Lost City of Atlantis
 

I wasn't entirely sure where to post this, but I was reading the review for the game Lost City of Atlantis, and something kind of... irked me.

The reviewer seems to imply that the fact that a nude male is the lead character is a negative point in the game. The reviewer states the fact that two women made the game as some sort of "excuse" for the presence of this character, and even go as far as to say that a nude female lead character would be somehow better.

I find this ver ysexist and heterosexist view a little insulting, and though I am NOT one for politcally correctness (I mean REALLY am NOT), it did put me off a bit. First off, would it be so terrible if a man created a game with a nude male character in it? It happened in Metal Gear Solid. Why does two women devleoping the game somehow justify a certain fact about the game?

Also, though the implication that a nude female character would make the game more succesful may be a fact, the review does not need to be concerned with how succesful the game was, and the implication that the game would somehow be improved by this heavily implies a preference for a straight-male mindset.

I don't mean to be a b*&^%, but I love this site and would hope others can feel welcome here, regaurdless of gender or sexuality, but things like this gaurantee that people will be made to feel unwelcome. And considering the game does start a nude male, it is likely that a lot of people drawn to it will be women or gay men, and to have a comment in the review somehow implying that their interest in the game is wrong is bound to be off-putting.

Why does it bother you so much? It's just a review of a game that, though might be a bit biased, just reflects the opinion of that particular reviewer and does not necessarily represent the views of the entire site / forum and it's other members. It doesn't stop you from playing the game, does it? :p

Hmm, I must disagree. He says that if the game had a lead female character, the game would've had more appeal to male teens whou would've bought the game making it an instant success. This might sound weird, but once in our forum's chatbox we reached a point when we started talking about the choice of main char in Resident Evil (Chris or Jill) and a couple of gamers which I considered very serious in their gaming addiction stipulated that they'd prefer staring at Jill's butt, instead of Chris', and did not choose a char according to the ease of association.

Suffice to say I was shocked, because I was playing Chris and did never look at his posterior... until they mentioned it, which made me think disgusted at how the human mind works. :no:

However the reviewer's point still stands. Outside the Olympic games, people without regard to gender, had (at least some) clothes on them.

On a sidenote, the whole sexist and non-sexist thing is debatable. What many ask when they call someone "sexist" is that the respective person drop the mentality that makes him a man or woman, and judge things from a neutral point. That's not only wrong, but also boring because it mostly supresses subjectivity. For example saying that guys have no particular opinion on the pink color, but the girls love it and like to identify with it, would be a "sexist" affirmation in someone's opinion, right? The same here, the reviewer's a guy, and obviously a guy likes girls, also he wouldn't want someone to see him playing with a naked male protagonist. Perfectly understandable, it's his opinion, and an opinion isn't always share by all people, genders, classes etc :)

I think these sum it up rather neatly:
http://www.pvponline.com/2004/06/01/tue-jun-01/
http://www.pvponline.com/2004/06/03/thu-jun-03/
http://www.pvponline.com/2004/06/12/sat-jun-12/

First off, though he does state that a female character would have had more appeal, he states it in a section of his review that specifically states that the nude male character is a downside of the game.

He also specifically states that the game was designed by two women, and that makes it "understandable" that the idea got through, as if it would somehow be wrong for a man to have chose nto make the lead male character nude.

And the second comment I've noted here, is exactly the kind of problem I'm pointing out, and is very common in gaming communities. I think we're living in a time where it shouldn't necessarily be obvious that a guy likes girls.

It certainly doesn't stop me from playing the game, and although you say it doens't reflect the opinions of the entire site, it was reviewed by other members of the site, and then posted on the site.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it is that big of a deal, but the reviewer explicitly mentions what is, to be honest, a very minor fact about the game, as a downside, and claims it should have been different, and this can potentially alienate an audience, in particular if they are reading the review to learn about the game. I just think it is something that needs to be considered when we are looking at what content is being posted on the site. A statement like this translates to a sort of thinking that TotalAnarchy made clear: someone reads this review and thinks "It's true, most gamers are guys, and guys do like girls, so this game should have covered him up or had a nude female in the lead". In other words: games should not be designed with women or homosexuals in mind; video games should cater to straight men; and guys like girls, not other guys.

And finally, no, it certainly doesn't stop me from playing the game :bleh1:. But it does make me wonder how welcome I am in this community, if the general concensus seems to be that, as a guy, I should like girls and feel somehow uncomfortable that this game features a naked man. This is not the case, and statements like in this review or like TotalAnarchy's certainly make me wonder if how members of this site would react to my sexuality.

*^_^Quick little extra note: I'm not super enraged or anything, just making discussion. I'm not having a rage fit or trying to go on some epic rant, just discussing the issue. Just stating this so no one gets the wrong idea.

LOL.

I think you may be missing the point their a bit, but thank you for your contributon nonetheless. :hihihi:

Well, just so there are no misunderstandings or like - I am a guy, and I do like girls (only). Which doesn't mean you have to see it the same way. As for me, welcome to this forum, I hope this little review doesn't turn you off that much that you'll be urged to leave here in a hurry :) Concerning other users here - if you are homosexual and are afraid of being unwelcome, just use your common sense so not to approach someone with that matter in case he or she might be going to be offended with that, since mainly guys still do like girls even if that might change more with each day.
Games are just games though, if you ask me, whatever the main character is dressed like, whatever whoever likes it whichever way is left up to each one him- / herself. It's just a game, and people always have different opinions, hence the point in the review.

is this guy trolling? because if not, then duuuuude..

This THIIIS GAME!!!! Ive looking it for years!!! since im 10!!....I never knew the name of the game,my brother call me crazy when Id tell him it was about a nude guy and atlantis..........I knew it was real!!!!! Im not crazy!:woot:!!!

why would you tell anyone that you are looking for a game with a nude guy on it?