girl_gamers: Do women not care about Mass Effect?

シーラ (

schierke) wrote in

girl_gamers,
@ 2007-11-24 15:52:00

Do women not care about Mass Effect?
Despite Mass Effect being an RPG where you can choose to be a female, as well as customize your look... only three women in the media attended (myself, a coworker, & a friend) the launch party. All my female gaming friends who didn't play KOTOR or Jade Empire never heard of it, either.

So I put together Five Reasons Why You Should Play Mass Effect in hopes of getting more females aware of the game, rather than getting caught up in the nitpicks.

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	maladaptive 2007-11-24 09:05 pm UTC (link)
	I'm kind of surprised people haven't heard about it. It seems to be the most hyped game for consoles the Christmas season. I don't even pay that much attention to 360 games, and I'm excited for it. Or maybe I'm biased and don't really care about anything else, even the things for consoles I own. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	schierke 2007-11-24 10:53 pm UTC (link)
	I think it's because of the graphic style/asthetic not appealing to them and marketing being heavily targeted to existing Bioware fans. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	g33klady 2007-11-24 09:28 pm UTC (link)
	A 3-part Penny Arcade comic (and their blog) got me interested in it (start here), and is one of the reasons I'm getting a 360 for myself for xmas. I love RPG's like that - am enjoying the hell out of Hellgate London right now, as a matter of fact :P (Reply to this)(Thread)

kadeshaderow
2007-11-24 10:00 pm UTC (link)

Those comics are really misleading, they're basically a week's worth of phoning it in. There are some actual, real problems they could have griped about like the constant (NON-elevator) loading screens, or the dumbass spaceworm battles on alien planets where it's entirely possible to be one-hit killed as it pops up directly underneath you, or getting bumrushed and killed in a firefight by people whose melee is about 10000% more effective than yours.

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	schierke 2007-11-24 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	It was made 11/14.. most of us got our prerelease copies for review just then or after that. So the comics are probably based on hype or whatnot. (Reply to this)(Parent)

kadeshaderow
2007-11-24 10:09 pm UTC (link)

Like I said in my review further down:

1. Conversation is NOT as context-sensitive as they make it out to be. I've never been penalized for pausing to think over what my response should be. And the "Your decisions has consequences" bit was shoe-horned into a single part of the game about 4/5ths in. I wish that I had seen some of what was alluded to in the trailer, where they listen to a distress beacon from a colony, and ignore it in favor of cruising off onto an alien planet presumably more related to their mission. (Some sidequests timing out or something, would have been nice)

2. Relationship building is exagerrated. I went from being professional colleagues with my romantic interest to busting her ass like a looter in a riot in about two-three hours out of about 25 hours of playtime. And the non romantic-interest characters feel very phoned in, with very little development occurring.

3. The character generator is amazing, and dialogue rarely feels forced or like it was written by a hand-wringing 12 year old. Only once or twice did I actually feel pissed off that the conversation system failed to articulate what I actually wanted to say.

4. Uh, this is kind of a clone of 3, but yeah, if I had to compare Mass Effect's Unreal 3 engine to real life, I'd say it reaches parity with rotoscoped live action.

5. The ability to play an actual disciplined officer instead of some random teenager whiney shithead involuntarily endowed with the power to save the universe was a definite plus for me.

This game is really good, really fucking good, so good that if you bought Assassin's Creed by mistake you should take it down to Gamestop right the fuck now while it still has some resale value and swap it for Mass Effect. It's just not good for the reasons Bioware hyped.

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schierke
2007-11-24 10:50 pm UTC (link)

i agree wit these

1. I like that you can pause, if you're like me you have a few backseat drivers who want to take part in the decision making.

2. It's far more than what other blockbuster titles have to offer. I'm saying that as someone who mostly plays JP-made RPGs, where everything is planned out for us - no matter what we do or say.

3/4. Still.. we need hairs! I was told it was because of military/helmet but someone told me it's the engine being unable to handle hair.

5. word.

Srs, Bioware has made a milestone in gaming in general with this..

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kadeshaderow 2007-11-24 10:56 pm UTC (link)
	I'll confess that probably my favorite feature in Mass Effect is the codex. All the gearhead/nerd write-up there is great for those of us who like full immersion, I got the Scholar achievement halfway into it. (Reply to this)(Parent)

beoweasel
2007-11-25 12:34 pm UTC (link)

I do have to agree on some points.

I did find that romantic relations with one of the female characters to come straight out of nowhere, while I was supportive of her (but then, I was supportive of everybody, I was 100% Paragon before the Ilos) I didn't expect her to be asking my character to jump her bones. :P

I truly wished there had been better character development, while I really saw that in my favorite character, Garrus, I saw little in Wrex and a couple of others (which was a real shame, because he was second favorite character.)

The thing that really annoyed me, was the fact that Mass Effect felt too short. Maybe its because I prefer epic length RPGs (Like Oblivion, for example) but I felt that there really should have been more to the main story, as well side quests.

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	flyingwild 2007-11-24 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	Eh. I have zero interest in it. I've never thought Bioware's games are half as good as most people do, and I greatly disliked KOTOR (I'm a huge SW fan, but almost no decent SW games have been made the last decade). And since everything I've seen about it compares it to KOTOR or Oblivion, both of which bored me, I have no reason to think that this won't do the same. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kadeshaderow 2007-11-24 10:17 pm UTC (link)
	The combat system is more akin to Deus Ex than the obnoxious melee-fest that was Knights of the Old Republic. But it sounds like it's just a genre hang-up for you. Mass Effect and Oblivion are however, incomparable. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	flyingwild 2007-11-24 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	It's a genre thing, yeah. I like RPG video games. Though I've never liked the more open ones like this, I prefer turn-based. I just can't keep interested otherwise. If I'm going to play that sort of style of RP, I'd rather be actually roleplaying than playing a video game. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	schierke 2007-11-24 10:51 pm UTC (link)
	I didn't like KOTOR and am 'meh' about Star Wars.. but rumor is the MMO they're working on (that will use Mass Effect's roleplaying system) might be SW. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	flyingwild 2007-11-24 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	Oh lovely, that's all we need, another MMO. Ugh. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ancalemon 2007-11-25 12:02 am UTC (link)
	I am loving Mass Effect so, so much. I doubt there's a single person who knows me who doesn't know about Mass Effect by now -- even my mom is actually following the plot, which is way more than she's been aware of any game I played before. (Reply to this)

	typhoid 2007-11-25 12:11 am UTC (link)
	? Well if I could go to the launch party, I would have. Maybe it's not that women don't know about it, but rather that women don't have access to the high-profile areas of gaming? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	schierke 2007-11-25 12:55 am UTC (link)
	The crowd at Assassin's Creed had a 70%/30% ratio so the access is there. It was a bigger event, though. (Reply to this)(Parent)

sarkenobi
2007-11-25 02:06 am UTC (link)

Man I was excited for quite a good long time for Mass Effect. Probably since BioWare announced it with a little line or two about it. I woke up frigging early to be at my local GameCrazy to be there when they opened to get my copy! And came home and played a bunch. I even got the prequel novel and reading it now!

I'm totally bummed that there's not enough chicks that are as into Mass Effect as I am! I was telling a non-gamer female friend of mine about how awesome the writing is. I'm talking about it nightly with a new male friend of mine cause his fiancee told him to buy the game, while they are having a "no new games purchasing" rule until their wedding next month. She is playing it as well, but taking a bit to warm up to it.

I'm bummed today that I didn't get to play it at all! My mom was here so we did stuff instead. Having Mass Effect withdrawals!

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	gamingangel 2007-11-25 04:25 am UTC (link)
	haha some of us weren't invited to the launch party. But I'm playing it right now. (Reply to this)

	moneta_xi 2007-11-25 05:41 am UTC (link)
	I'm already planning on getting it, but I want to finish a couple other games 1st. But I've heard nothing but good things from my friends. But they are all guys, but I don't care. I'm sure its a great game. (Reply to this)

	euphoriafish 2007-11-25 08:16 am UTC (link)
	I'm not playing it because I don't have a large console or time for longer games right now :( If I could commit to any not-DS gaming I would be all over Mass Effect. Nice list :) (Reply to this)

i like it so far

pocabomba
2007-11-25 08:25 am UTC (link)

I'm not hugely adept at the gaming thing, but i love rpgs. i only wish mass had less shooting and more talking. which would probably drive most people insane, but i love talking... running about and solving disputes. sometimes blowing people up or shooting is fun, but i find the on planet missions a little draining.

nevertheless, it's really great. and i love bioware. love love. so i'm glad i get to enjoy the graphics, and the character modification, etc. i love being able to make your avatar exactly the way you wish. it's.. just fab.

so yes. i'd recommend it to others. and offer that there is enough battle and talk to go around.

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	outpt 2007-11-25 09:01 am UTC (link)
	I'm not interested in ME -- whether I can play as a female is a meaningless detail to me. I'm not into RPGs, so I won't be playing it. BTW, the lack of contrast on your site is really hard on the eyes; I didn't read much of what you posted because it's difficult to make out the text. (Reply to this)

chicknstu
2007-11-25 12:06 pm UTC (link)

Mass Effect is a fantastic game. And I've never seen a game which does more to provide an equal experience depending on your choice of character sex.

At the risk of sounding sexist (I'm not trying to be, I'm just drawing from the obvious), it's a very hardcore game, and it has a sci-fi setting, two things which generally (but not always) don't appeal to the fairer sex. So if I had to come up with a reason, that's what I'd pick... Which would be a real shame and I hope I'm wrong about it.

It could also be that, although great, it looks very generic. The box art is not exactly inspirational. It really is the kind of thing that, if you hadn't heard of it, you would probably walk right past it on the shelf. So that could be another reason.

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	chickosaurusrex 2007-11-25 06:34 pm UTC (link)
	I'm digging Mass Effect right now. I'm only a few hours in and I can already see the flaws others have mentioned, but I'm having too much fun to pay them too much attention. (Reply to this)

blasphemae
2007-11-25 11:52 pm UTC (link)

I've already put over 30 hours into the game. I've played both KOTOR games (though KOTOR2 was by Obsidian), both Baldur's Gate games, and Jade Empire. The only one that I haven't played through more than once is Jade Empire.

If any of my friends were gamers, I'd be getting them to try the game out. Unfortunately, I only have one gamer friend. He doesn't own a 360, and he also lives in a completely different state, so it's not like he can pop in for a visit and play it on mine. It sucks, but the most I can do is sit there and rave about it while my friends stare dumbly and wish I'd change the subject to something they understand, haha.

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