"Gender Equalty" Rating on Games in Sweden

[Yoinkerman]

#firstworldproblems

[Trik'Stari]

#firstworldproblems

#Incorrecttermworldproblems^

[Doobeedoo]

People are idiots omg.

[BallGum]

I don't care if it is dumb. As long as it will shut up some of the idiots trying to change the industry to their own subjectively good ideals.

It won't affect what I buy.

[Notional]

Sweden is turning into some weird bizarro world. It is turning into a tumblr ism with their gender neutral hen and that municipality that wanted to force men to sit down when they pee. Equality is nice, but Sweden is turning into a misandric society. Most Danes are flabbergasted at what we see across the borders.

[techswede]

Sweden is turning into some weird bizarro world. It is turning into a tumblr ism with their gender neutral hen and that municipality that wanted to force men to sit down when they pee. Equality is nice, but Sweden is turning into a misandric society. Most Danes are flabbergasted at what we see across the borders.

I'm a danish person living in sweden.. I am flabbergasted on a daily basis

 

But guys that can't aim for s**t should sit down when they pee... Stepping in piss is no fun

[CatCloud]

Never heard of this or the word "hen" until now! Maybe i should pay attention on whats going on here again! i feel out dated.
As for this thing...wtf !? is my only reaction right now.

[SpaghettiCarbonara]

Feminists are one of the many things our modern society can do without. They had their time. The rest of society has given them many chances and they've fucked every single one up.

 

#ShaveTheFeminists

[techswede]

Never heard of this or the word "hen" until now! Maybe i should pay attention on whats going on here again! i feel out dated.

As for this thing...wtf !? is my only reaction right now.

I thought it would be more prevalent in stockholm of all places. 

[CatCloud]

I thought it would be more prevalent in stockholm of all places. 

im either blind or its only mentioned at Sweclockers where i never hang around.

or on TV that i never watch, or newspaper i dont read...Hmmm

But considering no one is talking about it...idunno what to say.

[techswede]

im either blind or its only mentioned at Sweclockers where i never hang around.

I'm not a fan of sweclockers either  

But i do find it strange that there is someone that's never heard it. I hear it on tv, in stores, it shows up in the papers i get in school from time to time.. It's so dumb

I was expecting it to have really taken a hold in stockholm. 

[Guest]

I don't think its a secret that many games aren't gender neutral. For example, I only just started playing CS GO and I'm really bad so I've been playing against bots to try to get better and I noticed all the bots have male names. Sure, all the characters are male, but why? I don't see any reason why they should be. The characters are of different race, but not of different sex? Makes no sense if you ask me.

 

I don't know if a rating is a good way to do it, but I would agree that something needs to change to make games more gender neutral. At least they recognize that there is an issue, even if they are approaching the solution wrong.

[Cookybiscuit]

I don't think its a secret that many games aren't gender neutral. For example, I only just started playing CS GO and I'm really bad so I've been playing against bots to try to get better and I noticed all the bots have male names. Sure, all the characters are male, but why? I don't see any reason why they should be. The characters are of different race, but not of different sex? Makes no sense if you ask me.

 

I don't know if a rating is a good way to do it, but I would agree that something needs to change to make games more gender neutral. At least they recognize that there is an issue, even if they are approaching the solution wrong.

Maybe its got something to do with the fact that its a competitive gaming environment and having drastically different models and/or hitboxes is stupid. e.g. Elites in Halo 3, but obviously, making a good game doesn't matter, it should all be about promoting gender equality...

 

Sure am glad I don't live in Sweden, what a shithole.

[Guest]

Maybe its got something to do with the fact that its a competitive gaming environment and having drastically different models and/or hitboxes is stupid. e.g. Elites in Halo 3, but obviously, making a good game doesn't matter, it should all be about promoting gender equality...

 

Sure am glad I don't live in Sweden, what a shithole.

I guess I just don't see what's wrong with making something a good game AND be gender neutral. It wouldn't hurt anything. In fact if anything, I suspect it would actually help sales because if you make a game have female characters, all of a sudden the game is more attractive to the population of female gamers that makes up nearly 50% of all gamers (source: wikipedia) And I haven't played Halo 3 so I don't know what you are talking about with that. But you wouldn't have to make the women shorter than the male characters. That wouldn't be fair. That's why in Golden Eye its no fair to be Odd Job, because he's too damn short! He's hard to hit! Golden Eye, I think that game does it a good way. It has male and female characters and they are all the sames size except for Odd Job who is short and Jaws who is tall. If you were to do this same thing (but without the one tall and one short character) I think it would be just fine. Certainly wouldn't take away from the game play.

[Legion]

Oh this is totally going in my thesis paper.

 

I wonder when all these special interest groups realize that there is a difference between equality and special treatment? Probably never.

 

 

Never because then they would have to give up being professional victims and actually work for a living

[Cookybiscuit]

I guess I just don't see what's wrong with making something a good game AND be gender neutral. It wouldn't hurt anything. In fact if anything, I suspect it would actually help sales because if you make a game have female characters, all of a sudden the game is more attractive to the population of female gamers that makes up nearly 50% of all gamers (source: wikipedia) And I haven't played Halo 3 so I don't know what you are talking about with that. But you wouldn't have to make the women shorter than the male characters. That wouldn't be fair. That's why in Golden Eye its no fair to be Odd Job, because he's too damn short! He's hard to hit! Golden Eye, I think that game does it a good way. It has male and female characters and they are all the sames size except for Odd Job who is short and Jaws who is tall. If you were to do this same thing (but without the one tall and one short character) I think it would be just fine. Certainly wouldn't take away from the game play.

We don't need to start making games worse and adding gender bullshit just so the developer can receive some stupid rating, let them make the game they want to make.

[LAwLz]

Sure, all the characters are male, but why? I don't see any reason why they should be. The characters are of different race, but not of different sex? Makes no sense if you ask me.

Because most terrorists and special forces are male in real life? The default gender for a terrorist or special forces person is male. They would need to go out of their way and consciously make the bots female, and for what purpose?

I think a better question would be, why does anyone care? It doesn't affect the game play in any way. I'd imagine that the only people who care about the gender of the characters would actually get mad if some bots were female, because it means you would run around shooting women. Anita gets mad that you can kill women in Hitman even when the game punishes you for it. Imagine how she would react if the primary goal of the game was to shoot some women.

Also, it would double the number of models and double the number of voice actors/recordings needed. That shouldn't be a big deal for a company like Valve, but why double the work needed if it doesn't actually make a difference to the game?

 

I don't even think it's an issue. I have no problem playing games with female characters so why do some women (and a lot of men for some reason, most of which doesn't even seem like "real gamers") complain about games featuring men?

 

 

 

In fact if anything, I suspect it would actually help sales because if you make a game have female characters, all of a sudden the game is more attractive to the population of female gamers that makes up nearly 50% of all gamers (source: wikipedia)

If 50% of gamers are women (hint: that study counted all kinds of games including things like puzzles, card games and such) then doesn't that show that they don't care about the genders of the people in the games?

I mean, if ~50% of the population makes up ~50% of gamers doesn't that mean we already have really really good gender equality?

[Unhelpful]

Who gives a shit? People are people are people are people are people.

[Sharif]

I definitely approve gender equality  

[mrmonmon2]

Next thing you know they are going to ban to kill a mocking bird in schools because it's too racist and sexist

[Guest]

Because most terrorists and special forces are male in real life? The default gender for a terrorist or special forces person is male. They would need to go out of their way and consciously make the bots female, and for what purpose?

I think a better question would be, why does anyone care? It doesn't affect the game play in any way. I'd imagine that the only people who care about the gender of the characters would actually get mad if some bots were female, because it means you would run around shooting women. Anita gets mad that you can kill women in Hitman even when the game punishes you for it. Imagine how she would react if the primary goal of the game was to shoot some women.

Also, it would double the number of models and double the number of voice actors/recordings needed. That shouldn't be a big deal for a company like Valve, but why double the work needed if it doesn't actually make a difference to the game?

 

I don't even think it's an issue. I have no problem playing games with female characters so why do some women (and a lot of men for some reason, most of which doesn't even seem like "real gamers") complain about games featuring men?

 

 

 

If 50% of gamers are women (hint: that study counted all kinds of games including things like puzzles, card games and such) then doesn't that show that they don't care about the genders of the people in the games?

I mean, if ~50% of the population makes up ~50% of gamers doesn't that mean we already have really really good gender equality?

I guess if I was a female I would want to play as a female. I think it would be a nice option to have. Sure most special force people are male, but there is nothing stopping a female from being one. Why not make it an option in the game? And you're right, generally speaking, most games are gender neutral. The top five selling games of all time I would consider to be gender neutral. Number 6 on the list is GTA5 which I haven't played (not on PC yet, man!), but if it is gender neutral, than the top 10 games on the list would be. Your right. Lots of games are gender neutral now. Which is great. But there is no reason they can't all be. The issue is not having a male protagonist, the issue is when every character in a game is male. I think it would also be an issue if every character in the game were black, white, etc with no real reason, but more games are racially neutral than they are gender neutral. Why does that need to be a thing? Why can't everyone be equal?

[cesrai]

I don't think its a secret that many games aren't gender neutral. For example, I only just started playing CS GO and I'm really bad so I've been playing against bots to try to get better and I noticed all the bots have male names. Sure, all the characters are male, but why? I don't see any reason why they should be. The characters are of different race, but not of different sex? Makes no sense if you ask me.

 

I don't know if a rating is a good way to do it, but I would agree that something needs to change to make games more gender neutral. At least they recognize that there is an issue, even if they are approaching the solution wrong.

Why would it matter?? I will counter your argument Tomb raider doesn't have a male character I can play with, characters are part of the story/gameplay not every game must have male and female characters, there are other games but I can't to remember.

[szomeret]

I'd have been so pissed as a kid if my mother wouldn't let me buy a game because it failed "the Bechdel test". Then I'd look up what that was and grow a great hatred. Early formed hatred lasts for a long time. I still hate that Jack Thompson and I haven't heard anything about him in years. How stupid. Enacting this would breed the next generation of troll misogynists. You're literally telling them that people are sensitive about this and then telling them that their preferred game is inferior. How does a teenager who loves video games react? Not positively I assure you. Maybe that's what the Einsteins behind this idea want.

[Guest]

Why would it matter?? I will counter your argument Tomb raider doesn't have a male character I can play with, characters are part of the story/gameplay not every game must have male and female characters, there are other games but I can't to remember.

The issue is not having a male or female protagonist, the issue is when every character is a male or every character is a female and it doesn't need to be. If it is part of the story that the character is male, female, black, white, etc. then by all means make them that way. Gender inequality becomes present when there is only male or only female characters when it doesn't matter towards the story (Or at least much more of one sex than the other). That's the issue. We'll take Jurassic Park (one of my all time favorite movies) as a prime example. That film is very gender neutral. It has about an equal mix of male and female characters, but the main character and even the antagonist are both men. But it doesn't matter. The fact is that there are still female characters in the film (and major ones at that). That story has a good split of male and female characters. If every character was a male for no good reason, well that would be a problem. Obviously if the story you are telling only has one character, you can't make it an even split. And it doesn't have to be. Look at the film Cast Away. Only one character. That film is fine. Another film that is fine would be The Women, which has an all female cast. Although it has an all female cast, it is part of the story that every character is female, thus it works. The issue ultimately is that in the eyes of many storytellers, whether they be game devs, screenwriters, authors, playwrights, or what ever else, one sex is superior to the other. And in this day and age, nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Edit: I will also say what I said early, I think that grading this on some sort of rating scale is a very flawed way of doing it. Something as complexed as gender neutrality can't be summed up in a number.

[cesrai]

The issue is not having a male or female protagonist, the issue is when every character is a male or every character is a female and it doesn't need to be. If it is part of the story that the character is male, female, black, white, etc. then by all means make them that way. Gender inequality becomes present when there is only male or only female characters when it doesn't matter towards the story (Or at least much more of one sex than the other). That's the issue. We'll take Jurassic Park (one of my all time favorite movies) as a prime example. That film is very gender neutral. It has about an equal mix of male and female characters, but the main character and even the antagonist are both men. But it doesn't matter. The fact is that there are still female characters in the film (and major ones at that). That story has a good split of male and female characters. If every character was a male for no good reason, well that would be a problem. Obviously if the story you are telling only has one character, you can't make it an even split. And it doesn't have to be. Look at the film Cast Away. Only one character. That film is fine. Another film that is fine would be The Women, which has an all female cast. Although it has an all female cast, it is part of the story that every character is female, thus it works. The issue ultimately is that in the eyes of many storytellers, whether they be game devs, screenwriters, authors, playwrights, or what ever else, one sex is superior to the other. And in this day and age, nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Edit: I will also say what I said early, I think that grading this on some sort of rating scale is a very flawed way of doing it. Something as complexed as gender neutrality can't be summed up in a number.

Ohh.. I see but I don't think that is gender inequality, maybe it will take more resources to develop a male or a female character, I actually think it doesn't matter if the game has no male or female character when it doesn't benefit the game from having them, I see it like this doesn't have a benefit in the gameplay/story don't implement it and put your resources in something that will benefit the game.