Misogyny? In My Videogames? Part One

My last post net me an interesting comment. Now, I like bewbs as much as any other guy (maybe a bit more than the other guy), but I play videogames for the immersion; to be able to lose yourself, if only for a moment, in another world. Call it escapism, or a distraction, or maybe even running away; I really don't care. Anyway, part of the whole immersion process comes from the games presentation; it's graphical, aural, and artistic appearance. Games that look and sound good are easier to get into than games that don't. The other aspect of immersion is the gameplay. Challenging gameplay, tight control, clever level designing, etc. all contribute to the "feel" of the game, which again, allows the player to really sink their teeth into the whole experience.

We have to keep in mind that Video Gaming is an entertainment industry, just like Film. As such, developers must focus not just on making entertaining games, but good-looking games too. Sexy games, even. Just like Hollywood cakes its actors' faces with makeup to make them more flawless and appealing, so too will developers "pretty up" its characters for the same effect. Fortunately for developers, videogame characters are complete fabrications. They are as flawless as they are designed, essentially.

So how do you make a flawless character more appealing? Exaggerate, of course! Make the hips wider! Make those legs thicker! Pinch down the waist! Her breasts need to be as big as her head! And why is she wearing so much clothes? For female characters, size is everything. Breasts are usually #1 on the super-size list. Developers have the fortune, as I said before, of working with fabrications. They don't need to hide "imperfections" ; they design their characters without them.