I was against all that nonsense when conservatives were wailing and moaning and throwing tantrums about how violence and sex is ruining our youth. We can also believe that the reaction to this is a little too puritanical, the Moral Majority in new clothes. We can look at much of the video game landscape and see that, historically at least, some of the sexualization has been a little silly. Holier-than-thou alone subject them to the “male gaze” not like those deplorable, sullied masses, not like your humble narrator, O my brothers and sisters. Person A tweets something, Person B sees it and makes an assumption and then all their followers hop onboard aping that assumption and acting high and mighty and holier-than-thou and thinking they’re oh-so-clever while they’re actually just regurgitating the same crap as everyone else. I’m equal parts amused and irritated by the backlash on social media, but then again that’s basically my default feelings when it comes to Twitter. I’m not sure what the right answer is here. But it could be that this AI is purposefully presenting herself (itself?) this way in order to differentiate herself from Cortana, or that this design somehow symbolizes the lack of connection between Master Chief and The Weapon (whereas Halo 4’s Cortana symbolizes their deep connection bordering on, but never quite reaching, a romantic one). My first thought seeing this-which is when I fired off the tweet, during the Showcase itself-is that this is yet another example of over-correction because of pressure from critics.Ĭortana was too sexualized in the past, so now this new AI must be sapped of all sexualization altogether. I can be a bit reactionary at times-I can admit it. This is a direct reply to my own Tweet but who reads that far? Somewhere in the middle lies the balance. I also note that somewhere between these two designs is probably the sweet spot-neither hyper-sexualized like she is in Halo 4 (though I think the “romance” aspect of that game is why she was presented that way) nor this blocky design we see in Halo Infinite. I’m not sure why an AI called The Weapon isn’t at least given a badass uniform. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that 343 Industries has de-sexualized the character to a preposterous degree, making her stiff and awkward. I just don’t think that fake-Cortana looks good at all from a design standpoint, clothes or no. I noted that it’s not the amount of clothing that bothers me, but the weirdly blocky design. The affection between Cortana and Master Chief is not romantic, despite the odd sexualization of Cortana.Įlsewhere on Twitter, of course, I clarified. Which is what Halo 4 really is: a love story but not a romance. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a good love story. In my review of Halo 4, which I called a “beautiful, tragic love story ” I wrote: In fact, I think that Cortana from Halo 4 is clearly over -sexualized (though quite possibly on purpose and not just for horny teenage boys). The point is not that I think The Weapon should be in the same outfit as Cortana from Halo 4, either. She’ll almost certainly be resurrected by the end of Infinite. The point, of course, is not that I think they’ve changed Cortana’s design. Many have also screamed and wailed at me that this isn’t Cortana. Pure, they are, and clean in the eyes of their ideological overlords. These smug folk are outside all the time and never horny. Now, lots of folks have seen this tweet and made various assumptions about what I’m saying, which is understandable, I suppose, since I don’t say very much and leave a lot open to interpretation.Ī certain subset of gamers has decided that I must be upset that fake-Cortana doesn’t have as much exposed “skin” and that I’m just a horny dude-bro who needs to “get outside” and I’m throwing a tantrum because fake-Cortana isn’t sexualized enough. The bottom is The Weapon, a mysterious AI in Halo Infinite who was first introduced just days ago during Microsoft’s E3 Showcase ( see all the games, trailers and announcements from that showcase right here ).
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