The game industry doesn't want female heroes - Jim Sterling, Destructoid
destructoid.comRemember Me is currently in development under the watchful eye of Capcom, but the story of a woman who can “remix” peoples’ memories had to do a lot of fighting to exist. According to creative director Jean-Max Morris, the industry at large hated the idea of a female protagonist.
“We had some [publishers] that said, ‘Well, we don’t want to publish it because that’s not going to succeed. You can’t have a female character in games. It has to be a male character, simple as that,’” he told Penny Arcade. “We wanted to be able to tease on Nilin’s private life, and that means for instance, at one point, we wanted a scene where she was kissing a guy. We had people tell us, ‘You can’t make a dude like the player kiss another dude in the game, that’s going to feel awkward.’
“I’m like, ‘If you think like that, there’s no way the medium’s going to mature.’ There’s a level of immersion that you need to be at, but it’s not like your sexual orientation is being questioned by playing a game. I don’t know, that’s extremely weird to me.”
I’ve never really thought about the whole kissing thing, but he’s right. Women are overtly sexualized in many videogames, but they’re rarely allowed to be sexual. Sure, have your female avatar swing massive boobs around in bikini battle armor, but if she dares to show physical interest in somebody? Oh, the scandal!
That, right there, is objectification at work. Having a female character exist for our saucy gratification, but not ever being allowed to reciprocate, initiate or otherwise become an active participant. Outside of games where players can create their own characters, I don’t think I’ve actually seen a playable female protagonist kiss a guy in a game…
We recently saw BioShock Infinite’s Elizabeth relegated to the back cover of the game case, for fear that the presence of a woman would turn consumers away. Naughty Dog also recalled a similar situation, where it had to fight to have a woman appear on the cover of The Last of Us. There’s something eminently shuddersome about the message that sends, a message that suggests women have their uses, but are best kept locked away with the rest of the tools until they’re required. It’s the kind of situation that puts an itchy feeling under the skin.
There are some who argue sexism isn’t a problem in the game industry, but I don’t know how a rational person could see this kind of stuff and not admit, even grudgingly, that it exists in abundance. When publishers are trying to eradicate female protagonists or hiding the womenfolk away lest an audience be turned off, there’s some ill sentiment at play. Whether the fault of the industry itself or the audience, there is a fault, and it’s a downright unsettling one at that.
And if you’d be seriously upset by seeing a female lead kiss a guy in a game, you’re emotionally broken.
“ANGRY BIRDS, the popular time-waster of a video game designed by Rovio Entertainment, has been downloaded a whopping 1.7 billion times. That's a whole bunch-a downloadin'! That means it's a brand with crossover potential, which means, fuck it, let's try to make a movie out of the sucker!”
—ANGRY BIRDS To Crash Into Movie Theaters On July 1, 2016!
In 3D, of course.
Why I have trust issues
- Cassie: You guys are siblings!
- Me: WHAAAAAAAAT
- Cassie: JK NO YOU'RE NOT
- Me: WHAT
- Cassie: Jace just died!
- Me: WHAT NO
- Cassie: JK HES ALIVE AGAIN
- Me: what
- Cassie: Tessa can't have kids!
- Me: NOOOOOO
- Cassie: JK SHE TOTALLY CAN YOU GUYS
- Me: ............
- Cassie: Here have this terminally ill main character with a heavily implied death scene that will make you want to rip your face off :)
- Me: NOOOOJAFHDSKJACNJAJSJDFSDJF WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT HE WAS MY FAVE PRECIOUS BABY ANGEL CUPCAKE FACE I CANT BELIEVE NO HE DIED ALL ALONE WHAT IN THE HELL EVEN WHA
- Cassie: JK HE SURVIVES GOTCHA DIDNT I
- Me:
- Me:
- Me:
- Me:
- Me:
- Me: Never again.
Can I just say how much joy Grey DeLisle’s tumblr brings me. I mean, she’s been my idol since when I first got interested in the people who bring to life the animated characters we know and love so much! So, since the sixth grade. And she has a tumblr…and it’s just really amazing to know that this incredible woman is like us…and if I am to be really sappy, just that fact is inspiring in a way.
I’m rambling, aren’t I?
