Let's get it right out there: I love Oblivion. As do many others.Why should feminists in particular love Oblivion? It's simple: no sexist stereotypes.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a totally immersive RPG experience that lets you log several games' worth of play without even touching the main quest. You can skulk around in the thieves' guild, buy a haunted mansion in Anvil, or swing around a golden claymore that sets people on fire. Awesomely, the customization for your avatar is extremely diverse, letting you choose any race, any color, even species both human and no.
During my adventures throughout Cyrodiil, I have happily encountered none of the major sexist stereotypes that often plague fantasy settings. There is an abundance of female characters with wonderfully varying personalities. I've happily yet to encounter a sultry gypsy, whiny damsel, or mourning widow. Instead, women are knights, guild leaders, countesses, guards, bandits, mothers, vintners, alchemists, pirates, the list goes on and on. Just like in real life, women are (gasp!) just as diverse as men.
The excellent writing isn't the only good part. In other fantasy RPGs such as World of Warcraft, your typical iron cuirass is a sturdy breastplate that covers your manly warrior from clavicle to hip. However, when worn by his female counterpart, it magically transforms into a low-cut bikini top complete with C cup and underwire. In Oblivion, this mystical process never occurs. Bulky plate armor is rightfully just as bulky and formidable on a womanly form, and you can even raid villagers' closets and deck out your character in a foppish tunic 'n trousers combo, if you wish. (Note: I have not seen if you can put a dress on a dude yet, but a little modding does go a long, long way.)And speaking of modding, nothing says creativity quite like user-created content. You can add in your own races or give Skingrad its very own gay bar. The possibilities are limitless, and Oblivion definitely gets an A+ in my book for not even needing the extra content to be entertaining. This is a game that doesn't get any "Yes, but" treatment from me: not only does it feel inclusive, it is inclusive, and in no way does it leave women out like so many of its competitors.
Readers, what have your adventures in Cyrodiil been like?
I've never played Oblivion, but I have heard a lot of good things about it. What's really attractive to me is that there isn't a double standard with the armor as there is in WoW, like you said. You're making me want to play it now!
ReplyDeleteAnd raiding people's closets sounds like fun too.
Nice to see Oblivion featured here; I love it too.
ReplyDeleteIn other fantasy RPGs such as World of Warcraft, your typical iron cuirass is a sturdy breastplate that covers your manly warrior from clavicle to hip. However, when worn by his female counterpart, it magically transforms into a low-cut bikini top complete with C cup and underwire. In Oblivion, this mystical process never occurs. Bulky plate armor is rightfully just as bulky and formidable on a womanly form, and you can even raid villagers' closets and deck out your character in a foppish tunic 'n trousers combo, if you wish. (Note: I have not seen if you can put a dress on a dude yet, but a little modding does go a long, long way.)
In the expansion there is a "bikini top armor", but it's not a magickally transforming armor: (while not exactly the same) it's just as revealing on males as it is on females, which is kinda rare in a game like this.
Though all the armor is equivalent some of the clothing is gender-specific (like, when a guy puts it on its pants but when a woman wears it its a skirt), which was a little disappointing considering the previous game Morrowind let anyone wear any clothes (unless you wanted to put shoes on your Khajiit). Luckily there's a mod for that called Gender Independent Clothing on TES Nexus.
It bothers me that my character can't wear pants in Oblivion--in that, in Morrowind, clothing didn't change to be sex appropriate (pants didn't magically turn into skirts on my dark elf). It also bothers me that the armour you get at the end of the game, and the ebony armour, doesn't change to fit the female body. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but I want things to fit, but not change in their very nature. Like, I wanted to wear Sheogorath's fine clothes, but they turned into a dress on my character. The hunters vest, by the way, clothes a man completely, but turns into a bikini top on women. It's not "sexified" but it isn't dignified, either.
ReplyDeleteIrritating... It was still a fantastic game, and I sunk over 200 hours into it and I still think about my character all the time. I developed a deep emotional attachment to the characters of the world, but I still found myself missing a lot of the freedom I'd had in Morrowind...
(Unfortunately, I don't get to profit from mods, being as I play on a console. I bought a 360, though, just for this game.)