(1) this post kinda makes it look like u have one notification....

[OliveTree]

now that i have your attention, i wanted to spend some time talking about that "is doomguy asexual" meme. its more complicated than it appears imo

 

I made that whole post ab how John Carmack never said the doomguy doesnt know what sex is and it led to a lot of lighthearted discussion about how the doomguy definitely fucks. But in a weird way I felt sad doing this because the doom guy is oddly cherished in certain ace spaces online on account of that meme/misinformation.

 

the reality is that the doom marine is described as watching adult films in the original games' lore, he has a family in doom eternal, and in doom 3, uhm, nvm about doom 3

 

But I think there's something interesting in how easy it is to perceive him as asexual? Like, nuances aside (lots of ace people watch porn and have kids), the things that made him feel like "good ace rep" to a lot of people didnt rly stem from his textual characterization, but almost in spite of it. The characterization that personifies the doom marine most strongly arent rly the snippets in the manual or the intermissions or the in-game artwork.... but the gameplay, i feel like

 

A few years back I wrote this essay about how pac-man is sort of a genderless character, uniquely so in video games because he's strongly characterized but totally abstract at the same time. In that essay I actually commented on the doom marine's characterization very briefly, but i did so as a contrast to Pac-Man:

 

Quote

Through player-performed actions and visual/narrative framing, we can glean a lot about characters such as the Marine from Doom (1993), and Mario from Super Mario Bros (1985), in spite of a lack of direct, explicit characterization beyond that.

 

Elaborating on Pacman, I wrote:

 

Quote

Pac-Man’s characterization is strong, and bound with a clarity that comes from both the mechanics and the supplementary, non-interactive material. While the player fulfills his outward sense of self-identification by playing as him, his motivations and personality themselves exist beyond the interpretation or control of the player. However, these motivations and personality are confined to the bounds of his video-game functions and objectives. In a sense, Pac-Man’s entire identity, and by extension his gender identity, is “video-game character”.

 

But I think if you cast away this fixation on gender, specifically, the Doom Marine has a lot in common with my general analysis of Pac-Man. He's nonsexual because his form IS his function, and his function (a vehicle for immersion, creativity and carnage) has nothing to do with sex. But this analysis actually applies just as well to....TONS of video game characters, for the same reasons. Like, on a basic level, this analysis applies to really any video game character who: 1) is mostly just a medium for the player to navigate the game through and 2) is in a game which does not really have titillating content

 

You could say just as well that Samus Aran or Gordon Freeman or Sonic or Mario or basically any Soulsborne protagonist or any racer in a racing game or even the Master Chief are asexual icons... and, while I can certainly imagine someone saying that, I never have with the frequency that people observe this about the Doom Marine.

 

I kind of reckon the difference with the Doom Marine might literally just be that theres a meme where "the creator of doom confirms he's asexual ?!". But this feels like a lazy way to explain this to me....after all, the person who made that meme did so for a reason, they were reflecting a cultural notion, not inventing it.

 

I guess looking deeper, maybe the difference is just that the Doom Marine has a kind of it-factor, like, he's characterized enough to be distinct but not enough to where people feel compelled to be curious about his personality. The Doom Slayer, meanwhile, has a VERY distinct personality but its tied EVEN DEEPER into the gameplay and kind of makes the image of him feeling urges other than "to do the primary gameplay loop" seem out of character.

 

the one notification is from me btw (check ur damn messages)

Edited September 26, 2023 by OliveTree
fixed typos and some ambiguous wording

[Osmosis Bones]

that's crazy, but where's my damn message?

[Murdoch]

I couldn't possibly care less. As i said on a similar thread, I've given precisely zero thought to any game character's sex lives that wasn't named Geralt of Rivia, and even that i avoided where possible.

 

 I am sorry but i really cannot understand why it would matter to anybody.

[OliveTree]

Just now, Murdoch said:

I've given precisely zero thought to any game character's sex lives that wasn't named Geralt of Rivia, and even that i avoided where possible.

this is kind of the entire premise of my analysis, actually

[Fletcher`]

You are doomguy. If you're ace, they're ace.

[roadworx]

Quote

I kind of reckon the difference with the Doom Marine might literally just be that theres a meme where "the creator of doom confirms he's asexual ?!". But this feels like a lazy way to explain this to me....after all, the person who made that meme did so for a reason, they were reflecting a cultural notion, not inventing it.

it's mostly because it's really funny to think about doomguy being nothing but a rampaging lunatic who doesn't even know what sex is

[Obsidian Plague]

i personally don't believe he's ace, i think he's just aromantic

[Merry Widow]

I don't care what Doomguy is or isn't. I just simply enjoy the game. 😎

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

I've always wanted to discuss the similarities of gender and sex between Pac-man and Doomguy, and I'm glad that now I have the chance. If we're going to try to imagine what the creators had in mind when they designed these character's sex lives, there's no reason why we couldn't dig deeper to get the full picture. Do they shave down there? What positions do they like? And how does Pac-man even manage to get hard when he eats so many pills, that never made sense to me. This whole thing kind of reminds me of a debate I had with a friend about whether Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins was the best singer for Genesis. I'm more of a PG fan myself. In fact, Phil Collins is a worthless douchebag. But I couldn't tell you what it would be like if they had sex, I haven't smoked enough meth yet.

[RataUnderground]

It's amazing, this is the first topic about sex I've seen whose title bait obscures this fact.

Edited September 26, 2023 by RataUnderground

[mrthejoshmon]

We be thinking bout if Doomguy's sexlife is real but my brothers in Christ you should really think about making yours real first.

[Wo0p]

What is this "ace" thing? Some newfangled youngster expression? Or am I just THAT socially inept? :>

[Kwisior]

impse disproves this

Edited September 26, 2023 by Kwisior

[Zulk RS]

What the fuck kind of over-analytical shitpost did I stumble on to?

[Murdoch]

42 minutes ago, Wo0p said:

What is this "ace" thing? Some newfangled youngster expression? Or am I just THAT socially inept? :>

 

New to me too. But then i am 43 so...

[Amaruψ]

Couldn't possibly care less.

 

 

[RataUnderground]

1 hour ago, Wo0p said:

What is this "ace" thing? Some newfangled youngster expression? Or am I just THAT socially inept? :>

Ace means asexual. It is a sexuality as valid as any other. Don't be afraid to learn new words.

[The Almighty Egg]

Why would you make this thread

[Wo0p]

36 minutes ago, RataUnderground said:

Ace means asexual. It is a sexuality as valid as any other. Don't be afraid to learn new words.

 

Oh, I greatly enjoy learning new words. Thanks for explaining it to me. Why the passive-aggressiveness though? Did you mistake my humorous sentence for satirical mockery? If so, that's not needed. I don't have an agenda against gender. People can do whatever the fawk they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone.

[LouigiVerona]

@OliveTree Enjoyed your analysis. I think these are interesting observations!

[OniriA]

He fucks. 

 

That's all you need to know.

[DynamiteKaitorn]

*backs away slowly*

[OniriA]

35 minutes ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

*backs away slowly*

Oh no, you don't. You're not leaving so easily, that would be just rude now.

Don't you see how important it is to talk about sex and sexuality?

 

Instead, let me go prepare some hot coffee to warm you guyes up for a hot discussion. I"ll be back in a minute. 

^{I won't.}

Edited September 26, 2023 by OniriA

[riktoi]

Interesting analysis!

For me, Doomguy is just this sort of manly man, so it becomes absolutely hilarious to make him not be one (especially in nu-Doom). The whole betraying beliefs sort of thing. Very few people even follow the so-called lore accurate depiction of him, which to me is great.

 

7 hours ago, Murdoch said:

I couldn't possibly care less. As i said on a similar thread, I've given precisely zero thought to any game character's sex lives that wasn't named Geralt of Rivia, and even that i avoided where possible.

 

 I am sorry but i really cannot understand why it would matter to anybody.

 

You can just choose to not post if you don't care, man. People nowadays take sexuality far more seriously and we've moved past strict gender roles. I would highly suggest doing some research of your own!

[Murdoch]

28 minutes ago, riktoi said:

You can just choose to not post if you don't care, man. People nowadays take sexuality far more seriously and we've moved past strict gender roles. I would highly suggest doing some research of your own!

 

It's hardcore overthinking. It's a game that literally never touches the topic of sex or sexuality, so your comment is irrelevant and condescending. Don't tell me to do my own research, thank you, and I will comment on what I damn well like. Block me if what I say bothers you that much.

[D4NUK1]

He go to Friday night out with Duke Nukem and lo Wang to seek out girls in nightclubs and have hardcore sex.

 

He likes the ones big, that's mean they have big badonggas, pump and fun, until it's done 

 

He even go to his fortresses with her ladies and make Vega clean up the mess.

 

That's the only cannon doom Slayer sexuality. Even Khan mayker wants intercourse with the migdnet but powerful slayer.

Full berzekr.

 

 

 

[MFG38]

You're all wrong, Doomguy is actually gay. I have indisputable evidence of this but refuse to present it.

 

Also no joke, I clicked on this thread, went to another tab and when I clicked back into the tab where this thread was, the "(1)" disappeared from the title bar. It's a Schrödinger's notification!

[Amaruψ]

3 hours ago, OniriA said:

He fucks. 

 

That's all you need to know.

 

I need some clarity here. Does the first sentence ends up with "you" or "you up"? 

[Zulk RS]

6 minutes ago, Amaruψ said:

 

I need some clarity here. Does the first sentence ends up with "you" or "you up"? 

Neither. It ends up with "Imps and Mancubi"

 

Sources:

 

 

 

 

 

[Lila Feuer]

Ackthually it's Doomperson.