It's the only Bioware game I've played, so I was pretty much going off of what people say about Bioware. Which is generally that, while they're not perfect, they're trying. And maybe the issues I have with the romances (Starting with that, for all but two classes (a few others could be argued about depending on the companion), they're your freaking subordinates! Argh!) and the joke and the Sith Warrior quest are all blind spot issues. But some of the companion stuff is creepy and the joke and the Sith Warrior quest are waaaay creepy (and that's getting them secondhand).
I fear my ability to ignore it comes from liking so many problematic things that I kind of have to be able to relegate some stuff to "background noise" - even things that bother me when I think about them. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I mean, if I didn't, I'm not sure any fiction would make the cut, but at the same time, consumers like me let creators get away with a lot of shit. :\
And we all have things that are just too much. If the romances weren't optional, I would be too creeped out by them to play, for example. (And I get creeped out in other games when I feel like my avatar is intended as eye candy more than anything. A problem I have with Guild Wars 2, and an insurmountable problem for me in Aion. SWTOR - like every other choose your build game, sadly - dropped the ball big time on actual different body types for women, but at least you're not _forced_ to dress striperifically and the animations don't have a strange exaggerated femininity to them*. Though I've got to say it creeps me out when I come across people who've dressed their companions in the slave outfit or the other barely-counts-as-clothing outfits. One of the many problems with including some of those options in the game in the first place. (Along with the female-only problem. They _tried_ with the invisble chest piece, but one option vs many, at least one of which is problematic as all get out...))
The sad thing is, the game could have been written without those issues... and wasn't. (Though I can't help a nasty suspicion that addressing issue one would've forced a higher game rating, even if they still never used the word rape.) Hell, I suspect they could've written it such that they addressed the problems even if they couldn't, for ratings reasons, use the word rape. It all starts with taking it seriously. (And not making it women only.)
And the prisoner (unless they had very unusual fathers...) and the other times when the subtle sexism, masculism, or other issues whap one in the face. *sigh*
(And I wrote a book. Oops.)
*I hate to even call the animations that bother me "feminine" because of that weird exaggerated quality. It's a performance. I'm not sure the animations would bother me if they were part of a choose-your-animations package that was labeled "flirty" or some such, but as the default for female characters I suddenly feel like I'm being forced to play someone's imaginary girlfriend.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2013-08-28 02:29 am (UTC)I fear my ability to ignore it comes from liking so many problematic things that I kind of have to be able to relegate some stuff to "background noise" - even things that bother me when I think about them. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I mean, if I didn't, I'm not sure any fiction would make the cut, but at the same time, consumers like me let creators get away with a lot of shit. :\
And we all have things that are just too much. If the romances weren't optional, I would be too creeped out by them to play, for example. (And I get creeped out in other games when I feel like my avatar is intended as eye candy more than anything. A problem I have with Guild Wars 2, and an insurmountable problem for me in Aion. SWTOR - like every other choose your build game, sadly - dropped the ball big time on actual different body types for women, but at least you're not _forced_ to dress striperifically and the animations don't have a strange exaggerated femininity to them*. Though I've got to say it creeps me out when I come across people who've dressed their companions in the slave outfit or the other barely-counts-as-clothing outfits. One of the many problems with including some of those options in the game in the first place. (Along with the female-only problem. They _tried_ with the invisble chest piece, but one option vs many, at least one of which is problematic as all get out...))
The sad thing is, the game could have been written without those issues... and wasn't. (Though I can't help a nasty suspicion that addressing issue one would've forced a higher game rating, even if they still never used the word rape.) Hell, I suspect they could've written it such that they addressed the problems even if they couldn't, for ratings reasons, use the word rape. It all starts with taking it seriously. (And not making it women only.)
And the prisoner (unless they had very unusual fathers...) and the other times when the subtle sexism, masculism, or other issues whap one in the face. *sigh*
(And I wrote a book. Oops.)
*I hate to even call the animations that bother me "feminine" because of that weird exaggerated quality. It's a performance. I'm not sure the animations would bother me if they were part of a choose-your-animations package that was labeled "flirty" or some such, but as the default for female characters I suddenly feel like I'm being forced to play someone's imaginary girlfriend.