The attempt to bring awareness to this topic, to whatever extent we still need, is honorable. This article, unfortunately, is very poorly written, almost incoherent, riddled with vague ideologies and incomplete statistics.

The image you post of the game created to beat up Anita is certainly a shame. A few bad apples grabbing attention at someone's expense. I'd like to offer this in it's place:

http://www.destructoid.com/a-response-to-some-arguments-in-anita-sarkeesian-s-interview-230570.phtml

.

I've been struggling with this, and now I feel I should apologize. When it comes to social issues, I'm usually a step behind, and so I tend to blitzkrieg my research, without much sleep. I may or may not have a slight addiction to information (I manage an insurance office, and there is nothing but constant information overload on a daily basis, which is one of the few things I like about it), so I think I might overdo it sometimes. In this case, I've been following the rabbit hole of the subject of feminism through real life conversations, YouTube, and various interweb corners, and through sleep deprivation I may have posted my earlier comment on this thread from somewhat of a cranky disposition :).

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for coming off harsh, and maybe unnecessarily judgmental.

@scrypt no need to apologize. Being judgmental is a vital part of living. It's how we differentiate the people we come in to contact with. As for your earlier response to the sexism post, I must be one of the few who felt like you do. That bringing awareness to the topic for the sake of itself does nothing to prevent it from continuing.

In all of your research, did the culture and popular mindset of the period in which these games were written come up? I ask because there were a glut of T&A films produced for the mainstream during the early 80s to early 90s. Since the media of that time was filled with the same kind of sexism, I don't think it's unrealistic to have seen it seep in to other forms of media.

That being said, however, I do agree that there is little place for it now. OTOH, if it didn't sell, football teams would have co-ed cheerleaders and the Lingerie Football League wouldn't exist, for starters.

The other half of my earlier thought about sexism in video games was this: It is probably not as prevalent as it once was. In fact, browsing the Playstation Store this morning, a large number of the new releases have not fallen prey to the pervasive sexism that has reportedly seeped in to every video game.

I am not going to defend sexism in video games or pretend it doesn't exist, but I think the issue is not as dramatic as the current discussions would lead us to believe. By cherry-picking games that promote a sexist agenda, it's easy to paint a picture of an industry chock full of misogynists and testosterone-fueled adolescent males.

Good times, and pretty hilarious kills! Can't wait to do this again :)

I've only played Beat Hazard and Solar 2 from that bundle, but I think Solar 2 alone is worth it. Reminds me of flOw, but in space, with pseudo-sim behaviors (e.g. Habitable planets that develop defense systems), evolving from Big Bang to Big Crunch. Quite fun!

That's a nice bundle of fabrics, by the way, Travis. Has there ever been discussion of building a Cheerful Ghost community quilt? It could even be virtual! User avatars joined to make a quilted mosaic?! Eh?

Another aspect of these bundles, which gets lost in the amazing deals, is that it's designed to be a donation/charity as much as it is a retail opportunity. The money collected is dispersed to the recipient of your choosing, be it developer, site admin, or often a charity (like Child's Play). The games/movies/soundtracks are the draw, but really they are a bonus. The creators of the bundled projects are essentially donating their creations, not really expecting a specific return, rather trying to help a good cause, spread the joy of gaming, and if they make money in the process, so be it. If a game in the bundle is something you already have, give it as a gift to someone you think might enjoy that experience.

This is just a reminder, not a judgement by any means, as I'm certainly one that has, in the past, decided which bundle to give to, based on the kinds of content in it.

Travis, I think it is!

I'll straggle in late, as I won't be home until an hour after you guys start. Stupid Alaska...

We joke that there are only two seasons up here: winter and construction. Maybe it's not really a joke... Anyway, summer is usually our best month. I mean season. No, I do mean month. The last few summers have been supremely lame, so we're due a good one this year. For a lot of us, I think, who have migrated from the south, it's the best part of being here. Beautiful environment and endless sunlight to enjoy it. It's over all too quickly, though. My favorite part of the year follows shortly after, the crisp chill of autumn. The changing leaves don't last very long, but the sunsets linger. The stars start to come back, and everything feels sort of magical.

The downside? A distinct separation from the rest of the world, and unless you have the funds to leave on a regular basis, you can find yourself feeling caged in. Anchorage has mountains on one side and water on the other, an almost literal bowl, with one road going out, which caters to some of the worst drivers in the world. Most of us suffer from severe vitamin D deficiency. There isn't much in the way of variety or opportunity here, either, unless you are into certain things.

It's a unique place, that's for sure :)

This is torture. I haven't even finished Revelations yet :(

Found this interview with Tommy Refenes of Team Meat: http://youtu.be/nCpW0WbCVzQ

Interesting things, plus he talks a bit about Mew-Genics. This game looks freaky-awesome! I've always wanted to try out that cat-lady lifestyle. I mean, it must be comforting, right?

Work around manipulative/selfish people long enough, and you can easily pick up a jaded perspective, toward them and people in general. At the very least, it can be exhausting. Nice to know that he's self-aware and responsible in his jadedness :) Also nice to know that the world has the good to balance the bad!

Have you seen Indie Game: The Movie yet?

The look of it reminds me of the old C64 (Atari 400/800?) game, Little Computer People. Where you had a somewhat randomly generated person living in a small house.

Yes. I'll have to dig through my web history, but there was an article about the developer of the Creatures series and something new he was working on. Creatures was amazing, if a little too much like child-rearing.

Also +1 to @scrypt's comment about working around jaded people. I've been working in technical support (internal & external) for some time now and between the people I work with, the people I work for and the people on the phone, it's extremely difficult not to become disgruntled with the behaviours of others.