Perhaps it's because I do not use the internet much, but I find it funny how distrusting people can be online, especially over something as silly as a giveaway. I would understand if it was a more serious forum, a more serious topic or was something that could pose a risk, but it's a just a series of themed giveaways on a gaming forum. It's not like I was asking for pictures and addressed of the women gamers here on GOG, or forcing anyone to reveal their gender if they don't want to. I was simply trying to get a better picture of what kind of games other female games prefer and to meet a few of my fellow GOG girls. Not that I have a problem with the men here, most of them are lovely, but it's nice to meet other women who enjoy gaming.

Not in, even if I have a female avatar ;) Thanks ddickinson !

I like the idea of a GA for girls only, just because it's interesting to see what type of games they like. Maybe it's a sexist point of view, but I think girls prefer point & click games, tycoons or casual games than FPS, RPG...

Girls, what do you think of games which show woman as a sexual character (girls from Larry...) or focusing on a sexy character (Bloodrayne, Heavy Metal Fakk 2, Bayonetta...) ?
Too sexist for you or just a brilliant commercial idea ?

A giveaway not being equal doesn't imply that it is unfair. Parity, equality and fairness don't apply the same way. This giveaway is perfectly fine as it is.

I'm not a girl, but I don't think Bayonetta tries to establish Bayonetta as a sexy character, but rather, it's just one of her traits as a dominant and confident character.

I don't think I'm making sense. Bahahaha.

I will refrain from posting my opinion about the implied "sexism" of the OP because I would probably need to call a few names and underline several REAL *embarassingly* sexist threads I spotted in the recent past, along with an amount of "bovine manure" that, if materialized in the physical world, would solve all the soil fertility problems around the globe.

That said, it is time to post yet another of my unsatisfactory answers! (On topic? Who knows...)

My favourite genres are...

1-Stealth!
Or at least, I would say that if I thought that the genre existed. I think that stealth games are just a reinterpretation of other previously exixting generes: for example, Commandos and Desperados are RTS, Thief is a FPS/3D platoformer, Hitman is similar to a puzzle game due to the incredible amount of palnning and critical thinking needed to pass even the simplest of the levels, Mark of the Ninja is an action sidescroller and so on...
In other words, they perfectly fit in other definitions, yet they are original enough to stand out from the others and obtaining their own dignity.

2-Hybrids!
Ok, this is not a genere, but I wanted to mention them anyway! I think those games are a bit on the "hit and miss" side, some of them being excellent (Deus Ex, System Shock and the more recent Dishonored, for example), some others being absolutely terrible (no examples here, as I'm sure many would definitely not agree with my choices).
Blending generes is always a risk, but when a team succeeds the stuff of legends is formed! ;)
This makes my previous poit a bit redundant, though...

3-Weirdness! (Genre:term used for any category of art or entertainment based on some set of stylistic criteria. I guess this can apply here, too?)
I like strange settings born from the mind of really creative artists!
This kind of unpredictable games can lighten up my explorer side, allowing me to move in the unknown and progressively discover all they have to offer without the possibility to stumble in any cliché, like for example in Planescape: Torment or Oddworld. Also, they pose no limits to the creators' view, who are free to go as far as their imagination can bring them rather than being forced into a standard. Too bad those games are really few, and even less common today than before, imo.

All girls love to point & poke, so you're probably right ;-P




*sexistleavesthread*

Good questions. :-)
About your first assumption, I like both point-and-clicks and RPGs, even if I don't play RPGs as often as I'd like to.
And as for the second question, hmm... Haven't started playing LSL quite yet-I want to start from the first one, for continuity's sake,but I want to read the manual first- but started playing Bloodrayne two days ago. There sure were sexual elements(for example Mynce's boobs(y'know, Bloodarayne's friend) were moving in a slightly arousing(for a male player) way(to be honest, I personally found the way they moved anatomically weird)-plus, the way Bloodrayne "feeds" off her enemies is somewhat sexual too), but those didn't bother me because I focused on the combat-and, believe me, there's nothing sexy in getting killed by a moster nest in the Louisiana bayous after losing half your health by falling in the water-because I suck in the tomb platforming part-I fell in the water almost every single time...In conclusion, it probably doesn't matter for me if the character is sexualised or not.
Haven't played the rest of the sexualised games you mention yet, but I guess the formula will probably be the same.
Edit-typos and clarifications

I haven't played any of those games, so unfortunately I can't comment on that. I'm not always happy with the bikini armor that is often present in games, but that is mostly because it makes no sense whatsoever from a practical point of view. "Great, let's expose all these vital organs!" Yes, brilliant idea.

I don't mind 'sexy' characters, though. For instance, with Miranda from Mass Effect, there is a lot of focus on her appearance and attractiveness, and she's always shown in really tight jumpsuits. Does this bother me? No, because I see it as part of her character. So it's definitely not inherently a problem. Then there are also games like Saints Row which include a lot of 'sexy' outfits and promiscuous women, but that's not a problem for me either, as the same holds true for the men in the game. In that case, it's just part of the way a game is.

When it comes to genre - while I do like point-and-clicks, RPGs are my absolute favourite, and it seems that many other women in this thread are also rather fond of them.

To be honest, I generally don't mind. Some I do find a little too sexist, especially the ones where the woman just instantly falls for the "charm" of the male protagonist and becomes a giddy school girl. Or the old tale of the weak and helpless woman who can not defend herself and need a man to save her. I don't really mind the "sexy characters" as long as they are not done to the extreme (the bouncing boobs in Bloodrayne were just unnecessary, and a little bizarre). Does it bother you men when you see all the muscly guys with their tops off?

But generally I don't mind at all. The reason I don't really mind, is that the majority of games are made by men. While this does not apply to all games or all male developers, men make games they would like, that they can relate to and think other like minded men would make. That is why there is always the story of the helpless maiden and the white knight, the sexy female warrior who falls for the charm of the hero, the fact that every woman looks like a super model and is only too happy to dress "sexy" (or slutty). The games are a reflection of the men's fantasies, their imaginations, their hops and dreams. I'm sure when they were kids that most men have imagined themselves as heroic warrior defending the kingdom, slaying the beast and getting the girl. As long as the game is not blatantly sexist, then I have no problem appreciating them for what they are. I'm sure that with more and more female gamers and developers, that we will so start to see games created from a woman's prospective, full of the things we like that may not appeal to the male gamers. Personally, I do not consider the Larry games sexist. I know many do, but I think of them more of a parody of sexism. After all, the main character is a pathetic and desperate little man.

You mean that's not how it works in real life? I've been deceived this whole time!

I was a bit taken back when I noticed this during the opening training mission. At first in thought it was a glitch, but then every single time they just kept randomly bouncing around. It seems a strange thing to include. It takes away from the "seriousness" of the game. The sexy vampire feeding thing I understood, female vampires are always considered to be sexy and seductive, but the strange bouncing boobs thing was a little strange.

Close enough, Bayonetta uses her hair as her clothes and her main combat tool, so when she does large attacks the clothes come off.
But that's mostly for the really powerful and brutal executions, so it's handled in a much more (Dominating?) way.

Some good genres and games there. I thought that games like Thief would be in there somewhere :-). I like the different categories you mentioned, some games are rather hard to fit into just one genre.

I've never played Larry, but from what I've seen, I find it hillarious. It never even crossed my mind that it would be offensive in any way.

Games with sexy characters, obviously created for the "male gaze" are games I avoid =/
I can't take a game seriously if I see sluts wearing bikinis and high heels on the battlefield, and for me immersion is a very important part in a game.
The amount of MMOS having soft porn adavertisements is..... disturbing. On the other hand, when it comes to a game like this I always say: "If they are desperately trying to sell this game with boobs, it meas they most possibly have nothing else of value in this game at all. Shitty story, shitty characters, shitty everything... but hey "let's try to sell it with boobs!"". Even if it's not true, this is the first thing that pops in my mind.

I remember playing Mass Effect 2, where I was forced to stare at Miranda's ass almost every single time I talked to her -.- An ass is covering half my screen.... I wanted to vomit. Especially after I learned that many male players thought that "finding a way to bang Miranda" is much more important than the actual gameplay.

Almost forgot:
In the Facebook page of Dragon Age 3 there was a girl who commented on how DAI is the only RPG worth waiting for. A guy commented that The Witcher 3 is coming as well. She immediately stated that the Witcher is a "fuckin' sexist piece of garbage", and she doesn't even want to touch it. It is obviously sexist because: you can't play as a girl, and you can have sex with girls.
No comment, seriously. There were many people who tried to talk sense into her, but it was all in vain =/
I myself like the Witcher. I can't think of it as an RPG, because I can't roleplay as a guy, but I enjoy playing it. And I didn't find naked-Triss (another argument of hers), and sex scenes to be offensive at all.

What I do find offensife? Painfully naive and oversensitive female characters, and damsels in distress. Oh c'mon..... -.-