growing infatuation for a brazen, unashamed criminal like Sly.
Compare this to Sanzaru's treatment of her...
Her design looks like one of those “stripper/slutty cop” Halloween costumes you see on the shelf every October. Her re-design was clearly more focused on looking "sexy" than looking strong. And this is emphasized by the fact that pretty much EVERY scene she's in focuses on how OMG!HOT she is (I guess they were afraid the audience would forget that she's supposed to be sexy if they were not actively reminded of this every time she's on screen).
Not only was her new outfit insanely revealing and impractical compared to her old one; but she was also slimmed down to the point where she looks like she could be knocked down by a strong breeze. And the outfit design is made even more ludicrous by the fact that a later level has her get indignant over having to put on a “revealing” harem girl outfit that covers more of her body than her cop uniform (and is also more sensible for crime fighting because it has a more practical pair of shoes).
As for her new personality, she continually acts like a surly, unprofessional brat for no good reason. And her relationship with Sly feels like it came out of a bad high school drama. For example, she snaps at Sly constantly and flirts with most of Sly's ancestors in a pathetic attempt to make him jealous instead of just talking to him like a grown up.
Oh, and her in-game model is HELLA CREEPY!
Welcome to the uncanny valley...
Basically, Sanzaru reduced Carmelita to nothing but shrill furry fap material. She behaved like a whiney teenager instead of a grown-up professional cop. And the harem scenes were just disgusting and degrading. Not only was the player prompted to use the sixaxis controller to make her shake her ass for horny thugs (while they throw money at her, no less!); but one scene toward the end has the Big Villain taunt Sly by feeling her up in front of him while she was tied up and helpless. Just....*shudder*
Now, let’s move on to Penelope:
While her Sanzaru design wasn’t as blatantly sexed up as Carmelita’s, it tried it’s darnedest to make us forget that Penelope was a frumpy nerd in the last game. They slimmed her down and changed her design so much that I didn’t realize it was supposed to be her when the first few Penelope screenshots from Sly 4 were leaked! But the new look is honestly the least of her problems.
Even though it is pretty lame...
Going into why her treatment was sexist will be hard to do without spoiling all four Sly games. So I'll just say this...
ALL of her previous character development was jettisoned in order to get rid of her and use her as a cheap plot device. In the previous trilogy, Penelope was the first and only female member of the Cooper Gang (and one of only two female characters in the franchise who wasn't a villain). Not only that, she was another example of a "token female love-interest" done right. She didn't just exist to be a prize for Bentley (the character she ended up with at the end of Sly 3). She had her own story arc, her own motivations, and her own relationships with the other members of the team even BEFORE she hooked up with Bentley. She wasn't just Team Sly's token chick. She was a great character in her own right.
However, for whatever reason (perhaps because she was difficult to porn up and/or because two female protagonists was just TOO DAMN MANY), Sanzaru concocted a lame excuse to get rid of her. And in the process, they stripped her of her intelligence and personal agency. Basically, they characterize her as an incompetent dingbat who can't get anything done without a man. Whereas, in the third Sly game, she accomplished a lot of impressive things on her own WAY before she even meets Sly and his team (and it's implied that she did so when she was only a teenager). And she was characterized as being Bentley's intellectual equal (the only difference was that Bentley is a jack-of-all-trades while Penelope specialized in mechanics, aviation, and RC devices). But Sly 4 flat out tells the audience that Penelope is WAY DUMBER THAN HER BOYFRIEND!!!!
Just...no.
Also, Sly and Murray simply regard her as "their bro's ho" instead of an independent person and one of their friends. And there's a creepy, borderline fridgy moment in Sly 4 where the game seems to endorse domestic violence. No seriously, this happens! In a talking animal game that used to be marketed TO CHILDREN.
Now, before people start throwing words like “feminazi” at me, let me clarify that I don’t believe that the people at Sanzaru are misogynist monsters intent on rolling back the women’s suffrage movement via lame video games. On the contrary, they seem like perfectly nice dudes in all the interviews I’ve seen them in. However, I don’t think any of the (mostly male) writers and artists understand just how alienating all this stuff can be to long time female fans who dug the Sly Cooper series precisely BECAUSE it was one of the few modern games out there that was both well made and completely free of gratuitous nonsense like rail-thin female cops dressed up in fetish attire.
I can't help wondering if this sexing up of a game franchise that was previously...
a) not guilty of the sexist nonsense that seems to plague the game industry nowadays
b) primarily marketed to CHILDREN!!
....has something to do with modern trends or culture or whatever. It's just scary how female representation in media (especially in stuff that's aimed at kids) seems to be going BACKWARDS instead of FORWARDS.
On a lighter note, I couldn't help wondering how this game would have been received if the tables were turned and pervy WOMEN had gotten their clutches on this franchise. And then this fantastic piece of crack-art was born...
====
===
For example, my initial reaction upon seeing the rebooted design for Carmelita Fox (the main female character and all-around badass from the original Sly Cooper trilogy) was, "WTF!? There is no way in HELL that this game will be good!! Why is it directly pandering to the wierdo pervs who draw furry porn!!!!?!??"
For those who aren't familiar with Sly Cooper, here's a side-by-side comparison of the old and new designs (hint: the original design is the one that DOESN'T SUCK!!!):
...but, in the end, I opted to give it the benefit of the doubt and buy the game anyway. That was a mistake.
I wrote a comprehensive essay about this game's problems and put it on DA (here's the link). But, since most of my LJ pals aren't die-hard Sly fans, I'll condense it here so you don't have to be familiar with the series to get my point:
As a woman, I felt like this game was actively alienating me in a way that the previous Sly titles NEVER did. I’m sure this wasn’t an intentional move on the part of the writers and artists at Sanzaru; but I felt actively uncomfortable during many points of the game. And that feeling made it difficult to enjoy all the things that Sanzaru (the new developer that took the series from Sucker Punch) did right.
My main beef is with the sexualization of the only two major female characters in the series (Carmelita and Penelope). While all the Sanzaru re-designs of the MALE characters were mostly unchanged from the classic Sucker Punch look; Penelope and Carmelita look so different that they’re virtually unrecognizable! And they stand out a LOT because, aside from normal stylistic tweeks, all the male characters retained the same basic appearance and wardrobe that we all remember from past games. And the sexualized redesigns of the girls combined with their new personalities just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I’ll start with Carmelita:
I see a lot fans defend her re-design by saying things like "Carmelita wasn't exactly a nun in the other Sly games" or "The boys don't even wear PANTS! So what does it matter if Carmelita runs around in a mini-skirt and high heels?". And I think the major difference is this...
While the original Carmelita design didn’t wear very realistic police-lady attire; the character was never drawn, posed, or characterized in a way that felt like she was ONLY there to titillate the male furries. Her character was always treated with respect and, aside from the dopey corset-top, her clothing wasn't ridiculous or laughably impractical.
And her body was drawn to look strong and athletic. She was attractive while still looking like someone that you could believe is tough enough to take on men twice her size. IMO, most of her appeal stemmed from her strength and confidence rather than her physical beauty and/or "sexiness".
Also, she almost always saved and/or assisted Sly in the final boss battles. And even in the few instances where she needed to be rescued, she never came across as a wimpy damsel-in-distress who needed her manly love-interest to rush in and save her. In short, she was awesome.
As for her personality, she always came across as professional and driven by her love for her job. And she always behaved like a mature adult who was torn between her law enforcement career and her growing infatuation for a brazen, unashamed criminal like Sly.
Compare this to Sanzaru's treatment of her...
Her design looks like one of those “stripper/slutty cop” Halloween costumes you see on the shelf every October. Her re-design was clearly more focused on looking "sexy" than looking strong. And this is emphasized by the fact that pretty much EVERY scene she's in focuses on how OMG!HOT she is (I guess they were afraid the audience would forget that she's supposed to be sexy if they were not actively reminded of this every time she's on screen).
Not only was her new outfit insanely revealing and impractical compared to her old one; but she was also slimmed down to the point where she looks like she could be knocked down by a strong breeze. And the outfit design is made even more ludicrous by the fact that a later level has her get indignant over having to put on a “revealing” harem girl outfit that covers more of her body than her cop uniform (and is also more sensible for crime fighting because it has a more practical pair of shoes).
As for her new personality, she continually acts like a surly, unprofessional brat for no good reason. And her relationship with Sly feels like it came out of a bad high school drama. For example, she snaps at Sly constantly and flirts with most of Sly's ancestors in a pathetic attempt to make him jealous instead of just talking to him like a grown up.
Oh, and her in-game model is HELLA CREEPY!
Welcome to the uncanny valley...
Basically, Sanzaru reduced Carmelita to nothing but shrill furry fap material. She behaved like a whiney teenager instead of a grown-up professional cop. And the harem scenes were just disgusting and degrading. Not only was the player prompted to use the sixaxis controller to make her shake her ass for horny thugs (while they throw money at her, no less!); but one scene toward the end has the Big Villain taunt Sly by feeling her up in front of him while she was tied up and helpless. Just....*shudder*
Now, let’s move on to Penelope:
While her Sanzaru design wasn’t as blatantly sexed up as Carmelita’s, it tried it’s darnedest to make us forget that Penelope was a frumpy nerd in the last game. They slimmed her down and changed her design so much that I didn’t realize it was supposed to be her when the first few Penelope screenshots from Sly 4 were leaked! But the new look is honestly the least of her problems.
Even though it is pretty lame...
Going into why her treatment was sexist will be hard to do without spoiling all four Sly games. So I'll just say this...
ALL of her previous character development was jettisoned in order to get rid of her and use her as a cheap plot device. In the previous trilogy, Penelope was the first and only female member of the Cooper Gang (and one of only two female characters in the franchise who wasn't a villain). Not only that, she was another example of a "token female love-interest" done right. She didn't just exist to be a prize for Bentley (the character she ended up with at the end of Sly 3). She had her own story arc, her own motivations, and her own relationships with the other members of the team even BEFORE she hooked up with Bentley. She wasn't just Team Sly's token chick. She was a great character in her own right.
However, for whatever reason (perhaps because she was difficult to porn up and/or because two female protagonists was just TOO DAMN MANY), Sanzaru concocted a lame excuse to get rid of her. And in the process, they stripped her of her intelligence and personal agency. Basically, they characterize her as an incompetent dingbat who can't get anything done without a man. Whereas, in the third Sly game, she accomplished a lot of impressive things on her own WAY before she even meets Sly and his team (and it's implied that she did so when she was only a teenager). And she was characterized as being Bentley's intellectual equal (the only difference was that Bentley is a jack-of-all-trades while Penelope specialized in mechanics, aviation, and RC devices). But Sly 4 flat out tells the audience that Penelope is WAY DUMBER THAN HER BOYFRIEND!!!!
Just...no.
Also, Sly and Murray simply regard her as "their bro's ho" instead of an independent person and one of their friends. And there's a creepy, borderline fridgy moment in Sly 4 where the game seems to endorse domestic violence. No seriously, this happens! In a talking animal game that used to be marketed TO CHILDREN.
Now, before people start throwing words like “feminazi” at me, let me clarify that I don’t believe that the people at Sanzaru are misogynist monsters intent on rolling back the women’s suffrage movement via lame video games. On the contrary, they seem like perfectly nice dudes in all the interviews I’ve seen them in. However, I don’t think any of the (mostly male) writers and artists understand just how alienating all this stuff can be to long time female fans who dug the Sly Cooper series precisely BECAUSE it was one of the few modern games out there that was both well made and completely free of gratuitous nonsense like rail-thin female cops dressed up in fetish attire.
I can't help wondering if this sexing up of a game franchise that was previously...
a) not guilty of the sexist nonsense that seems to plague the game industry nowadays
b) primarily marketed to CHILDREN!!
....has something to do with modern trends or culture or whatever. It's just scary how female representation in media (especially in stuff that's aimed at kids) seems to be going BACKWARDS instead of FORWARDS.
On a lighter note, I couldn't help wondering how this game would have been received if the tables were turned and pervy WOMEN had gotten their clutches on this franchise. And then this fantastic piece of crack-art was born...
====
===
