In today's news...

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Not entirely sure this is real, but amusing if it is:

You must be registered to see the links

Obviously, this is a major blow for anyone trying to claim that just because they've been "saved", they're perfect.

Even having been raised Christian myself, I'm viewing this with attitude of "mistakes happen, and even the Pope is still human".

I was raised Roman Catholic, but left when my own beliefs differed too greatly. I admire this new pope, though, and hearing him drop a curse word (even by accident) makes me like him just a little bit more.

In other news, things have reached what seems to be a rather scary tempo in Eastern Europe. I mostly rely on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for my news (primarily because I don't trust American sources where Europe is concerned).

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

I'm not necessarily suggesting that Britain and Germany's cautious approach is wrong. Honestly, I don't have a good solution for the current predicament (if I did, I'd be running for office). These developments have me rather concerned, though, as a situation like this can spiral out of control easily, and there are no signs of deescalation as yet.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: In today's news...

Arizona's governor vetoed the bill. So we're safeish for now. Still legal to fire anyine for being anything other than cisgendered and heterosexual

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

(primarily because I don't trust American sources where Europe is concerned).

Well then, here's a Russian source

You must be registered to see the links

Russia Today reports that the snipers shooting into the protester crowds were hired by the people supporting the protests.

Of course, this is RUSSIA Today, so it may not be the most reliable news outlet to go to for news on this situation

Edit: Also, here's them explaining some treaties the Russians had with the Ukraine.

You must be registered to see the links

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Well then, here's a Russian source

I'm afraid I trust Russian sources even less, especially where international diplomacy is involved. Putin's (mostly successful) attempts at media control are well-documented.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: In today's news...

You must be registered to see the links

Russian news 'reporting'

 

[Nunu]

Re: In today's news...

I know its not technically news... but it doesn't go anywhere else.

You must be registered to see the links

. So many strange quotes.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Iran has been stepping up their death penalty game, which is pissing off members of the international community who claim the offenses aren't serious enough. A lot of the offenders are drug addicts and dealers. Iran officials believe the world should be grateful for the

You must be registered to see the links

(to put this in perspective,

You must be registered to see the links

).

A video was publicized on the internet of a

You must be registered to see the links

, after being convicted of involvement in gang-raping a pregnant woman, who subsequently lost the baby.

Some of them don't seem quite so guilty, like this p

You must be registered to see the links

Yikes.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

You must be registered to see the links

Oh, look, someone who doesn't understand anything about games and gaming wants to change gaming
Again

The article has a lot of words in it but it says pretty much nothing. If there was a demand for more 'ethnic diversity' in games, some savvy entrepreneur would be making money off it already.

 

[Nunu]

Re: In today's news...

You haven't spent much time in academia, have you?

I actually thought it was pretty good, of course the impact its going to have is none.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

I don't think the article even hinted at what I perceive as the root of the problem, which is that video games, to an extent, are a reflection of societal views and norms. I'm pleased to see gender discrimination receiving a little attention, but good luck finding an adult female protagonist who doesn't have washboard abs and curves in all the right places. The vast majority of female characters in Hollywood have amazing bodies, and that trend is even more prevalent in video games. (Being a straight male, I don't mind the fan service... but all the same, I know it's not realistic and probably damaging to the self-image of females that don't look like that.)

For those of you familiar with Dragon Age: Origins, you might recall Wynne and Leliana, two female wizards with very disparate age but the exact same body. Of course, Dragon Age is based on A Song of Ice and Fire, a fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, which has about as much sex as a female rape-or-run protagonist controlled by a lonely teen with hand lotion and a box of tissues. The HBO-series, Game of Thrones, barely even acknowledges the possibility of a less-than-gorgeous female.

And I know someone's going to mention Brienne of Tarth, but she's Hollywood Ugly, and there's a goddamned difference.

Spoiler

When gamers ARE presented with an adult female protagonist, it's generally someone like Bayonetta or Lara Croft. Sure, they're empowered females. But they just HAPPEN to be built like supermodels, too.

tl;dr It's a complicated issue. I don't think one can lay the blame for the problem on the gaming industry entirely--this is a problem with societal perception that can't be solved overnight, or unilaterally.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: In today's news...

That would have been the cool first step, if after going through this game destroying aliens as some badass robot looking tankperson, the helmet comes off and it's revealed your character is a woman, then the suit comes off, and she's dumpy.

 

[Hentaispider]

Re: In today's news...

I don't think the article even hinted at what I perceive as the root of the problem, which is that video games, to an extent, are a reflection of societal views and norms. I'm pleased to see gender discrimination receiving a little attention, but good luck finding an adult female protagonist who doesn't have washboard abs and curves in all the right places. The vast majority of female characters in Hollywood have amazing bodies, and that trend is even more prevalent in video games. (Being a straight male, I don't mind the fan service... but all the same, I know it's not realistic and probably damaging to the self-image of females that don't look like that.)

For those of you familiar with Dragon Age: Origins, you might recall Wynne and Leliana, two female wizards with very disparate age but the exact same body. Of course, Dragon Age is based on A Song of Ice and Fire, a fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, which has about as much sex as a female rape-or-run protagonist controlled by a lonely teen with hand lotion and a box of tissues. The HBO-series, Game of Thrones, barely even acknowledges the possibility of a less-than-gorgeous female.

And I know someone's going to mention Brienne of Tarth, but she's Hollywood Ugly, and there's a goddamned difference.

Spoiler

When gamers ARE presented with an adult female protagonist, it's generally someone like Bayonetta or Lara Croft. Sure, they're empowered females. But they just HAPPEN to be built like supermodels, too.

tl;dr It's a complicated issue. I don't think one can lay the blame for the problem on the gaming industry entirely--this is a problem with societal perception that can't be solved overnight, or unilaterally.

How often do you see a MALE character who is fat or even "normal" instead of being buff or at least fit? Apart from the token fat guy who generally exists only for comedic effect.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

How often do you see a MALE character who is fat or even "normal" instead of being buff or at least fit? Apart from the token fat guy who generally exists only for comedic effect.

Oh, it's certainly a trend for male characters, but there ARE fat-yet-capable-and-sympathetic male roles. Famous characters that come to mind: Samwell Tarly (from the aforementioned Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire), Bob from Tekken, Jonah Hill's character in Superbad (very few fat jokes, except for the fact that he really can NOT run, which comes into play twice, briefly), Ethan Suplee's character in Remember the Titans, Santa Claus, and Buddha.

And this list isn't conclusive. Philip Seymour-Hoffman played a variety of chubby-yet-heroic types (notably in Patch Adams) and there's more, but I don't feel like continuing... I think I've listed enough for now.

 

[Obsidious]

Re: In today's news...

The way I see it, with smoking becoming uncool, many vidya protagonists are going to become fat anyway.

 

[Nunu]

Re: In today's news...

I am actualy reminded of my favorite part of bullet storm. There was a female character in it who was not defined by her gender. Sure she had the hollywood tropes of beauty, moderately scantly clad but as a character there was all of two lines that mentioned her as a female and then nothing for the rest of the game. She just was.

Although i hear her character designer got into a massive fight with either the other designers or marketing about her chest size, which thanks to that was thankfully left modest.

 

[Obsidious]

Re: In today's news...

I am actualy reminded of my favorite part of bullet storm. There was a female character in it who was not defined by her gender. Sure she had the hollywood tropes of beauty, moderately scantly clad but as a character there was all of two lines that mentioned her as a female and then nothing for the rest of the game. She just was.

Although i hear her character designer got into a massive fight with either the other designers or marketing about her chest size, which thanks to that was thankfully left modest.

She did however still come across as stark contrast to the PC, with the protagonist being a stereotypic brutish version of what is by some considered "male". Their bickering was still somewhat of an implicit male vs. female thing in my opinion. So in a way she was maybe not "defined by her gender" because he simply didn't need to be.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: In today's news...

How often do you see a MALE character who is fat or even "normal" instead of being buff or at least fit? Apart from the token fat guy who generally exists only for comedic effect.

Alan Wake. That man was soooo out of shape. XD

 

[Takimaru]

Re: In today's news...

This SOPA shit again. If you like this site being up, it might be worth taking a look at this and signing it.

You must be registered to see the links

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Isn't the new SOPA not as much a law and more just a bunch of corporations agreeing to take down their own websites if some sort of copyright stuff happens? Still shit, but seems like less of a problem.
Why can't people just stop trying to shit on the internet anyway?

--

If you were at some point worried about Obamacare forcing you to buy insurance you can't afford

Apparently the thing is delayed for another 2 years

You must be registered to see the links

Edit:

You must be registered to see the links

Shouldn't need any explanation or short summary, the title says it all

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

How could I have missed

You must be registered to see the links

? The results are in! Kim Jong-un has been re-elected with 100% of the vote (and over 90% participation)--what a proud day for democracy! Voters sang and danced as they cast their single-candidate ballots with "billows of emotion and happiness."