Strong Female Characters*

[allmywires]

OK, think I get you there.

What I am asking, is what in addition to stereotypes of the type I listed, is the difference between men and women for folks on SFF? Subtle behavioural things, ways of approaching problems, um what is talked about?

For me, I'd have women as usually being more emotionally intuitive, and actually my female characters are usually the most determined to get what they want, more willing to push all the boundaries. My men are sturdy, usually wittier, gruff (but not unemotional), most of the time struggling under the weight of their own misgivings. But then again my women have elements of that too.

I don't treat them too much differently, to be fair.

 

[Montero]

Re ******* v bitch. I wouldn't ever call a female friend a bitch (to her face! ). I think the banter-y equivalent of ******* is 'cow.'

Ah yes.
Which reminds me of "you silly/daft mare" as well.

Sow doesn't seem to make an appearance.
Ewe definitely not. But maybe 'hey, you' is really 'hey, ewe'

 

[Montero]

re fighting
Ta folks.

And for some reason a big bucket of water sprang to mind for the fight Kylara witnessed. .


Thanks allmywires

 

[Montero]

Further to previous (cos can't edit any more)

Sow - Battlesow from Barbara Hambly's Ladies of Madrigyn series just sprang to mind. Minor character in the mercenary troop.

And if you've ever watched James Herriot, sows are scary. Mind you so are cows if they've the mind to it.

 

[Ursa major]

Further to previous (cos can't edit any more)

If you can no longer edit a post after only five minutes, you have a problem. The usual timeouts are:

• 10 minutes without getting the message at the bottom of the post, indicating when the edit was made
• 50 further minutes (i.e. 1 hour in total) where you do get that message.

After that, you can't edit a post.

 

[Montero]

Ta. I came back to edit having had a thought, and now suspect I had already logged out, so couldn't see edit buttons and should have logged back in, rather than pressing reply to add on another post. Just wanted to explain why I was proliferating a bit - other than keeping posts separate when answering different points/comments/people.

 

[Ursa major]

That's okay, then.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Just an amusing anecdote here...my boyfriend (electronic engineering PhD guy) visited some old friends of his a while back who he hadn't seen for a while, and mentioned me, now I am a girl (hehe) and I play console and PC Games, (mainly stealth and fps) and I like computery stuff, and I shoot things (air rifles, paint ball, airsofting etc), climb, basically I do boy stuff, but (apparently) look very girly if you know what I mean...
Anyway, my boyfriend's friends thought that he was making me up or that he was desribing a chracter from something because they were unable to put what I am like together with any of their preconceptions of "girl"...which amused me and my bf quite a bit...

So maybe the issue with some of these characters are that they get written and then mucked about with because (even though they are right) the writer thinks what he is describing can't possibly be true...possibly...

Kylara, you are the kind of female character I'm trying to write.

The problem I mentioned upthread was this -- at one point the female character I'm writing is about to kick her boyfriend's ass at a console game, but she thinks she has an unfair advantage because his right arm (he's right-handed) doesn't always work so well since he fell on a beer bottle last year and cut some nerves/tendons/something important. She also feels guilty because she thinks what happened to his arm is her fault.

So she lets him win. And he gets upset, because he wants to either kick her ass or get his kicked fair and square. He thinks she's doing the "helpless female" routine to stroke his ego, and he's the kind of guy who hates that.

 

[Kylara]

Oh wow DEO, glad to be of help! Feel free to interogate away lol
Trust me, my bf kicks my ass when I fall back even a little (haha and I ripped all my tendons in both my hands so extended playing really wrecks my game; I sometimes think he might set up 3 hour sessions just to win) but as a female gamer, even if you feel sorry for them, you must conquer all then stroke bruised egos later hehehe they'll never forgive you for letting them win, but if you win and they have an issue (like a broken arm - but that guy still thrashed everyone...no idea how) then they'll still feel superior, thinking that you only won because they had something impeding their awesomeness :wink: the only time I've ever seen a female gamer lose on purpose was because she was trying to get his attention...and she went out in a blaze of glory, looking as if she was going to win, then losing only by a little bit, by triggering a trap she herself had set...the guy had no idea that she let him win, not knowing her well enough to realise how skilled she is at that particular game...I'd say anyone good enough to beat anyone else should be able to lose convincingly, not just stop and let the other person blow them up/drive past them/capture the flag...that said I have seen some woefull "oh my! I just trod in a trap that I just made, how could I possibly have thought I could beat you" style games, but only in a sort of mocking stereotypes way...almost coming off as being a sarcastic comment on how well they are doing that they can afford to "girl out" and be useless, only to thrash them again next round, make it feel even worse :wink:

wow that got long...hehe a favourite pastime of mine, got a little carried away. but yes. All gamers who realise they have been given the win, get angry, poor sportsmanship and all...

edit: right handed - depends on the console and the game whether that would actually affect the playing...I ripped all the tendons in both my hands and only get an issue after prolonged intensive battle games and mainly with an xbox controller (I've used PS consoles for most of my gaming life...xbox is new to me and the controllers vastly different to set your hands to plus I have small hands hehe) and it becomes obvious when I'm having problems, (and everyone immediately attacks me at that point - to not do so would be giving me an unfair advantage ) as my gun shots start slowing...the movement controls tend to be on the left (view on the right) and action controls are on the right (sometimes left) operated by thumb, which is the last tendon to go crazy in my experience...even then mashing a controller (non gun game) usually works til tendon control comes back...but only games which require serious use of the L/R1/2 buttons causes major issues (for me at least) because those buttons require index and middle fingers...so the tendon issue really depends on game, the controls, length of play time and how used to having that handicap you are :wink:

 

[MstrTal]

Ok a little off topic but I have to ask; how do you deal with the jerks in multiplayer? Being a gamer myself I am always respectful to other players male or female but over LIVE or in MMO's you come across many <insert expletives> who treat female players like crap, try to cyber them or think they are either gay guys pretending to be girls or lesbians. Depending on the game and genre of game it is sometimes so bad my wife won't mic up unless it's with friends only. It took me forever to get her to play on LIVE with me. Well that and the fact she was more comfortable playing MMO's on the PC.

 

[Kylara]

I never bother with the mic online with people I don't know...mainly because I get joshed a lot and they don't think I'll be very good, not that the team does anything in a team way which bugs me...first time I played online with my bf and his friends, we didn't have the second controller so we planned on taking it in turns (he let me practice a bit first you see before going online - new console, controller, game, was amusing to say the least) Anyway he logged online, and some of his mates were there, banting around as usual, (they didn't know about me yet either) and my bf disappeared to finish dinner, handing control over to me...sudden silence as I corrected them that it wasn't my bf it was me...they formed a kind of defensive around me for the first few minutes (thinking I was bad) then relaxed off and carried on as usual once I'd kileed a couple of giant Gears death spawny things, just less of their banter was aimed at me, but to be fair, I still haven't met them yet and they didn't even know I existed until recently...so friends = good and with mic, online = good but I never play with a mic, I get too much hassle, and it affects play, which is a shame as we could have set up some awesome pincer manouvers :wink:

 

[David Evil Overlord]

...the only time I've ever seen a female gamer lose on purpose was because she was trying to get his attention...and she went out in a blaze of glory, looking as if she was going to win, then losing only by a little bit, by triggering a trap she herself had set...the guy had no idea that she let him win, not knowing her well enough to realise how skilled she is at that particular game...I'd say anyone good enough to beat anyone else should be able to lose convincingly, not just stop and let the other person blow them up/drive past them/capture the flag...

According to the girl I'm writing, she's known this guy forever (well, they're supposed to be 16-17, so "forever" is a relative term ). He knows her well enough to catch her out, even if she is losing skillfully. He knows she's too good a gamer to get beaten by him when his arm isn't working so good.

Kylara, if you'd like to read what I've written, I'd be interested in your opinion of the character.

 

[Kylara]

Ah ok, then I'm assuming it's a game they've been playing together a lot, and his play has been suffering visibly, in which case he would probably be noticing and getting angry and then more angry at her not pouncing (as every good gamer should! :wink: ) on his weakness...that would definitely annoy me; and coupled with seeing your skillset visibly diminish I could imagine a very irate loser...I'm not sure it would show her as damsel in distress, but he would feel like their roles were switched and he was damsel in distress...

Sure! I'll happily take a look for you, but I will forewarn you (in case you hadn't already noticed :wink: ) that I tend to get a little overexcited and write a lot in response! hehehe

 

[David Evil Overlord]

edit: right handed - depends on the console and the game whether that would actually affect the playing...I ripped all the tendons in both my hands and only get an issue after prolonged intensive battle games and mainly with an xbox controller (I've used PS consoles for most of my gaming life...xbox is new to me and the controllers vastly different to set your hands to plus I have small hands hehe) and it becomes obvious when I'm having problems, (and everyone immediately attacks me at that point - to not do so would be giving me an unfair advantage ) as my gun shots start slowing...the movement controls tend to be on the left (view on the right) and action controls are on the right (sometimes left) operated by thumb, which is the last tendon to go crazy in my experience...even then mashing a controller (non gun game) usually works til tendon control comes back...but only games which require serious use of the L/R1/2 buttons causes major issues (for me at least) because those buttons require index and middle fingers...so the tendon issue really depends on game, the controls, length of play time and how used to having that handicap you are :wink:

I haven't named the game console*, so the mechanics of the various controllers don't matter too much -- just as long as it's reasonable for him to have trouble using the controller at times.

The game is the completely fictional "Anachronistic Chronicles". It's supposed to be a fantasy RPG.

*Though I am tempted to call it a "Slaystation".

 

[Kylara]

Ah sorted then DEO, in which case I shall say that the lack of in depth detail and the invented game shall destroy his ability so utterly that (in line with the female/male thread) he shall go and wash the dishes in shame, whilst she continues conquering the (albeit made up) world :wink:

 

[Grimbear]

As a gamer I don't know about problems with hands. True, I have no damaged tendons or previous injuries, but the only thing I ever get is like sometimes, after say five straight hours I try to stand up and can't because my legs are completely numb.

Now I sound tragic. Do I have a life? Ummm...

Am off to kill something on Witcher 2 on the XBox

 

[MstrTal]

Man I just returned Witcher2 for cash since I am broke.

I will say that "Nintendo Thumb" sucks. I have also broken my right trigger finger in a bad gaming indecent involving a golf game and a fan on the Wii. I also broke my thumb bowling on my left hand which hindered my FPS gaming for a while. Both give me issues in long gaming sessions from time to time and my wife takes advantage of them in Tekken, MK and other fighting games. She gets very competitive.

 

[Grimbear]

You finished the game though right? Played both sides? Hope your money troubles ease up - I sympathise.

There'll be a Witcher 3 so I heard.

Plenty of women in the witcher (talking of thread subject) but no playable ones.

It's kind of a pity. With most games I generally try to make as many characters as I can in the ones where you can build your own, like Skyrim or Fallout.

 

[Ursa major]

I have also broken my right trigger finger in a bad gaming indecent involving a golf game and a fan....

Indecent? Golf?

I suppose you were on the fairway at the time, i.e. taking part in "Fore!" play....

​

 

[MstrTal]

Indecent? Golf?

I suppose you were on the fairway at the time, i.e. taking part in "Fore!" play....

​

Sadly I was trying for a PANGA and forgot my ceiling fan was on high.
When playing Wii golf games I had this ridiculous tendency to extend my pointer finger (trigger finger) beyond the controller and the combination of low ceiling with fan + tall man with extended arm = broken finger.

Really hurt my XBox and PS3 gaming for a long time and I completely swore of the Wii for the longest time. I won't even talk about how it effected me at the range and the cost of lightening certain rifle triggers. *Growls*