You Wannabe a Gamer Girl - You Know It.

*** SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU ARE INTENDING ON PLAYING THE HALO REACH SOLO CAMPAIGN, OR STARTED BUT HAVEN'T FINISHED - DON'T READ THIS ***

There are a few females (and a couple of males) on 2old2play that have discussed gender differences in gamers and attitudes towards females or female gamers in particular. Some female gamers have bought into the notion that in order to "fit in" one must give in to one of two sterotypes - 1. being one of the boys - which will include throwing themselves and fellow women under the bus to earn, garner or attain brownie points with certain alpha elite males; or 2. the other extreme of becoming kinda trashy/slutty to earn, garner or attain brownie points with certain alpha elite males. They are two different types but they both seek the same male attention and affirmation which is interesting.

Some female gamers have refused to "fit in" into anyone's mold but their own. But there have also been discussions about in-game gender differences too. Where the heck am I going with all this you may ask? Well, I am not sure except that something bothered me in Halo Reach. It isn't often my knickers get in an knot, or my she-wolf hairs bristle but this...kinda stuck so I am venting...cause I am that kinda girl.

Why is it that the NPC members of Noble all have a...um....noble....ending except the (possible) only female? If you play Six female then Kat is the only other female Spartan and ultimately your female character will have a decidedly heroic end. Your heroic end has nothing to do with your gender though, it is the story arc conclusion of the game. If you play Six male then of course Kat will be the only female and your ending will be precisely the same. I get that. So, here it is. It bothered me that Jorge, Jun, Emile and Carter all get pretty good ends. You feel bad but they stepped up and they are admirable deaths. All make grand, brave hero stances and ultimately face their own death. Kat gets a clean sniper shot through the head announced by her sudden halt of conversation and the exit point out the front of her visor. Shocking? Um...not really. Its war and snipers are part of war. Its quick and if anything it is merely sudden. It bothered me though that of all my fellow spartans in Noble, Kat has the crummiest ending.  She doesn't get the heroic. She doesn't get the admirable, she simply gets the "wrong place wrong time" ending. And I guess I kinda wished it had been one of the other spartans and not her. She should have had better somehow in my books and been switched out with one of the other guys. Maybe Bungie thought we'd feel so sorry for her, ahhhh the girlie bought it effect. I dunno. It just sort of stuck in my throat a little. I think that one day, it will be the female who will stand side by side with her fellow NPC warriors and she will be equally brave, equally heroic without sacrificing any of her female gender in a war-based action game or being a tripped out Japanese anime-ish strange chick.

The tides are turning. I am certain of it. I am glad I hold my ground and hold to it on my own accord. It is this that will change the evolution of gaming. Girl gamers who surrender to or reinforce the sexist sterotype of women don't change anything, they stagnate female progress and inadvertainly authenticate the opinion of chauvenistic male gamers towards their own. But women, who are standing on their own two feet and refuse to give ground or compromise their sense of self, will ultimately change gaming...and hopefully achieve respect for their gender on the journey.