Sets you on fire …sets you on fire like a girl!
At the risk of turning this place into a bit of a funhouse what with the mirrors and all, I discovered some meditations on the all-male lineup in Team Fortress 2 having followed a trackback.
Here’s a picture of the nine different classes; apparently the designers of this game are not aware that only half the population of the world is male. I can’t help but think that “testosterone” is associated with “hardcore” in the minds of people who design video games.
This is a completely understandable lament, even noting that the other two games in The Orange Box (of which Team Fortress 2 is a part) comprise the 100% female Portal and Half Life 2 which sports the much-beloved character Alyx Vance. Did Valve drop the ball with TF2, making an online FPS that’s just a big sausagefest?
I went online to TF2 for a few minutes during lunch to do a little reconnoitering and present the following for your consideration:
Here we have a row of lockers where your team gears up for battle depending on their role. As you can see, the heavy has an extra round of ammo, the sniper has an extra cowboy hat, and the medic has an extra kit of bandages.
Further down the aisle, you see some more:
The Pyro’s extra face mask hangs on the end of the lockers, and the spy has put a few extra disguises away next to the pyro’s jumpsuit.
Wait a minute… what’s that above the pyro’s jumpsuit there?
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…Is that… a pink purse? Well, considering we don’t actually see the pyro’s face, and the pyro wears a big baggy (figure-obscuring) suit — hot damn, it looks like the pyro may just be a woman!*. Either way, there’s definitely a blip in the blanket of testosterone that TF2 offers up. Although now I’m full of uncomfortable questions about what’s really going on in Ignis Solus:
*Or a transvestite. It’s up to you, really.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Now I’m going to have to do a TF2 video too in addition to the counterstrike one (see name link). Regardless, the game is a lot of fun and I’m glad we can all have a grand time with it. It makes me laugh when the scout goes splat.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Consider the alternative.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Oh definitely. No complaints, here!
January 8th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Wow, you have a much sharper eye than I do!
January 8th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Well, I’d heard about the purse in some threads, but I thought I’d take a few minutes to verify it.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I should be above making this pun and comment, but…
What if Pyro is really just a flaming homosexual?
January 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
ok, the “flaming” pun gets you out of the “transvestite ≠ homosexual” lecture.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Haha, I never meant to imply “transvestite = homosexual”, I was just joking that the Pyro may be a man (you can’t tell with the jumpsuit, as you said) but I pulled a Pat Robertson with the purse comment.
It would be a breath of fresh air if Pyro was, in fact, a woman. It would certainly give at least a nod towards female gamers.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Well, I was thinking. (And this gets me into trouble more often than not, admittedly.) Pyro an obvious complex about SOMETHING, whether male or female. I mean, holding a ginormous tube at your crotch that shoots out flames for 20 feet? Someone’s compensating for SOMETHING.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Compensating for the severe lack of opportunities to burninate? Because if I had the chance to run around with a friggin flamethrower, Southern Cali would be a lot hotter than it is…
I would definitely take full advantage of that, and get the biggest damn flamethrower I could find
January 9th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
A longer barrel simply means your flames reach your intended target faster!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:23 am
When you can shoot fiery fire 20 feet, you don’t need to compensate for anything. You have 20 feet of fire. In fact, I believe that people with flamethrowers have no problems at all, except possibly minor burns and scorch marks.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Okay I was obviously too subtle with my penis envy sarcasm.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Well, I know that many men would consider a burning sensation coming from their penis to be a bad sign.
:p
January 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Maybe it’s a ‘red hot lover’ pun.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
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