'I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.' In 99% of the cases, female protagonists in videogames are men in exaggerated female bodies. By men, for men.

This is all I have to say for now.

Others are more eloquent though, so:

1. read an article called 'Critics Ruin Video Games Good!' by the developer Anjin Anhut. It does a much better job of explaining sexism in games (and the backlash against criticism) than my previous blog post, explaining why is it not only OK but also necessary to criticize it.

2. think about this interesting quote from a Gamespot article:

Speaking to Games Industry International, Warren Spector said he believes such violence in games could have negative implications. He went on to note that he left Eidos Montreal (where he was instrumental in the production of the original Deus Ex) in 2004 because of the violence he witnessed from the publisher's lineup, specifically games like Hitman, 25 to Life, and Crash & Burn.

"We have to stop loving it," he said. "I just don't believe in the effects argument at all, but I do believe that we are feti5hising violence, and now in some cases actually combining it with an adolescent approach to sexuality. I just think it's in bad taste. Ultimately, I think it will cause us trouble."

"We've gone too far. The slow-motion blood spurts, the impalement by deadly assassins, the knives, shoulders, elbows to the throat. You know, Deus Ex had its moments of violence, but they were designed--whether they succeeded or not I can't say --but they were designed to make you uncomfortable, and I don't see that happening now. I think we're just appealing to an adolescent mindset and calling it mature. It's time to stop. I'm just glad I work for a company like Disney, where not only is that not something that's encouraged, you can't even do it, and I'm fine with it."

3. Check out a great Gamespot article by Laura Parker, in case you missed it: It's hard to believe in the new Lara Croft.

4. Here's a webcomic.

5. And...don't forget THIS.

In other news:

A) Superb article about fantasy literature.

B) What it's like to work in Valve?
'...hierarchical management had been invented for military purposes, where it was perfectly suited to getting 1,000 men to march over a hill to get shot at.'