Welcome to the December edition of See Page XX. We have a host of great articles for your yuletide delectation; John Stavropoulos gives some excellent Batman-inspired GMing tips, Robin D Laws lets us in on the thoughts behind the new fiction imprint, Stone Skin Press, Anna Kreider delves deep into the world of women in gaming and Pelgrane Press is going on the Owl Hoot Trail as Clinton R Nixon tells all about the forthcoming Wild West-Owlbear-slaying-fantasy romp!
- View from the Pelgrane’s Nest featuring three kingly new releases, by Simon Rogers
- Introducing Stone Skin Press by Robin D Laws
- Create a Joker for their Batman GM advice by John Stavropoulos
- Depictions of Women in Gaming by Anna Kreider
- Announcing Owl Hoot Trail by Clinton R Nixon
- The All-New Birds Website by Robin D Laws
- The Eternal Lies Suite Theme (2mb MP3) by James Semple and cohorts
- Phantom Cranes (creatures of unremitting horror) by Dave Allsop
Do you like your RPG’s with or without cheesecake?
This is a question Anna Kreider asked over on Story Games, and we’ve thrown it out to our discerning readership. So here is a poll, please help us gather some dubious data on the matter.
MEN: Do you like cheesecake art in RPGs?
- I do not like fantasy cheesecake art in any context (33%, 45 Votes)
- I don't care about/don't mind cheesecake art in RPGs (30%, 41 Votes)
- I like cheesecake art in RPGs (19%, 26 Votes)
- I do like fantasy cheesecake art but not in RPGs (18%, 23 Votes)
Total Voters: 135
Loading ...WOMEN: Do you like cheesecake art in RPGs?
- I do not like cheesecake art in RPGs (32%, 8 Votes)
- I like cheesecake art in RPGs (32%, 8 Votes)
- I do like cheesecake art but not in RPGs (24%, 6 Votes)
- I don't care about/don't mind cheesecake art in RPGs (12%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 25
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What is cheesecake art?
An American term for pin-up style pictures of pretty women. Not pornography, no ‘bits’ showing. As far as I can see they are rather more conservative than Europeans in that regard.
Oh, this is a really tricky question. I don’t mind cheesecake per se, but it tends to tie in with an attitude that reduces women to eye-candy and prizes to be won by the male adventurers/protagonists. I think I would be less bothered by it is it was counterbalanced with some proplely clad females once in a while. It’s kind of sad that the chain mail bikini still is an industry standard in RPG art in 2010.
Sometimes it sort of works in an RPG context (‘Exalted’ comes to mind), but mostly it’s just embarrassing and an uncomfortable reminder of the dark side of fantasy literatures pulp origin.
I love Cheesecake art mainly because it is part of the power trip that makes RPGs work. If the world was populated by people you see in everyday life – one would hardly expect anything heroic from them. It is the whole point, that chainmail bikinis are absurd and could never offer any protection that makes it fantastic.
Better a female warrior in a Chainmail bikini than the bellowy blouses/shirts that leave one thinking – here is another princess.
Plus, this really shows the prudish nature of the industry that one actually finds people arguing against it. Harmless erotica never hurt anyone.