Miss Croft just wants some respect

Poor Lara.

Ever since the first Tomb Raider game was released, that she has been the number one sex icon of videogames. The first big heroine with actual sex-appeal. She was a woman, she was well-endowed, and she wore summer clothing while exploring icy caves in Tibet, which made her stand out amongst other characters.
It didn't matter that Tomb Raider was one of the first good action 3D games, with great puzzles, environments and places to explore (although with a few gameplay flaws which made turning a bit complicated and clunky, not standing through the test of time). It didn't matter that the game provided a big amount of enemies, a huge arsenal to blow them up with, plus some of the best graphics seen back then.

No. The game lived on the reputation of Lara the Slut. The simple fact that the main character was a beautiful woman in outfits that showed her curves were the only thing that alerted the gamer's minds, and probably the only thing that comes up to most people's minds when we talk about the Tomb Raider games today.
But Lara isn't a slut. Far from it. The character was given a good backstory. A wealthy background. A posh but respectful voice, delivering not cliché one-liners like most game characters back then, but actual smart comments whenever she opened her mouth. From the very beginning, we're shown the mansion that she lives in, the way she keeps fit, and the explanation of how she travels the world to search for valuable antiques. She is a wealthy member of the british aristocracy.

Recent games have made an effort to concentrate much of the game on story, to give Lara a purpose, to make her even more respectful. The Tomb Raider franchise nearly died at the hands of Core, before it was passed on to Crystal Dynamics, which, with their experience on the Legacy of Kain series, have done a splendid job. The games are better than ever, and they've even done things like make Lara displeased whenever she's forced to kill animals who attack her, and make her bust smaller, of a more realistic size.

The problem, is in the sexism that exists in the gaming industry nowadays. The moment Jade Raymond, creator of Assassin's Creed, started publicizing the game a bit more, gamers began to harrass her, simply because she was attractive. And when characters such as Ivy from Soul Calibur or the many girls in the Dead or Alive franchise start appearing with breasts that defy all natural physics, held by tiny restraints, it's time to separate respectful from slutty and not be immature enough to put everything in the same bag.

The main character of Tomb Raider has been wanting some respect for a long time now. The question is, will gamers ever stop making sex remarks about her without forgetting her completely?

RPG Talk

Before I get into this, first a quick introduction. I'm Captain Chomp, one of Gamma's friends and a contributor to The Pixel Gun. My main gaming interests are platformers, graphic adventures, the occasional niche title, and particularly roleplaying games.

While I generally enjoy RPGs, I've always had sort of a love-hate relationship with the genre. My original interest in RPGs came from the thrill of exploring a large world and becoming stronger by fighting battles that relied more on strategy and experience, as well as the thrill of buying or finding that brand new piece of equipment and talking to the residents of the world, getting ever closer to the Dragon Lord's lair or restoring the Light Orbs and whatnot. Dragon Quest was my first experience with the command-based RPG genre that set the groundwork, and Final Fantasy's big-headed people waving weapons at paintings of monsters gave a different visual appeal to the presentation than the typical "me too" RPGs that chose to go with a Dragon Quest interface.

However, looking back at those two titles, it's sad to see that the genre hasn't really evolved much, either. Roleplaying games are more focused on storytelling than they used to be (as are most other genres nowadays), but more often than not the gameplay feels the same as it ever did. Random battles themselves are a particular recurring evil within the genre, even though they aren't even needed anymore. There have been titles to buck the old trend of flashing off into battle at random intervals, like Chrono Trigger's foes at specified points, The World Ends With You letting you dive into fights mostly at your own leisure, and the ever clichéd "monsters running around the map", but there are still new titles that fall back on this overused device. The random battle rates might not be as bad as they used to be in some cases, but it's still agitating to flash into a random fight right before you reach that treasure chest or when all you're trying to do is figure out a puzzle.

On the flipside, the Dragon Quest series has remained enjoyable to play even though its gameplay is practically identical to its old NES outings. The minimalist approach has worked out pretty well for it in Japan, even though it's not as popular elsewhere.

How does it feel?

The gameplay is said to be the most important aspect of a game. When a game is announced, we take a look at concept art, screenshots, maybe a launch trailer (or in the case of a Square-Enix game, a CG movie preceeded by the first gameplay screenshots years after) and we only truly have a small feel for what the gameplay look like, when we finally take a look at those gameplay trailers. We check for small details, comparable to our own gameplay experiences. In the case of FPS games, or Japanese RPG games, the gameplay isn't very difficult to find out through trailers, as button dispositions tend to be the same through different games and systems. Mostly, we know some stuff. Right trigger shoot, left trigger grenade, X or square to reload, A or X for usual context selecting, and so forth.
One of the true remarkable things about games, is that once you are in control, it's sometimes like adapting to a new limb at times. Something like fitting your hand inside a glove, moving around, getting a feel for new shoes, seeing what king of stuff you can do. The "feel" for a game, is one of the most important things there is when it comes to its quality. It's not just about the gameplay. A game has got to feel right. You need to know that once you press left and then right in a split second, a character on the screen will do that specific manuever that you have required it to do. And it's part of the "feel" that is required for a good experience.

Something that has worried me in games lately, is not that too many games look the same or have the same motives. It's that many games feel the same. Whether it's in the way you move your analog stick or the way your character moves being exactly the same as other games, whether you are stuck with the feeling that a game feels like the other. Companies probably do this in worries that people won't adapt to other control schemes better. I'm all for control adaptability, and it's one of the things that makes a game good, quick familiarity with the controls. But companies have to try and make new and innovative things with controls, so people can take a look at a new sense of wearing a brand new glove.

Heck, the Wii is made for this kind of stuff, but because of the onslaught of little-quality titles, we haven't seen much of it. This needs to change. One of the things I liked the most about Mario Galaxy, was the way you could collect Star Bits by simply pointing the remote at the screen. This didn't require multitasking to keep up with the rest of the game, and didn't need any sort of ultimate aiming skills, something I really don't have. But it's a good, refreshing thing to have in a game whose control style we tend to know already.

We need more gloves to put on. More limbs to move. Because the ones we have are already getting old.

Welcome to the Pixel Gun.

The Pixel Gun is a gaming blog where distinct people, all with a certain love for games, write about what they feel and know, their tastes and distastes, all of their feelings and troubles while playing a certain game, and some of what we think is the true value of the interaction we acomplish in video games.

The blog will be mostly about opinion articles, occasional game reviews, and rants. We aim for a lighthearted view of things, but also serious in the matter that games should be respected as art as well as a valued form of entertainment.

Whether it's indie efforts, industry happenings or deep experiences with games, we can talk about it here. Any feedback in the comments areas is greatly appreciated.

The blog will be updated at least once a week at first, and then hopefully, as it gets more noticed and more members join in, it'll be updated more often.

We hope you enjoy our articles, and share our love for this evergrowing medium that are games.

Main Editor, Rodrigo Gama

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