[Yatagan]

http://www.thelocal.se/20141113/sweden-m...ame-labels

Quote:

Future video games produced in Sweden could be labelled according to whether or not they promote gender equality, as part of a new project by gaming industry trade organisation Dataspelsbranchen.

Avoiding sexism and gender stereotypes in video games produced in Sweden will become a key goal for the association, which has been given a 272,000 kronor ($36,672) grant by Sweden's government-funded innovation agency, Vinnova.

Inspired by the Bechdel test, which looks at whether fictional films or books feature at least two women talking about a topic other than men, Dataspelsbranchen will work with several game developers to analyse how Swedish video games portray female characters and gender issues.

Speaking to The Local, project manager Anton Albiin said it was unclear at this stage if all games produced in Sweden would be given a label, or if companies developing games that promoted equality would be given some kind of certification to use for their own marketing purposes.

But he said he understood that either strategy would be a world first.

"I do not know of any other project in the world asking this question and of course we want Sweden to be a beacon in this area".

He said that as well as analysing the content of the games, Dataspelsbranchen would also look at the processes used by different developers to promote gender equality and diversity, with a view to "helping others to learn from their innovation".

Asked if focusing on diversity could detract from the creativity and fantasy also sought by games developers, he added:

"Of course games can be about fantasy but they can be so much more than this. They can also be a form of cultural expression - reflecting society or the society we are hoping for. Games can help us to create more diverse workplaces and can even change the way we think about things".

While Sweden champions gender equality, only 16 percent of people working in the gaming industry in Sweden are women, according to games industry trade organisation Dataspelsbranchen.

The turnover of Swedish video game developers grew by almost 80 percent last year to almost seven billion kronor ($935m), making 2013 the best year ever for Swedish video game exports.

[Ocelot]

SWEDEN YES.

[Old Fritz]

Viking blood has to come back sooner or later. Such a pussy country. Can't believe i contemplated going to school there.

[Sonsowey]

Warning: This Videogame promotes environmentally unsustainable practices. Racecar driving has been shown to contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

[NilNisiOptimum]

Remind me not to buy any games from Sweden then.

[KC4]

Battlefield and star wars battlefront^ don't tell me you wouldn't be tempted

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Quote:

Inspired by the Bechdel test, which looks at whether fictional films or books feature at least two women talking about a topic other than men

So are two men talking about a topic other than women also a sign that something is great and needs to be promoted? They're promoting gender segregation - each gender talking about only their own gender?

[Sp5]

(11-15-2014 05:27 AM)Handsome Creepy Eel Wrote:  

Quote:

Inspired by the Bechdel test, which looks at whether fictional films or books feature at least two women talking about a topic other than men

So are two men talking about a topic other than women also a sign that something is great and needs to be promoted? They're promoting gender segregation - each gender talking about only their own gender?

Would two whores talking about money or drugs count to boost the score? Can put that in GTA, no problem.

Maybe a sexist rating would boost sales.

[HighSpeed_LowDrag]

I smell an oncoming Reaxxion article ...

HSLD

[SteveMcMahon]

Quote:

or if companies developing games that promoted equality would be given some kind of certification

Something like this:



For games like:


Cripple Hunter


Lindy West Quest


Ass Effect 2: The AIDSening


Marriage Simulator


Mario and Sonic at the Special Olympics


Brianna Wu Story

[RouteBackwards]

(11-14-2014 03:57 PM)Ocelot Wrote:  



SWEDEN YES.

As crudely drawn as this is, this is the most accurate depiction of a loser white knight I have ever seen.

[Mekorig]

This may be a little old but....waiting for Vicious in 3...2...1...

[The Father]

(11-15-2014 06:00 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  

Maybe a sexist rating would boost sales.

That was my thought, as well. It would tell guys what games to buy! I'm not a gamer, but if there was a "sexist" warning on games, I can tell you with certainty that my consideration of games to purchase would primarily be focused on those games!

[AnonymousBosch]

(11-15-2014 10:58 AM)SteveMcMahon Wrote:  


Marriage Simulator

I'm old enough to remember that one.

You had to run around a mansion picking up empty glasses and wine bottles left after a party.

Obviously, this would now be promoting Unresponsible Drinking.

[Foolsgo1d]

Do Swedes play Skyrim and feel guilty?

[runsonmagic]

Good. Like the "explicit content" label, it will just serve as another marketing tool so kids know which games are cool and worth buying.

[Hades]

Almost a billion dollars per year over a population just under ten million is like a hundred bucks for every man, woman, and child per year on video games. Impressive video game consumer industry, Sweden.

[SteveMcMahon]

(11-15-2014 03:22 PM)AnonymousBosch Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 10:58 AM)SteveMcMahon Wrote:  


Marriage Simulator

I'm old enough to remember that one.

You had to run around a mansion picking up empty glasses and wine bottles left after a party.

Obviously, this would now be promoting Unresponsible Drinking.

You may enjoy the rather excellent Micro Men, a very funny and poignant BBC dramatisation of the early 1980's British computer industry.

There are a lot of things I don't miss about gaming in those days. Crappy little machines with less computing power than your average modern tea kettle, rubber keyboards, 10 minute loading times from cassette tape, no internet...



But there was also a tremendous sense of fun and adventure about the whole thing. Games magazines were written for kids by young men not much older than ourselves. People could - and did - create bestselling, groundbreaking games in their own bedrooms. The whole industry was making up the rules as it went along, and it was glorious.

[AnonymousBosch]

(11-15-2014 06:50 PM)SteveMcMahon Wrote:  

Ah, Barbarian! I had this. Mid-80's. It came with a giant poster of Maria Whittaker inside.



It was immediately targeted by women's groups who, as usual, hated the idea of boys looking at pretty woman, and said it would turn them into sexist pigs.

You could decapitate enemies, horrifying moral watchdogs at the time for the ultra-realistic violence, who said this would turn boys into violent thugs and killers. The Wikipedia page is wrong in this regard.



Gamergate is business as usual.

[Saweeep]

What the fuck is wrong with these people!

(rhetorical question)

[ElBorrachoInfamoso]

This could be useful to parents who don't want to buy their children video games that promote the retarded idea that men and women are exactly the same. I would only buy my kids video games with the sexist label.

[Feisbook Control]

(11-14-2014 05:18 PM)NilNisiOptimum Wrote:  

Remind me not to buy any games from Sweden then.

No way. Paradox Interactive makes such awesome games that, having played previous installments in the series, there is no way in hell I will buy Europa Universalis IV or any of their other grand historic strategy games for fear of actually disappearing off the face of the planet for several months.

[polar]

Quote:

Inspired by the Bechdel test

Real life fails the Bechdel test.

[The Father]

(11-16-2014 08:59 AM)polar Wrote:  

Quote:

Inspired by the Bechdel test

Real life fails the Bechdel test.

Indeed...women become invisible when they don't have youth and beauty, men become invisible when they don't have game or money/power/fame. Men accept this reality; women deny, deny, deny. But there is no point in denying reality: Sexual market value exists and we are all subject to it, no less so than we are subject to gravity or dying. It is part of the human condition, that which defines us. People age and die, women are judged on their looks, men are judged on other factors, dogs bark, babies cry, rain gets you wet...there's no point in pushing back on any of this.

[Aros]

(11-14-2014 04:20 PM)Old Fritz Wrote:  

Viking blood has to come back sooner or later. Such a pussy country. Can't believe i contemplated going to school there.

The nasty side of the liberal progress in Sweden is that the country have the biggest congregations of neo-nazis in Scandinavia. I have heard rumors about training camps in the forest of Sweden. Meanwhile all the immigrants and refugees are bringing their local fights and bad blood to Sweden. This might end violently.