Assassin's Creed IV Director Didn't Consider Female Protagonists

[StewShearerOld]

Assassin's Creed IV Director Didn't Consider Female Protagonists

Assassin's Creed IV director says that future entries in the franchise could feature female assassins.

Gaming has long been perceived as a boy's club, and while it may be true that early videogames were played primarily by males, it's been a long time since this has been the case. <a href=http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp>According to to ESA, women now make up nearly half of all gamers with their numbers constantly on the rise. Even so, the roles of women in most games remain limited. If they aren't being portrayed as sex objects or damsels in distress, they're often relegated to sidekick status with the protagonist spot reserved for a man.

While many would like to see some variation from the trend of male protagonists, you can expect it to continue for the time being, at least in the Assassin's Creed franchise. <a href=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/04/female-lead-in-future-assassins-creed-wouldnt-be-surprising>Speaking to IGN, Ashraf Ismail, director of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, commented on why the protagonist of the franchise's newest game will, again, be a man.

"Really early on, we decided to tell the story of the Kenways. So we had in place the idea to tell Edward, Haytham, and Connor," said Ismail. "We never actually thought, 'could this be a woman?'" Aside from the idea simply not occurring to them, Ismail also cited the potential historical conflicts of having a> female protagonist in the new, pirate-themed Assassin's Creed. "There were a few famous women pirates. But it wasn't common. So we didn't want that element to be a detail people got stuck on."

These reasons aside, it's not surprising that Ubisoft would be reluctant to employ a female protagonist. While there are ongoing debates as to why it happens, sales figures do tend to indicate that games with <a href=http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/games-with-female-heroes-dont-sell-because-publishers-dont-support-them>male heroes outsell similar, female-fronted titles. While the console-based Assassin's Creed games have been famously successful, they're also expensive to make. Taking any sort of unnecessary risk probably strikes as untenable to the money men behind it.

Nonetheless, Ismail is confident that we'll see some change in the future. "I would say it wouldn't be surprising to see a female assassin coming up in a mainline Assassin's Creed," said Ismail. Your day will come ladies, just not now.

Source: <a href=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/04/female-lead-in-future-assassins-creed-wouldnt-be-surprising>IGN

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[1337mokro]

As long as the woman doesn't talk there seems to be no problem. See Portal. Alright, alright, I got in my cheap shot now for the actual discussion.

In reality any historical setting will be kinda tough on women. You know with them basically being regarded as property of their father until their marriage at which point they become property of their husbands and if they are lucky they spurt out a few babies without dying.

Now going against this is all fine and well. Bucking the status quo, but then you end up on the stake burning to death because the clergy fear your vagina power (which is not a joke, they did, and still do, believe that vaginal fluids could weaken or even debilitate a man).

So a man in a historical setting? Kind of a logical choice. The problem gets bigger and more obvious when you look at other games. Like that one "controversy" where people didn't like a cover because the woman on it was closer to the "camera" than the man. Which kind of boggles the mind when you consider 1: This is the post apocalypse and 2: Who the fuck cares who's closest to the "camera"?.

 

[CriticalMiss]

You know what else wasn't common? Assassin Pirates!
Really it's fine but I mean we already have female assassins in the lore, they deserve their own games.

I was thinking the same thing. I would have had more respect for the guy if he had just said he didn't want a woman in the lead role rather than come up with a flimsy excuse. Then again maybe all pirates were highly agile, well trained assassins who were members of a near-religious ancient order of killers charged with the protection of the world from the Templars. Because it would be silly to have a game like that if it wasn't historically accurate!

 

[Legion]

You know what else wasn't common? Assassin Pirates!

Indeed.

Talking about historical accuracy when you make a game based around a glowing golden ball that makes people kill themselves is kind of nonsensical.

I am not the kind of person who believes that games "should" have more female protagonists (the reason being that people have the right to make whatever the hell they want with their time and money), but if you are going to avoid it, at least have the balls to admit why you are not.

Personally I think a female assassin would be quite cool, although to be honest, Ubisoft are not particularly good at creating male characters, so it's not like it's really make much of a difference.

I have never really understood the logic of "female leads don't sell games".

Lara Croft is arguably the most well known Western protagonist until Master Chief came along, and those games hardly sold poorly. You know, considering they released 13 of them, as well as 2 movies and her being the face of Lucozade for a while.

 

[Full]

There was already an Assassins Creed game on the Vita with a female protagonist, and it I thought it was a decent game at that. She wore a pirate hat... thing... too. Those disguise sections can go away though.

I also disagree that female on box art=less money. I refuse to believe that a huge amount of people refuse to a buy a game because there are no bulging man arms on the marketing billboards. Call me out if I'm being naive and wrong, though.

 

[Hagi]

Do these game developers get special training on how to fuck up interviews or something?

That's the reasons they come up with? And then end it with a great patronizing "Your day will come ladies, just not now."...

Couldn't they just have said that since every Assassin's Creed protagonist thus far has looked kinda exactly the same apart from a minor change in clothing to match the current era they're going to keep doing that? That changing it would be kinda like having the next Tomb Raider be about Lara's brother...

 

[martyrdrebel27]

this isnt fucking news! this isnt anything! this is just another fox news-esque attempt at starting flame wars. its essentially trolling. there has also never been a black assassin in the lead role, or a philipino, or a transgender, or a yeti, or a quadrapalegic assassin... WHO GIVES A FUCK? that doesnt even IMPLY sexism. they are telling a story. is there some sort of quota writers need to fill now? i'm so sick of all this Political Correctness. is it sexist that Faith from Mirror's Edge is a female? NO! is it sexist that Ezio isn't? NO!

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

UBISOFT NO!?! UBISOFT WHY!?!

Seriously, why? Everything about this statement is just so, dumb. First you admit that at no point did you even consider doing a female protagonist earlier in the series, which is a really stupid way to phrase that. Secondly, you ignore the fact that it actually would be quite intriguing to have a female pirate protagonist for all the reasons that you dismissed it, and that the reason we remember those few female pirates is because the idea is so intriguing. EDIT-Whoops

That's the reasons they come up with? And then end it with a great patronizing "Your day will come ladies, just not now."...

That was the writer of this article I think. It doesn't seem to show up in IGN's article at least. However the whole, it's not that we're against having a female protagonist, it's just that we are against having a female protagonist in the games so far, thing is an equivalent degree of bullshit in my opinion.

 

[sageoftruth]

No one argues that many elements of Assassin's creed deviate from history, but their games are often about inserting their assassins vs. templar conspiracy into real history. Their story is ludicrous, but outside of the science fiction, history is what provides the building blocks for their story. As a result, they have a reputation to uphold, unlike, say, Quinten Tarentino, who's pretty much expected to be completely unrestrained by historical norms.

Many of you sound pretty interested in a female assassin. A while back they had released "Assassins Creed: Liberation", which featured a female protagonist, and apparenlty made pretty good use of society's perceptions of women in 18th century New Orleans, as something for her to exploit as an assassin.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

this isnt fucking news! this isnt anything! this is just another fox news-esque attempt at starting flame wars. its essentially trolling. there has also never been a black assassin in the lead role, or a philipino, or a transgender, or a yeti, or a quadrapalegic assassin... WHO GIVES A FUCK? that doesnt even IMPLY sexism. they are telling a story. is there some sort of quota writers need to fill now? i'm so sick of all this Political Correctness. is it sexist that Faith from Mirror's Edge is a female? NO! is it sexist that Ezio isn't? NO!

Firstly, they have had ethnic minorities. Altair is Middle-Eastern (though yes, he sounds and acts nothing like that), and Connor is Native-American. Saying that they have some racial bias is quite clearly inaccurate all things considered. Yet they have not had a female protagonist, they have apparently been dismissive towards the idea of a female protagonist (so far), and they think that having a female protagonist would hurt their bottom line. That may not scream sexism, but it certainly isn't something they should be doing or saying. It's definitely ignorant and it definitely makes no sense.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

this isnt fucking news! this isnt anything! this is just another fox news-esque attempt at starting flame wars. its essentially trolling. there has also never been a black assassin in the lead role, or a philipino, or a transgender, or a yeti, or a quadrapalegic assassin... WHO GIVES A FUCK? that doesnt even IMPLY sexism. they are telling a story. is there some sort of quota writers need to fill now? i'm so sick of all this Political Correctness. is it sexist that Faith from Mirror's Edge is a female? NO! is it sexist that Ezio isn't? NO!

Firstly, they have had ethnic minorities. Altair is Middle-Eastern (though yes, he sounds and acts nothing like that), and Connor is Native-American. Saying that they have some racial bias is quite clearly inaccurate all things considered. Yet they have not had a female protagonist, they have apparently been dismissive towards the idea of a female protagonist (so far), and they think that having a female protagonist would hurt their bottom line. That may not scream sexism, but it certainly isn't something they should be doing or saying. It's definitely ignorant and it definitely makes no sense.

uh, i wasnt claiming racial bias. i waspointing out how ridiculous it is to complain that their character didnt meet some quota. and are you saying that being native american is the same as philipino? oh they hit the minority thing, no ned to touch on any other group... this is just pointless bullshit. the character is what it is and isnt what it isnt. and as for "no females" i urge you to look up assassins creed on the ps vita. they didnt even consider a male protagonist for that game! haha. see my point here?

 

[Verlander]

Gonna go with the "doesn't really matter either way" opinion. I want to care and shout and scream about how there should be equality, but I just don't.

Besides, the same people who are championing this would probably be calling it a "gimmick" if they had, or the team would have made her a sexy/skinny/scantily clad protagonist, and been slapped with being sexist too. There should definitely be more women in games, and more realistic women to boot, but you can see how it's a minefield for any games company, and not one that they'd venture into this far into a continuously more successful series.

 

[Candidus]

Yeah, in general games fronted by women sell less.
In general, games fronted by women get less than half the marketing.
In general, games fronted by women are developed by small studios for unusual niches (Beyond Good and Evil).

If a game is going to sell no matter who you put in the lead role, which AC by now absolutely will, then why the hell not have a female assassin this time around? When, and for whom, could it ever be safer than them, now?

I don't buy AC games personally. Just not interested. But just say that I did; I'd be reconsidering that now.
What a shit spiel. It would have been better if they'd said nothing at all.

 

[Trishbot]

As a girl gamer who loves games with strong female ladies, often games by female developers, I am DYING for more quality big-budget games starring strong women.

And the argument that "women in lead games don't sell as well" is pure crap.

Tomb Raider II was the 4th best selling Playstation game OF ALL TIME. Tomb Raider was the 8th. Tomb Raider III was the 11th. Claire Redfield co-starred in Resident Evil 2, which was the 15th best selling game, while the Jill Valentine-led RE3 sits comfortably in the 20th spot. Dino Crisis and Parasite Eve, both games with strong women, remain in the top sellers too.

Samus's Metroid Prime was the 8th best selling game on Gamecube. Several of the top 30 best-selling Xbox 360 and PS3 games have female protagonists. Games like Portal, Bayonetta, Perfect Dark, and others sold just fine.

What I see is simply a LACK of female characters in leading roles in these series. Even games that once had major female protagonists had their heroines dumped to the sidelines or stuck in spin-offs instead.

Assassin's Creed would greatly benefit from some female protagonists. They handled the one in Liberation quite well, but even that was branded as a simple "spin-off". The entire industry could do a better handling female characters in games.

 

[RicoADF]

Yeah, in general games fronted by women sell less.
In general, games fronted by women get less than half the marketing.
In general, games fronted by women are developed by small studios for unusual niches (Beyond Good and Evil).

If a game is going to sell no matter who you put in the lead role, which AC by now absolutely will, then why the hell not have a female assassin this time around? When, and for whom, could it ever be safer than them, now?

I don't buy AC games personally. Just not interested. But just say that I did; I'd be reconsidering that now.
What a shit spiel. It would have been better if they'd said nothing at all.

The real head scratching part is that AC: Liberation has a female assassin in this time period with a pirate hat on. The difference, its on the PS Vita.

As a girl gamer who loves games with strong female ladies, often games by female developers, I am DYING for more quality big-budget games starring strong women.

And the argument that "women in lead games don't sell as well" is pure crap.

Tomb Raider II was the 4th best selling Playstation game OF ALL TIME. Tomb Raider was the 8th. Tomb Raider III was the 11th. Claire Redfield co-starred in Resident Evil 2, which was the 15th best selling game, while the Jill Valentine-led RE3 sits comfortably in the 20th spot. Dino Crisis and Parasite Eve, both games with strong women, remain in the top sellers too.

Samus's Metroid Prime was the 8th best selling game on Gamecube. Several of the top 30 best-selling Xbox 360 and PS3 games have female protagonists. Games like Portal, Bayonetta, Perfect Dark, and others sold just fine.

What I see is simply a LACK of female characters in leading roles in these series. Even games that once had major female protagonists had their heroines dumped to the sidelines or stuck in spin-offs instead.

Assassin's Creed would greatly benefit from some female protagonists. They handled the one in Liberation quite well, but even that was branded as a simple "spin-off". The entire industry could do a better handling female characters in games.

We all know this except the idiots that make games, it makes no sense the crap they spin. Heck I bought Tomb Raider because its one of the few games with a real woman lead (not there just to look sexy, has actual personality, and heck even has weaknesses). I'm so over seeing apes pretending to be men as leads in games, we need more actual characters both men and women.

 

[Sgt Pepper]

In reality any historical setting will be kinda tough on women. You know with them basically being regarded as property of their father until their marriage at which point they become property of their husbands and if they are lucky they spurt out a few babies without dying.

Which, to my mind, could make a female lead even more interesting. Any female becoming an assassin would likely reject the notion that she's 'property'.

Also the series has precedents for female assassins - Shao Jun, Deborah "Dobby" Carter and, even, Claudia Auditore (though she was more of an administrator than an assassin) all come to mind.

Personally I think a female assassin would be quite cool, although to be honest, Ubisoft are not particularly good at creating male characters, so it's not like it's really make much of a difference.

I have never really understood the logic of "female leads don't sell games".

Lara Croft is arguably the most well known Western protagonist until Master Chief came along, and those games hardly sold poorly. You know, considering they released 13 of them, as well as 2 movies and her being the face of Lucozade for a while.

As a girl gamer who loves games with strong female ladies, often games by female developers, I am DYING for more quality big-budget games starring strong women.

And the argument that "women in lead games don't sell as well" is pure crap.

tbh I think Ezio's one of the most interesting videogame protagonists of all time, very well developed imo.

And I have to wonder whether "women in lead games don't sell as well" is more of a developer/publisher hang up, I'm not entirely convinced gamers really care as long as the character, regardless of gender, is done well and the game is good.

I have my doubts that people think "Well, it's supposed to be a great game but it has a female protagonist so I won't play it."

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

this isnt fucking news! this isnt anything! this is just another fox news-esque attempt at starting flame wars. its essentially trolling. there has also never been a black assassin in the lead role, or a philipino, or a transgender, or a yeti, or a quadrapalegic assassin... WHO GIVES A FUCK? that doesnt even IMPLY sexism. they are telling a story. is there some sort of quota writers need to fill now? i'm so sick of all this Political Correctness. is it sexist that Faith from Mirror's Edge is a female? NO! is it sexist that Ezio isn't? NO!

Firstly, they have had ethnic minorities. Altair is Middle-Eastern (though yes, he sounds and acts nothing like that), and Connor is Native-American. Saying that they have some racial bias is quite clearly inaccurate all things considered. Yet they have not had a female protagonist, they have apparently been dismissive towards the idea of a female protagonist (so far), and they think that having a female protagonist would hurt their bottom line. That may not scream sexism, but it certainly isn't something they should be doing or saying. It's definitely ignorant and it definitely makes no sense.

uh, i wasnt claiming racial bias. i waspointing out how ridiculous it is to complain that their character didnt meet some quota. and are you saying that being native american is the same as philipino? oh they hit the minority thing, no ned to touch on any other group... this is just pointless bullshit. the character is what it is and isnt what it isnt. and as for "no females" i urge you to look up assassins creed on the ps vita. they didnt even consider a male protagonist for that game! haha. see my point here?

Okay, are we all going to seriously just keep bringing up some stupid side-story game for the Vita as evidence that any criticism of them is unfounded? I never even heard about it until this very thread. It also has nothing to do with the comments he made and how idiotic they are.