To married people: What is your wife doing, while you play BG2

Mr. Sprinkles · Post by **Mr. Sprinkles** » Fri Jul 13, 2001 7:42 pm

JESUS I hate being a minor.

. Three more years and it's total freedom for me! Why can't I find cool adults like you guys apart from the internet?

Grimm Reaper · Post by **Grimm Reaper** » Fri Jul 13, 2001 8:12 pm

Actually, I'm not married yet, but if things keep going so well, I will probably ask Aerie to get hitched!

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Jul 13, 2001 8:27 pm

@Sprinkles, you just need to get out and mix more with members of the opposite sex who are your own age. In roughly three years, you'll be mixing with adults.

jennabard · Post by **jennabard** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 1:15 am

let's see....

i am the WIFE

My hubby hates BG2, i spent a month ignoring him. Now he can't stand this forum

cause everytime i go on the net, i end up here

but i always make it up to him

Mr. Sprinkles · Post by **Mr. Sprinkles** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 10:27 am

@fable: i hope you're not implying what I think you're implying about me (I assure you, I'm straight)! I do in fact have a g/f, FYI.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 11:08 am

(blink) @Sprinkles, you suffer from an overactive imagination. That truly hadn't crossed my mind.

I just think all gamers need to get out more and mingle with the opposite sex. I've seen more honestly scary opinions about women up here than I've ever read in 19th fiction dedicated to showing the exploitation of the sex.

And again, that's not directed at you.

Mr. Sprinkles · Post by **Mr. Sprinkles** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 2:31 pm

@fable. K, sorry for misunderstanding.

I agree, women are people too. Exeot for the fact that they require something extra which a lot of men don't have: a sensitive listener. And about that misunderstanding, I'll go check the supply cabinet for a dunce cap.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 2:47 pm

mr Sprinkler, it's sad to read you have fallen into the trap of sterotype gender roles. The need for a sensitive listener is not related to gender, it's highly individual. Also, the ability to be a sensitive listener is not gender related, it's related to personality, social skills, interest in people and individual preferences.

The degree of belief in gender stereotypes and prejudice I read in this thread is quite depressing...

pip · Post by **pip** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 3:15 pm

To C Elegans

That sounds good, but often one needs to make some mistakes in life in order to progress in the future. I highly doubt that Mr. Sprinkles was intending to Stereotype any one person or group. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt...I believe that is the right thing to do when possible.

To Mr. Sprinkles

"Today you are one day younger then you will be tomorrow. Enjoy life today, there is always good or bad points to each individual situation, whether single, married or just hanging around. You come in this world with nothing and when you leave you will not be able to take anything with you so don't be too hard on yourself but at the same time cultivate yourself to be better because it is human nature to try to improve oneself." Hope that helps... and if not don't worry too much about it.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 3:20 pm

Lorsadan, I don't think mr Sprinkler intended to sterotype either - having sterotype beliefs is seldom intentional.

pip · Post by **pip** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 3:29 pm

True... So instead of giving you a sterotypical response to your response I'll wish you a pleasant and wonderful day. cheers...and this is probably where if Minsc is around would go into "..we are all heroes Minsc and Boo..hamsters and rangers...rejoice!!!). I'm sure I missed something there, but you get the idea.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 4:08 pm

@Lorsadan: I've obviously missed something too??? Anyway, I wish you a pleasant day as well.

I forgot to answer the original question:
Like some other married gamers here, I play multiplayer with my husband, it's much more fun than playing on my own. I started playing BG1 by myself, but I soon managed to get him interested. So we've played BG1 & 2 and IWD multiplayer

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 4:54 pm

Sprinkles writes:
I agree, women are people too. Except for the fact that they require something extra which a lot of men don't have: a sensitive listener.

Sprinkles, what were you thinking of? As a male, I take mild offense at it being assumed I don't need a listener sensitive to the nuances of sound, body language, facial expression, phrasing, etc. I try to express myself with delicacy and subtlety (though it's all too often missed on these boards), and surely, as a man, I deserve the same courtesy you would extend to a woman?

[ 07-14-2001: Message edited by: fable ]

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Sat Jul 14, 2001 11:55 pm

Originally posted by C Elegans:
<STRONG>The need for a sensitive listener is not related to gender, it's highly individual. Also, the ability to be a sensitive listener is not gender related, it's related to personality, social skills, interest in people and individual preferences.</STRONG>

@CE: Oddly, my own needs for a sensitive listener are completely filled by the insightful responses you have given me during our infrequent discussions.

This is a good thing, since it frees my wife up to take care of household finances, raising our children, etc., and frees me up to play BG2 and spam in these forums.

Thank you!

[This is feeble attempt at humor, which doubles as my answer to the topic! No offence, CE! Sometimes, my wife gets fed up, and hands me the baby. One-handed gaming is easy (I've acquired a proficiency at dual-wielding a baby and a mouse), but one-handed spaming is nearly impossible!]

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 4:00 am

Never got married but lived together with my ex for nearly five years (recently broke up but I'll keep that sad story for another day). However, she never liked BG 1, Planscape Torment, Icewind Dale or BG 2. To be more correct, I'm afraid she hated them despite my marketing efforts. The only game she ever truly liked was The Longest Journey. It was a great relief to see her so addicted to this game. We even had to fix the hours each person was allowed to use the computer. Finally, she understood that I don't play my CRPGs cause i *want* to, but because i *have* to. Would mention Funcom in my prayers every day, were I a religious man. However, most of the time she used to read or watch TV while I was playing. Of course, I tried to play as much as possible when she wasn't at home anyway but, both of us being students, we spent a lot of time at home those days. It is not possible for me to explain how much I miss having her complaining about "that damn Baldur's", as she used to call them (all of them except for PT, which she named "the pancake"). I used to show her my different parties, ask her if she recognised my NPCs (she always remembered Kivan and Quayle) and let her read funny dialogues between the NPCs. She never really cared, which of course I knew, but she still took a few moments just to make me happy. Now I can play as much as I want to. It isn't half as fun anymore.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 6:42 am

@Fable: Your post shows something I'm personally very convinced of: that gender sterotype about women is equally stereotyping of men.

@Gwalchmai: LOL

I hope to gain similar proficencies in the future

Also, thanks for you kind words

@Astafas: I'm sorry to hear you have to play all alone now

@all: A recent poll done by an international computer game association showed 48% of all buyers of computer and console games, are female. There has been a few debate articles in Swedish media about the fact that the game industry still hasn't adapted to this, and also, some debates about gender role stereotypic negative messages (for both sexes) in many computer games.

Anyway, I haven't played a lot of CRPG:s, but BG1 & 2 have gender role stereotype games I have seen. Which doesn't say a lot, of course.

But at least the male characters are not only brave and heroic, and the women are not wearing chain mail bikinis.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 9:15 am

Originally posted by C Elegans:
[QB@all: A recent poll done by an international computer game association showed 48% of all buyers of computer and console games, are female.[/QB]

Incidentally, I received a poll in my mail the other day, polling whether I (being a gamer) were male or female. Not feeling very into polls at that moment, I ignored it. Perhaps, had I been female, I might not have ignored it because of some subconscious desire to prove that women, too, play games. Perhaps polls like these are responded to more often by women than men, thus generating a "false" percentage.

<disclaimer>
This is purely objective; I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything. I am certainly not "man" (just kidding) enough to get into a men/women flame war

</disclaimer>

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 9:27 am

Until the powerful producers of games take note of such polls, @C Elegans, I'm afraid you're still going to see an overwhelmingly "early male teen" POV in these products. Such assumptions have always annoyed me--some of the best RPers I know are very definitely women.

I have to say that Longest Journey finally does what excellent fantasy novels were doing back in the 1960s: creating viable lead female characters. Though as I recall, when Alexei Panshin did it in a novel that deliberately copied the style of Heinlein but inverting the gender, Heinlein refused to speak with Alexei for the rest of his life.

reedimus · Post by **reedimus** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 9:41 am

my wife reads in the chair next to me when I play bg2.

but more importantly, did I hear someone say chainmail bikinis? Brilliant!

chainmail bikini +3: enemies in sight must save or be charmed, -50% to hide in shadows of wearer. if the wearer is male, chainmail bikini makes enemies save or be confused rather than charmed.

Laurelei · Post by **Laurelei** » Sun Jul 15, 2001 9:44 am

Nah, reedimus, then all the men would cry 'cause the women had an "unfair advantage" LOL