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MMO Bans Men Playing As Women

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the nice-legs-bob dept.

jkcity writes "In a bizarre move Aurora Technology the owners of the King of the World MMORPG has taken the unusual step of banning men who play women characters but the ban itself does not stretch to women playing men. If you want to play as a woman now in game you have to prove you are a women via web cam. This is something that people ask for in many mmorpgs I myself have seen people say people who play women in EVE online as being some kind of degenerate but how long can a policy of verification by web cam last since its so easy to get around it doesn't seem to solve much and is an insult to many."

14 of 616 comments (clear)

  1. So that means... by fistfullast33l · · Score: 5, Insightful

    no role playing in a Role Playing Game?

    1. Re:So that means... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No powergamers either. Min/maxers pick girl characters (assuming no stat drop) because:

      *You can get free stuff with minimal effort.
      *You don't spend 30+ hours a week staring at the cartoon picture of a guy's ass.

    2. Re:So that means... by gzerphey · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I tend to play female characters in the RPGs because it is my perception that the programmers put special twists in to try and get more of the female market. I don't know if I'm just deluded or not, but it seems to be true.

      At any rate, what is to stop me, or anyone with a girlfriend or wife, from a quick substitution for the webcam. My wife would think this rule is ridiculous and do it in a heartbeat.

      More to the point though, I have to agree with the Parent here... Its a FREAKING RPG. Let people Role Play in the Game as they see fit.

      --
      I don't have a microwave. I do, however, have a clock that occasionally cooks shit.
    3. Re:So that means... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Proving they're ugly should be easy. It's proving their strong or brave that's the tough issue.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    4. Re:So that means... by bughunter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You'd rather spend 30+ hours a week getting your cartoon ass stared at by other guys?

      You know, I'd played female tabletop RPG characters with about equal frequency as male PCs for years, without having to worry about that. If the other players at the table bothered me "in that way," a quick shocking grasp or heat metal to the codpiece set them straight.

      But my first female toon in WoW was a bank alt, and I dressed her in her undies and a buccaneer's shirt, cuz she looked good in them. Then I noticed other toons standing around and gawking at her.

      And you know, I finally felt what most women must have to learn to deal with when they grow bewbs.

      And the second revalation is that it only took me about 60 seconds to get over it, and ignore it. It's their problem, not mine.

      So, I say, let cross-gender roleplaying happen. It's educational.

      --
      I can see the fnords!
  2. Why? by corsec67 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I am playing a MMORPG, I am going to be spending a lot of time looking at my avatar. Why can't my avatar be something I like looking at?

    --
    If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    1. Re:Why? by jollyreaper · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If I am playing a MMORPG, I am going to be spending a lot of time looking at my avatar. Why can't my avatar be something I like looking at? Because a giant disembodied floating set of knockers would be distracting for the other players.
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  3. Interesting excuse ... by miller60 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... for the Aurora guys to look at gamer girls on their webcams.

    --
    RichM
    Data Center Knowledge
  4. Ridiculous by bahwi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've played male and female chars in mmo's and have had no problems. It depends on the person playing, if they are going to cause trouble they are going to cause trouble no matter what gender.

    Also, no matter how hard you beg the developer, that hot elven chick just won't be that way in real life. And this step doesn't get you closer to that.

  5. Just watch... by The+Orange+Mage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...as suddenly, the in-game populations turn to about 80% male, 20% female.

    And that's a conservative guess...I bet most would skew it even more towards male players.

    1. Re:Just watch... by Culture20 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I would guess it will trend toward 99.999% male. What geek-girl that you know of would go through the hassle of letting some anonymous geek-admin see her real face just to have the honor of logging in with a female avatar, then becoming the target of cyber-sexual harassment because the perps _know_ you're female? They'd be better off just removing female avatars.

  6. Mom is a woman! Easy fix... by dontspitconfetti · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it's just a one-time webcam thing, the people who are really desperate can have their mom or sister appear on the webcam for them. Even Grandma Nana counts as a woman!

  7. Hey look... by Sheik+Yerbouti · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A little known MMO that I have never heard of has pulled a publicity stunt and gotten some free coverage from Slashdot. What what what? Slashdot is there target demographic. Congratulations sirs PT Barnum would be proud.

  8. Re:finally by I'm+Don+Giovanni · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "But it's kinda stupid cuz the actual females playing as females do that too."

    Well, that's what females do in real life; use their feminine wiles to their advantage. ;)

    But your complaint is absurd. If one is unable to resist the feminine wiles of an online-character, then it's his own fault, not fault of the the person playing the female character.

    I've known many that have played characters of the player's opposite sex (both men playing as women and women playing as men), and I see no problem with it. The whole point of playing RPGs (either multi-player or single-player) is to get to assume a role you could never assume in real life. The ability to choose your character's gender, ethnicity, etc, goes along with that.

    This business of requiring webcams for anyone playing as a woman is the stupidest thing I've heard of in a long time.

    --
    -- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000