You are all special snowflakes!

Half Life 2 is probably one of my all time favorite shooters.   It was something my dad and I bonded over when I was younger.  Though the mechanics haven’t aged very well, I still play through it now and again for that hit of nostalgia.  I still remember the time my dad watched as I was getting my butt kicked by baddies.  When low on health, I tend to be hesitant about exposing myself to enemies, so I usually hang back, throw grenades or use long-range weapons in a battle.  At one point, my dad told me that I shouldn’t be afraid to die because I’ll just respawn back to my last save point.  While my dad and I generally have the same taste in games, we both have very different philosophies on how to play them.  Dad had a tendency to play a little more recklessly than I did, and I often watched in horror as he tore through an enemy horde on some sort of mad kamikaze mission, while dangling on a measly 10% health.  He could probably die a dozen times in just one battle and think it all in good fun.  In fact, he had such a disregard for Mr. Freeman’s well-being that even after a battle he would totter around, ignoring the health stations, knowing full well that a face-hugger could spring out of nowhere and one-hit him.  Now, it’s not unusual for people to have different styles of playing.  Generally, with shooters, one can play skillfully, tactfully or aggressively.  I generally play shooters defensively, while my dad plays offensively.  Like I said, these differences are not that unusual.  What I do consider interesting is why we play the way that we do.  For my dad, dying in a game was a minor inconvenience.  Dying is just another game mechanic and he accepts it as something that just happens.  For me, well, dying in a game was synonymous with failure.  The point of a game for me is to not die.  It’s what defines me as the hero.  While I know that I can obviously respawn at my last save or checkpoint, when my character dies, it means I have failed.  It means I was not good enough to overcome a certain obstacle, and I have to try again until I am good enough.  So what does this imply exactly?  Bear with me one moment as I’d like to provide another example before I elaborate.

Why we never go to Ravenholm

Previously, I have expressed my adoration for the Uncharted series, despite some of its flaws.  My dear friend, Jeff, also enjoys this title with as much enthusiasm as I.  However, upon inciting a discussion about our beloved game, I found that, when it came to playing Uncharted, Jeff and I had nothing in common.  ”Egad!” thou art exclaimeth, “How ever can this be?”  Well, it’s a little odd actually.  What appealed to me the most about the series was the opportunity to play the role of a treasure hunter.  God help me, I do go positively gooey over Indiana Jones type stuff.  What I loved most about these games was the sheer thrill of adventure.  Uncharted 2 particularly captures the absolute peril and exhilaration that comes with Nathan Drake’s day job.  Whether breaking into a museum or blowing up a helicopter from a moving train, this game had me engrossed from start to finish.  However, Jeff did not see the game in this light, or at least did not appreciate these elements as much as I did.  He’s the kind of guy that skips all the cutscenes to get right down to the nitty-gritty.  More to the point, Jeff just enjoys kicking butt.  Uncharted provides a variety of weapons and a variety of ways to take down bad guys.  With that, you have yourself a choc load of different trophies to unlock.  For Jeff, the fun is in the replay value that the game provides as he not only needs to improve his skill, but also change his style of combat to earn each trophy.  While I do enjoy Uncharted’s combat, it’s not why I love the game.  My appreciation comes from the overall experience of adventure which the game executes perfectly.  Jeff enjoys the challenge more so, and this is what I find interesting.

Ok, so what does all of this mean?  Think about it from a design point of view.  In a previous post I mentioned how games were becoming too easy by the way they pretty much tell players how to play them.  From observing my friends and family, I think it’s pretty clear that gamers would rather not be told what to do or how to enjoy their game.  I find most modern shooters, featuring regenerative health, to be incredibly restrictive.  There are times in Gears of War where I just want to throw down the chest-high walls and chainsaw every mother on the battlefield, but I know if I do, my dude pretty much dies instantly in the crossfire.  This is no fun.  Referring to Uncharted again, this game does indeed feature regenerative health, but because Drake has the ability to dodge, climb, stealth attack, melee and steal enemy weapons, I’m not limited to shooting from behind a wall.  In a game with restrictive mechanics, the player can’t really project themselves into the game.  Players should be allowed to make their own decisions.  I’m not talking about deciding whether to be good or evil, a choice typically presented in RPG games.  I’m talking about, for example, facing the player with the decision to whether or not use his or her last grenade on a bunch of bad guys or to stealthily pick them off one by one.  As much as I have screamed at my dad for not collecting enough health in Half Life 2, I can’t force him to play the way I do because it would be like telling him to stop being himself.  This is something that game designers need to think about.

Genre is also important to take into account.  While you may be creating a game to cater to shoot-em-up fans, you may need to consider that each shoot-em-up player is an individual with his/her own wants, needs or desires from a game.  There are various reasons why gamers like the games they like, and there’s no use thinking, “If they don’t like it, they can play something else because this is not that kind of game.”  Games shouldn’t be exclusively catering to one kind of gamer.  One should also consider adding different elements to appeal to a wider audience.  If Uncharted hadn’t featured it’s solid combat and reward system, gamers like Jeff may not have taken any interest and the title may not have been as successful as it had been.  I know there’s a lot of risk in making a video game, but I think it is important that developers and publishers take the time to have a long hard look at the kind of people that play them.  Nothing in life is black and white, and gamers are no exception.

Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing French video games artist, Valériane.  She will be discussing her career as a games artist and illustrator, what it is like to be a woman in the industry, and what can be done to attract young girls to video games.

Hi, Valériane!  Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m 32, of the feminine persuasion, French, of average height and chubs, not really girly but working on it and a game and comics artist.

I first wanted to make a living as a cartoonist, but happen in a job in games purely by accident, and decided to stay in the industry.

I have a varied education, as much in traditional art (at Emile Cohl School in Lyon) as communication (Bellecour School, same city) and 3D (Supinfocom School, Valenciennes).  I’m doing a lot of self teaching, especially concerning software imaging.

I started playing video games when I was a wee little thing.  I used to play with Duckhunt on the NES (the dog’s laugh plagued my nightmares), but also Zelda and Mario.  Then followed the Super NES with all the adventure RPG games (I’m still in love with Secret of Mana), the Playstation 1 and 2, Gameboy and DS.

Nowadays, I’m more interested in PC games, WoW, Dragon Age, Facebook’s casual games, point and click games… it varies!

It’s hard to play and be productive as a freelance graphic illustrator, so I have to reduce my gaming time and only play on weekends.

I love adventure and RPG games, and I have always been a fan of Final Fantasy and other Square creations. I also have a soft spot for retro game like Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore and all the old adventure RPG games of the SNES.

In all honestly, I always wanted to draw for a living, but until I discovered Final Fantasy 7, I hadn’t realized I could be working in games art.  I wanted to be able to create characters and tell stories, and at the time 3D seemed to be the only solution for working in the industry, so I tried to do study in 3D animation.  Afterward, I had been hired as an illustrator for a company of casual Flash games.  Starting from here, I worked for a DS and Wii company, and an online game company, both targeted for young girls.

I was an illustrator.  Many of the games I worked on needed still 2D illustration of either characters or background.  I also did a bit of 3D, some GUI, packaging for games, flash animation and web-design.

It depended on the company.  I worked for a big company (around 80 employees at the time) where men and women were somewhat balanced. There were more men in the technical aspect of work (programming, sound and art department) and more women in the help-desk and secretarial department.  In the smaller studio, there was much more imbalance.  I once worked in a company where I was the only full-time female employee, except for the cook and the part time secretary.  At my last job, there were two women (one in art, one in programming) to a dozen men, but I know they had recruited a lot of women recently to work at the help-desk.

But based on my experiences, and a few of my friends in the same industry, I feel there is a lot more men than women in the video game industry, and women’s jobs are more in art (though, not that much), secretarial and communication.

Ostracized may be a strong word, but I was considered as “no fun” by some of my co-workers. Mainly because, well, male humor. I’m a bit impervious to gallows humor, dick and ball jokes, racist and sexist puns. I’m also very work focused and had trouble concentrating in a noisy open-space work place.  Now it’s more a personal preference than a gender characteristic.  I’m pretty sure I would have been a very boring man too.

But I know that, at least in one of my jobs, I had been hired only because I am a woman.  My co-workers told me they wanted a female point of view about the game for young girls they were doing.

Let’s be honest, I have been a tomboy for most of my twenty one years of life.  I played video games, loved my Lego technique and Mechano toys, read super-heroes comics and manga for boys…  My taste in games go more toward fighting evil with a lot of explosions, than raising my pink pony and dressing her in flowery skirt.  I wasn’t sure my point of view would have been very feminine.

How wrong was I.

I still remember a picture, drawn by one of my co-workers, of a delicate ballerina in an elegant pink tutu, tying her ballet shoes with all the grace and distinction of a war-hardened trooper putting on rangers.

So I gave my “feminine” point of view about elegance, about colors, about game mechanics, about common sense sometimes, and most of the time it was ignored because of (understandable) time or technology constraints, or because the project was “just a game for little girls, they wouldn’t see the difference”, end quote.

I’m still upset about that one.  Not only because it was insulting to the intelligence of little girls, but because it was said in such a defeatist tone.  It was insulting to the work we were doing.  ”Why bother making good work or getting invested in the project?  They won’t see the difference anyway.”  The studio shut down a few months later.

Could and SHOULD do better.

Games for young girls are marketed the exact same way as toys for young girls, that being : The same old thing, but pinker.

Whatever the video game is, it’s often a variant of playing doll, playing mom, playing with ponies, playing fashion model, playing dancing star, etc… Let’s have an example.

We invited young girls once at the DS game studio for beta testing our game and I ended up talking with them about the kind of game they wanted to play.  I had a lot of answer for “wannabe” games. Wannabe air hostess, wannabe dancer, wannabe cook, wannabe interior decorator, wannabe pet owner, but once introduced to these kind of games, the kids got bored.

And went to play football.

With brooms.

So what’s the problem exactly?  The games being boring?  The games being badly done?  The kids being sick to death of the penultimate “pink pony ballerina makeup star happy shiny game”?  I think it’s a bit of all that.

Poor quality, poor interest, and overproduction of the genre.

Don’t get me wrong.  I personally don’t like the “wannabe” game.  I think it’s as stereotyped as the old pink tea set.  But, a well done “wannabe” game, with real game mechanics, a well thought out scenario and a likable, non-pinky-stereotypical-blond-ditzy main character, can get girls more interested in games.  Do a tea set game if you want, but do it WELL.

I’m not sure it is a good idea.  Sure it could get little girls interested in video games, but once passed the “games for little girls” step, what are the options?  Are there games for teenage girls?  Games for young women?  Games for older women?  It will lead to a hyper-specialized category of game which will be probably have the same problem as existing games for girls: stereotyped and unsuitable to women’s wishes.  Besides, a “niche” game will not be successful enough to be commercially viable.

Stop thinking a game for girl must be pink, far too easy, or simple.

Ok, I’m overreacting. A game for girl can be pink, but I’m a bit repelled by a game pinker than the inside of a uterus. I have enough of my own, thank you very much.

I have friends, girl gamers too, who love pink.  There is a lot of giggling about dresses in WoW and bitching about uncoordinated armor sets, but that doesn’t stop our shiny palatank to charge head on on Yogg Saron (and finish him single handedly), or our troll huntress to have the best DPS of the raid.  We go raiding, sure, but we go raiding in style and still kick ass.

Now WoW is more for teenagers or grown women.  I would not sit a ten year old in front of this game, especially one who never played one before.

But what could interest young girls in video games?

Interacting with the game should not even be on the list, but I tested games for girls where we had pages and pages of text to read, followed by three clicks in a boring subgame and again, text and text and text.  BORING.  It’s a video game!  Every one of your action should have an immediate reaction on screen!  Explosions, ponies dancing, sparkles everywhere if you want but action = reaction.

Girls can be as competitive as boys. Having a high-score or an achievement is as satisfying for a girl as for a boy.  So yeah, blasting off aliens may not be most girls’ thing but exploring a world, discovering secret path, hidden treasure, collectible achievements?  Bring it on.

Believable scenario is also a good way to gain girls’ interest in games.  There must be a captivating story with interesting characters, evolutive storyline, choice for the player impacting the story (again: interactivity is the key).  It doesn’t need to be “Game of Thrones” either. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” is not going to be nominated for the Emmy Award, but it’s captivating, the characters are well defined and a game in the spirit of the show would be an instant hit.  Add in the possibility to make your own pony and girls will be all over the game.

The first step is to tell girls that they can work in video games, that it’s a possibility.  That you are not going to mock them by saying they’re going to make a “girly” game even if it depicts Cthulhu at his worse.

I think there is going to be a lot more women working in games in the future.  There is a whole trend of women gamers, girl geeks, sisterhood of the nerds who can only inspire young girls to follow their footsteps.

But the first step is getting them interested in games, and we’re still working on that one.

Firstly, I’d like to mention that upon returning to WordPress, I’ve noticed a spike in my page views this month.  Some sort of WordPress wizardry allows me to see the search terms to which people have happened upon my blog.  The top search term is “Dahvie Vanity” and for some reason this does not surprise me.  Other terms however, include things like “Lara Croft bondage” and “Skyrim porn”.  If you have found my blog by using similar search terms, please be assured that I am judging you.

Judgement Owl judges you

Moving on, I’d like to talk about a topic I’ve been mulling over for a while.  It’s not an original topic, but I’d like to swing a different perspective on it.  It’s something that any veteran gamer will agree with and it’s that video games these days are too easy.  Now there is a merit to this in that it opens up a market that simply didn’t exist in the past.  Many old school console titles required the player to survive an entire level without dying, or they would have to start all over again.  This usually meant dedicating hours at a time to video games.  Nowadays, we are given rechargeable health and an abundance of checkpoints, and while I know that game designers’ hearts were in the right place with this generosity, I can’t help but wonder if we are now being too spoiled or too pampered by video games.

Most games, shooters in particular, have a difficulty setting, and generally “Hard” mode means more enemies, less power-ups.  But I’m not going to talk about these types of difficulty mechanics here and discuss something I’m a little more concerned about.  There’s an awful lot of hand-holding in today’s video games.  I find that if I need to stop and think, for even the shortest time, about what I need to do to progress through a level, the game very intrusively butts in with a glaring hint.  Gee, thanks.  It’s like working on a Sudoko puzzle with someone looking over your shoulder and saying, “No, you can’t put the nine there, it will clash with the other nine.  Heavens, what are you doing?  Do you know what, just give it to me, I’ll do it right.”  Indeed I do find it condescending when the game thinks I’m too stupid to figure something out for myself.  Hints are fine, but not those that tell you exactly what to do.

What I used to like about games was figuring out their mechanics.  After Duke Nukem 3D was released, I used to use the action key excessively in every game since, just to see what was interactive.  Now I don’t even bother because if an item doesn’t glow, jingle or display a giant green triangle when my character stands next to it, then I know it’s not interactive.  Where’s the fun in that?  What’s the point in a game that practically plays itself?  Playing video games has become such a passive activity that it’s really difficult to gain a sense of accomplishment from them.  The stereotype of the mindless zombie gamer may become a reality if video games continue this trend.

To contrast the differences between a current generation game with an older one, I’ll use an example based on my own experience.  My favorite game genre is probably action adventure or puzzle platformer (usually both go hand in hand), so I was quite excited about Uncharted when it was first released, mainly because it wasn’t the millionth sequel of a 90′s title.  I thoroughly enjoyed Uncharted despite some of its flaws.  However, there was one pet peeve I had about it that I refuse to forgive it for.  In a game in which you play an adventurer, you are somewhat discouraged from adventuring.  Like I said before, I enjoy checking a level out, looking for pick-ups or interactive objects.  So when I spend a little extra time searching for the treasures scattered throughout Uncharted, I am often nagged by the secondary characters to hurry up.  Gah!  Shut up and let me explore, dammit!  They even give away the solution to the next puzzle before I have a chance to look at it.  I actually don’t recall solving an Uncharted puzzle by myself because either the characters told me what to do, or the solution is in Drake’s notebook.  Come on, Naughty Dog, give your fans a little credit here.

Make the statue look like this picture. As tough as Uncharted puzzles get, unfortunately.

I have recently started playing Ico, which has been re-released with Shadow of the Colossus on the PS3.  I had never played Ico when it was initially released in 2001, so I suppose my first realization when I started playing was that this game made me sit up straight and pay attention.  There was no tutorial.  There was very little dialogue.  Nothing glowed or jingled or pointed me in any direction.  It was just a young boy and girl alone in a castle and it was all up to me to help them escape.  And this is what I missed about games: the freedom to explore the environment and to tinker with objects until the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.  The game depended on you to unravel it, rather than you depending on the game.  There is nothing more satisfying than logically connecting the elements of a level to progress through a game.

Today, there are few immersive titles that let you think for yourself, apart from maybe Portal and some Xbox Live Arcade games such as Braid.  Why is this?  Why are we spoon-fed in-game walkthroughs?  Why have games devolved from immersive experiences to passive interactive stories?  I had considered the possibility that this generation of young gamers will only play these types of games because anything without hand-holding would be too difficult for them.  I remember an occasion at work where a mother wanted to exchange Lego Indiana Jones because her 8 year old boy could not figure out what to do in it.  Even the mother said she could not figure out how to play it.  Lego Indiana Jones.  With a PEGI of 7.  I’ve played Lego Indiana Jones and heck Tetris is harder than that game.  What has happened to gamers?  I was playing Duke Nukem at 9 years of age and today not even an 8 year old and his mother could figure out Lego Indiana Jones.  This goes back to what I said about being spoiled by video games.  When we’re so used to games hinting and nudging us in the right direction, anything that encourages thinking for ourselves is suddenly off-putting.  Feel free to prove me wrong here, this is something I’m rather upset about.

Lego Indy - It's not for kids, apparently.

So in conclusion, I’m all for making games easier to appeal to a larger market.  My vision of a perfect world is where everyone has some interest in video games.  My problem is when video games start to become so dumbed down that they lose what we loved about them in the first place.  Like I said, what’s the point in a game that plays itself?

Introduction:

I thought I’d take a short repose from my epic battle with a frost atronach to recap on some of the events I’ve experienced in the game so far.  If you’re as much a crazy Skyrim addict as I, share your stories in the comments below.

Thoughts on being a noob:

As this is my first Elder Scrolls game, there was a lot I had to learn by myself.  Interactive objects aren’t as glaringly obvious as in most games, so you really have to examine your surroundings.  At one stage, I was stuck at a dead end when I didn’t notice a switch on the wall that opened the next part of the area.  Boy, was my face red.

I was also unfamiliar with the different kinds of enemies in this world.  My first encounter with a troll was altogether unpleasant to say the least.  It took me a few untimely deaths to realize the bastard’s health regenerates, and as I was a low level at the time, fleeing was my only option.  I’ll be back for you, troll.  Just you wait…

I have also learned that engaging with giants is a bad idea.  With a flick of his club, the giant sent my crippled body hurtling across Skyrim as effortlessly as flicking away a fly.  Yeah, giants are bad.

Lydia:

So, the Jarl at Dragonsreach was so blown away by my awesome ability to absorb dragon souls that he gave me a woman.  I’d rather a bucket of gold coins, but I

Lydia

suppose she’ll do.  Lydia’s not a bad oul’ stick.  She’s a bit of a kill steal and stands in doorways when I try to leave the room, but I can boss her around and make her carry heavy stuff which makes up for it.

There was a point in the game where Lydia had gone missing.  I completed a whole quest without her, not knowing where she was or what had happened to her.  I was afraid she was dead or something.  I thought I’d have to complete the rest of the game without her.  The most annoying part was that, assuming she was dead, I had no idea where her body was… she was carrying half my stuff!  After finishing that one quest alone, I returned to Dragonsreach in search of my woman.  There she was at the long table, chomping on some bread, not a care in the world.  Dammit, Lydia I was worried sick about you!  Don’t ever run away from me again!  In spite of everything, she seemed happy to see me and willingly agreed to follow me again.  Ah, Lydia and Widget reunited once more.

Lydia is useful in combat and doesn’t die so easily (when she does die though, I reload the game because, you know, she has my stuff).  She’s a bit of a ditz when it comes to traps though.  Exhibit A:

Also, don’t give Lydia exploding fire scrolls that encase the user with a fire shield.  Lydia has no problem walking up and setting you on fire due to her reckless use of these scrolls.

Those pesky dragons:

I have yet to properly defeat a non-scripted dragon by myself.  Most of the scripted dragons are easy enough to beat.  For the one near Kynsegrove, I simply shot arrows at it from behind a rock while it made s’mores out of Lydia and my new friend, Delphine.  A trickier scripted dragon was over a tribal village (Forsworn I think), in which the villagers were more interested in killing me than the dragon.  Quit it, guys, I’m on your side!

My first non-scripted dragon encounter was when I was at a rather low level.  Of course there wasn’t much hope in hell at defeating him with my puny stats, so after a few ass-kickings, I decided to flee.  Dragons are not easy to run away from.  The bugger chased me to whole way down a mountain side, all the while I was stuffing my face with cabbages to keep my health bar up.  I came across a tower type place in which I hid.  Unfortunately, the place was riddled with bandits that wanted my head on a stick and so I had to go back outside before I had my ass handed to me again.  On a positive note, the dragon was gone.

I was a bit more up along the scale of leet when I found my second dragon.  I was all like, “Aw yeah, dragon, your ass is mine.”  The dragon was all like, “Come at me bro!”  But then he decided to piss off some nearby mammoths and giants.  I felt so rejected.  I didn’t want to be sent into orbit by a giant’s club again so I, yet again, stood at a distance and shot arrows at the dragon.  It was like school lunch time all over again, watching from afar as all the cool kids hung out together.  In Skyrim as it is in life…

Forever Alone!

Skyrim horse riding adventures!

The horses in Skyrim are downright adorable and possibly the most realistic creatures in the game.  It’s just upsetting there isn’t a “pet muzzle” or “feed oats” button for these darlings.  My first horse was a pretty thing I had named Snowflake.

My horse, Snowflake

He was an awesome horse and we had many adventures together.  Lydia walked but she needed the exercise anyway.  I was distraught when Snowflake disappeared at one point.  I searched high and low but he was nowhere to be found.    However, upon returning to the town I had visited previously, Snowflake was there being his awesome self and I was so happy to have him back.  Needless to say, horses are not invincible and Snowflake died after I accidentally drove him off a steep drop.  I fell flat on my face and gained some armor points, but Snowflake didn’t make it.  RIP Snowflake.  You will be missed.

My second horse, was a spunky chap I named Rocky.  Rocky was pretty cool and stomped on wolves when the time came for it.  He wasn’t with me as long as Snowflake was though.  While adventuring, I left him by a tree to take down some pesky mages in a nearby tower.  After killing one, I headed towards the tower only to realize Rocky had somehow made is way up there and was being flogged by the evil mages.  RIP Rocky.  I wasn’t as sad about Rocky’s death as I was still grieving over Snowflake.

My third horse, I hadn’t even had a chance to name as he fled within the first five minutes of adventuring when I was being attacked by frost spiders.  Oh well.

Stealing is bad:

The guards at Solitude made a fuss when I nicked a sweet roll from the local inn.  I did my time, but apparently that was not enough.  While camping in the woods one evening, I woke up to find myself surrounded by bandits.  They seemed very irate about something.  After defeating them all, I found a bounty note on one guy from the inn keeper I had stolen from.

The same thing happened when I stole a piece of taffy in another town.  I’m thinking I should hold off on my sweet tooth for the sake of my life.  I mean, it would make a poor story if the dragonborn was assassinated for stealing sweets.

Conclusion:

I have wasted enough time here not playing Skyrim.

Firstly, let’s address the ridiculously long title.  Not only does it state the name of the game twice, but also deliberately describes the reviewer as “beautiful hot girl”.  Hmm… I wonder who their target audience is here…  Might as well say “click here for boobies”.

Secondly, the actress (not reviewer, actress) does not come across as anyone who has a clue about what makes a good video game.  The only adjective in her vocabulary seems to be “awesome”, which she uses to describe everything about the game.  In fact, it’s so “awesome”, it makes her want to “shoot real guns”.  Gosh, I sure hope kids don’t play this game.  The “awesome” camera angles haven’t messed up this girl once, whatever that means, and apparently the only thing wrong with the game is that she’s not in it.  Hmm, I think people will get by somehow.

Thirdly, the actress is a terrible actress.  She flails her arms excessively to seem enthusiastic, but her effort at the sexy voice thing sort of gets in the way of showing any personality here.  Her acting is terrible all round, making it too obvious that she has no idea what she’s on about.  Even if she is an avid gamer, she hasn’t got a clue how to review one.  Her sexy military get-up and feigned sexy voice puts her on par with run-of-the-mill game expo booth babes.

Honestly, fellow gamers, is this what our beloved hobby is being reduced to?

I had a brief browse for costumes in my local town and was rather irritated by my options.  All the costumes for women were “sexy somethings”.  Sexy witch, sexy pirate, sexy bumble bee, sexy turnip…  I just didn’t get it.  Even the accessories were ridiculous: pink devil horns or pink handcuffs with pink rhinestones.  I mean, these were all fetish items you could pick up in Anne Summers any day of the year.  Do girls like dressing this way in public?

Sexy Skunk: Lol wut?

When I look at all the men’s costumes they have things like: not-so-sexy pirate, not-so-sexy werewolf, not-so-sexy ax wielding butcher.  All the men’s accessories include bloodied scythes, vampire fangs, dismembered body parts and, you know, normal Halloween type stuff.  Sure, women can use all the cool accessories too but sadly, a lot of them go for the “sexy something” apparel.

So why do Hallmark or other costume-making companies bombard us with skimpy Halloween outfits?  Is this just a generation where women must be dressed in accordance to someone’s fetish every 31st of October?

I guess really it’s the only time of year a girl can dress like a slutty nurse and not be called a slut because it’s “just a costume”.  That’s not really a terrible thing per se.  Tonnes of girls like to look sexy and there’s nothing wrong with that.  The problem is that the vision of “sexy” most people have in their heads usually involves revealing a lot of skin.  Instead of the foxy pirate you had in mind, you really just end up looking rather trashy and poorly dressed.  This is bad.  People need to rethink what being sexy means.  I’d honestly feel sexier in my pajamas than in a skimpy witch outfit, because the skimpy witch outfit is just not me.  And yes I know dressing up is all about pretending to be something you’re not, but for me, I like to put a little of my personality in my costumes.  Highlighting my personality in what I wear makes me feel confident and sexy, and no amount of skimpy outfits can substitute that.  Wow, what a cheesy moral of the story.

But seriously, Hallmark and friends, enough already with the tacky mini skirts you call a Halloween costume.  At least give women the option to not look like a tart.  Would it kill you to make costume pants in women’s sizes?

Looks like I’m back to the drawing board for costume ideas because the store bought ones are certainly less than inspirational.

In 2010, 11 year old Jessica Leonhardt, aka Jessi Slaughter, developed a reputation by posting controversial videos and photos of herself.  She became a micro-celebrity in the scene community known as StickyDrama, after rumors spread that she had relations with Blood on the Dance Floor “singer”, Dahvie Vanity.  She was also known for posting semi-naked self photos on her Tumblr and saying things like:

Ello Im Jessi Toxic Slaughter. I Can Be A Bitch In The Ass If I Want To. Im Scenekore And Its Siq! Im Bi. I <3 Pandas! I LOVE The Band Blood On The Dance Floor! Im Taken By Mah Lovely Death Matt. I Listen To Techno, Raver, Crunkcore And Screamo. Im In A Band Called Girls Get Druged! I Party Till I Pass Out And I Fck Till I Bleed. Im Meh and Only Me I Cant Be Tamed.

Needless to say, she had caught many people’s attention, particularly 4Chan’s after she posted a message to her “haters”.

The video sparked controversy as Jessi spews vulgar language to her trollers and threatens to “Pop a glock in you mouth and make a brain slushi“.  4Chan soon uncovered Jessi’s details and the Leonhardt household was attacked with prank calls, death treats and hate mail.  Jessi Slaughter posted a second video addressing the trolls, but this time without the attitude.  Her father, however, had a word or two to say:

The video went viral and the father’s remarks such as “Ya dun goofed!” and “Consequences will never be the same” have become internet memes.  The household was placed under police protection and an investigation into the threats and prank calls were made.  And all because of a little girl and her web cam.  So why had her parents allowed such behavior in their daughter in the first place?  Her mother admitted she had no idea about Jessi’s online activities, stating: “I can’t be in the room 24/7“.  Because of the parent’s lack of internet savvy, they had no idea what they were in for when Jessi started making these videos.  Currently Jessi is attending counselling and has been put into foster care.

An epidemic that has become more and more popular amongst teenagers is the activity of sexting.  Sexting involves sending risqué messages or nude photos via text or online chat.  A 13 year old girl, named Hope Witsell, became the victim of bullying at her middle school after she sent a nude photo of herself to a boy she liked.  The photo was spread around the school and Hope was ridiculed, slut-shamed and ostracized by her peers.  She was also pressured by boys for more photos.  The school brought the issue to her parents attention and Hope attended counselling, though she said she was fine.  However, the bullying persisted and Hope eventually commit suicide.  This was the second sexting related suicide reported in the US.

Facebook is currently facing a lawsuit by the father of a 12 year old girl, after he discovered sexually explicit photos on her profile page.  The Northern Ireland girl had over 400 friends on her Facebook page, some from as far away as western Nigeria.  She has received sexually explicit text messages from adult men and had been asked to post images of herself online.  The father is concerned of the dangers his daughter could be in having been exposed to potential sexual predators online.  He blames the site’s lack of scrutiny against explicit images and under aged children being able to create accounts.  Facebook could be facing a huge payout if the case is successful.

Let’s take step back for a moment.  Who’s to blame here?  The internet?  The parents?  The schools?  The media?  The kids themselves?

Kids do not have the comprehension to grasp the dangers of exposing themselves in any manner through digital media.  Once their image is distributed digitally, it can be near impossible to get rid of.  Videos of Jessi Slaughter could be circulating the internet until the end of humanity for all we know.  Kids need to be educated properly about these risks.  It’s not enough to say “I can’t be in the room 24/7“.

The internet may not be able to police it’s billions of users, but it can certainly make people aware of what kids may be doing online.  Parents, teachers and school boards need to make it their business to get this message across to children.

Parents need to wise up and take responsibility for their kid’s safety.  The Northern Ireland father is supposedly suing Facebook for negligence.  Given that the child has behavioral issues to begin with, surely that would mean extra surveillance on the father’s part.  Facebook is not your babysitter.  As a parent, it is your duty to be sure your child is safe online.

School’s need to bring the issue of sexting into sex and social education.  Hope Witsell, in my opinion, did not receive sufficient help that she needed, and was even condemned by her own school for her actions by being suspended and banned from running for student adviser.  This was a very poor approach and certainly stigmatized sexuality for this young girl.

I know there are a lot of parents who go out of their way to protect their online kids.  However, for the those who are less techno-savvy, this is simply something that cannot be ignored.  While this generation is being bombarded with internet culture, parents need to do their homework and learn to use the internet, so that they can make it a safe place for their kids.  There’s no use in blaming ignorance or anything else for the compromise of children’s safety.

]]> http://superwidget.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/protecting-kids-in-the-digital-era/feed/ 2 superwidget http://superwidget.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/student-grub/ http://superwidget.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/student-grub/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:53:09 +0000 Joanna http://superwidget.wordpress.com/?p=107 ]]> A pet peeve of mine, during my time in college, was watching my fellow students eat nothing but pizzas, noodles or takeaway food.  Sure there were plenty of times when I chowed down on junk food, but after a while I start to go crazy eating the same crap over and over.  Not only that but I start to feel a bit groggy if I don’t eat anything healthy.

Would you like some MSG with those carbs?

I lived with a guy last year who ate nothing but breaded chicken, rice and sweet and sour sauce for dinner.  Seriously, week in, week out.  The odd time he would order a sweet and sour takeaway when he was feeling really lazy.  It baffles me how this guy could fully function on a diet of carbs alone.  His metabolism must be insane.  Needless to say, he found my concern for his well being rather amusing and no amount of badgering could convince him to change his eating habits.

A lot of people I know who eat mostly bland carbs are simply fussy eaters.  I think homemade cooking would suit a fussy eater better as they can use whatever ingredients they like.  Need inspiration?  There are plenty of recipes online to suit everyone’s taste.  I myself have a couple of cook book apps on my iTouch that come in handy when I can’t decide what to eat.

Being a student sometimes leaves little time to be creative with cooking and that’s fully understandable.  However, more often than not, after a long day of college, most people just bang a kiev in the oven and vegetate for the rest of the evening.  Time is not always a valid excuse for lazy cooking.  Some of my tastier meals often consist of fresh ingredients and only take about 20 minutes to cook.

People under estimate how simple a homemade recipe can be.  I sampled a honey, lemon and ginger stir fry I made to my friends a while ago.  One guy was convinced there was soy sauce in it even though I didn’t use any at all.  He said that all those jarred stir fry sauces had soy sauce in them.  I corrected him saying that there was just honey, lemon and ginger in the sauce and I made it myself.  His reaction was “Wow, you must have really made an effort.”  Nope.  Squeeze lemon, grate ginger, pour honey, chop chicken and eliminate salmonella via heat.  It’s that simple.  Yummy too.

Omnomnom

Fresh ingredients are not expensive, so it’s less costly in the long run to whip up a huge batch of homemade spag bol or chille con carne and freeze it for later.  I can’t emphasize enough how grateful you will be to find a tub of pasta sauce in the freezer when you haven’t a cent to your name.  I have recently purchased a basil plant which is far more economical, and better tasting, than the dried stuff.  If you’re wise about your stock of ingredients, healthy meals could cost no more than €20 a week.

I implore students and young adults in general to experiment in the kitchen.  It’s easy, inexpensive and fun.  Once you’ve learned to create your own culinary masterpiece, you’ll never go back to Pot Noodle again.

Too often I have heard the word “ignorant” used in a very incorrect context.  Generally, people use it to describe someone who they think is rude.  Because of this, I am often confused as to which context a person refers to when using this word.  Do they think I’m rude?  Or am I unaware of something that they’re not telling me about?

I happened upon a comment on a YouTube rant which stated:

“I respect your opinion. But the way you rant makes me see you has ignorant.”

The ranter in question was ranting about a particular band that she did not like.  We know she had listened to this band as she played some of the music during the video, and stated exactly why she did not like this band.  So, it’s difficult to say that she was ignorant (correct context) of the music because she had listened to them and formulated her opinion as a result.  If she made this rant without listening to the band at all, that would make her ignorant (correct context).  My assumption is that the commenter, spelling and grammar aside, meant to say “the way you rant makes me see you as rude”.  There may be a third meaning to the word “ignorant” that I’m unaware of, but you never know with kids these days.

I particularly find that, in my home town, the word is flung about intentionally as an almighty insult.  I remember some time ago while tired and cranky in work, I denied a customer something they weren’t entitled to because, contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right (but that’s a blog post for another day).  With that, the customer muttered to her companion “She’s quare* ignorant”.  I was a little confused because I wasn’t sure what exactly I was being ignorant of.  It couldn’t have been her consumer rights, surely.  I explained that her request was against company policy, and when company policy comes into question it means, “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them”.  I decided she thought I was rude as I was rather cranky that evening anyway.

The other day I was in a room with someone of mild acquaintance.  He said to me: “You were quare* ignorant in town earlier.”  Now this certainly confused me.  If he had noticed me in town when I hadn’t noticed him back, then technically, yes, I would have been ignorant.  However, in my experience, and particularly with Irish folk, the word is used to insult.  More often than not an argument between the locals will contain the phrase: “Don’t be so f***ing ignorant!”.  I figured perhaps maybe he thought I was refusing to acknowledge him in town, so to be safe I just said sorry.  To this he replied, “What are you sorry for?  You’re just ignorant.”  I had never been so confused about the context of a subject so I just said nothing.

I’m not sure why people ever thought “ignorant” meant “rude”.  Maybe the phonetics of the word has something to do with it.  The “ig” part is similar to “pig”, but now I’m just grasping at straws.  I suppose “rude” and “ignorant” often go hand in hand certain circumstances and I guess people who are ignorant of the real meaning of the word “ignorant” have kind of made it their own.  But maybe I’m just being ignorant…

*For those of you not familiar with Irish slang, “quare” derives from the word “queer” which means “very” i.e.  ”That’s quare cool” = “That’s very cool”.  I know it makes complete and utter sense, I just wish I knew how it ninja’d its way into Irish colloquialism. 

While I somewhat agree with some of the points she makes, whenever I challenge her with a rational argument, I often get rather rude responses, making me feel like I had no right to an opinion.  I was rather pleased that others, however, share my views and have really given her a piece of their mind after her latest article.  A few of the latest comments point out her irrationality in this particular post.  It’s nice to see I’m not alone in the universe, and I’m not a freak of nature girl who embraces her sexuality in what ever form.