I’ve stated I feel the claim is in bad faith. To support that, I presented another game that does the same thing and is praised.
Restating the claim isn’t presenting anything new. If you’re deeply offended, explain. But I vaguely remember the gist of the posts that were deleted and I will further assert I think you are in bad faith as well.
I know people who care deeply about gender issues. When they muster up the strength to take a stand for themselves, it is not something they do lightly. They don’t write a two-sentence “I’m offended” post. They agonize for hours over how to explain their context and why they are hurt. It’s difficult, because it makes them vulnerable. It’s difficult, because there are people who think their circumstances are completely made up and that “being offended” is some kind of hobby they have. It’s difficult, because by and large they’re several times more likely to be assaulted or murdered than people who don’t speak up.
Which is why “I’m triggered” or “I’m offended” is often haphazardly thrown around in bad faith by people who don’t believe in the offense in the first place. It’s done not from a place of empathy or caring, but from the desire to present the idea as so ridiculous it taints the attempts to make good faith arguments.
So it’s on the table it’s offensive, but that other games do it the same way and aren’t offensive. Why? The reason can’t be “it is”. There has to be more to it if it was worth continuing the japes after making posts that were deleted.
I too, know people who care deeply about gender issues. Psychiatrists mostly. Good people, stretched far too thin by this new deluge of people so maladjusted to reality that they campaign to be legally permitted to claim their insanity as an inalienable right. It is small wonder that the health services are in crisis and there is a deepening abyss of mental health issues that weren’t so prevalent in days gone by.
Why this thread even exists floats beyond the reach of my comprehension as I view it to be a non-issue. We already have the option to select a male or female avatar and even customise their fantastical race to any of the options presented to us. This is after all a match-3 RPG.
Perhaps, we could stop this senseless assault upon common sense and enjoy the game for what it is; an amazing, fun game. Not a sounding board for those in crisis. The relevant agencies can be found using a quick and simple Google search.
The part of your post where you trivialize the problems of people who do have mental/physiological problems is wrong, and I hope one day you grow some empathy.
I feel like the rest of your post is more or less in line with my stance:
GoW’s portrayal of gender as “cosmetic body type” and its allowance for infinite, no-penalty changes seems to be fairly inclusive. In fact, you can choose masculine or feminine guild titles separate from your avatar’s gender presentation. I’m really, really, REALLY trying to understand what is offensive, but it feels like GoW includes almost every feature people wish other games had in this respect.
Maybe we don’t think it for the same reason, but I deem it a non-issue too.
So unless OP comes back with a strong argument, I’m pretty sure this thread’s a poor attempt at offensive humor, and a bandwagon other people are jumping on.
I didn’t mean to sound apathetic or trivialise anyone’s psychological problems. I’m manic depressive, so I know how important getting the help I need is and the consequences of my not doing so. I think the world has gone pretty mad with everything becoming ultra-politically correct. Perhaps that’s why my intent was misinterpreted. Although, given that this is the written word and not spoken; intent is harder to discern.
I feel that an excellent job has been done of being “diverse” in terms of representing both genders and the different fantasy races, even skin colour. As I stated in my previous post, I don’t see how this is even an issue? Unless this is one of those ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ scenarios for me.
Pretty sure OP was done with this topic a while ago, based on it being created off a misunderstanding. My interpretation was that OP thought splitting players into male and female was introduced in the most recent patch (4.2) with the new, customisable guild ranks. Upon realising/remembering that it’s been like that for a while, I think they no longer felt the need to bring it up, despite still personally disagreeing with it. If someone still wanted to discuss it, I think it would be best for them to make their own thread, since (I believe) this one is no longer being directed by an OP.
As an aside, I’d be kind of interested in a character creation screen (in a different game, perhaps, more like Elder Scrolls/Fallout, where there’s a precedent for a high level of customisation) that started from a genderless figure, as I think it would make you pay more attention to the physical characteristics you gave them.
While I certainly wouldn’t want to lose the current binary gender options for profiles etc., I would totally be in favor of adding gender-neutral options for those that want them.
