First Person Shooter
If you are bothered by ten-year-old television spoilers you might want to skip this entry.
I have a large X-files box set, which I've been working my way through at a rate of approximately one episode per day for, well, quite a while now. I am currently in Series 7, and just watched the episode "First Person Shooter". In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a virtual reality game which has somehow started killing people for real.
The X-files is not a show that always takes itself too seriously, and that is fine by me. I'm happy to ignore the ridiculousness in a lot of the cases investigated. However, in this particular example they really missed their mark for me, and First Person Shooter may well be my least favourite episode. Which is sad, given my interest in gaming, and love of geeky episodes and the lone gunmen. The episode is even written by William Gibson, which I would have thought was a good sign.
I think the X-files in general does quite a good job of portraying an equal partnership, and exploring gender dynamics in a relatively genuine way. They don't always get everything right, but Dana Scully remains one of the best examples of a strong female character I encountered during my teenage years. So, it's a bit of a kick in the teeth when they decide to cheapen those dynamics.
In FPS, Scully spends a lot of time ranting about testosterone fantasies, and arguing against the possible merits of violent games. Meanwhile, Mulder effectively regresses to adolescence and gets very excited at the prospect of running into the simulation all-guns-blazing.
It's as if the mere use of video games as subject matter makes it okay to hype up gender stereotypes. And I don't consider that okay. Not even ten years ago when this episode was aired.
If there is a twist (and in the realm of X-files there is usually a twist) it's that the sexy virtual assassin woman causing all the problems was not created as a man's fantasy. Rather, she was a female developer's reaction to working in a testosterone-dominated environment. She was her "goddess", designed as a source of strength. In the scheme of plot twists it wasn't a very important one.
I know video games are still finding their feet when it comes to gender. It would be pretty stupid of me to try and claim otherwise, and I do think it's important to address that. But that doesn't mean games should be portrayed as though they cannot ever be divorced from gender imbalance. Sadly, I'm not convinced that in a similar scenario created today would be any better. That is really quite upsetting, and it's stories like these that give non-gamers of the world skewed perceptions. We can all do better than that.
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Yeah Scully was hot, back in my teenager days. I'd like to play a game with a tough yet cool chick like Scully, but without all the cliched female heroine rubbish (lines, clothing, storyline).
Perhaps that's what my current Fallout 3 chick will be.
I loved my Fallout 3 character so much that I can't help recreating her now in every game I play.
She was the second character I created. I was originally going with a somewhat sleazy bisexual Errol Flynn look-alike, until I realised the game wouldn't actually let you sleep with anyone. Still had fun breaking up the young couple in Rivet City though, and then pretending I was trying to nail them both.
But Mel was awesome. She was like a black female version of Kratos, only with a sense of humour and a love of science. She was smart, angry, sadistic and with a love of ridiculously large weapons. She was also a nasty piece of work, and nobody's objectified "goddess". Made resolving the daddy issues fun.
I eventually plan on going back and playing through a third time as a big, gullible, sweet idiot. Probably a white dude, although it then means that I'll feel slightly racist for not having done an Asian character.