#badhacksdotnet

I recently had a chat with Dr. Floppy on BHDN about a certain feminist video game critic, her views, and her objections to certain aspects of video games.  I will refrain from naming her here, but you can probably guess who she is.  In our chat, I thought of how many modern games have lots of great, well-written female characters who offer much more than just sex appeal.  Indeed, I doubt that many would be popular were it not for a great personality to go along with looks.  And for characters like Mei from Overwatch and Tali from Mass Effect, they’ve gathered huge fanbases while being completely covered and clothed (and, for Tali, without even having a visible face!).

I brought up a character that I’m writing and developing for future hacks, Felicia King.  I wondered what that video game critic would think of Felicia.  After all, the character is a strong fighter, able to dispatch foes with relative ease, and wears an attractive (but practical and unrevealing) outfit.  Would not that meet the requirements for an acceptable female video game character?  Of course, Dr. Floppy pointed out that no, it would not satisfy the critics.  And that got me thinking... what would be enough to satisfy them?  When is enough “enough”?

I’ve considered this topic many times before.  I’ve tried to bring logic into the situation - which was perhaps my fatal flaw, but humor me for a bit.  I even looked through my current-gen video game collection and counted the number of games that have both male and female protagonists, as well as strong female NPCs.  There were a lot of games that fit that criteria!  The Mass Effect, Borderlands, and Saints Row series all allow you to play as a man or a woman, and have great writing for their female NPCs, too.  Who could forget Subject Zero, or Lilith, or Kinsie Kensington?  One of my favorite video game series, Tomb Raider, stars the indefatigable Lara Croft who has battled countless foes across numerous games for the past 20 years.  And who could forget Samus from Metroid, the female bounty hunter who has destroyed entire planets’-worth of evil?

But I get it - it’s politics.  Asking “when is enough ‘enough’” is an exercise in futility because, honestly, it will never be enough.  There will always be some issue, some “trigger,” some “problematic” detail in a game.  This is an immature and childlike way of looking at a work, to try to sift through the details until you find something that offends you.  Looking past the good to find the bad is an extremely hostile, pessimistic mindset that results in extreme toxicity.  Or, to put it simply, “Stop having fun, guys.”  

So, if the politically-obsessed critics are implacable, why bother trying to please them?  If any concession is deemed insufficient, why concede?  I say, just make the games you want to make; write the stories you want to write; paint the pictures you want to paint.  And don’t be concerned with how critics view or respond to your work.  You yourself are the only critic that matters!  If the work you create pleases you, then that is all that matters.  

And I say that to the feminists and other critics as well!  If you dislike the current crop of games, I encourage you to go out and create your own games.  I don’t say that with sarcasm, either!  I say it from my heart, and from my experience on Badhacks.  I’ve seen hackers learn the ins and outs of ancient video game peripherals, systems, and games.  I’ve seen Dr. Floppy teach himself ASM in less time that it takes to earn a college degree.  I’ve seen Kyo raise himself up from being just another Mario hacker to being one of our most respected and creative hackers on the site.  I’ve seen MG create amazing 8-bit art, beyond what I thought was possible on the NES.  I’ve seen Rotwang decipher Final Fight to a masterful degree.  And, I’ve seen a group of ten hackers take Monster Party and turn it into a game that was wholly other.  This was all done by amateurs, not professional programmers or artists.  Folks who wanted to see something made, and were dedicated and determined enough to stick with it and see their project through to completion, even if it meant learning something new and complicated.  Even if it meant nights full of frustration.  

Hi, I’m Goldengun from the site Baddesthacks dot net.  I’ve been an active site contributor (meaning I post absolute crap to the Internet from time to time) since 2008.  2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of my involvement with the site; I have a lot of old stories, recollections, and thoughts about the past decade in ROM hacking.  While I’m not much of a hacker myself, it’s been a privilege to take part in the site alongside many of the greats.