Josh: So, which is better? Uncharted 2 or Arkham Asylum?
Me: Hmmm, it’s a tough choice, but I’m going to say Uncharted
Drake: I don’t think so
In spite of Nate’s humorously-timed modesty, it is true. Both are amazing games and super fun, but I’m gonna name Uncharted 2 as the winner because of being an original IP.
Now, I could talk about all the mechanics that make this game wonderful, or its amazing character and story development, or I could speak of its touching amount of polish. Many elements of the game are blogworthy, but you can probably read about all those elsewhere.
Today, I will instead talk about how appreciative I am of the design of the main character, from my perspective as a lady.
Now, note that as a girl into games, I’m used to being subjected to character design aimed to please the straight male demographic. Many a time I have rolled my eyes at the stock shape that most girl characters seem to take, and the attention to detail in the realm of boob physics. At the same time, male characters also seem to be designed for the straight male demographic, because apparently straight males fantasize about being large and unattractively bulky? I don’t pretend to understand.
I long ago accepted this quality as the way of games, and moved ahead with my life.
But at long last, ladies (and gay men), we have been given a piece of eye candy unto ourselves! Surely those Naughty Dogs must have made this character for us, and I am proud of whatever research into the straight female/gay man market they did to finally come up someone that we could gawk over.
Sure, sure, they made Chloe to appease the straight males, and how the straight males latch right onto her. They don’t seem to mind that the main character has been given to us. It’s a win situation for everyone involved!
Also, butt!
Even more, it has perhaps helped bridge the gap between the sexes. For example, I was always a little bit baffled when my male friends preferred hot and scantily clad women to use for their avatars. I would make male avatars, sure, but never from the perspective of them being attractive. But now, with Drake as my default Multiplayer skin, I understand!
And so, thank you, Naughty Dog. Thank you not only for making the best game I’ve played so far, but for creating a fictional character who is easy on the eyes for the…uh…more neglected gamer demographic.
Dayum, I think I’m going to have to go buy this game just to show my support… 😀
(I really hear ya on how most games cater 100% to the straight male demographic and ignore the rest of us… so this is a nice breath of fresh air!)
Do you have a PS3? It is sooooooooo very worth it! No need to play through the first one (I didn’t).
The first image isn’t working for me – don’t think it’s my adblock.
Uncharted is on my To-Do as soon as i finished playing Part 1. I was amazed how Drake kinda fits into the typical “male hero video game character cliché” but on the other hand seems to be a pretty natural figure regarding his proportions and behaviour.
This game also brought up a discussion about how Uncharted 1 & 2 steal everything from Tomb Raider. Coming from a good friend of mine (who is also a total Lara Croft nerd) this really didn’t bother me at all. Almost everything in our world is kinda stolen. Even artwork (and games count as that IMO) tend to mix an reinterpret given content. It’s just the originality HOW the elements are mixed with “fresh / fantasy” elements.
But coming back on the game character topic: I guess no one likes to stare at an ugly avatar for hours to come. It’s just a matter of personal taste what you define as “beauty”. Fantasy and imagination plays a huge role in character creation or self-identification. That’s why people tend to like big muscles or breasts – sometimes things they can’t have in real life. Sometimes even a little feature is enough to make characters interesting – i.e. Drake’s sexual appear. 😉
I guess that’s also why so many people like to play Tauren in WOW – a race which is most afar from all “normal boring humanoid MMORPG characters”. Giving female Tauren some boobs however was again an interesting yet discuss-worthy mix of “pleasing the audience” and “creative freedom”. As long as no one is offended by it (and realism left aside) its all fine for me. If some perverts need to stare at virtual boobs, why bother. The only thing i don’t really like is how “armor” covers the females in WOW compared to males. It’s something that goes to the cost of gameplay-credibility.
Also: Played through Batman 100% – Awesome game. 😀
Als also: We need to chat more often, i can see it on the lenght of my LJ post. XD
I never played the first game, but I didn’t feel behind or confused story-wise or anything like that.
And yeah, the game really didn’t do anything particularly innovative or new, it was just soooooooooooooo polished! I never played the Tomb Raider games, but I guess that would be the closest thing to compare it to when describing what type of game it is to others.
And I agree with you on the “how armor looks on females” in WoW annoyance.
And yes, we should chat more often x_x I just need to get on AIM more