More Female Protagonist

Don't worry; this is not one of those feminist post asking for more gender equality in video games.

But I got to thinking about some of the games I play and I always thought that some of the female leading characters do a better job of emoting than their male counterparts and I'd like to see more female protagonist. Not because of some gender equality agenda but because I think there is alot of potential for the value they bring to games that value a good story.

Whereas, I find that the male protagonist in the games I played tend to be the cliche lifeless stoic character.

For instance;

Snake from MGS 5 and Geralt from Witcher 3. Both are lifeless and stoic. Geralt isn't completely lifeless and does show sarcasm but that's really it. Other characters who were forgettable was the dude from Far Cry 3 and Kyle Crane from Dying Light. Although the primary exception are the dudes from any GTA game. It's like devs pigeonholed these guys into having to be this strong emotionless individual.

Female characters that I loved; Ciri from Witcher 3 and Lara Croft from the most recent Tomb Raider. That's all I can think of. If there was an award for best voice acting for a video game, I would give it to Camila Luddington for Croft. Her ability to emote pain and joy is great. I'd love to see the next Witcher game focused on Ciri. Her character (and new Witcher powers) could really propel TW4 and be the start of a new trilogy.

So what do others think?

As someone who frequently plays as a female character I completely agree with everything you said.. One game (it probably will never happen) that needs a female protagonist is GTA.

"some of the female leading characters do a better job of emoting than their male counterparts and I'd like to see more female protagonist"
Eh doesn't that mean we need more male protagonists that do a better job of emoting? Stop making this a gender issue! -_-

On MGSV you can play as a female soldier and the character will still be as lifeless as Snake because he and Geralt were made as an extension to the player, which is why they lack emotion and stuff no matter the gender.

But if you're just looking for games with female protagonists then Remember Me and Mirror's Edge are pretty good. Bayonetta, the last few Atelier games and that Odin Sphere remaster coming out soon are decent too if you're into anime. And then there's Portal but Chell's it's more like Snake and Geralt.

And I wouldn't say Croft's VA is any good. You only have to close your eyes and the game sounds more like a porno. I remember feminists said this was intentional and raged about it a lot... haha

Yeah agreed.

That's incorrect. Both games are focused on the character. That is why they are often addressed by their name from other NPCs. When you say "extension of the character", you're referring to games like Skyrim or Fallout where the player is the character. Hence the reason NPCs do not address them by a name.

I think the reason they come off as lifeless as partly due to lack of imagination from the devs but also because they are supposed to be perceived as the strong hero. Ergo "strong quiet type" ?

Although there are some charming, fun male leads out there, developers have been quite stale with the majority of them for too long. They cater for the young boys a lot, which is fair enough, if your game calls for just shooting and slaying and you want to get your rage on, a disconnected, bulky male avatar does the job.

Been some great female leads recently, like Fiona in Tales from the Boarderlands, love the situations she get in and she's fun to roleplay, especially if you embrace her mischievous thief side. Maxine from Life is Strange is the most sincere characters I've ever seen in a video-game, she's so much of a girl that even if your a guy playing her it will trigger a period.

Female characters are often more fun because they are a little more underdog, especially if the game embraces this. I know that's the direction they are trying to go with on Tomb Raider remakes but i'm on the fence on whether they pulled it off or not, she seems to be way too Rambo even if she's killing out of necessity. I blame the games level design.

I'm looking forward to ReCore that one looks interesting. I might have to borrow an Xbone for that.

Diverse representation is important and I support it wholeheartedly, because why the hell wouldn't you, and the status quo and triteness of boring white dudes is why I super wholeheartedly support all sorts of diversity in games. The more different kinds of people being in, and making, games, the more different kinds of games, concepts, perspectives, stories we'll get. It's a win-win for anyone with an interest in games. Or any media. Or anything.

Been playing Life is Strange and Tales from the Borderlands recently, and they both feature pretty good characters all around.

I don't mind which gender is used for a game so long as they suit the role given to them.

That's more important to me than 'equality'.

@crimsonbrute: a female protagonist would not fit in with GTA how am I going to pick up hookers and go to stripclubs.

@yukushi: there are male prostitutes in this world, as well as male strip clubs. Easy decision there. Or you could just portray your character as bisexual or a lesbian, if you're so inclined. Choice is yours.

Regarding the whole emotion thing, Women do tend to show much more emotions then men in generally.

But I do get your point and I've always said that I wouldn't mind more female protaganists in games, and I suspect more will come as more and more women are getting into the development part of the Gaming Industry.

I know women who go to strip clubs.

Most of the time I don't even care, but if it's a story driven game, as long as she's a good character I say go for it.

Some female protagonists that rock are Clementine from Walking Dead, Samus Aran from Metroid, and Heather Mason from Silent Hill 3.

me too, in fact, I've gone to a strip club with women twice in my life! Or more like a brothel/strip club because you could touch and even pay for sex too. XD

oh my god, can you imagine? woman on woman lap dance... I don't think we are ready....

-

Sounds like an evening.

@mastermetal777: Sorry as a straight male I would not enjoy having my character going into a male stripclub and having lap dances with men I would be uncomfortable with this.

Pretty much this. I mean a lesbian protagonist would totally fit in with Rockstar's agenda. Heck, it would probably generate alot of publicity....good and bad.

I thought a game like Dying Light would've benefited the most from a female lead because the lead is put into so many dangerous situations that it allows her to express herself more than the lifeless Kyle Crane. Very similar to Lara Croft who is always put into dangerous situations. The grunts, wailing, and personal dialogue

@Evil_Saluki - Yeah, definitely looking forward to Recore.

I also think that more games should have female main character but not for the same reason. In my case just because it should be 50% for common sense.

I disagree that male main character is not as good as female.

Have you been living under a rock lately?

Let´s look at a few games with a female protagonist

Tomb Raider (And before someone begins, who says "Croft" can´t be a dude)

Assassins Creed Syndicate

Life is Strange

Tales From The Borderlands

Dishonoured 2

Fallout 4

and many many more.

So what about we allow for some games to appeal to the male audience who last i checked were still a majority of gamers.

Not to mention females are better at emoting? WTF? hmmm, a bit sexist against men there eh.....

And the whole GTA needs a female character, sure but make it a choice, GTA is one of the few "male" games out there that is still not buckling under for the stupid murican pcness.

@yukushi: And, is that any different to a female gamer playing the actual GTA?

If you're comfortable with your sexuality such imagry shouldn't be a concern, and because it's in a game could be viewed as humor.

I wouldn't mind if the roles for both genders were reversed, giving them a somewhat equal treatment instead of the usual tropes. Like a woman who is either criminal or a soldier or a male who is homosexual.

@RSM-HQ: @RSM-HQ:it has nothing to do with sexuality its just a preference I enjoy looking at naked women dancing and giving me lap dances in GTA but I wont not enjoy looking at naked men dancing or giving me lap dances. actually I would not buy the game if GTA did this.

@yukushi: Well in the case of that, no one game is built for one person in mind.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the feminine form but never took it all that serious in gaming. Either gender used would be funny in GTA because the non main cast bodies look out of place/ low polygon/ laughable.

Even in games like God of War with infamous mini-games and top notch character models. I'd laugh if we played a lady banging some dudes. Just the idea comes across as hilarious.

@dwispa: your opinion about geralt will change if u play hearts of stone. And personally I find geralt to be one of the coolest male characters ever. And there's a big difference between geralt and other characters with the same stoic and so-called lifeless attitude. Like you absolutely can't compare the dull aiden pierce to geralt even though technically they are similar in terms of personality.

So basically what I'm trying to say is you don't need to be super emotional to be a good character.

yep, yes. If you don't fix the writing, then when these same devs make a female lead, it'll be just as bad. Except when they make that generic female lead, they'll also be accused of sexism in addition to being poor writers.

I could cherry pick examples of poor female characters, but their being female really isn't the issue. All of this is more a statement on lackluster writing than anything else. Going from that to an assumption that the sex of the characters would help anything is a huge leap with no basis. We need better writers in the industry, and following that you'll get better characters of all origins.

You must be trolling because you can't be serious. I can't tell. But I'll bite. I did say I'm only going on my personal gaming experience which means I'm judging on my personal experience with the games I've played only.

Fallout 4,ACS, and Dishonored 2 hasn't even come out yet so you can't judge it yet. Tales from the borderlands is an ensemble cast but sure, it does have some quality characters; both male and female. And yes, Life is Strange is good.

But do your homework on male to female gaming demographics. They're practically even. At the minimum, they don't represent the "majority" as you put it. Next.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games#Survey_data

I remember a few years ago when Star Wars KOTOR (or KOTOR 2) came out you could choose to play as a female character. And don't forget Portal and Portal 2 games ;)

Syndicate has just come out, and the main protagonist is a female character.

Also it does not matter if Fallout 4 and Dishonoured 2 is not out yet , it still features a female main protagonist. Tale from the Borderlands and also Game of Thrones have a main female protagonist.

So how many more games do you need?

Also you really need to learn how to read a survey and also learn about how they are actually made. Yes if you look at the overall picture which include all games from Candy Crush to Call of Duty to Fallout , the demographic is pretty even male to female. But what you seem to forget is that most female "gamers" play mobile or facebook games and not actually AAA games. If you only take that market, there is a huge difference and we are looking at something like 70-80% male compared to 20-30% female.

So Nice try with that wiki link, but sorry it failed.

Isn't 'buckling under for the stupid murican pcness' a bit of an exaggeration? I really don't think you have to be afraid that your 'male' games will steadily succumb to political correctness.

Hmm, i don´t know ask Ubisoft who buggled under feminists complaints, even tho those peope will never ever even touch the game.

..

Nathan Drake... honestly he needs to be put to sleep. Probably one of the worst characters I've encountered in a video...for multiple reasons.

Also Dante-type (DMC) characters are terrible.

I'm alright with a character that doesn't talk too much.

*nods approvingly*

You're going to have to elaborate on that.

funny thing is that even after seeking their input and approval for the new AssCreed game Anita still made a video review complaining about the game because the female character takes a back seat in the story or something. And not to mention that she's now doing the same with EA and Activision and I really have no idea what they are even expecting... Higher sales? I mean, if these people bought games indie games like Sunset wouldn't have flopped so horribly even after all the usual suspects rated it with 9's and 10's.

edit:

By mistake I went to the front page and saw the AssCreed review, I clicked it just to read the comments and LMAO, just as expected. XD

http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassins-creed-syndicate-review/1900-6416291/

@toast_burner: What he means is that feminist groups they dont buy games or support the gaming industry but they do complain a lot and because of them we are seeing less sexy women in games, women have to be covered up and some are very unattractive what they are asking for is not a reflection of the gaming community who actually buy the games.

And are there any examples of game developers actually giving into pressure from these groups?

@toast_burner: An example of this would be the last dragon age game where the women were not very attractive with scarred faces.

And what makes you think that is a result of pressure as opposed to the artistic direction of the game?

@toast_burner: If you look at the earlier dragon age games the women are more beautiful and wore revealing clothing so I dont think it has anything to do with artistic direction.

Thought it was pretty obvious that Syndicate has become the way it is because of the backlash Ubisoft experienced with Unity, not to mention the stupid comments some within ubisoft came out with.

Gaming is becoming more diverse which I think is a very good thing. I definitely have no problems with that myself.

Final Fantasy XIII trilogy was female led, I know a lot of people didn't like it but I did.

Why do people care about race, gender, sex, etc, etc of characters in a game?

I care about quality characters... not completing a Political Correctness assessment checklist.

Also, 1335 games with a female protagonist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_featuring_female_protagonists

@foxhound_fox:

because according to some people, aka the SJW's, when a popular medium does not have diversity it only helps to perpetuate racism, sexism and so on.

Well, considering Rockstar makes it living off making people uncomfortable, it would only make sense for them to go this route with GTA VI. Seriously, if your masculinity is challenged by male strippers, don't go to those clubs?

What's a quality character? I'd say the majority of characters (and especially protagonists) is rather shallow and stereotypical, regardless of race, gender, etc. Most characters are player vessels and/or tools to progress a series of events.

I keep hearing about these evil SJWs, but I'm not seeing a lot of them.

Syndicate was made by a different studio and started development years before there was any backlash about Unity. Maybe the way Ubisoft tried to advertise the game was based around feedback of Unity, but it would be incredibly unlikely that they could make that many changes to the game in such a short amount of time.

So can you give any real examples?