Poll: Female protagonist day.

[chiefohara]

Capitalism, sales, numbers, dollars are all the publishers who lead our industry care about.

Yet in spite of them, in spite of numbers, in spite of trends, in spite of market predictions presumptions and assumptions, games that expand the boundaries, games that challenge social norms, games like journey, bayonetta, lollipop chainsaw, limbo, tomb raider, mass effect 3, dragon age, dragon age 2, Spec ops the line, FTL and innumerable other titles out there still get made and still buck trends in spite of that.

There are assumptions made about the consumer base which are backward and archaic. The only way to really really really REALLY get the message home to publishers is sales.

Reflect the market, by making a statement with your wallet.

Im suggesting (to begin with) declaring a day of the year where games with female protagonists are deliberately bought. Be it by special offer, social awareness or what not... Align this with something like international womans day (8th of march) Where every gamer out there buys a game with a female protagonist. Make it obvious to the money men that the market they are catering for is more open minded than they think.

Declare a day where offers, promotions, marketing, hype promotes a female character and we as a gaming community support it.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Enlighten me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very thing feminists are fighting against? Being treat differently? A day devoted to cater to female gamers with female protagonists seems like a thing they'd be very much against. I might be wrong, in fact I probably am. But I always saw feminism as an ideal to be treat the same as men, so unless we have some "Male protagonist day", this seems to be pretty backward for the goals of that fight, if my knowledge stands true.

 

[Launcelot111]

Designating female protagonist day would do nothing, as it would be solidified as an exception alongside the 364 day status quo of male protagonists. If you want to make a statement with your wallet, then buy quality games with female protagonists whenever you find them and let market forces do their thing.

Also, how did Dragon Age or FTL challenge social conventions?

Also this ad is assuring me that I'm the 999,999th visitor to this page...from a town of 30,000. Good try, ad.

 

[DoPo]

Yet in spite of them, in spite of numbers, in spite of trends, in spite of market predictions presumptions and assumptions, games that expand the boundaries, games that challenge social norms, games like journey, bayonetta, lollipop chainsaw, limbo, tomb raider, mass effect 3, dragon age, dragon age 2, Spec ops the line, FTL and innumerable other titles out there still get made and still buck trends in spite of that.

Erm...the beginning of that sentence doesn't match up with the rest of it. It seems you're saying that it wasn't expected these games to succeed (or not as much). Let's see:
- Bayonetta - a game from the maker of Devil May Cry (a well liked series) that is...well, more or less Devil May Cry with a female protagonist. OK, I am oversimplifying here but I've not played it - I've seen the trailers and that's what it looked like. I can't imagine people going "oh, no that won't sell at all".
- Lollipop Chainsaw - don't know how people went about it, I do know it was made by Suda51 which, by itself, is enough for a lot of people to turn their attention to the game. Also it promised fun and...well Suda51-ness and it delivered more or less. Again, I haven't played it but reception seemed to range from "it's good" to "it's not as good as other titles but overall OK".
- Tomb Raider - a game that has a long, long history, recognisable name and established character and quite a lot of weight in the gaming world. "Yup, it seems like nobody would be interested" - said nobody.
- Mass Effect 3 - da fuq? The final instalment of series which is liked a lot by a game development company which is also liked a lot? OK, not as much any more but almost a year ago it was a different matter.
- Dragon Age: Origins - a game that is set in an established genre and setting by developers versed in both of these AND it also promised to follow the steps of another very well known game in both the genre and setting AND BioWare were behind both Baldur's Gate plus DA:O? Are you kidding me? Also, I'd like to know how exactly is this game defying market predictions or expanding the boundaries. First off, it is a good, well put together game, but the success was hardly surprising (BioWare already had a following at that point, remember) and also it's not expanding anything, since most of the elements put into it are not original. It's the bog standard classic fantasy world and shtick with most the classic tropes that go with it. Few aren't but they are just drawn from elsewhere.

 

[lRookiel]

Someone being watching game grumps?

:3

OT: Whenever, it'll be another day like any other. The only days I celebrate are mothers/fathers day, christmas and birthdays so this will be another background event that I don't pay attention to all that much.

 

[aba1]

Enlighten me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very thing feminists are fighting against? Being treat differently? A day devoted to cater to female gamers with female protagonists seems like a thing they'd be very much against. I might be wrong, in fact I probably am. But I always saw feminism as an ideal to be treat the same as men, so unless we have some "Male protagonist day", this seems to be pretty backward for the goals of that fight, if my knowledge stands true.

I actually agree people get so caught up in gender roles. I see these threads and I am left going why does it matter if the protagonist is female or male as long as they are a good protagonist that should be all that matters. We group ourselves based on such arbitrary things sometimes.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I say declare a Male Protagonist Day as well so you're not being sexist by treating characters differently due to gender.

 

[soren7550]

Or, alliteratively, and I may be crazy here, but hear me out - we just buy games when we want/can.

For me anyway, a game being fun is a lot more important than if the protagonist has a penis or not.

 

[DoPo]

Or, alliteratively, and I may be crazy here, but hear me out - we just buy games when we want/can.

Madness. That is pure madness. You are crazy and judging by that post, you should be institutionalized. We should totally spend money on stuff on one predefined day because that's somehow showing something to somebody and makes us feel better without necessarily making a difference.

 

[itsthesheppy]

I say declare a Male Protagonist Day as well so you're not being sexist by treating characters differently due to gender.

Every day is that day.

OT: Sure, I'd participate. I mean, why not?

 

[HellbirdIV]

Enlighten me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very thing feminists are fighting against? Being treat differently? A day devoted to cater to female gamers with female protagonists seems like a thing they'd be very much against.

Well it depends on your definition of "feminist". Some people call themselves "feminists" because they like to shove "girl powah" down people's throats and call it equality, and they're the ones responsible for many similar things to this concept.

If that's "feminist", then I think "feminism" isn't a good thing. Being strictly pro-woman is just more discrimination.

I prefer the idea that "feminism" is just a misnomer, and you're in really in favour of equal rights and treatment for everyone, instead of putting women on pedestals.

 

[Legion]

So we should buy games with female protagonists, regardless of whether we want the game, regardless of whether the game is good, regardless of whether we have the money.

Just to make a "point" to game publishers?

If you want to fund this, sure.

I don't even understand sometimes why people care so much. Did any guys find Tomb Raider less enjoyable playing as a woman? Did any women enjoy Bioshock Infinite less, just because they were playing as a guy? Was The Walking Dead difficult to get into for non-black, non-American people?

In the vast majority of games, you aren't playing as "you", you are playing as a character. I seriously cannot see what difference it makes, what colour, race or sex they are.

People complain about the lack of decent female characters, but that seems to be assuming there is an abundance of decent male ones. There are a lot of male protagonists, sure, but not many good ones. The grizzly, white, American male is considered a cliché for a reason.

As I have said before, yes more decent female characters would be great, more diversity would be a welcome addition. But I really feel people need to stop making it out to be such a major issue. Especially considering that there are genuine issues of sexism in the industry.

 

[Smiley Face]

Thing is, I already own most of the good games out there (that I know of) that have female protagonists - I'm not going to go out and buy them again just to make a point - particularly when the best time for my purchase to make an impact, Day 1, is already something I've taken advantage of.

Generally speaking, I'm more inclined to purchase a game if it has a female protagonist, (or sidekick or whatever, don't know what you refer to Elizabeth's role in Bioshock: Infinite and Ellie's role in The Last of Us) because it shakes things up from the generic 'grizzled/snarky brown-haired male american loner' schtick that I am so goddamn tired of. Not only by choosing to have a female protagonist have you avoided this same generic character, but because you're outside the generic event horizon, you get to change things even further. Lara Croft is British, Faith from Mirror's Edge is Asian, Remember me is set entirely in Paris, Ellie is a kid, etc. Because of the uncommonness of female protagonists, there isn't really a 'generic female protagonist' formula that they gravitate towards as there is for male protagonists.

But I digress. To return to the question at hand, I am already more inclined to buy a game if it has a female protagonist, because said game is more likely to be less cliched and predictable in its characters and development. I don't like buying games a second time.

But, you know, for other people, if a retailer wanted to set up a special sale to raise awareness, etc., I'd support that, and it might well make good business sense.

 

[Easton Dark]

Reminds me of Morgan Freeman's black history month opinion.


Instead of separating protagonists (and antagonists) into male and female, let's just let them be protagonists, and let game series rise and fall on if the games are good or not, please?

 

[Hagi]

Well...

The days are getting kinda full... You really, really, really don't want to be in March btw. Everyone is already in March.

But it seems there's a few spots left in January, according to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_observance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commemorative_days

I think the second of Januari is still free, but you'd be right after New Year's Day.

Maybe somewhere more in the middle like the 20th of Januari? That's right after the World Day of Snowman on the 18th.

That's pretty good in terms of competition, we can easily beat those guys! I think...

 

[Uhura]

I don't even understand sometimes why people care so much. Did any guy find Tomb Raider less enjoyable playing as a woman? Did any women enjoy Bioshock Infinite less, just because they were playing as a guy? Was The Walking Dead difficult to get into for non-black, non-American people?

Considering the recent comments game devs (Remember Me, Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, Gears of War) have made about female leads/sidekicks it's pretty obvious why people care. It's not like gender is a non-issue in the industry and gamers are just throwing a fit all over nothing.

 

[schtingah]

Here's what I'm going to do: Whenever a good game comes out that I want to play, I'm just going to buy it regardless of the sex of the main protagonist. It's the best I can do, I'm afraid.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's a horrible idea. It further segregates female characters from protagonism by assignating them a single day to their credit. We're supposed to integrate minorities, not raise them on pedestals.

 

[Lieju]

Enlighten me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very thing feminists are fighting against? Being treat differently? A day devoted to cater to female gamers with female protagonists seems like a thing they'd be very much against. I might be wrong, in fact I probably am. But I always saw feminism as an ideal to be treat the same as men, so unless we have some "Male protagonist day", this seems to be pretty backward for the goals of that fight, if my knowledge stands true.

I actually agree people get so caught up in gender roles. I see these threads and I am left going why does it matter if the protagonist is female or male as long as they are a good protagonist that should be all that matters. We group ourselves based on such arbitrary things sometimes.

The thing I'd personally want is more diversity, and that's how the issue should be addressed. true, having more female protagonists is the way towards that, but it's not the end goal.

Enlighten me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the very thing feminists are fighting against? Being treat differently? A day devoted to cater to female gamers with female protagonists seems like a thing they'd be very much against. I might be wrong, in fact I probably am. But I always saw feminism as an ideal to be treat the same as men, so unless we have some "Male protagonist day", this seems to be pretty backward for the goals of that fight, if my knowledge stands true.

Well, I'm not saying I think this is a good idea, but the reasoning behind similar kinds of things is that since there is bias against women/some minority that would be more levelling the playing field and less about getting priviledges for women.

For example, supporting employers that have their female employers leave on the maternity leave, to avoid a situation where they don't hire women because they're afraid of them getting pregnant and so causing a financial loss for the company.

Or taking precautions for protecting some groups of people because they face the threats of violence for simply doing the same things most people take for granted.