My wife took one look at Team Fortress 2 when I got it and immediately wanted to play. She took a second look at it, and hasn’t played it… her one complaint, “There are no females.”
Looking out across the FPS landscape, its usually generally a safe bet that my wife won’t want to play them. First off, she doesn’t like PvP in most games. Secondly, the grim and gritty realism that many games try to attain just doesn’t interest her. But when she saw the outlandish graphics of TF2, she was willing to put aside the dislike for PvP (”I think I want to play a Medic.”) and give it a shot. But without being able to play a woman, she lost interest again.
Just this week I was reading Games for Windows magazine’s March issue and perusing the article on the new Battlefield game: Battlefield Heroes. Once again, she saw the stylized graphics and immediately wanted to know more. So I showed her the article and dug around the Internet for more info. Not one single scrap mentions female characters, likely because there aren’t any… no more interest in the game.
I’d really like to play some FPS games with my wife, so, please, could someone put a game with really cool stylized graphics AND have female models in it? Please?
16 Comments
I see both sides here. On the one hand, I can understand wanting to play your own gender if only to identify yourself and possibly identify with your avatar when you’re playing.
On the other hand - and the one I am leaning toward - this isn’t WoW or some other MMO with tons of customizable features. It’s a console multiplayer FPS. If your inability to play a character with tits ruins the game for you, I don’t see how you could enjoy most console games period.
Can’t she pretend she’s playing a really REALLY butch chick?
TF2, while available for console, is really an PC title… you console fanboys just got lucky they decided to port it over.
I could totally back that position in a game with a story and cut scenes, because you are usually playing a defined single character. But I am talking about games without storylines. So, why not have more customizable characters? Or just at least 1 female…
In FPS games, you are pretty much either a hot chick or a battle hardened tough guy. Would people play Tomb Raider if it was an ugly chick? If had been a guy, odds are he’d have a scar on his face and be a barrel chested muscular monster of a man.
Hey I think that is a great idea. I know a few girls that would like to play in game.
I dont agree with that, because this is a ww2 universe and change the concept for introducing womens to the battle field, will kill the essence and toughnes of this universe, so imagine a match with only womens on the field… this is suposed a ww2 title or what, is disappointing that scene in a game like this… if this game will be a futuristic o actual war title ok, but is old fashioned war title, and change the concept because a women cant pick a female player for play… is like a men said for example “i expect thet the barbie games titles were more masculine because i cant identify myself in the game”
While the comparison to Barbie does have its merits, the fact is Barbie wears its allegance on its sleeve. Barbie is labeled “for girls”. I’ll concede this point for video games when they start labeling them “for boys”. But they won’t, because they realize that women gamers are a growing population of viable consumers and while they may not cater to them, they also don’t want to openly exclude them.
Franco, Battlefield Heroes is ostensibly set in WW2, but it’s so far from realistic it’s not even funny. I understand that females on the battlefield will make it seem less “real”, but so will that plane whizzing by with two guys sitting on the wings, or that tank that is taller than it is long.
Cartoon shooters should give the option for either gender. I’d love to see the female versions of all the Team Fortress two characters. Although the Pyro should look and sound identical for both genders.
Has the entire world forgot about unreal tournament?
Jicky Unreal tournament did a few things that really made it stand apart many games, but i think they didn’t mention it simply because the game never truly stand out of the others that created a new genre. They simply reinforced a game style that was already introduced.
Team fortress was the first of its kind… Same with Duke Nukem and Castle Wolfenstein 3D.
Its like Weapons factory, it was really good at the time. But again its team fortress that started the style. But they did’nt mention it either.
As for Women character in Battlefield Heroes i say Go for it! The game is for FUN aftherall. Not realism.
Actually, team fortress 2 has one female character. The pyro is a girl. If you look into the lockers of the characters, the pyro’s locker has a purse in it. Don’t believe me, look for yourself.
if barbie is a game labeled “for girls”, what is exactly a game labeled “for boys”???
^^ Hi there ! Actually i play TF2, and i though about a skin i saw recently. OK it’s a skin, not allowing u to play on “pure” servers, but at least, this is the only female skin i found !
http://www.fpsbanana.com/skins/screens/39114?img=http://image.hazardstrip.com/ss/srends/31004.jpg
I am quite impressed with BF Franchise going cartoony and think some things like Women Characters are just a matter of time….as the MOD community love to tweak the hell out of things…it will turn up within a few months of realease I would say.
I bet there will be Women versions of the TF2 Chracters as wel one day…they probably already are done and waiting to miraculously appear after an Update.
I was always wanting to see the original Enemy Territory Fortress characters
be ripped from the Original Wolfenstein…The Sex Leather Chick with the Sten…the NAsty Monster dude with the Twin Cannons….all great Character classes built for Multi Play…
Vwalla !!!
Theres not women who fight in WW2. So lets play with Men and keep it like that.
As far as Im concerned BF Heros is a work of fiction set in a world war 2 environment and not actualy based on any real WW 2 history so why can’t a female soldier be in the game, after all G.I. Joe has the Baroness who (to me at least) looks like a WW 2 nazi, and didn’t they do a WW 2 era comic with giant tranforming robots a while back. I think even scarlet was in that one. I’m not saying they should put women in the game or even robots for that matter (heaven forbid) but is just a game and a fictional one too. Besides this game reminds me of the Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher comic and there is at least two girls in that one, one short cute american and one very exaggerated Nazi chick. There is even an animated short go check it out.
Interesting thought: would gamers go for a “women optional” atmosphere? That is, some servers allow female models, others are guys-only. Not sure how this approach would be received.
From what I know of WWII, integration (both with females and black people) was a touchy issue, but tackled earnestly. Everyone knows about “Rosie the Riveter”, Mata Hari, Anne Frank, and those all-black platoons (such as the Tuskeegee Airmen).
The only problem I see with female personas in Battlefield is that there still are a lot of immature people, and they most undoubtedly outnumber the rest of us. The only teabagging I laughed at was with a walker on 2142. Are we ready for simulated sex and molestation?
You can always trot that out as a possible issue… but other games already have male and female models, and I haven’t seen a huge outcry over sexism.