I’m finding it very frustrating being a gamer these days. I know it’s partly my own fault for being so finicky about what I play. More specifically, because I refuse to play a game unless my character can be a female. I’ve had the arguments, heard the eyerolling, but everyone has their standards and this is mine
In most cases, the game wouldn’t be hurt by providing the option to play as a female rather than a male. The only notable exception being “The Witcher”, because it is based on a series of books about that specific character.
I see so many games that look absolutely amazing. “The Last of Us” for example. The trailer and story seem promising. The graphics are gorgeous and intense. But yet again, the protagonist is Mr DudeBro.
This leaves me with no new games to look forward to, and a handful of games I own being fully immersive for me.
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Dragon Age II
- Mass Effect 1-3
- Skyrim
- World of Warcraft
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Guild Wars 2
Of that list, three are MMO’s which I can’t commit to during school. I can’t even really credit WoW with having a story I’m immersed in and want to follow to it’s conclusion.
It’s easy to say I’m too demanding as a consumer right? Heck, I blamed myself in the beginning of this post even. But the fact is, as a woman and a gamer the big titles just are not marketed to us. As usual they are marketed to the men in the hobby. When Mass Effect 3 released, it was the FIRST time Jane Shepard shared in the marketing with her own trailer, and a place on the box. Dragon Age 3 has promised the female character will get face time in the marketing as well. That is a great step forward for Bioware. One that other companies need to take notice of and follow.
Bioware, Blizzard and Bethesda seem to think women can be heroes in the story. It’s time for the rest to step up.
We all have our things, and games are definitely marketed to men (probably out of necessity) but I also don't think developers should be browbeaten into making female or gender-neuter PCs just because. Example being Corvo of Dishonored, he's mostly blank slate but because he's male there is a story element of his being Emily's father which wouldn't be there otherwise. For me playing a male character can be even more fun than playing female, because I love a well-written male character that I can empathize with. I think that's the key word, empathy. Playing a male character allows me to feel their humanity in a way I maybe don't as a female, because with females I'm more likely to assume they're just me in a different world.
ReplyDeleteI don't want them browbeaten of course. But when it's feasible there's no reason to not include it as an option. Especially in the RPG genre. If I want to choose to play a male, that's fine. But the option to also choose female should be there as well. And not "Just because", but because women gamers make up almost 50% of gamers, and that should be included in the design and marketing process. Not to mention male gamers that for whatever reason feel more inclined to play as a female.
DeleteVideo game sales are currently on a downturn, bringing in a bigger audience through broader options would certainly help.