Our own female character for a game

[Torkuda]

Here?s a subject from a game I?m helping make myself. Around here, the whole sexism in video games issue has gotten a lot of traction. Thus here is our answer to how to make a good female protagonist.

http://kiltekstudios.deviantart.com/art/Ailis-418655127

She?s a companion character.
Hates men, hates kids, essentially she?s an old lady that?s had a pretty rough life and now she?s bitter. The Eclipse have extended life times, but even for one of her kind, she?s equivalent of a senior citizen, around 60 or 70. As a result she relies more on her brains and strategy than brute force. This means she is REALLY good with a bow and actually a companion the player would be advised to listen to when she talks. She also gets a little of the ?bitter old person with a heart of gold? thing going, as she doesn?t like them, but she?s actually pretty good with young people.

Her history is that she?s a former high ranking military officer that broke ties with her country?s military over corruption. Before teaming up with the player she was fighting corruption punisher style, taking out dirty officers one at a time. She even became a legend for killing dishonest senior officials.

As for the sexism test, she?s not physically attractive, she talks about things other than potential male love interests (such as politics and battle strategy) and the female cast in the game is pretty big, so she will likely be shown talking with many of them, especially the warrior princess Cassia.

 

[Grach]

... So she's an, older, female, slightly misanthropic and even more bitter version of Garrus from Mass Effect then?

 

[Torkuda]

I'll have to see if I can get Kyle on the forum to answer about Garrus. However to "misanthropic"... let's just call her major league jaded. She wants to do the right thing, but she has more of Frank Castle's attitude on the subject than Clark Kent's.

 

[GeneralOvertime]

She isnt much like garrus because in the end garrus was still more then happy to lighten up and crack jokes even during combat. I would call her more of a style like Mordin Solus from mass effect. But shes a bit less calculating but she is just as cold and frank when it comes to how she deals with people. Very rarely does she like anyone and views laziness as a sort of sin. If you run out of stuff to do she will have you run drills or something. Kind of a hardcore drill sergeant mom.

 

[Dragonlayer]

... So she's an, older, female, slightly misanthropic and even more bitter version of Garrus from Mass Effect then?

Garrus was completely awesome in every way and logically, any character that emulates him, must be of equal awesomeness.

It's science, or something.

ಠ_ರೃ

 

[Dragonlayer]

Disgustingly sexist and I am outraged to even know of its existence.

Interesting character concept: I'm not exactly an "expert" on what makes a female character great and uniquely female without being whatever-ist is the word of the day, but I like the idea of a jaded and bitter ex-military officer hunting down the corrupt (and presumably the unfortunate enough to be near the corrupt, as bitterness takes its toll on Ailis).

 

[putowtin]

Wow, way to stereotype,
Lets break this down

essentially she?s an old lady? a companion the player would be advised to listen to when she talks? She also gets a little of the ?bitter old person with a heart of gold

(Wynne from Dragon Age)

Hates men/ hates kids

(Jack from Mass Effect)

Her history is that she?s a former high ranking military officer that broke ties with her country?s military over corruption. Before teaming up with the player she was fighting corruption punisher style

(Garrus from Mass Effect)

How about just for once we have a female character that is:
*Homely, loves her family and kids, but is out fighting the good fight anyway, because she feels thats the way to protect those that she loves
*Atractive, but not because she wears something that shows everything off (you know not that stupid game armor that doesn't cover anything)
*Gets along with everyone, there's no love interest here, she's the one people go to when they have a problem, if she worked in an office, she's the one that bakes a cake when it's someones birthday!

There you go, I won't even charge you for those ideas!

 

[AntiChri5]

What? Wynne isn't the slightest bit bitter. And Jack doesn't hate men and kids, she hates everyone.

 

[mistahzig1]

So basically a male power fantasy who sits when it pees? ;oP

 

[putowtin]

What? Wynne isn't the slightest bit bitter. And Jack doesn't hate men and kids, she hates everyone.

I take it that you'r replying to my comment.

Wynne is bitter/regretful for her past mistakes (there's more details in the third Dragn Age book)

and yes Jack hates everyone, but her's was the first name that sprung into my head when I read the OP

 

[gonzo20]

Wow, way to stereotype,
Lets break this down

essentially she?s an old lady? a companion the player would be advised to listen to when she talks? She also gets a little of the ?bitter old person with a heart of gold

(Wynne from Dragon Age)

Hates men/ hates kids

(Jack from Mass Effect)

Her history is that she?s a former high ranking military officer that broke ties with her country?s military over corruption. Before teaming up with the player she was fighting corruption punisher style

(Garrus from Mass Effect)

How about just for once we have a female character that is:
*Homely, loves her family and kids, but is out fighting the good fight anyway, because she feels thats the way to protect those that she loves
*Atractive, but not because she wears something that shows everything off (you know not that stupid game armor that doesn't cover anything)
*Gets along with everyone, there's no love interest here, she's the one people go to when they have a problem, if she worked in an office, she's the one that bakes a cake when it's someones birthday!

There you go, I won't even charge you for those ideas!

soooooo, aveline from dragon age 2?

 

[AntiChri5]

What? Wynne isn't the slightest bit bitter. And Jack doesn't hate men and kids, she hates everyone.

I take it that you'r replying to my comment.

Wynne is bitter/regretful for her past mistakes (there's more details in the third Dragn Age book)

and yes Jack hates everyone, but her's was the first name that sprung into my head when I read the OP

I have read the third book, and Wynne isn't bitter. She regrets giving up her son and failing her apprentice, sure, but bitterness and regrets aren't the same thing, even if they often come together. It is almost impossible to get to Wynnes age without regrets. In Origins she mentions that, when she was young she was constantly angry at the injustice of the Circle but, after forming a friendship with a Chantry sister she gradually mellowed, by the time of Origins she is relaxed, good natured and peaceful, if a bit nosy. And still completely capable of cooking fools alive.

Just because a characters name pops into your head is no reason to compare them. Jack and the character described are VERY different. Jack is young, passionate, lively, hateful, angry, cruel, seriously depressed and pretty fucking funny. Don't connect them too closely just because they both hate.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Ok the character could be pretty good but I cant gather enough intel just from that short description I would have to see the finished product before making a final judgement.

I dont like the idea of people going with the flow as it were in regards to character design though if you wanted to make her as she is thats fine but if you are only doing that because thats the way the wind is blowing atm im not for it.

 

[bug_of_war]

snip

HA! Beat me to it mate.

Although I disagree with a few things so here's my assessment:

She?s a companion character.

So already she is filling the shoes of most other female characters! Just nit picking that one, but had to say it.

Hates men, hates kids, essentially she?s an old lady that?s had a pretty rough life and now she?s bitter.

That's okay, but you're gonna have to elaborate on that. Also to the people saying she is misanthropic, she is actually a misandrist, she doesn't hate children (as OP explains later).

The Eclipse have extended life times, but even for one of her kind, she?s equivalent of a senior citizen, around 60 or 70. As a result she relies more on her brains and strategy than brute force.

So like most older characters? EG: Wynne from Dragon Age nearly every old guy protagonist ever. Again, that's okay, but it is a stereotype (there is such a thing as positive stereotypes).

This means she is REALLY good with a bow and actually a companion the player would be advised to listen to when she talks.

She could be really good with blades, you don't need strength to know where to place a blade or size up an opponent to gauge their strengths and weaknesses. I'm just saying this because females seem to be in the role of mid to long range attackers A LOT (Every female companion in Dragon Age bar Aveline, every female squad member bar Ashley from Mass Effect).

She also gets a little of the ?bitter old person with a heart of gold? thing going, as she doesn?t like them, but she?s actually pretty good with young people.

That's fine.

As for the sexism test, she?s not physically attractive, she talks about things other than potential male love interests (such as politics and battle strategy) and the female cast in the game is pretty big, so she will likely be shown talking with many of them, especially the warrior princess Cassia.

Making a character unattractive to avoid sexism IS sexist. A powerful woman can be sexy, or at the least not unattractive. For example, you can giver her a rough look, aged and clearly worn, but still have her somewhat nice looking, not for sexy sake, but just because. So like, you could have seen that in her youth she would have been attractive. <--that is not sexist, it WOULD be if the character was someone whom did not care about themselves or was raised with less than respectable people. However from the description you have given this character sounds like a very intelligent and thoughtful person that would have taken care of themselves.

Also, talking about someone they're interested in does not automatically make her a trope of sexism. It's human to care about someone, well actually it's more than human, it's group mentality. It's okay for a character to say, "I really want to be with x" so long as that's not ALL they have to say. Even with aging characters it's okay to have them have a love interest, in fact it would be more forward of you to have this 70 year old woman being interested in someone (male or female(she is a misandrist though so...female?(but then you would fall into bull dyke man hater territory))). As for the talking to other women...okay? Don't see how that's breaking or following a trope so...


All in all she doesn't seem like your typical character, but she is far from new age female character. I'd say she's more like new paint and wheels on an old car.

 

[Poppy JR.]

Here?s a subject from a game I?m helping make myself. Around here, the whole sexism in video games issue has gotten a lot of traction. Thus here is our answer to how to make a good female protagonist.

http://kiltekstudios.deviantart.com/art/Ailis-418655127

She?s a companion character.
Hates men, hates kids, essentially she?s an old lady that?s had a pretty rough life and now she?s bitter. The Eclipse have extended life times, but even for one of her kind, she?s equivalent of a senior citizen, around 60 or 70. As a result she relies more on her brains and strategy than brute force. This means she is REALLY good with a bow and actually a companion the player would be advised to listen to when she talks. She also gets a little of the ?bitter old person with a heart of gold? thing going, as she doesn?t like them, but she?s actually pretty good with young people.

Her history is that she?s a former high ranking military officer that broke ties with her country?s military over corruption. Before teaming up with the player she was fighting corruption punisher style, taking out dirty officers one at a time. She even became a legend for killing dishonest senior officials.

As for the sexism test, she?s not physically attractive, she talks about things other than potential male love interests (such as politics and battle strategy) and the female cast in the game is pretty big, so she will likely be shown talking with many of them, especially the warrior princess Cassia.

That sounds really interesting! I'll have to check this out when I have the time.

 

[GeneralOvertime]

Well she has raised a total of 25 kids and only one of them was a screw up in her eyes the rest were soldiers for one side of the military or the rebels. She is kind of bitter but when it comes to the concept of a homely mother type well dragon age 2 tried to do that with Aveline Vallen and she was one of the most hated characters in the series. We are actually planning on bringing that character personality to life in the second game but more toward the concept of a mother who comes from a well known warring race and she hates everyone that are not her own kids and is fighting against the enemy because of her want to protect her family. In a game you can overdue it with characters so its probably not the best concept to try and throw every personality into one game. We have a character that comes kind of close to that concept of the motherly type but she is yet to be drawn. Her name is Moon so look out for her

 

[Someone Depressing]

There's not much more to say. She hates men and children because of her bitter and hard life, with a failed military career. How to write a gritty "innovative" female character 101... when can we go back to writing characters, not black people, females, intersex, gay people. Can't we just write one goddamn likeable, well fleshed out and well characterised person in fiction that won't start a feminist flame war?

 

[GeneralOvertime]

There's not much more to say. She hates men and children because of her bitter and hard life, with a failed military career. How to write a gritty "innovative" female character 101... when can we go back to writing characters, not black people, females, intersex, gay people. Can't we just write one goddamn likeable, well fleshed out and well characterised person in fiction that won't start a feminist flame war?

Sadly thats just how games are now a days. Because someone always gets pissed off and goes and complains to everyone that they can. We are just trying our best to get everyone as happy as possible, but someones always gonna be mad