NEWS: Tuesday Tasting: Girls In Gaming II

GEEK: Tuesday Tasting: Girls In Gaming II

Each week, Ariel Waldman serves a tasting of the latest in sex and tech.



Video Game Vixens Get Centerfold



Playboy gives the fantasy female heroines from the previous installment of Girls In Gaming a closer inspection. Leaving imagination behind, the "Playing Rough" series shows all by stripping the lady characters down to nothing but their deadly weapons. Featured in the series is "Keaira" from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, "Church & Black" from Clive Barker's Jericho, "Morenn" from The Witcher, "Yoko Retomoto" from Kane & Lynch, "A'Kanna" from Conan, and "Sarah Morrison" from Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. We have yet to pick ourselves up a copy of the December issue of Playboy, so we can't confirm if the fantasy game babes in fact made centerfold, but sexing up our screens definitely deserves a spread.



Women Keep It Casual



Times Online asks if women gamers are less faithful. The question comes from statistics that point to 74% of casual gamers being women, and thus enjoying less-commitment. If the ratio sees off kilter, it may be due to the fact that most men won't admit to merely being casual gamers.

Soft-core "shiny gems" are at least less likely to lose sleep over, unlike an all-nighter with "hard-core" Halo 3.



Girl On Girl On Game



Girls and gaming are no longer isolated instances across the industry. From the Frag Dolls to the PMS Clan, chicks with joysticks are everywhere. As such, a new website with the tagline of "Because sometimes we use our hands for other things," aims at an alternative non-male market. According to LesbianGamers.com, "If you're a girl who likes girls who likes games, you've found your place on the internet". Having launched just recently, the founding ladies hope to build a lively community for lesbian gaming.



Previously: Girls In Gaming

While I appreciate the attention Playboy gives to geeks now, the gaming chicks pictorial is nothing but a so thinly as to not be veiled at all advertisement. I see some naked chick from a game I've never heard of and poof, a foldout of a 2 page ad for that game. Lame. Although, unlike in previous years, it looks like the artists actually looked at the games and tried to copy the style for the drawings.

Yeah, what the fuck. As a resident gamer geek and someone who was one of the few female employees of a local video game store (oh, the horror stories I have..) I've never even heard of half those games, so either I'm way out of the loop or someone's trying to make a quick buck.

"Yeah, what the fuck. As a resident gamer geek and someone who was one of the few female employees of a local video game store (oh, the horror stories I have..) I've never even heard of half those games, so either I'm way out of the loop or someone's trying to make a quick buck."


not to question your working at a gaming store, but how have you not heard of all of those games they are talking about? all of them have been higher profile games, and all either just released or coming soon, well, conan is a ways away yet. plus, as a side note, sarah morrison from tabula rasa has already been in playboy. playboy has a videogame layout once a year now. believe this is the third december issue in a row with naked videogame chicks.

+1

Huh. So what's the over/under on "percentage of disguised male users registered at LesbianGamers.com?"

This may seem ultra lame of me, but my biggest problem is that they the fictional women they choose to highlight are ones I don't care about. Now if they were to do a spread on say... Ivy from Soulcailbur...



I'd consider buying it.

Ditto².

I for one have beef with the Video Vixens issues: it's really not worth the money I used to spend for a cheap thrill that I could read around other people and not get in trouble (strict rules at my work and such). I'm a big proponent of game music, concept art and backstory; however, the illustrations in said magazine, and the supposed ones in the recent Playboy -- though they be concept art -- are no longer worth my hard earned cash. I will not purchase something I can find free on the internet in various forms.

All those games listed are *brand new* which is why you haven't likely heard of them.

But as with all playboys game related issues, its kinda just one big ad. I'll still check it out, because who doesn't love tits?

Another year of naked video game chicks in Playboy bodes well for nerds everywhere. I dare say we're quickly getting that "average dude or dudette" look we've been after for so many years and finally escaping the "Revenge of the Nerds" stereotype cast upon us by awesome 80's flicks.

That, and we're all incredibly sexy now.

I'm a shamless world of warcraft addict; I raid near-religiously 5 days a week..and yes, i made my nightelf dance in her bra+panties on the IF bridge.

I'll take the Revenge of the Nerd stereotype over the modern "hip" nerd any day of the week. No 19-year-old with an asymmetric haircut and grommeted belt should be allowed to wear an Atari t-shirt.

While I agree that most kids nowadays cross stereotypes or fads in an attempt to be individual and look unique and cool (while at the same time being just like their friends), I don't think it's fair to say trends don't necessarily evolve. I am a 20 year old geek, and I'm not shy about it. People come to me when they need computer help - I also get paid for it at work. But because I'm not 25 or 30.... I can't wear an Atari shirt? I might not have been around in 1985 but I like DeLoreans too. If you saw me in a World of WarCraft shirt, would you raise your nose and say "You're not a true geek!"

Oh, and grrowler, consider yourself friended!

Lets be honest...all those games listed are brand new games. So it's rather clear (in my opinion) that there was some sort of connection (read "illicit advertising money" maybe) on why they were chosen.

Regardless, give me a good Final Fantasy doujin any day.

You seem awfully focused on being catagorized.

I just can't help but to find all sorts of absurd irony over it. Let's put up a facade of being apathetic to peoples lifestyles unless they live an "alternative" lifestyle, then it's bad/good/categorized, whatever the media wants people to think. In the end we're all people and entitled to do what we want. We can preach social freedoms and brush categorization off our shoulders, but in the end people will still be people. All we can do is sit and laugh and say "who cares?"

Am I the only one who was expecting to see something about Jade Raymond? I'm a bit disappointed... I guess the title threw me off.

I think that's cool because there are like a fifty million male gamers (myself included) and it's nice to have that in common. I was talking to a guy at one of the video games stores and he said that he has a friend who's wife threatened to leave him because she thought he was ignoring her by playing video games.

Waste of space, waste of time, and a non-issue. Having worked in the industry (the real industry, not video game stores) for something like 9 years now, I'm pretty tired of bitching and moaning about how women are presented in games. Men's bodies are just as idealized and often half dressed as well. Who gives a shit. People want to create an issue, not reflect on one that actually exists. Girls play the same games guys do. I've worked with plenty of them and gamed with plenty of them.

So I went back through the thread and read all the comments twice and I still can't figure out what or who you might be responding to. Nobody in the thread has complained about idealistic representation. Where were you going with this?

HEAR HEAR!!!

Although Hot Topic is the only place near me selling gamer stuff, I don't go near the majority because of the emo vibe radiating out of the store. Sad thing indeed