the Women of Skyrim

[Whisp]

For those who are not into gaming, Skyrim is a recent release of a role playing game. Killing dragons, making armor, hunting for food and hides, buying and decorating your homes. As most of these it's set in a medievalish era.

I find it pleasantly surprising that women in this game are equal to the men. They hold any office or station that men do and so far I really haven't seen any trying to be cutesy sexism.

I usually stick to role playing games and do prefer the dragon/medieval sort, but I have heard of other games that are vile when it comes to how the women are portrayed.

So thumbs up to Bethseda the game maker for being sensitive and aware of this.

[ZombieHorde]

1. You can also choose to marry someone of the same sex.

Good game.

[Whisp]

2. really? wow.

I didn't know that, that's so cool. I think I'll go looking now.

[ZombieHorde]

4. Make sure you have the Amulet of Mara.

You need it to marry anyone. You can find them in Riften. You need to wear it and impress the the person you want to marry, which usually involves saving his or her ass in some way.

[Neoma]

30. No wonder they won't offer their hand!

Gah! I've been going after one character for awhile and he just won't offer marriage.

Thanks for saying this!

[ZombieHorde]

31. I have not tried this yet, but I hear if you marry a merchant,

you will get a discount.

I know if you sleep with your spouse, your Rested bonus to experience increases to 15%.

[Neoma]

34. Be handy to marry a blacksmith.

[Rex]

35. Not open-ended but

Dragon Age II has some really good relationship storylines.

[Neoma]

36. I don't know what kind of game that is.

What set up they have? Like, is it like Diablo, Oblivion, Silkroad, Dungeon Siege III, Darksiders, or Heavenly Sword? I could name off dozens more if you want...

I am the 'rare' female gamer people keep talking about. Call of Duty peeps didn't believe me. I kept kicking their asses and all they could do was call me a fag and something about kitchens while I wailed on them with a machine gun. (I prefer rifles actually.) I've been playing since 11 years old on various consoles and a PC. It's a hobby.

[Rex]

37. I'd say a cross between DSIII and Oblivion.

A lot of dialog and some cool power ups for battle, good graphics in and out of battle but a lot like DSIII more then Oblivion. Huge amount of dialog.

[Neoma]

38. Too much dialog?

That happens sometimes.

[Rex]

42. Yeah imo maybe too much.

Still I would rec it, way better then some of the vanilla rpgs I've played. DSIII was only 15 game hours...not even enough time imo.

[Whisp]

39. and the character creator is very nice

If I plug it in sometime soon I'll screenie my lead.

Skyrim is okay but not as much variables.

[Rex]

43. Plus if you have a beefy system specs

Dragon Blood II looks frekin eye-poppingly-candy good!

[Whisp]

40. the battle system is pretty nice

you can auto battle or turn base it and have 5 (gee I forget I haven't played in a while) characters to control.

I got my girl a Nintendo years ago and got hooked on it myself. First day we got it hubby and I were playing Mario Bros after she went to bed. We were really bad at the jumping and coordination needed. It was a weekday and we had to both go to work the next day but were so stuck into it, we just Had to 'finish the game'. So we do the first level thinking we accomplished that. HA! at 3:00 am. Then girl laughs at us when we tell her in the morning we beat the game.

Lolo and Kickle Cubicle were early games that we played a lot too on the Nintendo. Moving blocks around, strategie game. Lots of fun.

I coined a phrase around our house at that time: The road to hell is paved with good Nintendoes.

[Neoma]

41. Ha!

I started with Atari. I went old school first.

[Aerows]

50. You control 4 characters

Your character and three others you can choose from out of 9. I LOVE the game. I'm a female gamer as well, and I ended up having my female Warrior have a romance with the incredibly sexy pirate Isabela. She's probably one of my favorite video game characters ever.

[Warren DeMontague]

45. Too many people think video games are all designed for low-brow, homophobic 13 yr old dudes.

truth of the matter is, there's very interesting creative narrative stuff happening in some of them, (look at the treatment of Objectivism in "Bioshock&quot and yeah I think the fact that games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect let you choose assorted gender/orientation relationships is another sign of a progressive and relatively enlightened industry, at least in places.

[justiceischeap]

3. Did they fix the backwards flying dragon problem?

That's when I stopped playing it. But you're right, for the most part there aren't any subservient women in the game. I like almost any game where I can choose my character and I'm a huge fan of games that allow same-sex relationships.

Dragon Age II was pretty good about that too.

[Whisp]

7. I've not seen the backwards Dragon

So far I haven't come across too many glitches of destruction. I play on an xbox, maybe platforms have something to do with that.

One thing I have learned tho is not to go skulking into dungeons without a quest to work off, otherwise you could get into some annoyances.

I agree about Dragon Age 2. The women there kick as much arse as the men do. Cleavage there seems to be a bit more in your face tho. DA 2 has an awesome character creator - I love making up my characters looks and spend a lot of time tweaking and this and that. Skyrim isn't near as slick in that respect as everyone looks like they slept in a horse barn and didn't wash in the morning but you get used to that and learn to love them anyway.

I really liked Alvor the Blacksmith in Riverwood. He just seemed like such a nice guy. Unfortunately I think I killed him in the fog of war against a Dragon in Riverwood. There he was face down on the wood ramp in town. omg, I killed kennyAlvor!

[TexasPaganDem]

5. It's an awesome game

It's eaten quite a bit of my time the last few weeks. But I gotta say, the best thing about it? Mods. Tons of mods have been made. And this; this is the best.

[flying_wahini]

6. I Love this game...

spending way too much time on it... YES .

[REP]

8. I'm not a gamer - are female PCs usually nerfed?

My husband is the gamer; he's currently playing Skyrim, EVE and the New Empire - all as female PCs. While I've heard numerous rants about games, I haven't heard one about female PCs being limited in ways male ones aren't. He mostly plays D&D type RPGs, so there may be some kind of vileness I haven't watched hours of gameplay of

[justiceischeap]

9. I guess it depends on the games you play

All too often you don't get a choice. Not too many first-person type games allow you to pick the gender of the character. If you do get to pick the gender, then there isn't much difference that I've seen. That said, if I get to choose gender, I always play the female PC... so I have no comparison other than she kicks as much a** as her male counterparts.

Edited to add:

I just remembered something about the game Skyrim... your female spouse is portrayed in a very sexist way. She cooks for you, she runs a shop and gives you the money (so it's advantageous to sell to her) and I can't remember what she says, but it's really corny. Something like, "Just back from some great adventure, darling?" And even though she runs a shop, she's always home (at least my spouse was). I've read that some spouses, if you don't come home often enough, will cheat on you.

[Whisp]

13. I'll have to check that out.

I'll try to woo someone other than a shopkeeper, if that can be done. Go for a Stormcloak maybe and then see if she acts in that same way. If so, yeh, that's a bit disappointing.

[justiceischeap]

14. I don't know how you feel about "cheats"

or if this even qualifies as one... but here's a list of possible spouses.
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage#Females

This was my spouse (I had to start over because of glitches)
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Sylgja

[Whisp]

15. thanks, I look at that wikia site a lot

to help me through a quest here or there.

that list will be helpful in my decision when/if I decide to marry.

one thing tho, I know my housecarls like to knock stuff off my tables and things in my houses when I am away. Things I have taken such time and care to place (placing objects is migraine inducing on an xbox). The one in Riften was especially clumsy so I sat her out on the porch and eventually she just disappeared.

[TexasPaganDem]

26. The male spouses are just as bad

My fiancee had a male follower, when she married him, he became worthless, went to go hang out in a bar and drink all day. No more lightning of doom or carrying stuff, it was "Hey baby, let me finish my ale."

[Aerows]

51. She would have adventured with you

But she took an arrow to the knee, you know.

[justiceischeap]

52. I think more like a rock to the head. :)

My spouse was the miner woman who I had to courier a letter for.

[ZombieHorde]

10. All gender does in Skyrim is affect the way you look and sound.

The only exception I can think of is a special ability that gives you 10% off goods from a merchant who is of the opposite sex.

[Whisp]

11. Grand Theft Auto - Vice City

is one that is mentioned in this article:
http://www.capndesign.com/archives/2003/05/women_in_games.php

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is at one extreme, as women are often beaten or killed, usually after a helathy round of prostitution. Clearly, no critic approves of this. In a game like Tekken 4 the women are capable of defending themselves and often kick ass, but are still hyper-sexualized versions of real women (see image below). All of the games in the Tomb Raider series are also good examples of this. As the article points out, many women have applauded the heroism and stength of Lara Croft but have been disappointed by her incredibly large bust size. Few games give a totally positive portrayal of women -- even games like Super Mario Brothers show the Princess as a completely helpless person that a plumber can save from a hideously large and violent super-turtle.

-typos in that article are numerous.

[REP]

12. Ah - console game.

We do have a PlayStation, but GTA isn't his sort of thing. I did enjoy the story and characters in FallOut ... the one before New Vegas. GTA is a famously over-the-top piece of every -ism.

[gkhouston]

16. I'm not a gamer, but it's nice to know there's at least one game out there that doesn't

treat women like scenery that exists only for the purpose of being a target for violence.

[justiceischeap]

17. There are several game developers that are recognizing

that women game and are making games accordingly. There's a long way to go but it's a start.

[gkhouston]

20. It's a good start. I'm just disgusted by many of the games that get a lot of advertising

and media coverage.

[Catherina]

18. Is this a platform game?

I'm looking for a new one and Skyrim sounds good. Dragons flying? As a Spyro fan, I'm intrigued.

Can you play it alone?

[Ohio Joe]

19. Yes

It is available on PC, Xbox and PS3. The preferred version is PC as you can add on various mods (patches that alter gameplay, often for the better). Xbox would be the next best version as it is close to the PC and the PS3 version last (it has some slowdown issues that have not been fixed yet).

[Catherina]

21. Forgive me if this sounds like a dumb question

but I got a playstation3 a few christmases ago and in three years I mastered 3 games. Spyro, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, and Little Big Planet. All those were on the playstation.

If your advice is to use the PC platform, what do I need to hook into the computer so I'm not playing with the keyboard? Also do you have a link where I can look at it to see if I want to download it? It's not gory is it?

[Ohio Joe]

22. This is definitly more adult then those

There is violence and some gore, you can get an idea of some of it with this video:

I am not sure if the PC version can be modded to not use the ketboard... I do not think so unless you have a controller for the PC.

[Catherina]

23. That doesn't look too bad.

It's much different and now that I rule in Angry Birds, eggs and all, a new game would be cool. I'll download the trial and see. If it's good, I'll ask a gamer down here to help me out with a controller. I don't do too well with keyboard controls.

Someone gave me Dante's Inferno. Not only couldn't I get past the second level but all that gore was disturbing. I think I'll subscribe to the gamer's forum here too.

Thanks for all your help

[Ohio Joe]

24. Thats a good idea

There are a lot of people in the Gaming Group that know more about this game then I do, it's a good bunch we have there. I'm sure you can get whatever answers you need.

[Catherina]

25. As long as they don't laugh at me

when they see my game list

[Whisp]

27. Hope you enjoy the game.

Pretty sure you will, Skyrim is quite different from others in some major ways.

For one, the landscape is breathtaking (provided you have HD tv, that is a big consideration). Without the HD cord I had to buy ($20) it's was quite hard to read the small type and you don't get the full effect of the glorious surroundings.

The map is huge and the detail is crazy. It's nice just to go walking around and see all the landscape. Those fuzzy mountains you see way way out in the background? Well, if you can find a path up you can scale that mountain. Nothing in Skyrim in just flat background, it's all topographically real.

The other thing that makes it juicy is you are not bound to characteristics of what race, etc., you decide on. Some do have extra bonuses - like a wood elf is good at archery, etc., (there are explanations of that in the character set up). When you level up there is a Skill tree and you are free to go in whatever direction you want. For example, you can be a pickpocket mage or a warrior that can conjure up creatures to help you in combat.

[Catherina]

28. Now I'm really looking forward to it.

I have an HD TV and I know what you mean about getting the full glorious effect.

I'll try to download it this weekend and try it out. Thanks for all your help

[REP]

44. Still not a gamer

Dante's Inferno is beautiful (from a graphics standpoint; fake gore doesn't really bother me) but it is annoying as hell to play, according to the gamer in the family . He's already through Skyrim.

[Catherina]

46. I thought it was just me who had that problem with Dante's Inferno

Thanks for letting me know it isn't.

[Neoma]

29. When you loot the characters clothes off.

Do you feel slightly ashamed to see them in their underwear? Or is it just funny?

[Whisp]

32. lol. It was kind of weird at first

Especially for ones who died in dirty underwear. Listen to your Ma, Forsworns!

[Neoma]

33. Ever come across a witch?

They don't look like the stereotypical ugly Wizard of Oz types.

[Catherina]

53. What? This sounds like real fun

I still haven't checked it out but the more you guys talk about it, the more I want to try

[Neoma]

47. Good song.

[Whisp]

48. that's fabulous!

thanks for bringing that here.

I went to her website and she does music for games, one she has there as a sound file is called Heights, it's very beautiful and so far my favourite.

http://www.malukah.com/musica/

[Whisp]

49. so how has your Skyrim week been?

I haven't put too much time in recently. I went butterfly and ingredient picking last night tho.

Also tried to redecorate some of my houses - which is a long chore. (I own all houses except Solitude, yay, I'm a Donald Trump of Skyrim - ah, scratch that). I picked up a plate of leeks and cheese from a table in my Riften home and the stuff came flying at my face - all askew everything all over. My apple pie just wouldn't face the right way - up. I was banging it against chairs and tables and it always ended up bottom burnt side up. I put it in a storage cabinet in exasperation.

Such hard times.

I like the lovely bright tomatoes. I want to fill my house with bright tomatoes, honeycombs, soul gems and those firefly things. My bedroom in Riften is coming along nicely with the flower theme - they are all over my bed and floor, placed justtttttt sooooooo, and sticking too.