Holly from “Feministe” made a post about Titan Studios’ upcoming Fat Princess titled, Well, That Was Bound To Happen.

Exactly what was “bound to happen” depends on your outlook on the premise of Fat Princess. Holly is referring to Fat Princess being the catalyst for a flood of fat-hating games now that Titan has made it permissible. Counter-bloggers refer to Fat Princess as the game that was bound to piss of someone, somewhere.

As for me, I’m just confused. And kind of hungry.

I think I have a problem. I’m too laid back. I don’t get outraged enough. I know firsthand that being a female is rough. I know society holds me to a certain standard even though I was not born with the kind of body that will ever be willow-thin.

(Diet and exercise grant me a healthy weight, but I will never be thin.)

And I do get outraged, sometimes. I get mad when married thirty-something women are rejected for job positions because the male interviewer fears she’s going to take off on maternity leave. I get angry at the fact women are overlooked so often for positions of power. Hillary Clinton has the personality of a child-eating robot and it didn’t help her campaign, but you can be absolutely certain that she wouldn’t have garnered the vote of those who believe that “Women cannot make rational decisions.” If it had come down to a vote between Hillary and a male monkey gone mad with advanced syphilis, there are people out there who would have voted for the monkey.

But I laughed at the outlandish idea behind Fat Princess, and apparently I am a traitor to my gender for doing so. I never once thought that it was a hateful idea, or that it was insulting to those of larger girth. I thought it was original. I thought it was a funny change from the usual Capture the Flag formula.

From Shakesville:

“[T]he only thing I can’t figure out is why anyone would want to rescue a fat princess in the first place, since everyone knows that fat girls are unlovable human garbage at whom any sensible bloke would sooner hurl invective than cast a longing glance.”

But…but there’s really no indication that everyone thinks that. Girls far bigger than me have scored great husbands and boyfriends who are supportive and treat them well. Despite the media push and the fact that some people can in fact be very cruel towards large women, I know plenty of men who find girth sexy and resent the thin stereotype as much as females do.

It seems to me that throwing a temper-tantrum right off the bat is the wrong way to go about this kind of thing. “Oh the game lets you laugh at fat people, but you wanted to do that anyway, right? Because you really hate fat people.” It’s repelling, like Charlie Brown constantly beating himself up and admitting nobody would ever want to be friends with a loser like himself.

Maybe I’ve just been spending too much energy getting outraged at ridiculous boob sizes in games. I need to re-focus.

(Image copyright Titan Studios)

Post from: EveryJoe

No Fat Chicks: Fat Princess Makes Feminists Mad

Bob Mackey’s latest feature for 1UP instructs developers on “How to make the perfect game for today’s testosterone infused teenage males.” All the vital categories are covered, including the Protagonist, Women, Weapons and Story.

Developers are slowly realising that women are more than hoseless creatures who come together with males in the fall season for mating purposes; sometimes men and women actually engage in non-sexual activities together, including competitive video games. Today’s adventures include more female characters, but those wacky game companies got stuck halfway through their efforts. Sure, they introduced female characters, some of whom even star in their own games…but then someone called a coffee break before bothering to render serviceable clothing on their lead lassies and things have kind of stayed that way.

Or as Mackey puts it:

“[M]aking a woman your protagonist obviously comes with many difficulties, most of which involve constantly telling the press that your game is actually taking a feminist stance by showing that a fictional, genetically perfect woman can find empowerment by donning a ripped halter top and cutoff jean shorts. That being said, any game with a female lead must reward the player for their achievements by unlocking a selection of dehumanizing special costumes that should really only be equipped when mom leaves the house.”

(Or after mom drops you off at the Village of Sadonia at level 1 and tells you to have a good time, sweetie. She trusts that you’ll buy yourself some nice sensible wayfarer’s clothes at level 4 for 30 gold. Breaking your mom’s trust is uncool, Zanthar Lady of the Night.)

Image copyright Konami

Post from: EveryJoe

1UP Feature: Overcompensating