The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 25

THE PANTAGRAPH, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 1994 Video game makers slow in creating positive girl heroes 1 fii I'v gooders is female. The main character, Luna, and her half-human, University of Southern California professor Marsha Kinder held the controls of the Sega CD version of Jurassic Park at her home in Los Angeles. The character featured is Emily Shimura, one of the few video game images of a female who is favorably identified with the world of computer technology. Video game critics say female heroes are not getting a fair share of the positive hero image.

because they can't relate to the heroes, most of whom have been male, or the female characters, mostly "princesses" waiting to be rescued, she said. "Girls didn't immediately gravitate to this industry," Ms. Lath-roum said. "And because they didn't gravitate to this industry, the industry completely alienated them." Digital Pictures tries to solve any gender problems by constructing its games so they are from the point of view of the player. The main character is not portrayed on the screen, so the game adapts to the player's gender.

"That way there's a lot of room for imagination," Ms. Lathroum 1 -JTT7 7 1 -rC -w i fcm I N. ivV D3- Toy retailer -to expand to Middle East TRENTON, NJ. (AP) Toys 'R' Us Inc. said yesterday it will fran- chise new stores in the Middle East and open 115 more company- owned stores in other regions in its most ambitious expansion to date.

The world's largest children's-' specialty retailer also said it will buy back up to $1 billion in con pany stock over the next few years, The stock closed at $38.75 a shaici yesterday, up 37V4 cents on the New York Stock Exchange. Toys 'R' Us recently named new chief executive and chief operating officers, moves that are allowing founder and chairman Charles Lazarus to concentrate on the company's overseas expansion. Worldwide expansion tiv "We are really heavily focused on international expansion," Larry D. Bouts, president of the company's international divisionr; "We've just got so much opportu- -nity out there." i Bouts said Toys 'R' Us aims boost foreign sales from about 21. percent of its business to 50 per- cent The company has signed agree- ments with a business group in Saudi Arabia and with Al Futtaim Sons Co.

of the United Arab Emir- ates to operate franchise stores there and in Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait Bouts said he could not name the Saudi partner, which is still negotiating real estate deals. A different culture The company expects the twd wi new stores in the next few years. The stores will look like U.S. ouj- lets but will have Arabic-language signs and packaging. "There's pretty big cultural dffpl; ferences, and their religious lawsJ' are very specific in terms of pack- aging and in terms of marketing' Bouts said.

"Women have to be very well-covered, so if there's game or a pool float, bathing suits '( aren't a good idea on the external packaging." Both U.S. and locally made toys will be sold in the stores. I CITYLINE Mutual Funds rectory Lists ticker symbols and numerical codes for the over 2,000 mutual funds included on the CITYLINE Mutual Funds Hotline Yes, please send a copy of CITYLINE'SJ MUTUAL FUNDS DIRECTORY. Enclosed Is $2. Name 1 Address City State Zip Please check I am a Pantagraph subscriber -i I am not a Pantagraph subscriber 1 Please send me Information on a CITYLINE personal stockquotemutual funds portfolio Mall to: The Pantagraph CITYLINE, 301 W.

Washington, P.O.Box 2907, -r Bloomington, II 61702-2907 The Pant a graph CITYLINE Instant Information 24 hours a day Or HOOMNaTOftffOMAL Mutual TV "Is said. Improving the roles of female video game characters is a good step, but a psychiatrist cautions that more should be done. "I think that should get away from portraying the women as passive and start portraying them as having a more active role," said Dr. Mark Walker, a psychiatrist at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. "I think girls would respond better if there were fewer games based on the violent conquest of people.

But I don't think they should push that kind of thing on boys either. They should humanize games for girls, but they should also humanize it for boys." Space-age slumber A waterbed encased in a space-age sleep capsule was displayed at a textile and fabric fair in Frankfurt, Germany. The dream bed, reported to be the world's most expensive waterbed, is equipped with audio and TV systems and costs $480,000. The bed was jointly introduced by Land and Sky Inc. of Lincoln, and HB Dream Bed of Hiroshima, Japan.

wood feel. Gore was joined at one point during his speech by comedian Lily Tomlin, in character as Ernestine the operator. Expressing some doubt about the changes in communications, Ernestine complained about already missing the telephone's bell. "There is no ringy-dingy anymore," she said. And singer Nancy Sinatra asked Gore whether her family's privacy rights would be jeopardized by more powerful communications networks.

"My kids are already suffering from this problem. Public figures have no private lives," Ms. Sinatra said. Gore said new technologies would not change the First Amendment rights of the news media or other citizens. CHICAGO (AP) In video game worlds inhabited by fierce war- riors, superstar athletes and fearless adventurers, are girl gamers getting an equal share of the heroes? Right now, critics say the answer is no.

But there are signs that the video game industry is waking up to the potential of a largely untapped audience. "The message is 'Video games are primarily made for And that's very disturbing because video games provide an entry into the world of computers," said Marsha Kinder, professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Kinder, author of "Playing with Power in Movies, Television and Video Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," said young girls interested in video games usually are offered two types of characters with which to identify. In the "princess model," a weak character waits to be rescued; the "androgynous twin" takes on exaggerated male traits to compete with male characters. I "If you want to be in an empowered position you have to adopt a male position," Ms.

Kinder said. "Being feminine and being empowered seems to be an oxymoron in video games." Companies in the video game industry are beginning to question toe logic of limiting the target for their marketing to half the population. In the role-playing game "Lufia the Fortress of Doom" a product of Taito America Corp. of Wheeling, half the band of do- EWING From D1 Reorganization and development of the 1995 farm bill aside, Ewing said the biggest issue facing Congress will be health care. The Pon-tiac Republican will co-sponsor legislation aimed at correcting problems in the existing healthcare system, namely improving health care access and funding, and controlling costs.

"Farmers, for example, have no access to group insurance. We need to change laws allowing groups like Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Fanners Union to offer insurance by contracting with a health-care provider," said Ewing. "Changing antitrust laws could allow Bloomington-Normal hospitals to specialize in certain areas and eliminate duplication." Ewing called President Bill Clinton's health-care plan another major form of federal bureaucracy. He added he's not ready to turn health care over to the federal BARRIERS From D1 year, or about $1,000 for the average family. It estimated that the new world trade agreement will reduce that figure by $32.8 billion, cutting the per-family cost almost in half.

The new global trade agreement, negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, will reduce border taxes on thousands of products and expand GATT rules for the first time to cover trade in farm products and services. It is scheduled to go into effect in 1995 but must be approved first by Congress. 1 half-elf friend, Jerin, work with two male characters to battle goblins and gargoyles, zombies and beetles. "Lufia is the only game our company has with a woman as the main character," said Toni Jordan, Taito's manager of consumer sales administration. "I guess we're guilty of that, too." Taito also produces several games based on popular cartoons that have female characters, including the Flintstones and the Jetsons.

But many of the more popular female characters are patterned after their male counterparts. Street Fighter II offers brawny female characters who fight against a series of muscle men, martial artists and miscellaneous meanies. In the game's new arcade version, Chun Li, previously the game's only female warrior, is joined by Cammy, whose slogan "Your missing teeth will remind you of my victory" says it all. "Chun Li's become one of the most popular characters not only with girls but also with young boys, which is kind of unusual," said Erin Shiba, spokeswoman for Cap-corn, which produces the Street Fighter games. Capcom, based in Santa Clara, also produces games based on the "Little Mermaid" and other Disney films to appeal to young girls.

Sega has several video games with a gender-neutral appeal, many tied to popular children's characters such as Barney, the Little Mermaid and Tom and jerry. Sega's most popular character, Sonic the Hedgehog, also appeals government. "Look at other government health-care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. They don't exactly get top marks for efficiency and satisfaction of service," Ewing said. Also at the meeting, Jackie Kraft, McLean County SWCD resource conservationist, reported that county landowners saved 59,582 tons of soil last year by using conservation practices and structures, such as no-till farming and terraces.

She announced the district will offer a new program this year to about 1,900 third-grade students in the county. The daylong conservation exposition will be staged April 29 at the McLean County Fairgrounds. Mrs. Kraft is organizing information to set up 20-minute learning stations for the students. In other business, Dan Brucker of Colfax was elected to serve a two-year term on the SWCD board.

He succeeds John Marquis of Colfax, who retired after serving 30 years. American consumers will feel the biggest impact in the area of clothing and textile prices, which the institute termed the "Mount Everest of U.S. trade protection." The institute estimated that consumers would save $15 billion a year on clothing and another $2 billion a year on textiles once the reduction in tariffs and elimination of quotas are fully phased in over the next 10 years. Other big declines will result in the cost of dairy products, peanuts and sugar. The report estimated consumers would save $1.2 billion annually as these highly protected farm sectors face more foreign competition.

to both boys and girls, said Janie Toll, a Sega spokeswoman. "Sonic does have a girl friend who debuts in the upcoming CD game. Her name is Princess Sally. I wouldn't call her a she's just a fellow hedgehog," Ms. Toll said.

But some video game experts say the industry needs a dramatic change in its thinking to appeal to girls. "Girls are perceived of as being this hidden, untapped and potentially wonderful audience, but many companies aren't sure how to reach them," said Amanda Lath-roum, a product manager at Digital Pictures of Palo Alto, Calif. Girls often lose interest in games ACCESS From D1 lifornia, Los Angeles, was generally well received by the executives. "I like what I heard," said Tom Norris, vice president of government affairs for The local Bell companies issued a statement praising Gore's remarks and again called for removal of rules that prevent them from competing in long distance and other communication areas. During panel discussions throughout the day, however, different views of the superhighway emerged.

Several said the most promise is in more efficient communication rather than the delivery of more TV programs, movies, music and news. WE'RE 1 A i "The most important thing of all is going to be interactivity," said Steve Case, president of America Online, a fast-growing computer service. "It's not going to be interacting with TV. It's going to be interacting with other people." Such a message is a mixed blessing in Hollywood. On one hand, it threatens the producers of entertainment by putting more creative power in the hands of consumers.

At the same time, advanced networks could give producers more direct contact with consumers, allowing the development of some niche projects Hollywood doesn't risk money on today. The summit, sponsored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, had a distinctly Holly We 're excited about moving to our new building. On Tuesday, January 18, we'll open for business in the new location. City Bank's new address will be 1702 Eastland Drive, which is immediately west of our present location. Customers of City Bank will enjoy the beautiful and spacious new quarters.

New services will be offered and present services will be enhanced as a result of our move. We invite you to stop in soon! MEMBER FDIC 1.