Female characters in video games

[PipBoy2000]

I have just ran into this article / project:
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/854/features/854/the_aesthetics_of_unique_video_.php?page=1

The writer, Shaylyn Hamm, discusses female characters in video-gaming, and how they usually stem from sexist stereotypes. She also created models of a female Heavy and a female Medic (TF2's), which I found to be very good
That also lead me to thinking which games have female protagonists who aren't oversexualized... And beside Valve's and Funcom's, couldn't think of much.

What's your opinion on the matter? How do you think female protagonists in games SHOULD look and behave? To the girls among you - does it really bother you that most of the female protagonists are oversexualized, like Shaylyn Hamm has claimed?

 

[Radeonx]

Bioware seems to do a pretty good job with female characters in their RPG's.
They aren't over sexualized or anything, just female.

 

[Marter]

They should behave how they do in real life. Over-sexualized sometimes happens in real life, and if it fits the story, there's no reason to not over-sexualize the character.

However in some games, it doesn't fit, and the character should look and behave more like a real person.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Due in part to Bioware's fabulous writing team, I think female Commander Shepard is fucking awesome. She reminds me of Samus, kick arse heroine first, woman second.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Bioware seems to do a pretty good job with female characters in their RPG's.
They aren't over sexualized or anything, just female.

The Asari race are quite funny in that regard. Like Shamus Young once said it:
"The Asari are one of the most advanced and intelligent species in the galaxy. They live for a thousand years, and were flying through space while most of the rest of the races still thought "national defense" meant "fling poo at enemy." So naturally the Asari gravitate towards jobs servicing everyone else as prostitutes and pole dancers."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/stolen-pixels/5681-Stolen-Pixels-58-Xenoeroticism

 

[Lono Shrugged]

Bioware seems to do a pretty good job with female characters in their RPG's.
They aren't over sexualized or anything, just female.

Except for their costumes obviously. And the fact that have sex with you after several conversations. And the whole Asari thing. That said Bioware are up there in well rounded but cliched characters so it's more cheesy sci-fi conventions I'm complaining about.

As for fem-Shepard, She is not written as a "woman" any more than Gorden Freeman is written as a woman it's our interpretation that makes her a woman if you follow me. Shepard is potentially NOT a well rounded character. He/She can be evil/good at the players whim, or an asshole/decent person. You shape their character. She's not written well as a woman WE write her as a cool enpowered woman.

As for sexualisation. The main issue is no woman is like a video game woman and it creates a weird template in a young male's head about what the ideal woman should be like. Not just in terms of looks but in actions and behaviour. It's like an inverse Barbie doll that teaches men the ideal woman is Lara Croft or Alyx who have no emotions or personality outside a fantasy game. That would worry me more than Bayonetta's figure. As Warren Ellis put it "When I write a woman, I do my best not to write a guy with tits" And considering how many guys grow up playing video games and not socializing, all their experience of the opposite sex is filtered through games and t.v. and comics. Mostly written by men. And as weird as that sounds it's true. And when that guy meets an actual honest to god woman who is not just a guy with tits or a damsel in distress they don't know how to relate.

 

[PipBoy2000]

As for sexualisation. The main issue is no woman is like a video game woman and it creates a weird template in a young male's head about what the ideal woman should be like. Not just in terms of looks but in actions and behaviour. It's like an inverse Barbie doll that teaches men the ideal woman is Lara Croft or Alyx who have no emotions or personality outside a fantasy game. That would worry me more than Bayonetta's figure. As Warren Ellis put it "When I write a woman, I do my best not to write a guy with tits" And considering how many guys grow up playing video games and not socializing, all their experience of the opposite sex is filtered through games and t.v. and comics. Mostly written by men. And as weird as that sounds it's true. And when that guy meets an actual honest to god woman who is not just a guy with tits or a damsel in distress they don't know how to relate.

I disagree with only one part of this paragraph.
I think that including both Lara and Alyx under the same definition is wrong. Lara, since the first Tomb Raider, had a HUGE chest and oversexualized body. The series got most of its publicity due to the body they modeled for her. She doesn't show much emotions, and is, like you said, like a Barbie doll with guns. Alyx, on the other hand, is a fuller character, that never strikes you as sleazy or exaggerated.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Alyx is annoying as hell though, Lara has way more emotional depth in the cut-scenes.

 

[JEBWrench]

As far as non-oversexualized female game leads?

Spoiler: Kate Walker. That is all.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

.
I think that including both Lara and Alyx under the same definition is wrong. Lara, since the first Tomb Raider, had a HUGE chest and oversexualized body. The series got most of its publicity due to the body they modeled for her. She doesn't show much emotions, and is, like you said, like a Barbie doll with guns. Alyx, on the other hand, is a fuller character, that never strikes you as sleazy or exaggerated.

I probably didn't explain myself properly. I think Alyx is a great female character. She's rounded out, realistic body figure but an almost unrealistic personality. Now I'm not blaming Valve it is after all an action game. A woman has to be violent and act like one of the guys to be respected in a video game. I am well aware it's a war and an action game and my problem is not with Alyx specifically. More the concept of a strong female character is that she has to kick ass to some degree to be respected. I know video games are generally violent and woman need to be aggressive to keep up with that. My problem is that a generation of guys will grow up with this skewed view and bizarre attraction to the concept of sexualised violence.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Selphie from FFVIII always comes to mind. I think she's the closest to a "normal" teenage girl in any video game I've ever played. Cute, funny, sometimes a bit of a clutz, but also extremely intellegent, skilled, and able to handle herself. In fact, I think all the girls from VIII are good examples.

 

[Drakmeire]

I like when game designers are spherical with female character models. Bayonetta is one of my favorites since she is the embodiment of every cliche of sexist game design (beside giant breasts, hers are very proportional). the way she acts is more sexual intimidating than sexually arousing and if I am going to continue to quote moviebob. I'll just say "most game girls either want it or want nothing to do with it, Bayonetta wants it, she just knows you can in no way deliver it."

Strangely I find Lita from brutal legend to be a very fair representation of women since she puts on the tough girl routine but shows depth as she struggles to cope with the death of her brother. a very well designed character in all.

 

[imaloony]

Someone already said it, but Bioware did a great job with their female roles.

I also think Faith from Mirror's Edge is a rather interesting character, seeing as how Mirror's Edge is a really feminist game. Every male in that frickin' game either get killed, beaten up, or kicked in the 'nads, usually BY a female character.

 

[PipBoy2000]

I like when game designers are spherical with female character models. Bayonetta is one of my favorites since she is the embodiment of every cliche of sexist game design (beside giant breasts, hers are very proportional). the way she acts is more sexual intimidating than sexually arousing and if I am going to continue to quote moviebob. I'll just say "most game girls either want it or want nothing to do with it, Bayonetta wants it, she just knows you can in no way deliver it."

In the article that I've posted, the writer says that such characters are so over-sexual, that ACTUAL girls find them insulting

 

[PipBoy2000]

Someone already said it, but Bioware did a great job with their female roles.

I also think Faith from Mirror's Edge is a rather interesting character, seeing as how Mirror's Edge is a really feminist game. Every male in that frickin' game either get killed, beaten up, or kicked in the 'nads, usually BY a female character.

About Bioware - read my above comment about the Asari

As for Faith - I agree with you. However, in the above article there's a mention of a mod to that game in which they rounded her face and enlarged her breasts to make her more attractive... and defeating the purpose altogether.

 

[Worgen]

Bioware seems to do a pretty good job with female characters in their RPG's.
They aren't over sexualized or anything, just female.

The Asari race are quite funny in that regard. Like Shamus Young once said it:
"The Asari are one of the most advanced and intelligent species in the galaxy. They live for a thousand years, and were flying through space while most of the rest of the races still thought "national defense" meant "fling poo at enemy." So naturally the Asari gravitate towards jobs servicing everyone else as prostitutes and pole dancers."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/stolen-pixels/5681-Stolen-Pixels-58-Xenoeroticism

the asari also seem to be able to manipulate the minds of other races to finding them more attractive, in me2 there is a conversation you can hear between a batcher party and each race says they look kinda like them, so if they are a species that can mate (kinda) across other species then it would work in their interests to be attractive to other species

altho I do get really tired of females always having the same body type in games, its not hard to make a big strong looking woman look at least attractive and what the hell happened to curves?

 

[AMMO Kid]

Just another woman trying to get attention to herself by writing about sexism in videogames. or at least that's my opinion. Also, the TF2 Characters are great don't ruin them.