New RPG Company Casting All Women for Genesys

Stacie GmrGrl · Jun 15, 2012

TanithT...

You are awesome hun.

I loved everything You have said and instead of requoting everything I just thought I'd say this one message to you. Some guys just don't understand.

I guess and I am wondering... maybe it's a confusion in me... but I refer to myself as a gamer chick, it's over there under my name and it never crossed my mind to think if it might offend... but I often just think of me as just a girl, ya know? And when others talk to me in general conversation I would rather someone refer to me as "hey girl," instead of "hey woman." Idk, maybe it's just me...

But when describing myself I could add an adjective that I wish I didn't have to add, and that is transgender. You want to talk about getting the strange looks and have people be confused about you or not quite know how to react trust me... I get it a lot. Being a transgender woman in this hobby of ours is tough... the many guys are wondering why do I do this to myself and with other girls I get two reactions... either they are totally cool or completely horrified.

So I am just wondering if I should change the gamer chick part? Finding acceptance these last couple years, here in Salem, has been difficult to say the least.

jedijon · Jun 15, 2012

Eh, it's just easy to hate this one is all. There's a WHOLE WORLD of stuff out there just like this. Then - you can take the plunge and learn there's a whole UNDERWORLD of actual evil, exploitation, enslavement, and various other sundry bits that are tearing people to shreds.

And this game lives in a world with "chibi bento box" or whatever that SDE company's other game is...people, I don't think we're going to get much worse of a name than we already have!

Stumblewyk · Jun 15, 2012

If gaming was a larger, more represented hobby in the mainstream world, I'd think this was nothing more than someone with no experience in the gaming community trying to cash in on a marketing segment they didn't already have their grubby hands in with SEXY SEX.

Like it's someone with some cash, and their fingers loosely in TV, music, movies, or something, who thought, "You know who I bet loves BEWBS? Those nerdy Lord of the Rings people. You know, those geeky virgins who play D&D. I bet we could get them to stop playing that Dragons and Doo-gooders game and play another game we made up if we include BEWBS. I'll get my people working on that."

Meeki · Jun 15, 2012

Finally, a RPG focused on gorgeous women clad in unrealistically small, form fitting fantasy armor, my gaming life is complete!

I'm sick of all those other RPG's who portray half-naked guys in skimpy armor, ugh! Move over Elminster in a bikini, make room for the elderly lady wizard, Cinnamon.

pauljathome · Jun 15, 2012

Meeki said:
Finally, a RPG focused on gorgeous women clad in unrealistically small, form fitting fantasy armor, my gaming life is complete!

I'm sick of all those other RPG's who portray half-naked guys in skimpy armor, ugh! Move over Elminster in a bikini, make room for the elderly lady wizard, Cinnamon.

While I completely agree with and understand your joke, the pedant in me has to point out there while there is WAY too much cheesecake art there is also a fair bit of beefcake art with lots of men almost as unrealistically armoured as the women.

KesselZero · Jun 15, 2012

CleverNickName said:
Portland is waaay sexier, man. We've got Voodoo Donuts.

Bacon on a donut, with maple glaze? Hawt.

Okay, you had to pick the day I started a diet. That sounds pretty amazing. Sadly the only time I've been to the Pacific Northwest it was Yakima, Washington, which is probably not the sexiest city on earth.

Still: Winnipeg. Look into it.

Kalontas · Jun 15, 2012

Yet again someone tries to apply to our most primal instincts to drive his sales. Newsflash: it rarely works as well people expect it to.

It's gonna get some major sales at release, and then will promptly be forgotten.

CleverNickName · Jun 15, 2012

pauljathome said:
While I completely agree with and understand your joke, the pedant in me has to point out there while there is WAY too much cheesecake art there is also a fair bit of beefcake art with lots of men almost as unrealistically armoured as the women.

True. But as ridiculous as the "beefcake" art can be, the men are almost always depicted in positions of power, strength, or authority...and women are nearly always shown in positions of subjugation, helplessness, or weakness. The problem isn't just the amount of skin showing.

The presence of "beefcake" artwork does not justify or excuse the "cheesecake," because they are two sides of the same coin: they both reinforce the same unwholesome concepts about sexual perception.

fablestreams · Jun 15, 2012

To all,

Fable Streams is made up of a diverse group of individuals. We are a family. Many of us are girls, some are women, others are gay, at least two are hispanic, one is definitely Jewish, a couple are Asian, and the list goes on. Sorry if I left anyone in the family out, but it could get long. We are gamers, creatives, designers, illustrators, word wizards, cosplayers and geeks of many things. Some of us have been playing for 20 years and others are newly converted.

Just to clear up any assumptions, the 9 houses were originally both men and women. After we started to develop the characters all us ladies said “dam# these beings are BAD A$$!” The girls rallied and demanded that the 9 house leaders not only be solely female, but that we, the (ladies, women, girls, chick’s) would design them. When you learn more about them you will see that they are extremely diverse just like our little family and probably just like all of you. We are excited to be able to share them with everyone, but the stories are not done with editing yet so we will keep you posted.

As far as the strong, bold and super courageous (women, ladies, girls, transgenders) who have been amazing enough to want to participate, we commend them and celebrate them. We are so excited that they are looking to help breathe life into the 9. We are looking for real people. People who love gaming, roleplaying, themselves and all they are. We are looking for individuals who enjoy playing as much as we do. Every individual cast is expected to know our games and other games inside and out. They are true Game Masters and they, as well as all the ladies in our family are a vital part to game settings, story development and future character development. So from the hot chicks in South Beach “We hope you stand with us and forget about Charisma scores, 'cuz you will not need it.”

- Krystal Z "real world Krystal" from House of Perfection

TanithT · Jun 15, 2012

fablestreams said:
Just to clear up any assumptions, the 9 houses were originally both men and women. After we started to develop the characters all us ladies said “dam# these beings are BAD A$$!” The girls rallied and demanded that the 9 house leaders not only be solely female, but that we, the (ladies, women, girls, chick’s) would design them.

While I am still kinda creeped out by referring to adult women as if they were underage children, especially in a sexual context, this sounds like a much better marketing point than the original press release. Focusing on the diversity of your writing and coding team as well as the fact that the characters were created by women in addition to being played by women would go a very long way towards showing more respect and less sexploitation.

And please, even if you personally identify as a girl or a chick, take some time to consider that many other women feel that those terms are derogatory or condescending. Your choice is your choice and it should be respected, but others may be really uncomfortable with the idea of sitting down at a gaming table and being referred to that way by other gamers because your system says they should.

Thank you for clarifying.