Well actually I would argue that. I do think that NPCs in general could be more complex, simply to make better games. And I'm also not sure that prostitutes in games really get less represented than shopkeepers or whoever else.

But that heart surgeon could also be an alcoholic and abusive husband. Or could pine for being a concert pianist. Or a jogger. Or identifies as a woman. Or could actually be 10,000 grub worms that animate a corpse and have it perform heart surgery. I agree that they COULD be anything. Regardless how "the rest of the…

Someone's occupation does not define them. Whatever somebody does to eat, they still have other thoughts, feelings, ambitions and dreams. And a three-dimensional, fleshed out character does not necessarily need to be positive and healthy. Fucked up people are people too (and there are just as many fucked up people out…

Depicting someone as "compelling, sex-positive, or less misogynistic" doesn't require that they be happy with the status of their life. A three-dimensional character can has problems and depth. Like real people.

Misogyny deeply ingrained in society?

Individuals respond differently. I know many women that would love to tear something's head off.

I think you're treating sexy and hypersexualized as the same thing, which they aren't. This is a big difference in intent between this:

Nope, I'm not saying that an artist needs to change their vision for the audience, but the audience doesn't have to like what the artist makes.

Nope, they don't HAVE to do anything. And their audience doesn't HAVE to shut up and not discuss it if they want to. Just like you don't HAVE to read the article and complain in the comments. We all have free will here.

But having a shit ton of Arno clones running around make the immersion better?

And yet, there are male characters in the game...

If an artist isn't at all concerned with their audience then they should expect negative backlash from time to time.

I already said this to someone else, but...

"Who are you to call out how they should write their story."

1) There are lots of reasons a man would want to play as a female character; adolescent wish fulfillment is far from the only one.

But if he's not tasked with the site's review, how is it his job to play it? And putting it off, in favour of playing games that he actually is supposed to review, seems like a totally legit use of his time.

It doesn't appear that way for me either. I'm in Canada, but I thought that I'd be seeing the same site as you guys in the states (assuming that's where you are). Weird.

I think that none of this would have happened if he hadn't called him a "victim." That one word is the pivot of this whole thing. Without it, the Escapist headline would have read much differently (assuming they even bothered covering it). Word choice is everything.

Geesh. Aren't people always giving you guys shit for posting stuff that doesn't have enough commentary? Now you write an opinion piece and they call it clickbait. Damned if you do, damned if you... ah, fuck it.