2008 Woodie Awards
Digital Digital Let Down
Amanda Wilson
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Basking in the glow of the television screen, two young loves sit dangerously close on the worn sofa. The tension is high as chemistry forms between them. A connection is made and it seems as though anything can happen. This scenario has happened a million times - the connection between a man and his Xbox.
This fascination with altered reality began long before the gaming system had more memory and better graphics than a computer. It started back in the days when Pac-Man was cool and the only graphics known to man were those green dots that made that annoying beep when they were eaten. From Pac-Man to Mario, kids fell for the idea of being a hero and defeating the villain all while pretending to do homework.
Somewhere between saving the world and getting the top score, gaming lost its uni-sex marketing techniques. Games started to have more guns than buried treasure and more cleavage than story line. Today almost every game on the market bares more skin than a college student on Bourbon Street. Reality-twisters such as Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, TombRaider and the countless driving games have created animated women baring it all for the pleasure of the males who play them.
Of all the games that have been created to suit the male-dominated world of virtual entertainment, one of the most graphic and pointless would have to be The Guy Game.
Available on Playstation2 and Xbox, The Guy Game features female spring-breakers answering trivia questions with the reward being a ticket off the stage and the consequence being a loss of dignity. This rated M version of You Don't Know Jack coaxes guys in with the promise of "topless hotties."
Justified by the presence of trivia questions, this Saturday-night-club-substitue is mainly an excuse to save a ticket to Louisiana and enjoy the Mardi Gras view from the comfort of the sofa. The obscenity of this game doesn't come from the fact that women are resorting to exploiting their bodies for the pleasure of males they'll never meet, but the fact that society as a whole not only approves, but encourages such behavior.
In every college student, there's a certain amount of pride and disgust for their body. In some ways the gaming industry should be applauded for being smart enough to capitalize from it.
Whether females approve or disapprove of The Guy Game and other games, they do not want to spend their weekends in front of the Xbox. So guys, save the skin-parade for the weeknights, get off the couch, and be proud that you can get a girl to stick around without using the pause button.
This fascination with altered reality began long before the gaming system had more memory and better graphics than a computer. It started back in the days when Pac-Man was cool and the only graphics known to man were those green dots that made that annoying beep when they were eaten. From Pac-Man to Mario, kids fell for the idea of being a hero and defeating the villain all while pretending to do homework.
Somewhere between saving the world and getting the top score, gaming lost its uni-sex marketing techniques. Games started to have more guns than buried treasure and more cleavage than story line. Today almost every game on the market bares more skin than a college student on Bourbon Street. Reality-twisters such as Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, TombRaider and the countless driving games have created animated women baring it all for the pleasure of the males who play them.
Of all the games that have been created to suit the male-dominated world of virtual entertainment, one of the most graphic and pointless would have to be The Guy Game.
Available on Playstation2 and Xbox, The Guy Game features female spring-breakers answering trivia questions with the reward being a ticket off the stage and the consequence being a loss of dignity. This rated M version of You Don't Know Jack coaxes guys in with the promise of "topless hotties."
Justified by the presence of trivia questions, this Saturday-night-club-substitue is mainly an excuse to save a ticket to Louisiana and enjoy the Mardi Gras view from the comfort of the sofa. The obscenity of this game doesn't come from the fact that women are resorting to exploiting their bodies for the pleasure of males they'll never meet, but the fact that society as a whole not only approves, but encourages such behavior.
In every college student, there's a certain amount of pride and disgust for their body. In some ways the gaming industry should be applauded for being smart enough to capitalize from it.
Whether females approve or disapprove of The Guy Game and other games, they do not want to spend their weekends in front of the Xbox. So guys, save the skin-parade for the weeknights, get off the couch, and be proud that you can get a girl to stick around without using the pause button.