PixlBit

Tabloid media in digital form for y'all. I think that in order to stop this kind of thing (pedantic "journalism") there's a whole subset of the internet system that has to be changed, or people just have to realize that these kinds of articles aren't what they really want to interact with so they just move on to places that do offer a happier environment.

The biggest problem is sometimes these ridiculous remarks don't come from paparazzi journalists but from other developers. For example David Ellis (A producer for some Halo related content) called Quiet's design "disgusting". I dunno,the western gaming scene has been showing its' ass a lot lately. I'm so glad I have pixlbit to retreat to. This place restores my sanity reserves!

Because Cortana... hahahahaha oh, man. With dev/pr (kind of wish execs could be included) people it's usually easier to deal with because they either get their mouth shut by someone else followed by an official apology, or they get fired.

That's what I thought too. lol. Not that I don't like Cortana but someone who works on the Halo franchise should know critiquing someone else's sexy character design is like a pot calling the kettle black. lol.

I've probably said this before, but the game hasn't even come out yet. We know little to nothing about the plot or the context in which she wears the  "slutty/ mysogynistic" clothes. Let the game come out, and then people should form their opinions based in facts as opposed to appearances; people shouldn't be raging and calling characters terrible things before the character is even properly introduced. This is also a good life lesson in general too, dont judge a book by it cover, and the people critisizing obviously never learned that.

I already came to that epiphany full circle. Glad I'm not alone!

What's even more puzzling is why all the game journalists are only critiquing Quiet's design now, and not say, back at E3 when the character was first shown. It's like one guy decided to bring it up and everyone hops on the bandwagon. It worked I guess, the editors got their page views. Not because they were great articles but probably because the articles promised pictures of T&A.

Oh,snap! Kevin just pwned a big chunk of gaming journalizm!

Yeah, it's sad! I'm also so sick of the word "misogyny". Accusing someome of hating women is a rather steep accusation to make.  (Especially without actual facts and reasoning)

     I don't see her design as all that alluring. She looks hardened and tough. She shows some skin, but it is a desert environment she's in.

     I mean, it's a guy designing this game, so there's gonna be a sexy lady in there somewhere. Guys just like that. It's why so many comics have sexy women. It's because guys are making them. It's attractive to them. Also, it helps sell the product to other men.

     However, I'm getting a little tired of so many sexy females in ads on my Facebook   page. Seriously, you think I'm gonna fall for that? I don't need a sexy woman to sell me MGS V. I mean, look at this incredible trailer. It's so much more than just a sexy sniper.

I agree. Metal gear is such a good series it doesn't need additional "sexy advertising" to get people excited. Sure,it may help but I already decided this will be a game I'll buy. (And though I like Metal Gear and have kept up with the mythos, I wouldn't call myself a "huge fan". I was simply very impressed by the direction MGS5 is taking. Aka,being somewhat open-world but still very story driven. )

Those desert environments look absolutely amazing!

They really do! Especially during a sand-storm! (Good time to stealthily commandeer a vehicle too! Though navigating through that must be kind of tough.)

Ouch... I teared up at the section where they had to dive into that person's stomach. I've felt that kinda pain, and it's not fun seeing it happen even in a game. The bowels being moved around while the stomach has been cut open... Sends shivers down my spine remembering waking up from having half my torso cut open and taking out the large bowel. And to think the pain could have even been worse like that character was experiencing. Yikes....

Not to mention the scene where they're training child soldiers how to handle guns. That's what actually made my blood run a little cold. However, that's probably the point. Aka,show how ugly war truly is.

One of the things these "journalist" and people forget is that it's just a game, one thing these journalist seem to forget. She's in a desert, so of course it would be logical for Quiet to be dressed that way, otherwise she would pass out or something if she had more clothes on because you know, the sun and the hot weather.

But since this is a game by Kojima, it means that she will obviously be badass. Plus, we haven't even seen much of the game yet so we should reserve judgement till then.

Really wish more people would see it that way,mate! But y'know arguing,assumptions, and finger pointing is so much more fun,right?

Are game journalist really making this big of a deal about it?  I guess that's why I just can't fit in with other game journalists.  I just like to have fun with games and not worry about that stuff too much.

Exactly Cary! I think sometimes people put too much thought into something that need not necessarilly be a problem.

This whole thing is just the latest soapbox for gaming journalists to hop up on. They'll prove how mature games are by shaming everyone out of producing and liking scantily clad women in games if it's the last thing they do!

Quite honestly, all of this feels like some greater leveraged attack on Japanese games. All generation I've been hearing from countless games journalists how Japanese games need to become more like Western games and how Japanese games aren't innovative. Of course, now Japanese games are disgusting and perverted, so there's another reason nobody should like to play them.

I'm sorry to inform these writers, but nearly 100% of what I enjoy in gaming comes from Japanese companies. I like the crazy, over-the-top characters (sexy and scantily clad or not). I like the insane, ridiculous stories. I like the fact that Japanese devs can have fun with their games and make them fun, while subtly embedding social commentary.

As gaming becomes more and more of a mainstream pastime, it becomes less and less palatable for me. I've grown so tired of the countless internet arguments over complete and utter bullshit. I play games to have fun. I don't want every game to be serious, I don't want every game to have a "deep narrative," and I don't want everything to be realistic. So a sniper in the desert is wearing almost no clothes - who cares! I don't care to think about the implications of that because it's irrelevant to the narrative of the game.

I feel like there's only one response left to all of these individuals - if you don't agree with the game on a moral basis, don't buy it, don't play it, and certainly don't leverage its content to achieve hits on your website. I'd like to see more Jenn Franks out there who want to affect change in a positive way that's not simply complaining on a blog to "rally the troops." It's all lip service for hits - I just wish more people would see it.

My biggest question would be "So,noone is mad by any of the more racy stuff they've seen in Saints Row 4 or GTA 5?" Because those games (as explicit,over the top, and offensive as they can be) are not popping up anywhere.

And of all the games people go after it's Metal Gear, a series that mostly has great female characters? Fuck nuts, I give up!

Whenever I think of misogyny I think of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  The title in the original language is Men who hate women...  and boy do those books show men who hate women.  

Anyways, good read.  Thanks. 

Welp.the whole premise is two protagonists trying to hunt down serial killers who target women exclusively so yeah, I would call the antagonists misogynistic.

And that's sort of my beef. These ridiculous things are always cherry picked. Rape and murder in a movie or book? We're cool with that. Sexy character design for MGS5? Shit just got REAL!

What is it with journalists?  Can any of them put their personal bullshit aside and state the facts?  Game journalism is just as bad as political journalism. 

I think a big portion of western game journalism is learning their trade from FOX NEWS. Scary but true.

Now-a-days, it's more like MSNBC News.  Calling Komija a misogynist is something extreme "liberals" would do. 

True that. What's sad is there was one time I thought I was a liberal. But in retrospect it seems like I'm no longer 'extreme' enough. lol.

I'm with you there.  I never thought liberals would be just as closed minded as the conservatives.  Politics can really bring out the crazies.  Some people & their leaders get so extreme that you don't want to be on either side.  

DON'T DO IT! IT'S A TRAP! THAT'S HOW THEY GET YOU! GAHAHHHHAAAAAAAA!!!

I'm just love how people can use one word and try to make it mean something that it's not. If we get enough people to believe this lie it'll be the truth, right?

I was just thinking about this too in why Quiet would be dressed like this. Remember Eva's character build in sneakeater? Did she have to wear pantyhouse with her uniform if only to show how the main bad guy torture's her to the point where holes appear in them? I would like to question this idea of why Quiet would be dressed like that, but it makes me wonder in what context it would have to the story in the game. EVa's made sense with her russian uniform and her bike outfit. but for now for me sniper wolf looked more the part as a sniper than Quiet does, but you won't see me crying foul because of the very reason you just mentioned. They make common sense. Why does no one else have that right now? Grow some skin whiners.

I can understand why people might Question Quiet from a visual perspective. My main caveat is with people who call Kojima a woman hater just because he created Quiet with sexiness in mind. Just because she started her character-birth as a pin up model doesn't mean deeper humanistic traits cannot be added to her throughout her development. I really don't know why people lost their shit over this.

I already wrote about this in your last blog, but I'll put my two cents in again.  You can like or dislike Quiet's design as much as you want.  Attacking or defending Kojima's character is uncalled for.  At the end of the day we don't really know anything about him as a person.  He could be a great guy or a giant jerk.  We don't know.  It's the same problem with a lot of discussion on the internet.  Attacking the character of a person you know nothing about because they like something that you don't is wrong.

Carl doesn't sound like a good guy though.  He may not hate women, but he clearly doesn't respect them.   I feel bad for his fictional (if she is fictional) daughter.  For her to grow up with a parent that feels that she can't grow up to be whatever she wants has to be emotionally damaging.

And yes, Western games don't receive as much criticism as Japanese games when it comes to exploitative content.  It's been going on for a while.  I think it's because Western games are more popular at the moment and journalists don't want to piss off too many of their readers.  My friend's thoughts on the subject are that Japan is just better at presenting the female form then Western developers, so they stand out more.  Who knows?  

People who want better representations of women in games really need to go out and buy the games that do just that.  Mirror's Edge, Beyond Good and Evil, and Remember Me are a few titles that they should throw some money at.  Attacking the character of game developers and fans isn't going to change anything.

That's just it about Carl though. I never said he was so dogmatic in his beliefs he would get overly irate if his daughter decided to be something else. While he may not have approved of it at first, overtime he could have learned to respect,admire, and love his daughter that much more. I was pretty much creating Carl to be like a 1950's or 1940's dad. Aka, a good guy but one whose beliefs and values were not quite modern. Again, someone can harbor sexist beliefs yet still not be a total woman-hater. One is much more extreme than the other.

As for Quiet's design, it's fair game to critique her as a design. But to go a step further and call Kojima out for being "immoral" because he created her to be "sexy"? That's too much of a stretch.

I agree though. I rather see Quiet's character in action and learn her full story before passing my judgement upon her. Obivously none of us have even played the game yet,Ceva!

I also think we are going to reach the point where we have to discuss (again) sexual expression in entertainment.  I have too much work to do to touch on that today though...

You're right though.  Until we play MGSV, and see Quiet in action we can't really judge the character.  Her outfit might work great in the context of the game, or it might totally pull us out of the immersion.  Only time will tell.  A lot of time, since I don't plan on buying any new consoles for a couple of years...

I thought that in Japan, rape was a form of greeting. Heh heh...

Don't dress like a school girl while riding a Japanese tram! Rape-zorz invitation!

Invitation to rape, huh? That's a good one. lol

It's the James Bond they never made. "Invitation to Rape" was supposed to be the sequel to "License to kill". It took place in Japan where Bond had to fight heat packing school girls and sword wielding tentacle monsters!

I wish this was real... Some of my favorite things, all packed into one. James Bond, Japan, schoolgirls, schoolgirls in undeniably sexy situations... Yummy. Now excuse me while I go apologize to the girl with me in my profile pic, haha

Killer is dead might be that crazy. lol. I kind of want to play it because it looks absurdly awesome,JB!

MGS3 Spoilers

Considering Eva was sexualized so she could trick Big Boss at the end by seducing him and the Boss showing more skin was to show Big Boss her scar from giving birth on the battlefield, I think crying foul of Kojima showing a sexualized woman is jumping the gun and taking things at face value. He even said he was doing it for a reason on Twitter that would make all these people criticizing Quiet's design now feel terrible about themselves, so I have faith he'll do exactly that when MGSV releases.

I think so too. At least there was always symbolism behind Kojima's sexiness. I also always had the impression he portrayed women very well.

Beyond that I watched the 6th season of True Blood and saw everything from vampire rape to a guy getting his penis ripped off. Syndicated cable is far more racy than ANYTHING Kojima has ever thrown at me.

Well, I can definitly call 2013 the feminist videogame war.

Yeah, like I said on your last blog, while I see the sexy appeal on Quiet, i've seen more characters with exaggerated traits thean her, and really, this latest event is another showcase of White Knighting, blaming and making assumptions before seeing the real thing. It's a very crazy world we are living Ben.

Also, I should say that when you mentioned the torture thing with Quiet, appeareantly, people forgot the torture scenes with Snake and Big Boss....

Exactly. I think all the characters in Metal Gear have endured some kind of torture. It kind of goes with the line of work they're in. I imagine being a mercenary or soldier is rarely "fun".

As for the big majority of feminism,it's evolved into something I've come to loathe. It's not even about true equality anymore. It's about shaming men for expressing heterosexual tendencies. Seriously, a male artist or male writer should have the freedom to create a sexy female character without being accused of hating women. This is getting ridiculous. The loudest vocal bulk of the feminist party is becoming a lot like the Nazi party with its' propaganda.

Quiet has actually got me sold on MGS5 now, as a person that has never played any Metal Gear games. I know about the series and how everyone is broken to some degree in it, which makes me really wonder about Quiet's story. I mean, if anyone can justify a sexy and revealing character in a game, it's Kojima. That man has a reason for EVERYTHING in his games, or so I've heard.

Kojima has a good track record for deep characters,JB. And you're dead on about the protagonists and antagonists all being broken in some way. They're all tragically human despite how awesomely they perform on the battlefield. Metal gear is ridiculous and surreal in many ways but it also has a humanistic heart beating behind the science fiction/action movie pageantry.

I think one of the best comparisions to Metal Gear Solid's character design in terms of meaning would be the series Venture Brothers. The whole purpose of the series, as stated by the makers, is failure and how these people keep on messing up, failing, being broken, overall just being human, but keep on moving forward through it all. From what I've seen and read of Metal Gear, it seems very similar in that respect. Something I like very much.

I always did see Venture Bros. as a parody of Metal gear & Johnny Quest. lol. Good comparison.