Female characters in video games

[Sparrow]

Well, the way I see it, in games that sexualise women, women are there so men and possibly lesbians can oogle at their bodies.

In Valve games, they're there because Valve has seen there is a gap in the market and they're capitalising on it by creating, as I said before, the geeky wet dreams. Women that men unlucky in love, or AKA most men above 20 who spend more time playing on games than going out, might have a chance with. I think that's far worse.

Okay, cool, right, fine...

What are you basing this on?

Nothing, really. Nobody has said this, Valve has never expressed this as their goal... I just can't help but see it in every game they make. It's like they're almost teasing geeky gamers. I mean, why did Portal's character have to be seen at all? We could have done the game not knowing her gender, but no, it has to be a she. Why did Gordon, the very core of geekdom, start travelling with a tasty yet brainy female companion when he was fine before? Why has Valve never commented on whether or not the Pyro is male or female?

It's because, in my mind anyway, they're gunning to seize the female market. Is that a bad thing? No. I just wish everyone would stop putting them up on this giant pedestal because they're including strong women in the their titles, when I feel they're using them in just the same way another video game might use a skimpy dressed woman to grab the male demographic.

Personally I think its a two way street. There are plenty of games where the male protagonist is portrayed as the form of god like masculinity which is just as equally unrealistic. I think by focusing on only the one gender rather than the sexism of both sort of decreases the study's creditability.

Regardless though its all about the games market audience, as after all the creators want to sell their game. At the end of the day sex sells, to both men and women.

Also, this. That is all.

 

[SilentBobsThoughts]

What about the muscle-bound males that are presented in gaming? If they can stereotype against males I think it's only fair it's used in reverse too.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Regardless though its all about the games market audience, as after all the creators want to sell their game. At the end of the day sex sells, to both men and women.

Have you ever played anything because of the protagonist's looks?

 

[Gingersalt]

Regardless though its all about the games market audience, as after all the creators want to sell their game. At the end of the day sex sells, to both men and women.

Have you ever played anything because of the protagonist's looks?

Maybe not actively looked for a game with hot guy/girl on the cover but I will admit I'm certainly more likely to consider it if that's how its presented. Not best approach of course but sadly a completely natural one, for me anyway.

 

[CurlyHairedDemon]

Two words: Samus Aran.

What I mean by that is, she's not stereotyped at all, unless you count the whole "super robot armor" thing.

Samus. Damned straight.

Aside from that, I do wish they had more female characters who were deeper than a puddle. I mean you have total pushovers or else these idiots who mistake being tough and weathered for being bitchy and cursing every other word.

 

[Chancie]

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.

Unfortunately with Selphie, there are so many darn pantie shots in gameplay that it's pathetic. >.>

Anyway, I'd say all of the girls from the Drakengard games. They're all pretty much the definition of "modest." There's no sexualization with them at all. xD

 

[SavingPrincess]

Maybe not actively looked for a game with hot guy/girl on the cover but I will admit I'm certainly more likely to consider it if that's how its presented. Not best approach of course but sadly a completely natural one, for me anyway.

Can you elaborate on this a bit? Are you saying that you're more likely to approach a game in the store if you're in someway physically attracted to the character on the cover art?

 

[Gingersalt]

Maybe not actively looked for a game with hot guy/girl on the cover but I will admit I'm certainly more likely to consider it if that's how its presented. Not best approach of course but sadly a completely natural one, for me anyway.

Can you elaborate on this a bit? Are you saying that you're more likely to approach a game in the store if you're in someway physically attracted to the character on the cover art?

Think this is being taken out of context slightly. I'm saying that it can play a factor (amongst other things) on whether something catches my eye. I don't think it necessarily has to be a physical attraction, simply aesthetically is enough. Same could be applicable for any media really; TV, Movie, Music Cover Art etc. Again I'm talking about myself personally, don't know about everyone else.

 

[Dr. Paine]

Maybe not actively looked for a game with hot guy/girl on the cover but I will admit I'm certainly more likely to consider it if that's how its presented. Not best approach of course but sadly a completely natural one, for me anyway.

Can you elaborate on this a bit? Are you saying that you're more likely to approach a game in the store if you're in someway physically attracted to the character on the cover art?

Well, developers would be losing most of the female base with that logic, given most are not attracted to women, robots, or overly-muscled masses of flesh. (Agreeing with the second person here, just adding my two cents to the lack of logic xD)

 

[SavingPrincess]

Think this is being taken out of context slightly. I'm saying that it can play a factor (amongst other things) on whether something catches my eye. I don't think it necessarily has to be a physical attraction, simply aesthetically is enough. Same could be applicable for any media really; TV, Movie, Music Cover Art etc. Again I'm talking about myself personally, don't know about everyone else.

Hah, context is important... do you think that aesthetics are really the undercurrent of the idea that sex sells? Is sexuality merely another aesthetic or would you view it as ingrained into the medium? Do we simply purchase games subconsciously because of the aesthetic appreciation of an attractive character versus an unattractive one, without subconsciously processing the thoughts of sexual attraction?

Am I getting too heady? I feel like I'm getting too heady...

(thatswhatshesaid)

 

[SavingPrincess]

If the story calls for them to be [overly sexualized], then by all means. But stereotypically tossing them into that role when they could be a normal person like the male characters is just dumb. I'm not sure even the guys like it anymore... :/

I don't know... I thoroughly enjoyed Tecmo's Dead or Alive: Xtreme simply for the overt sexuality and the collecting. There was no real plot, and most of the girls involved were sexualized astronomically compared to who they were as characters, that being said, I loved watching them pole dance and jump up and down... I'm not above that... I'm a guy, it was awesome to watch.

I think guys like it, or else it simply wouldn't be made, but don't want to admit it to their female friends/female internets.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Hah, context is important... do you think that aesthetics are really the undercurrent of the idea that sex sells? Is sexuality merely another aesthetic or would you view it as ingrained into the medium? Do we simply purchase games subconsciously because of the aesthetic appreciation of an attractive character versus an unattractive one, without subconsciously processing the thoughts of sexual attraction?

I'm not sure it's subconsciously. We all generally like pretty things

 

[Gingersalt]

Hah, context is important... do you think that aesthetics are really the undercurrent of the idea that sex sells? Is sexuality merely another aesthetic or would you view it as ingrained into the medium? Do we simply purchase games subconsciously because of the aesthetic appreciation of an attractive character versus an unattractive one, without subconsciously processing the thoughts of sexual attraction?

Am I getting too heady? I feel like I'm getting too heady...

(thatswhatshesaid)

Lol not at all!

I wouldn't say that aesthetics are the only ingredient of "selling sex". Movement, language, provocativeness, attitude are all just as major points. Its just that cover art can only really use aesthetics. I don't think for a second that people would choose one game over another based entirely on the looks of a character. But to a degree I would still say the appearance of any character is going to contribute towards your judgment.

As far as subconsciously having thoughts of sexual attraction, personally I would have to disagree. I'm fully conscious of my attraction to anyone or thing. I think based on my lack of knowledge of a game, then yes I will base my initial reaction entirely on looks alone. But again this is just me and I'm first to admit that my methods are flawed.

 

[DocBalance]

.
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.

Maybe there's just something in the Missouri water, but the girls around here are more likely to hit you than the guys are. I'm dead serious. Saying girls aren't violent is incredibly ridiculous to me.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Women are generally portrayed as sex objects. Men on the flipside are generally equally as unrealistic as being portrayed as testosterone steroid pumped muscle-machines. It works both ways.

PLEASE dont list all the male characters who dont fit this description, im aware they EXIST. Its a generalisation which is true of most games.

But girls are generally not the market for this kind of games, so it doesn't really work both ways. The same kind of people likes naked female protagonist and lumps-o'-muscles to identify with.

That kinda adds up to something someone said here earlier, about an entire generation of gamers growing up with severely fucked up perceptions of beauty and perfection.

 

[PipBoy2000]

Indeed, female characters are generally poorly portrayed in games. However, after thinking a bit about this, I've concluded that it is actually quite difficult to create a good character in a video game, especially a female one.

The main difficulty is the whole "female" aspect. Basically, what purpose does the female part actually play? The stock character is male, probably because male actions are more easily understood in both psychology and the fact that most game developers are male.

A good character can be made and it could be female, but then some people/women are quick to point out that such a female, while thankfully not blatant fanservice, is merely a reskinned male.

If you start really delving deep into good characterization, a whole shitload of issues start coming up, such as gender roles, what actually differentiates the sexes, what degree of individuality is allowed before the character turns players away, what role should ethnicity play besides skin color, etc. That's just the beginning of course. What about homosexuals, transgenders, midgets, disabled, etc.

In short, its easier to just make curvaceous eye candy in skimpy clothes than go through the difficult task of creating an individual human from scratch.

wait a minute, we're only talking males / females here, a much simpler differentiation than disabled etc, and in some RPGs, btw, you can already play a homosexual without any problems (Fallout 2, for example. ME allows you to be a lesbian but not a gay man, but that's another issue).

I do agree that creating an interesting character is hard work, but that's what writers are for... That's not really the reason why female characters run around (more than) half-naked. point is sex does sell, but the article I've posted in my first post here gives an example of integrating female characters into an action game, in a way that doesn't degrade women AND doesn't arouse opposition (lack of interest, for example) by the male players.