gaming Questions for fellow gamers on female protagonists

[Gernia 691]

Before I ask my questions, I want to state that due to recent events like GamerGate, the community I am a part of has been labeled with words like "sexist" due to some vocal people's responses and actions. Groups like the mainstream media seem to believe that we don't want to have main female characters that are well represented in video games.

 

Honestly, I find this notion irritating since I am one of those not opposed to this at all. I am a male gamer who is perfectly okay with games having a female protagonist and is willing to see more games that are like this, including ones where she has positive character traits, and may not even be sexualized at all. I really don't have an issue if a trend starts where more games are made like this.

 

Do you feel the same way and are completely fine with more female protagonists in gaming? Any personal favorites you want to discuss?

 

Also, I am more interested in what the guys say since I hear the same thing so often about how we want to keep things as a "boys club", which I really can't stand.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Gernia

[Nuke87654 1,849]

For me, I don't care if the character is a female, male, transgender, transexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, asexual, caucasian, african, asian, native american, persian, arabian, latino, polynesian, alien, a dictator, a soldier, a civilian, or even an evil person, all I care about is the character done well and written well as any one can have whatever but if the character is good, I will enjoy and like that character fondly, but if the character is bad, then I will hate that character because it was poorly written and annoyed me because of it.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Nuke87654

[Gernia 691]

For me, I don't care if the character is a female, male, transgender, transexual, gay, lesbian, caucasian, african, asian, native american, persian, arabian, latino, polynesian, alien, a dictator, a soldier, a civilian, or even an evil person, all I care about is the character done well and written well as any one can have whatever but if the character is good I will enjoy and like that character fondly, but if the character is bad, then I will hate that character because it was badly written and annoyed me because of it.

 

That's good to hear. I think there are some people that may not care what happens and go with the flow. They might not be as vocal as others.

[Moonlight 7,286]

All I care about in a protagonist is if I actually enjoy their presence. My favorite female protagonist is probably Chell from Portal though since she's shown to not be sexualized (which dressing sexually is perfectly fine if the character is like Bayonetta), and she isn't stupid like some female characters are automatically made out to be.

 

Honestly if you don't like female protagonists simply because they're female then you need a reality check because not everything has to be about you every 5 seconds.

Then again the gaming community as a whole is trash. 

[ScarfaceOne 263]

LOL NO, I was considering having Lara Croft as my waifu but no. All though I am impressed by gamespot's 9/10 review of GTAV on the Xbox One because at least Hypocrite Carolyn Petit didn't review it. Besides, Lara Croft is amazing and her Boobs were just an accident. An Accident that caused trouble everywhere for housewives LOL!!!

[Megas 27,547]

Likablility is the only thing I care about in regards to characters

[StarChaser 51]

Awesomeness is all I care about, hehe. Bayonetta, YRP of FFX2, Samus and so on.

 

If Nintendo just made Zelda a protagonist in her own game, that'll be great. I like Midna too. Sure she's annoying at first, but she grows on you, hehe.

 

Whenever I can choose a gender in games, I always choose female, because I want to even the male protagonists in movies with female protagonists in games, hehe

I like seeing women being badasses, beating Alduin of Skyrim or Grigori of Dragon's Dogma. Hunting the dreadful Wyverns of Monster Hunter and making weapons out of their carcasses.

[FirstPonySpectre 176]

WELL! When it comes to female protags I'd have to direct your attention to games such as The Last of Us, Tomb Raider (The one for the PS4 and not the older ones.) Bioshock Infinite, and any RPG you can choose your gender. OH! And Bayonetta. 

 

Now, for the first few games listed you can see how it has a good female protag. But the final one, Bayonetta, you might be questioning that judgement a bit due to how sexualized Bayonetta is. And I'm pretty sure this is the game that everyone is talking about when it comes to inappropriate portrayal of a female in a video game. I beg to differ however.

 

Bayonetta is, yes, sexy as you would say. She is basically the most sexed up thing in mainstream gaming. HOWEVER she is still a very good female protagonist despite this. She is charismatic and charming, she obviously is good at what she does and she knows it, and she always is looking for a bigger challenge. She isn't one to back away or cower in fear when the going gets rough. She always fights no matter what because, she wants the challenge. Yes, her fighting moves are... how do I put this... The sexiest and most over-the-top kind of Gun Kata in existence but she is still a fun and awesome female protag. 

 

She also has the best way of opening magic doors.

 

 

 

Lara Croft is amazing and her Boobs were just an accident.

 

I hate when I order a female protagonist and some a**hole gets the boob sizes mixed up, too. >:c  

[lomk 20,663]

The question that devs and people should be asking is not "Why are there not more female protagonists?" Rather it should be "Will a female protagonist add anything to this game?" If there is no reason to have her in there besides just having a female protagonist, then that's not a reason. Some games have exceptional female protagonists. Lilith in Borderlands 2 added something to the game considering all sirens are female and she and Roland had a fling. She's also awesome. Lara Croft is another awesome female protagonist. The new Tomb Raider is a beautiful game. I'm not against it, but make sure a female protagonist will add something to a story rather than just appeasing feminazis. If a female protagonist is part of the original story, awesome. If not, awesome. I don't care. But don't make her a distraction and don't let her detract from the story.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

A character is a character; regardless of their sex or gender.

 

One of the best games I have played in recent memory was the Tomb Raider reboot. I'll admit that is is a cutie, but what makes her work so well is the development she goes through during the game. Granted it can be somewhat jarring where she goes through convulsions after killing her first human to becoming a killing machine quickly afterwards, but that's beside the point. We see her deal with being stranded, potentially losing her friend, seeing her comrades die, dealing with the supernatural, among other things!

 

Then we have games like Bioshock Infinite and 2008 reboot of Prince of Persia. While they aren't the main playable characters, both Elizabeth and Elika play vital roles throughout their respective games. Without Elizabeth being their to find ammunition or health our main hero likely would've have a tougher if not impossible time. Likewise, the Prince would not have made it through the mythical land of Persia had it not been for Elika's magic. Also, in both cases, the female character is extremely vital to moving the story along. Without them, the story is missing an extremely important element.

 

Lastly, I'll admit, that as a male gamer, I prefer to use females as my main characters in games that allow you to create a character for the main story. I did this with Skyrim, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon's Dogma (the pawn, not the main), Destiny, and Bound by Flame; as well as others! It's hard more me to explain why, but I guess I like to at least TRY to imagine the world through the eyes of a female. In a sense, it can add a new layer or dimension if I allow it to do so.

 

Overall, those are my thoughts. I would love to see more female have some sort of impact on games in the future or what not. Of course I'd rather not see one just tacked onto a game JUST BECAUSE, but I want to see real effort and care in female characters. Lara Croft, Elizabeth, and Elika are all GREAT example of this, and there are plenty of others that I haven't mentioned. In the end though, as a said, a character is a character.

[Wolfeus Silverpaw 301]

I think Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening is an awesome female protagonist. She will do anything to protect her father and the future of the world, and her skills are amazing.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

The question that devs and people should be asking is not "Why are there not more female protagonists?" Rather it should be "Will a female protagonist add anything to this game?" If there is no reason to have her in there besides just having a female protagonist, then that's not a reason. Some games have exceptional female protagonists. Lilith in Borderlands 2 added something to the game considering all sirens are female and she and Roland had a fling. She's also awesome. Lara Croft is another awesome female protagonist. The new Tomb Raider is a beautiful game. I'm not against it, but make sure a female protagonist will add something to a story rather than just appeasing feminazis. If a female protagonist is part of the original story, awesome. If not, awesome. I don't care. But don't make her a distraction and don't let her detract from the story.

I second this. I do think female representation in Videogames is a little low, but I would rather companies craft relatable likeable characters than focus too much on traits such as gender. Gender has nothing to do with that makes the Mane Six identifiable, and I prefer female characters who aren't defined just by the fact that they are female. Japan is pretty good at writing female characters, but it has been something a lot of Western devs have struggled with. A poorly written female character, just like a poorly written male character, doesn't have any appeal. So, yeah, I think more female characters would be nice, but I'd rather effort be put into them.

[The Mint Pone 2,293]

I would be happy to have more female protagonists but just not ones put there for the sake of having a female protagonist. As long as the character is good the gender doesn't make much difference fo me

[ScarfaceOne 263]

Also, I wish we could get a female protagonist in GTA.  Please Rockstar!!!