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From: mkinyon@peabody.iusb.indiana.edu (Michael Kinyon)
Subject: Re: Black's gender
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References: <67910.mamster@pomona.edu> <1995Oct31.092900@oxvaxd> <ckZaB9K00WB581G5If@andrew.cmu.edu> <477mqb$3r5@joker.rz.hu-berlin.de>
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 18:12:10 GMT
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[Again, don't read this thread if you've barely started Jigsaw.]

In article <477mqb$3r5@joker.rz.hu-berlin.de>,
Paul David Doherty <h0142kdd@joker.rz.hu-berlin.de> wrote:

>But with JIGSAW this whole thing doesn't seem to work, at least not
>with me. From the first occurence of Black he seemed to be male

Curious indeed.  As I said in my follow-up to Andrew's article, I immediately
saw Black as female.  And "my" gender was male.

>I immediately tried to figure out "my own" gender - and I got very
>frustrated when the game didn't allow me to do so.
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I take some issue with your wording here.  What you mean, of course, is that
your mind wouldn't allow you to do so.  The game "allows" whatever gender your 
subconscious cooks up.

>Later on I was surprised at the (non-)reaction of the Russian soldiers
>to a woman in uniform.

"We are equal in this Glorious Worker's Paradise, comrade."

>The gender-issue has become a meta-puzzle of
>the game for which each new episode could add clues or even provide a
>solution.

Only your own brain will provide a solution.

Now having said that, I will certainly admit that it is unlikely that Graham
made the game 100% gender neutral.  I can't say that in the playtesting
process, I noticed any inconsistencies worth mentioning.  (Just assume,
regardless of the historical period you are in, that everyone you meet is
very enlightened when it comes to gender issues.)

>I can only say that this doesn't work for me, and that I'd like to
>know how other players experienced it.

Well, you've seen my thoughts (assuming I'm not in your killfile).
I will add a ditto to your request for discussion, because I must admit that
this never struck me as being an issue for this game.

Let me throw in an additional spin: were there others who assumed (at least
for a while) that your _Jigsaw_ character was the same as your _Curses_
character?  (I believe the rucksack supports this point of view.)


The ever hapless
Michael Kinyon
(still trying to figure out why it would be a bad thing if the Beatles had
recorded "Wish You Were Here")

-- 
Michael Kinyon                  | email: mkinyon@peabody.iusb.edu
Dept of Mathematics & Comp. Sci.| http://sun1.iusb.edu/faculty/mkinyon/
Indiana University South Bend   | phone: (219)-237-4240
South Bend, IN 46634 USA        | fax:   (219)-237-4538
