a LW mentioned the female characters looking really hot, and it reminded me of this interesting and very robust discussion on the internets about the sexual dimorphism of the WoW characters, which isn't just limited to WoW but they have such a large variety of non-human races so I guess they made an easy target (Everquest and Eve also have sexual dimorphism but I guess aren't as well-known as Warcraft). Here's the original article on it, I think: http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/05/sexual_dimorphi.html

The feminist argument seems to be that the sexiness of the female character shapes was intended to attract male gamers, and that women gamers would rather have characters that look uglier or more realistic (for example, female trolls should look more like trolls and less like supermodels). As a female who plays WoW, it's my fantasy too, and I like my characters to look attractive!

On a similar note, the RPG games I'm most attracted to are the ones where your gaming is rewarded with lots of money and where the shopping has a lot of variety. Sure, I like to kick ass but I also like to go shopping for armor and weapons that look awesome and are color coordinated. When I try out an RPG and the shopping is really downplayed or isn't readily available and doesn't offer a lot of variety, I'm not that interested in the game anymore. Go figure! ^_^

Some of the most satisfying shopping-as-reward-for-gaming I've encountered has been on Baldur's Gate, Warcraft and Rock Band. I even have gotten addicted to those waitress games where you can customize your restaurant at each level, but found the variety of customizability lacking. Sometimes I miss the text-based MUDs where your gear could be as fabulous as your ability to describe it. :)

I think transcripts would be a good idea, although it would require extra effort and time, which I wouldn't demand as a non-subscriber. I don't think it's whining for people to ask for it, it's just that most of the ones who ask for it are demanding it as some kind of right, and including insults about having to look at video of the blogger along with their demands. Personally, if it was up to me, I wouldn't reward these rude and inconsiderate people's demands either.

Oh I wanted to clarify that I don't think it's necessarily "girlie" to want better in-game shopping. You can look at the gear of the males playing the same game, or look at the names of the players selling or buying items, and realize they have just as much fun with it as any female gamer. When I have played console games like RockBand or Baldur's gate with my brother or fiance, I would notice that after I insisted we go shopping and spent a while picking out what I wanted to wear, they would take just as much time to do the same. Now I don't know if they would have done so had I not insisted we go to the store/vendor, but they seemed to enjoy buying things to make their characters look awesome (not to mention changing their hair and makeup) just as much as I did! It goes back to the statements echoed here in other letters that it's not so much about attracting more females as just making the game-playing better. And it shows me that they damage themselves by stereotyping the male players just as much as the female.. how many marketers are trying to target better shopping and makeup options for male gamers? Maybe they should!

In this blog, smaller numbers of comments = small number who disagree with anything.

i need a cigarette after reading that

I didn't get any bonus for the work I did all year before taking a few months off to return to school last year. I think if I hadn't been going to school during the time bonuses were handed out, it would have been different. I don't think there was any set way to handle this in the company. So if I decide to have a kid, I'll schedule it so my due date is two months after bonuses are handed out. :P

It's really good to read this, I have a lot of the same feelings but I could never have found the words for them -- I could barely understand them, I just push them away and feel anger skulking around in the back of my mind. It's very helpful to read your thoughtful and thorough analysis; it's exactly what we need right now (as cathartic as the vitriol elsewhere may be, lashing out should be done after rational analysis and with specific purpose, otherwise it's almost always counter-productive to the cause).

So .. what do we do now? I found myself thinking, however cynical it may seem, that it might be helpful if this article could be distilled into some sound-bites.