I know this is a hot topic but I feel like I can't gauge it will enough from my limited perspective. How many games are out there that portray women as something other than a hooker? How about as the lead and most vital character? When they are in the game what do they wear and can this representation be changed based on the comfort level of the user? I am all about wearing whatever you please. People should be free to wear what they like. However, I am curious to learn more about representation and if the options even exist. It seems that most often women are mostly naked, wielding a sword or gun, and are B-stars in video games. Is this accurate or is this mostly based off of media representation.
It's totally accurate. The writer of this might also want to mention that in some games, the male character actually gets points/achievements for having sex with the female character! – Jaye Freeland8 years ago
Off of the media point, I'm sure there is a difference in the frequency of female protags (and their portrayal) based on whether the game is Indie or AAA. Are you hoping to look more at games with a heavy story element as opposed to sandbox/open world games? Dishonored 2 is bringing a female protag to the title, which looks interesting. But there is also the Assassin's Creed debacle, which can't really be ignored here. And what is the difference between portrayal of female characters in general, and when the female characters are the protagonist? But maybe that is splitting hairs and veering off of an incredibly interesting topic. Best of luck to the writer! A few notable games: Portal, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us. – chandlerwp8 years ago
The fact that Naught Dog had to fight to put Ellie on the front cover of The Last Of Us is a testament to how the gaming community is perceived to be male dominated. The idea that a female can be a protagonist, and not overtly sexualized like early Lara Croft, and the game can be a success is still pretty foreign to developers. This would be a very interesting topic for someone to write about, but it would require a lot of research. Like chandlerwp mentioned, Indie versus AAA games have a pretty interesting disparity when it comes to portrayals of woman. That idea alone should be included in the article. I feel that this article would do well if the author could find reputable statistics. – Lexzie8 years ago
I think another thing to consider is female protagonists who are and aren't overtly sexualized yet still have good characterization. For instance, take Laura Croft and the tomb raider series or Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. Both are lead female protagonists with decent characterization and stubborn personalities that make them popular characters. Yet their physical appearances greatly differ. For instance, I personally find that while both of them are hardcore, gun-wielding, femme fatals, Lightning's outfit is actually in good taste. Perhaps you could compare the difference in popularity between female leads who fall within the stereotype or break out of it. There are a couple great examples of this (just naming another one off the top of my head is the game Remember Me where female protagonist Nilin is dressed well, has decent characterization, yet the game wasn't a hit out of the ball park). Another thing you can consider is the rise of female gamers and how the target audience is beginning to change for AAA games. – Mela8 years ago
Many games (RPGs especially) don't set a gender for the protagonist. Elder Scrolls: Skryim, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age all have player-made main characters. Dragon Age (and Mass Effect, to a lesser degree) has a number of very well-done female NPCs as well. – Tarben8 years ago