Concern Over Gender Bias in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- April 10, 2006 18:55 PM PST
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Blogs voice concern over depictions of women in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Some gaming blogs are voicing concern over the depiction of women in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
In Oblivion, players are able to create male and female characters. But the difference between the genders is more than skin deep; male characters often start with higher stregth statistics, for instance.
But the situtation escalated when the official Prima strategy guide to Oblivion noted that "Sadly, only three races offer females with power design advantages...In all other cases... pick the male." The observation triggered controversy that Oblivion was weighted more strongly towards male characters.
Several gaming blogs have weighed in, with one saying that Oblivion succumbs to the "same old sexism" that riddled older role-playing games.
Another blog notes that the illustrations accompanying the character classes in Oblivion are all depicted as males. "When I chose my character's class, I looked at the illustrations accompanying the predefined classes and was surprised to see that all of the subjects were male," The Geeky Feminist writes. "21 classes, not one female subject. Then I flipped through the manual and noticed the illustrations for the races. Again, all male."
Oblivion's Pete Hines responded to the controversy by noting that "power design is different than balance." Hines explains that both genders have the "exact same stats except for two: one where the male has a 10-point bonus, one where the female has a 10-point bonus. For some races, there isn't any difference at all."
