Genders in Gaming Target Audiences.

[Alardem]

Quite a long way to go, and quite a low bar to hurtle over - the way the nigh-pornographically abused neo-Lara and the useful tool that is Elizabeth of Bioshock are being over-praised as amazing shows just how behind video-game writing is when it comes to women.

That's a bit condescending don't you think? I don't have anything against either of them.

And why did you think I was addressing you personally?

There's a lot of marketing and critical 'praise' thrown upon those two games for their supposedly "progressive" characters. While I do see value in both stories (Lara's for providing a story about a woman overcoming adversity, and Elizabeth for a sheltered girl being exploited by paternal figures), there's still a lot of disturbing elements in their characterizations that I'm sure would not be thrown upon male characters. The near-pornographic focus on Lara's suffering, the way Elizabeth's agency is gradually reduced throughout the main Infinite storyline & the expansions...