View Full Version : Because of the female units and for other reasons...

04-18-2011, 10:35 AM
Let me preface this by saying that I have no problem with the number of female heroes in HOMM 6 (or any other HOMM game). Although I am sort of annoyed that there seems to be so many female main characters in Heroes 6, despite the fact that the HOMM audience is mostly male, just like the general video game audience is. I do not know about other people, but I find it easier to identify or relate to characters that I share similarities with.

In any case, I will mostly be talking about the number of female units in this post.

For lack of a better way to express myself, in terms of video games, what I am interested in is what is fun. And what I find fun may or may not run contrary to political correctness (PC). For those of you who do not know what political correctness is:

Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, religious belief, disability, and age-related contexts, and doing so to an excessive extent."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness

Principally, the human female form (and anything resembling it) is not powerful-looking. Delicate features, curves, and a small stature (relative to human males) does not make for an intimidating being. This has nothing to do with whether or not females are indeed weaker than males (that is a separate issue). This has to do with the fact that human females do not appear powerful. For example, all other things being equal, a human female in a full suit of armor does not look as intimidating/powerful/serious as a human male in a full suit of armor. The same idea applies to casters. Had the Lord of The Rings character Gandalf been an old woman, then he would not have been taken as seriously (even if she were just as powerful).

Consequently, an army filled with a bunch of women looks ridiculous under the theme of war. Heroes of Might and Magic is not some sort of light-hearted comedic anime. It is supposed to be about creating kingdoms, training and rallying troops, and crushing the kingdoms of others; and so, the whole army-of-chicks thing undermines that.

So, why is Black Hole Entertainment (BHE) screwing with the HOMM formula by increasing the number of female units? The best reasons I can think of are:

A. To increase the sex appeal of HOMM (catering to their mainly male audience).

B. To try to attract female gamers.

C. To satisfy the PC agenda.

I find it hard to believe that A is the reason because the female (or female-looking) units are not sexy; they are just female. It is not like they are busting out of their tops and shaking their butts. I do not see any Lara Crofts, in other words, save for the Succubus. Which by the way I have no problem with because the Succubus uses her femininity as a weapon. Now that I think about it, the Succubus is going to have a harder time on a battlefield now that there are so many female units.

I find B to be implausible because HOMM is a niche strategy game in a market that has a mostly male audience. And before a female gamer could even see that Heroes 6 (or any Heroes for that matter) uses many female units, she would first have to purchase the game or research the game. But why would a female gamer research or buy a niche strategy game? Put in another way, there has to be something apparent and intrinsic about HOMM that a female gamer would find interesting; and it is probably not going to be "HALF THE UNITS ARE FEMALE!" It is going to be something like HOMM is fantasy-based, or HOMM is a strategy game and I like strategy. My point is increasing the number of female units in a turned-based strategy video game is not a good way to attract female gamers, but it is a good way to alienate your actual audience who is mostly male.

We are then left with reason C: to satisfy the PC agenda. In my opinion, this is the primordial reason why BHE decided to increase the number of female units. They are trying to make some sort of political statement, even though their political statement will only be seen by their mostly male audience. It has nothing to do with making the game more fun or attractive to people. They are just trying to make themselves feel better in our modern-day culture in which "girl power" and "men are evil" is rammed down everyone's throats.

Regardless, because of the above, I am going to give this game a pass and stick with Heroes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Actually, there is another reason why I am giving this game a pass. In addition to the chick thing, BHE is changing and dumbing down some of the fundamentals of the Heroes series when there is no good reason to. Evidently, BHE is not a strong believer in the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

04-18-2011, 02:56 PM
Because he's trolling. He's trying to blanket the boards in his particular brand of misogyny.

Hey, <span class="ev_code_RED">***EDIT***</span> Saying something isn't "PC" doesn't make you mature or nuanced. Your opinion is misogynistic. Your feelings are that of an aggressive patriarch. You suck and you're part of the problem in society.

I rather hope you don't play Heroes 6 because I will feel better about owning a game that has less of you playing it.

Games made just for you:

Try one of those out and then have a tall glass of <span class="ev_code_RED">***EDIT***</span>

<span class="ev_code_RED">***Cut out the personal abuse towards another forum member please***</span> http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/16x16_smiley-indifferent.gif

04-18-2011, 03:01 PM
I will try to address the two fundamental points that you bring forth.

The first, you don't like the sixth installment of this game because of the "look" of the armies, namely the female form and the over beautifying of the units. You feel that this game's units are not utilitarian enough.

A game does not attract me because of form. Some of the best games (Heroes 3 included, Minecraft, etc...) did not have the best graphics in the world. I keep playing heroes 3, even when the graphics make my eyes want to bleed. Starcraft 2 is at LEAST 1 year behind it's competitors in the graphics department, but it's one of the best RTS games i have played because of it's balance and strategy. I will judge Homm6 on it's gameplay, not on the art. I am not a shallow gamer, and I didn't think you were considering your penchant for Heroes 3.

The relationships with games are much like those in real life. You might enjoy the look of someone, but if they do not match well with your personality, the relationship will end quickly. If you find the perfect match for you, even when she is passed her years, you will still enjoy every moment with her. Thus it is with a game. The shine fades quickly, but the game mechanics are what keep us coming back.

That is what made Heroes 3 and still played today, even when it's shinier, sexier sequels fade. Hopefully, we will see the same personality with heroes 6.

The second point, and a fallacy, the "dumbing" down of the resources. In heroes 3, I leveled up my mage guilds, and then proceeded to vendor ALL my extra rare resources. By the end of the game, I needed two resources: My main rare, and gold.

The strategic value of those extra mines were almost nill, whereas now, throughout the game, they will be high. Too much is just as bad as not enough. Ubisoft (Not BHE, you should know that most of the very important decisions come from Ubi France.) decided to evolve the game, and it was a very gutsy move, because it upset people that are afraid of change.

It was broken, the fact that we proceeded in a very inefficient trade to get rid of those extra rares every week was proof of that.

You can also do more, with less. There are many more build orders, and opening gambits now that there are less resources. The same can be said of the balance. Map makers and mod makers will have a much easier time creating content with this new system. That is another thing that ensures game immortality, a vibrant and strong mod / map making community. Another lesson from the Heroes 3 page of success.

I believe Ubisoft can make this game great, it has big shoes to fill, but let's criticize it for the right reasons.

04-18-2011, 03:21 PM
No need for another thread about unit gender and misogynist arguments, even one thread is perhaps too many, two is most definitely too many.

Thread closed.