Why the FFXV Bro-trip Might Not be Such a Bad Thing
Hi, I'm Pumpkin, and I have a confession. I like to play girls in video games. I like playing pretty girls! As someone who struggles with her looks, playing attractive, well-dressed female characters helps put a smile on my face. I get to latch on to those characters and for the short while (okay, long while) I'm playing, I get to forget about my extra flab and pointy nose, and I get to be a pretty lady. That's pretty cool. So when Final Fantasy XV shows up on the scene with a largely male cast... well, needless to say I was a bit disappointed. "Only guest female characters? An entirely male party??? BUT THEY HAVE COOTIES!" I cried out in disappointment. But maybe, just maybe, the boys club isn't such a bad thing.
I am a huge RPG fan. They are by far my genre of choice, and I consume them at an unnatural rate. I don't even want to think of the time and money I've invested in them. Because of this, I have had limited experience with other genres until recently when I've branched out in to other games. You see, JRPG's tend to give you at least one playable female character. Usually for fanservice or to be a romantic interest, but that aside, there's usually at least one girl character to play. In most WRPG's, you get to create your own character, which of course means I get to play as a pretty lady. In some other games I've played, however, you are who you are and that's it. Especially in games where you only get to play as a singular character, you play as who you play as, end of story.
This brings me to the Walking Dead Telltale game in which you play a black man, something I've never really done before aside from the few token minority characters here and there in other games. And while his race is not the point of his character, it is a part of who he is. Being so white you can barely see me in the snow, I've never had someone assume I can pick locks because I'm "urban". That's something I have never had to experience before in my life. But now, through the magic of interactive media, I could get a small look in to the life of someone different from myself. Not necessarily someone who fit an image of who I want to be, but someone who's life experience is fundamentally different. At the end of the day, that's a good thing.
So how does this tie back in to Final Fantasy XV, you ask. Well, that's simple: I've never been a man. I've played as men sometimes, usually in visual novels' where women throw themselves at me like I'm a giant chunk of meat and they haven't eaten in a month. But Final Fantasy XV really has a focus on male bonding, something I've never been able to experience. Sure, I've bonded with men (teehee), but I was always a woman, inside and out. I've never been on a "bro-trip", developed a bond between men, or been able to pee standing up without making a mess. The last one is mostly unrelated but I'm seriously jealous of men not having to sit on icky public toilet seats. Even when I've been the only woman in a group of men, I was the only woman. Even if I was "one of the guys", I really wasn't. Like it or not, society puts different expectations on men and women, and this can largely shape our lives as we grow up and try to find who we are. I've never had the expectations men have on them, nor have I had the benefits. I've always been and probably always will be woman.
If I want to take gaming beyond a simple way to kill time and melt away the daily stresses, if I want to see its benefit in immersing myself in the lives of those who have totally different experiences from myself and use it as an opportunity to develop more empathy and understanding towards others, well then I should embrace the bro-trip offered here by Final Fantasy XV. I should embrace the opportunity to experience male bonding as a male, and maybe, just maybe, it will help me grow a little bit as a person outside of the game.
On the other hand, they could really stand to put some more clothes on Cindy, amiright? *shots fired*
