Your Views on Female Protagonists

[Ventus]

So I've seen in many spheres of gaming where female protagonists have been put under increased scrutiny. What's that for? I thought that, ever since the release of Samus' gender that girls would be better loved in gaming?

Well, I see too much of girls being thought of as weak, or needing to be weak (recent example of this: Lara Croft in 2013's Tomb Raider starts off as a horribly weak, illusioned girl)

What do you think of female protagonists, anyhow?

 

[Honorable Hero]

I have no problem with female protagonists. Lightning <3

 

[Castle]

I think it's sad and pathetic how closely scrutinized female protagonists are. So much so that featuring one is practically a liability. And it's because some people just need something to @#$%& about.

Video game culture has this stereotypical stigma of being the domain of socially inept mouth breathers who'd rather admire images of unrealistic women instead of the real thing, and some people just seek to perpetuate stereotypes for their own benefit. True, there was a time when women weren't exactly portrayed admirably in video games and that's putting it lightly. The hyperproportionalized figures and embarrassing behaviors of women represented in video games was, at one point, cringe-worthy. But we're beyond that now. Game makers realized that if anyone is supposed to take their work seriously then they needed to cut that nonsense ... and they did. But still some people have this misguided assumption that every female character in video games is a flagrantly unacceptable portrayal of the gender that exists solely for a man's benefit.

Female protagonists in video games often cannot manage to stand on their own. Most of the notable portrayals of women characters in video games feature in roleplaying games as part of a group. That's saying something, isn't it? Any time a women is shown fighting on her own and doing "a man's work" somebody has to find some reason to pitch a fit and put the character and her portrayal under so much scrutiny that game makers aren't even going to entertain the idea of representing women in games for fear of someone taking it as a misrepresentation.

Interesting, then, how so many of the same people claim that women are capable of doing everything a man can, but sometimes when a woman is shown doing so in a video game somebody finds some reason to cry foul. It's a shame, really. Girls play games too. And as a guy there is nothing to say I shouldn't enjoy controlling a female protagonist in a video game. Female gamers play as male characters all the time. Variety and diversity should be encouraged in any entertainment medium, not discouraged by scrutiny.

 

[A Link In Time]

Unfortunately, I feel like female characters in videogames fall victim to all of the sex's worst stereotypes. It's rare to find a woman who isn't overly emotional or lacks a large bosom.

Referencing Nintendo from the opening post, I believe the company has failed to retain most of its former glory, however, Samus remains the prime female protagonist. Ninty wisely chose to hide her sexuality from gamers until the end credits of the original Metroid rolled. Then gamers went, "Wow. Gaming is a viable medium for female characters and women to play." I'm not trying to sound sexist but the gaming industry has always catered more towards males. This is likely because a greater number of game developers are males and they naturally create the action filled experience guys crave.

I'd like to see more female characters in gaming but not as sex objects but developed characters. One such example is Ada Wong from Resident Evil. Yeah, she's hot but she also has a compelling story to tell. In Resident Evil 2, players question her appearance and in Resident Evil 4, they are caught aback when she's confirmed living after her supposed death. Lara Craft is another honorable mention.

 

[Kirino]

Lara Craft is another honorable mention.

lol Lara Craft

Anyway, I usually enjoy female protagonists, but just like male protagonists, or any other characters, they're either good or bad depending on how they're made. Female protagonists as a whole are in no way inferior to male protagonists, and can be a lot better. I can think of over a dozen very well-developed, great female protagonists off the top of my head. Good female protagonists really aren't that rare, but with the way some games make them, I can see why some might be averse to them.

 

[Emma]

I find female protagonists more interesting simply because male protagonists are overdone. I'd prefer there were a more even spread between the the two. I look to the female ones more because they often have more uniqueness to them because they haven't done as much. With males, it's often the same story you've heard a dozen times before.

 

[Erik Fox Wilder]

I have no shame whatsoever in saying this: I actually prefer female protagonists to male ones.

I am not just saying this as a feminist, but because I also think that male protagonists are so overused and overrated these days that having a girl/woman as the main character is a great breath of fresh air.

When I say this, I don't expect the female in question to be a stereotypical sex symbol (i.e. with large breasts, hints of cleavage, seductive behaviour...). Make her normal (and special in some ways), with plenty of character development and personality, a deep background; in other words, a character that is, in every sense, no different than a male protagonist (aside from the gender, of course).

There are many examples I can use for this:
-Samus Aran from the Metroid series
-Ada Wong from the Resident Evil series
-Number Six from the Lorien Legacies
-Many girls/women from Harry Potter (Hermione, Luna...)
And let's not forget almost all of the protagonists from the Studio Ghibli movies (Nausicaa, Kiki, San a.k.a Princess Mononoke, Chihiro, Sophie)

In short, I think girls and women as damsels in distress/sex symbols/any way made under-developed has long been outdated. It's a good time to move on and start portraying female characters as they should be: protagonists and complex characters.