Sep 26
May 24
[Editor's note: Cursed with hardware failure, "Xper" returns from a PC-less void of confusion with his usual feminist and socialist rant about why we should care about games. Are we looking at a returning theme, or perhaps a series?]
“Yeah looks promising, I just wish they sexed up the character a bit.” - Excerpt from a NeoGaf forum discussion about Mirror’s Edge.
Looking at the first in-game footage of one of DICE’s next-gen efforts Mirror’s Edge made me think that this might be a step toward turning hardcore games into acceptable mainstream consumption material. I am not talking about Wii-mainstream, I’m talking about turning “hardcore” game mechanics (first-person mode games with heavy action elements) into something more than point-shoot-cover-gameplay that is so heavily rooted in the “young male” target audience. Making a game that builds on previous genres, only transfering it from a dark and un-welcoming space into a colorful, bright world where less is king and maturity can’t be patronized. The world and concept alone of Mirror’s Edge made me feel hopeful; the in-game footage turns my heart into a pounding hammer. But when a thread on NeoGaf, and many many others, quickly turned into a debate about the protagonist’s “attributes”, the hope and heart pounding excitement in me turned into anxiety.
What we discussed a few weeks ago about the trailer for Resident Evil 5, and why we should care about what games present to us and how they depict certain imagery, had to do with games becoming so big a part of our multimedia culture that simple common sense about racism and gender issues has to be dealt with the same caution other mediums have a responsibility to do. Making the compromise that art actually does have a responsibility and cannot be divorced from social and historical context, we have to start taking games more seriously and making sure we as gamers and not mocked in the process of becoming mainstream. Being mocked, however, is the least of our concerns; molding society and forming our culture are our prime responsibilities as gaming enthusiasts. So ask yourself, then; is “sexing” up the main character of Mirror’s Edge a good step for us to take?
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