Game Thoughts: Visual Novels

I haven't really been playing anything super new. I survived the Summer Steam Sale so far.

I got Banner Saga 2...which ends on yet another cliffhanger! (You're killing me guys!)

I've spent a lot of time playing Visual Novels I've found on Steam and places. I record my playthroughs with my atrocious voice acting. Not available publicly...they're pretty bad. I may start doing some visual novel reviews though. (I say these things but don't expect a follow through.)

Most of these VNs have been out for a few years so there are guides and walk-throughs already.

I've noticed lots of cultural differences between VNs made in Asian countries vs Western made games. And lots of disturbances between them too. Here are my top 5 disturbing differences:

The games I'm factoring in are: Dandelion, Nameless, OzMafia!, Blood Code, Amnesia
Western Games: Backstage Pass, RE:Alistair, Nicole, Remember Me, Seduce Me

1. Abuse. So much physical and psychological abuse! And in many it gets quite disturbing. It can be as minor as an overly jealous boyfriend to a straight up psychopath. The worst part is that the main female character will end up with them in some kind of "good ending". NO! don't do it! It breaks my heart.

2. Rape. While there are no explicit scenes drawn out the description is enough to trigger me. Look, if you don't have consent and the girl has NO idea what you're talking about, it's rape. This ties into the controlling nature of many characters I run across. But this one makes me so sad.

3. Passive Women. In a majority of the games, the female character is a naive, passive, polite, and pure maiden. A perfect recipe for a victim. I know this stems from a cultural difference but it still frustrates me. I love it when the girl talks back with some sass or backbone for herself. Oh and add amnesia/lost memories. It works in a sense that it makes the character carte blanche for you to fill in. But she has a personality sort of.

4. Cohabitation. It makes sense in a game design perspective, but it's SO dangerous. Usually there are about 5 men and they all live in the same place.

5. Murdering Fangirls. I don't usually see this phenomenon in Western games where one of the male characters will have a literal fanclub. And they will straight up murder your sorry bum if you get too close to their bae. Also murder. So many of these somehow ended up with murder.

So why do I still play? Usually the characters outside the main girl are interesting and take you on a fun little journey. And pretty art. I'm a visual artist and love looking at pretty things. And something that's usually a bit better in Asian games is the art and visual design. Currently I'm going through OzMafia and it's watercolor pallete is gorgeous although a weird mix for the setting where there's mafia violence. (And guns...very rare in a game like this. Makes me a bit happy being a resident of Texas.)

However, I prefer the protagonists, stories and situations in Western Style games. Usually the main character has an active personality and sticks up for herself.

Again, I fully realize it just MAY be the collection of games that I've played or watched Let's Plays for, but seriously. These cultural difference make for something quite disturbing.
And I feel slightly guilty for enjoying them like trashy romance novels, but I'm usually just yelling at my screen "NOPE! Don't do it!"

Game Thoughts: Fire Emblem: Fates

So for Easter I got myself the game bundle for Fire Emblem Fates so I could play both storylines - Birthright and Conquest. One was advertised as being more difficult and focused on strategy, so I figured I might get frustrated with that storyline, but no...if you play both in Casual mode it's no biggy.

Synopsis

The avatar (Corrin) is royalty captured from their home country at a young age and raised with "the enemy" with the conflict growing between the countries Hoshido (clearly Japanese influenced) and Nohr (medieval Europe inspired). Once you find out your true heritage you must decide who you will support: the land of your birth or the family who raised you? Then work for peace and all that nonsense.

Features

The game decided to split the story into two games and you have to buy both to get the whole story, which is lame if you are more story-motivated to play the game. There's also a 3rd game that's supposed to clarify a few things "Revelation".

There is DLC and amiibo stuff and nonesense.

Weapons no longer have a limited number of uses.

The partner, marriage, children system is back. They added bonding time with avatar's chosen spouse. Which just means more work for me...uggggh.

Pros

Again the marriage with children thing I have to highlight that here.
Lovely art and music
Some returning characters for nostalgia.
Easier gameplay compared to Awakening, a lot more accessible.
Empowered female roles.
A huge cast of interesting characters
Lots of pro-family goodness.

Cons

Very sexualized, revealing armor and body-types for female characters
Includes a gay marriage (male in conquest, female in birthright)
A somewhat convoluted timeline, really not sure who was the parent of who, but there is time travel which ruins everything.
Almost an overload of characters.
Ritual suicide (samurai story so...it's expected.)
Personally the cutesie "bonding time" with your spouse is weird to me. Are we having sex? Is that what we're doing? I can't tell! I'm glad I can't tell, but seriously weird and oddly uncomfortable, but I'm uncomfortable with any affection from game characters anyway. I'll have to write about it later or something.
Suggested Incest? I think you can "marry" your blood siblings. Unless there's a story point that means you're not related to EITHER family. (Looking through walkthrough: spoiler not blood related but still very very very weird.)

Conclusion

I think this iteration can be passed over. The gameplay is similar to the last one but it's not super great. The fact you have to buy two games is rough. Personally, I like the Conquest storyline better. (Because personally, I'd feel more loyalty to the people I grew up with.) However, Awakening was a better experience for me.

Objectification and Games

Recently the infamous Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency came out with a new video in her series Tropes vs Women. This one focuses on female characters in the background of games specifically those that are "objects".

The video itself does contain explicit examples that are Not Safe for Work or Children.
A copy of the video's transcript can be found here.

I was particularly fond of Anita's look into the psychological effects of these visuals and gameplay have on players.

One of the points I really liked in the video was this:

A toaster is still a toaster regardless of whether or not you choose to make toast with it. It’s still designed for the express purpose of toasting bread. And it still communicates that fact even while sitting unused on your kitchen counter.

Likewise a sex object is still a sex object regardless of whether or not you personally choose to use and abuse her. And that fact, in and of itself, still communicates extremely regressive ideas about women.

This seems like a problem that won't go away, but that is the big lie. It can be stopped.
We begin with prayer, one of the most powerful tools in the Catholic armaments in our fight against evil.
Then support is given to better games.

Video Share: David Gaider's Presentation on Sexism and Sexuality in Games

Video Link (50 minutes)
Note: The video is pretty clean but there are some mild swears and sexy pictures. (nothing explicit).

I want to be a bit jaded about the video article, but he makes some very good observations and solutions. Still recognizes that very broken nature of business.

Basically advocates player centric design practices (feedback from fans, research etc), hiring a diverse staff, and trying not to please all audiences all the time.

Also noted that games normalize some behavior or makes it seem okay.

I like these practices. but I have my scruples about how sex is portrayed in games and other media in general. They are still aiming at the base nature and male fantasy portion, not so much the consequences, responsibility, etc.

That's my piece on it.

Games with Sexual Content

So I'm back again to talk about sexual content in video games. One of the biggest hurdles facing the industry is not only the issue of gratuitous violence but the objectification of people and what I like to call sexploitation. This is not going to be a gender discussion, but a general overlook of sexual content in games.

Excuses, Excuses
Some of the common defenses for including sexual content in the gaming medium that I have comes across are as follows:
1) It's not real, it's virtual.
2) It's not really hurting anyone.
3) It's not any worse than movies or TV
4) It's an outlet so they don't do this in real life
etc etc ad nauseum.

My rule of thumb for content, if you have to make an excuse for something, that means there is something wrong somewhere. It is either the perception that is wrong or the content is straight up wrong and you don't want to admit it.

Being wrong is not a great feeling. Guilt is not fun. (*Insert stereotypical Catholic guilt joke).

Now there's probably more excuses out there, but I'm going to focus on the four above.

Virtual Reality
I've seen this line of reasoning to validate anything that is drawn or CG sexual content. From cartoons to cutscenes, the fact of the matter is that in a sense these "people" are not real. It's a drawing or pixels. These are objects. So what is wrong with that?

Art represents something. You do not see it as a random collection of lines and dots, but a form that is familiar. A drawing of a human can not be mistaken for a drawing of an apple. It is symbolic and holds meaning to our mind. The person is not real, true. The symbol however is real.

What's the big deal about symbols and symbolism? Associated meaning is one thing that stands out. Symbols can be powerful tools to motivate or readily associate with a group. A red flag with a black swastika on a white circle is immediately associated with Nazi Germany of World War II. The symbol still reminds us of that group and what they did.

Reducing someone or something to a symbol, as is often done in propaganda, can be used to dehumanize a group or individual. While characters and avatars are not real, their symbolism and meaning is real.

No One's Getting Hurt
One 3D model shooting another is not murder. However, as I mentioned in the previous section, it carries meaning and symbolism. The harm may not be happening to actors, but that does not disqualify the harm it causes the viewer. What applies to live action pornography applies to artistic renditions as well.

There are many studies that look at the effects of prolonged viewing of pornography on family and individual levels. So it may be that the viewer is hurting themselves.

As the Church teaches, it is sinful, and the Church in her wisdom says this because it does harm to the soul and can weaken the will.

Other Media is Similar
This should not matter. Comics, TV, and film are all over saturated. This is merely the "mob" mentality that because "everyone is doing it so too can I." As history has shown, many people can be morally wrong while a minority is morally correct.

The Digital Outlet
Virtual worlds provide a "safe-space" to experiment with anti-social behavior without the same repercussions. This does not really address the core of the problem, which is this individual has a misguided sense of propriety or possibly a disorder. Viewing such material may cure a symptom, but not the root cause of the problem.

This line of thinking poses that the troubled person can either perform it on a virtual person or a real person. Naturally we would think that the lesser of the two evils, the virtual crime, is better than someone actually doing the crime. But that's just it. Narrowing the focus to two alternatives is not the reality of the situation. Most people can agree that a person who molests a child is disturbed in some way. It's a bit of a stretch to say that for that person, playing a game that portrays sexual content with young looking characters is somehow preventing that person from committing the real crime.

Perhaps it's just me but I don't see it as therapeutic.

Art vs. Porn
Granted not all nudity is sexual. It is an unfortunate sign of our times. The human body is sexual and beautiful. It is only in our current times where a naked body is seen immediately as erotic and shameful. (Thanks sexual revolution.)

I've not come across a game in which a sex scene was for anything but gratuity. (Same could be said for any film, comic and TV series). Same could be said for nudity. There's a difference between Michelangelo's David and say the recent DMC's Dante. And again, much of the "problem" might be our cultural Puritan tendencies or perception.
The blog Bad Catholic really does a great job illustrating the issue in this post. (I'm a lazy writer. :B ) The gist is that the culture of our generation sees the naked body ONLY as an erotic object. Even looking at Michelangelo's David might be considered erotic.

I would say that a majority of the time nudity is featured in a game, it is for titillation. It is turning the body into an object to SELL the game to you. I've only seen a handful of games in which showering was normal. (And that's mostly the Sims titles.)

What about Softcore/Suggestive Content? 
This is one of the things that absolutely boggles my mind. There is a scale on how extreme a particular medium's sexual content can be.

Softcore is what you often get in a major movie and in a few video game titles (Heavy Rain comes to mind), it portrays nudity or partial nudity and the act itself without exposing genitals. It's often a loving relationship and consensual. So what could be wrong about that? It still removes intimacy of the act for the sake of titillation.

Suggestive sexual content is presented as an abstract or simply does a before/after cut. I want to say that this kind of a grey area especially. For example, the Sims franchise "whoohoo" turns into shuffling around under covers and a cartoonishly bouncing bed. This is an abstraction that never involves full nudity. It seems harmless, but that does not mean it's any less disrespectful.
However, before/after cuts I find to be at least more respectful a suggestion than softcore porn. Usually because those parts are mostly conversation and may be plot moving/character development.
This was the big difference between Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 as well as Dragon Age Origins to Dragon Age 2. In the first part of these franchise games, sex scenes were soft porn. In the subsequent games, the romance scenes are heavily suggested with kissing and a fade to black only to come back to the couple lightly clad and talking.

Conclusion for now
Sex is NOT evil and something to be regarded with disgust or aversion. Many of us do because our upbringing may have taught us to react in a very binary fashion of you either do it or you don't. If you do, you should feel ashamed. If you don't, you have some kind of repression problem. The Church teaches that intercourse is sacred. Very, very very special. So special in fact that you have to have a sacrament to seal the union. That is what sexuality is: self-giving. However, most depictions of sex in media is self-pleasing.

At most, I feel suggestive content in games can be done respectfully and not tempt. However, games favor the soft porn or explicit content in most M rated titles. As a Catholic, we have to consider our souls and wills when playing such titles.

Battle of the Sexes

There's a Women's Issue in Gaming! (Note: Some of these links may not be work safe).
 On many gaming news websites, it is bound to come up. There is bound to be some commentary on the inequality and abuse of women in games and the gaming community. Women are considered an outside other or toy or generally made to feel unwelcome. Online reactions (and in some cases real life conversations) end up in a HOSTILE confrontation between the differing opinions. (Most reactions are summarized well by Dr. Nerdlove.)

Okay, we get it, there's a definite inequality going on here that favors men. We also get that there is something wrong about it. However, both parties continue to be worked up about it and very little progress is made. Now I will not go through and try to debunk every argument brought to the table on this issue (Dr. Nerdlove's article does so nicely.) However, I'm going to try to understand where the friction lies, why the reactions are so volatile, and tie it in with Catholic Theology. (Because that's how I roll.)

The Friction
 The conflict probably starts at the beginning with Original Sin. This opposition of men and women is a product of our sinful nature so there will be friction between us. Luckily there is grace but only if our hearts are open and willing. There are things that make it difficult for BOTH sides to really be forgiving or open to grace. I'll take only one sample from each side. 

  Straw Feminist/Extreme Feminists
   I wrote about feminism once. There are some problems with the feminist movement that have hurt our society rather than helped women. Some of the media tactics aim to belittle men, guilt men, or emasculate men. These make men out to be the enemy...the evil tyrant to be overthrown.
...
In any case this certainly causes friction between the two parties. However, NOT ALL FEMINISTS DO THIS. Most feminists I know work quietly and educate misinformed parties on a one-on-one basis. Feminists are also men, as Jesus himself is often viewed as one of the most feminist men in history. Feminism is not meant to take power away from men and give it to women so that the roles are reversed. Feminism is MEANT to empower women to be women...to be a person and a creation of God.
I forget where I read it, but somewhere I read that "the morality of women is historically what standardized morality for society." However that's not to point the finger of blame. (The first reaction of our parents...SHE MADE ME DO IT!)

  Man Child Culture
Perhaps this trend is a result of the wrong way the feminist movement went. Or perhaps it is the nature of work/providing for the family has changed so that physical strength is not a necessity. (Helloooo office work.) I don't have the research or background to really analyze it but if I was to point to the source I'd merely point to our fallen nature. (It's that nice catch all.) So, we have a generation of men and women that are maturing slower in some areas but too fast in others. In the past there was a clear distinction (and fun rituals) for becoming an adult in society. This in between "teen" stage where you're not yet an adult but not really a child leads to some confusion. Some of my friends still reason and think like they did in high school.
High school was a time I remember being fueled by lots of emotion, passion and feelings instead of rational thought and reflection. And it was a fun time. I did not have the responsibility of an adult like bills or work. I could enjoy all the fun stuff of childhood but still be treated like an adult.
Much of my philosophy was based on what I "felt" was right. Many people still do this and its difficult to reason with them. I think I was lucky and was often in the 'wrong' as a teen so I got to learn what was right. I learned to look at data, evidence and back up my arguments. (Granted, "experience" still makes a large portion of my argument but hey, it works to an extent.)

Anyway, the whole point of this part was to clarify that because masculinity seems to have changed in our minds, then extremes are taken instead of the middle ground. You know the rational path? Or that little part in your brain that makes you question your beliefs or admit you are wrong? (Hint: It's called humility.Hmm I should probably get some more of that.)

Solutions that are not solutions
 There's a problem. So what is the answer? Some things that I've seen offered as solutions either are more damaging or like a band-aide for a cold. One of the repeat offenders is the over use of sexploitation of women characters in games and comics to market the product. So obviously the answer is...
- Equal Sexploitation -
While it works for humor purposes, there is all kinds of wrong. This is reinforcing the sin of objectifying the human body. Yes, its true they are only drawings or 3D models. True they are only characters with no real feelings and are (in a sense) things not people. I think the heart of the issue lies in what characters represent and what art is. That may be for another blog post. For now let's just say that having revealing armor for both characters is not the answer. 

- Women Only Space
 This would be that there are games "for women/girls" and games for men. This is kind of like there being a segregated space in a place that should be for everyone. Now there ARE places and situations where it is indeed better and healthier for it not to be co-ed. (Public Bathrooms come to mind but I know not everyone believes this.)  However something like entertainment usually held in the privacy of one's home and in public spaces, there really is no "men only" space. It's imaginative. Which is quite powerful as imagination does not always have reason to control it. I think this solution fits under the banner of "get back to the kitchen."
 HOWEVER, there are special groups of women only gaming sessions which I think is a pretty neat idea. (Probably because I feel there's a disconnect between me a gaming woman and my other female friends who do not play games frequently.)

- Role Reversal
Now this is an interesting idea but in practice does not work. Having the princess save the prince CAN work as a plot line but...I think this student animation kind of illustrates where things can go wrong.  (Thus the comedic value.) Video games often play as an empowering fantasy. Not all players do this but some project their desires onto a character doing fantastic things. (Role Play as it were.)
This is NOT to say that female game characters can't be knights, captains or soldiers out to save the day. The point is that the role of a character should not be limited or defined by the gender. (For example, in many JRPG titles only female characters hold the position as a "healer" and never use swords. There is a cultural thing about this which is interesting but that'd be a tangent.) 

Theology of the Body
Now I'd hardly call myself an expert or even well versed in TOB. I've only had a couple intro classes and kind of tuned the rest out as re-hashed chastity talks that I've had barked at me since middle school. That said, I will be a student of ToB for a long time but I've got the GIST of what it's all about. It's about the truth of our sex. And the truth is God created us male and female for a purpose. We would compliment each other, but still both be ultimately human.

 For us without the benefit of seeing beyond the Veil of the Flesh can have difficulty understanding this simple truth and amazing gift.
So are there things that can only be enjoyed by men? I'm sure there are many that have a higher interest for males but that should not exclude the fact that it is not an exclusive activity. Video games are one of those activities that have a higher appeal to men on the surface but looking at earlier games we can see that in actuality, there was no gender bias.


Solutions?
Is there a solution? I like to believe so. I spent two years steeped in research detailing the differences between men and women in their approach to computers, games and STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.) Some of the best solutions are about Gender Equity. Some companies do better than others in this respect.

 - Nintendo Japan: Systems marketed as FAMILY systems meaning men and women of multiple ages. This has been Nintendo's model for years, because they were primarily a toy company. They are smart in targeting such a general audience and for the longest time only offering limited 3rd party games on their system. (However, as of this past E3, Nintendo seems to be opening its door to more 3rd party developers.)

  - Mobile Gaming: This platform really does target as many demographics as it can thanks to its cut-throat competitive market. (It's tough...I know...my company didn't survive. :( ) Games are smaller and usually more abstract but it does not bar anyone.

 - Raising Gaming Girls: One of the causes of low STEM interest is how young girls are socialized, especially at a young age. Research (at least older research) claimed that boys were more often given computer privileges. Girls are very aware of their social status and reputation which causes them fear of being disliked or rejected by peers (especially boys). This accounts to why girls don't tend to participate much in math or science class where they may be labeled as "outcast" if they show too much interest.  It has become socially acceptable for girls not to be as in touch with math and science which could lead to careers in game development or at least participation in gaming.

  - Trouble spots: Larger companies like Microsoft need to take a better stand on inter-player interactions. The harassing, hating and vile behavior really does not give games a good reputation.

Conclusion
Over Ten years ago there was a book printed called Barbie and Mortal Kombat, which detailed some of the gender studies done on game content, player behavior and developers. Ten years after its release another follow up book, Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat came out to detail new research. Unfortunately very little had changed and some things had gotten worse. Luckily there have been some progress to bridge the gender gap in technology activities. Much of society's sexual sickness is really hurting many aspects of entertainment.

All we can do now is pray, support women and men making positive changes, and raise the standard of our media content. God has the power to heal wounds of the past and change hearts.