But there ARE great Female game characters!!......

[GrizzlerBorno]

....Many, In fact!!

The rhetoric of "How many Interesting Female Game characters can you remember?" is dredged up so often, especially nowadays, in the aftermath of a certain PAX panel...

But the truth is, in retrospect, all of my favorite games in recent memory have TONS of great Female Characters. Right now, I'm nearing the end of New Vegas and I've met many well-written, fascinating broads in the Mojave. Veronica, Cass, Lily (SHUT UP! she counts XD) are three teammates who are all pretty cool in their own way. Other than them, there are plenty of minor female characters, like Ranger Ghost from the Outpost, Trudy, Sunny, That chick from the Thorn, That... other chick who I thought was really cool at the time but.....

Speaking of which, that's one thing everyone seems to forget. These Women are NORMAL! They are interesting, but you don't remember them at the end of the day because they are just ordinary individuals that you may or may not get close to. They daunt flaunt their femininity or scream "LOOK AT ME! I'm a GIRL in a VIDEO GAME!". This may lead to them being less memorable in the long run, but their are A LOT of Male characters like that too. I mean, I won't remember Boone or Arcade, any more than I will Cass and Veronica.

So, What do People MEAN when they say "we want More Female Characters?" is my question.
Do they want Memorable oddballs like that antagonist from Bioshock 2? That's perfectly understandable, and I want that too.

But If they mean, "We want more normal, relatable women to befriend in games, alongside their male counterparts".....then OPEN your eyes, there are characters like that in nearly every good game, from Mass Effect, to Alpha Protocol, to Bulletstorm (don't even DARE insult a character voiced by Jennifer Hale!)

And if it's Female Protagonists you are clamoring for, I ask: What the hell is the fuss about? 70% of game protagonists are Silent anyway, so what difference would it make? If you REALLY want (and if they are totally silent), just imagine them to be girls.....

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Is the plea for female characters noble but nigh exaggerated?

 

[Danceofmasks]

Nah, they're just saying they want more females as the main character.
Y'know, even games where the main character can be either (such as Mass Effect) has ... well ... a poncy male model on all the advertising.

 

[darth.pixie]

Can I insult Jennifer Hale directly? Honestly, I have nothing against her but ..urgh Bastila and her voicing of Fem Shep just creeped me out.

I do think it's exaggerated. Almost every character out there is represented by one trait multiplied by infinity in different situations. Female, male, children, demons, angels...aliens are more diverse but they're aliens. They can be.

Female Protagonists are usually badass anyway... some female NPCs are cool. Just like the male. In fact it seems to me that the industry is having a much harder time portraying male NPCs since either all of them are tough bastards who'd kick a puppy, noble knights or a brooding mass of writhing angst. There's a reason a lot of female PC romances suck and some are bearable for male PCs.

 

[Valagetti]

Alyx Vance. I just always drop that name in these forums.

 

[Blood Countess]

Honestly my favorite female character I think is awesome from recent games is Ashley Williams from the First Mass Effect.She is a strong character but shows a softer side when talking about her family though not into that when she began to discuss God with the Commander it just to me made her a strong and well made character done by Bioware and I think at times they went beyond what they had to with her but that's my opinion.

I can think of plenty others too but just to me she was a really good one I liked

 

[moretimethansense]

I couldn't agree more, except about Jen Hale, she's good but not THAT good.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Honestly my favorite female character I think is awesome from recent games is Ashley Williams from the First Mass Effect.

I was actually going to bring up Ashley, but the OP got WAY too big as is. But yeah, I enjoyed her company as well. Especially on my Renegade Femshep playthrough, where I started out on the wrong foot (because I was choosing renegade options) but It got better as I talked more and more and by the time we went to Ilos, we were chatting about how her little sister once beat up a bully at school.....now, THAT is character-building!

Alyx Vance. I just always drop that name in these forums.

I used to do that too, but In all honesty, Alyx Vance is the anti-thesis of what I'm talking about. She DOES flaunt her femininity, she DOES scream "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!", and she's not....really....all that interesting. Oh and the Patronizing......don't even get me STARTED on the patronizing......

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

I'm having a hard time wording this clearly but: the ratio of good fem character:bad fem characters is probably exactly the same as good male characters:bad male characters it is just that there are traditionally more male characters overall because there were(are?) more male gamers and male gamers tend to relate more to male characters and vise versa.

(please don't respond to that last sentence with how you relate more to the opposite gender. Personally I much prefer playing females I'm just stating what I feel the industry's opinion is.)

Apologies if that was worded confusingly.

 

[kittii-chan 300]

miranda was a good female character. she didnt have OMEGA sized breasts, she wasnt to girly or over the top, she had a good background (father died, wants revenge on aliens) and theres a tiny romance so small that most people miss it between her and sgt johnson and she had a dramatic death.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Alyx Vance. I just always drop that name in these forums.

I used to do that too, but In all honesty, Alyx Vance is the anti-thesis of what I'm talking about. She DOES flaunt her femininity, she DOES scream "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!", and she's not....really....all that interesting. Oh and the Patronizing......don't even get me STARTED on the patronizing......

Ugh don't get me started on Alyx. The patronizing and the nagging and the I just naturally fall in love with a mute mass-murdering physicist.

Jade (Beyond Good and Evil) is a much better example.

Incidentally I had an old thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.269843-Example-Female-Characters-you-think-qualify-as-good-strong-etc-with-reasons#10358947] where I tried to assemble a list of good female characters with reasons why people thought they were good examples and it basically boiled down to personal outlook on what a good female character actually was.

 

[madwarper]

Alyx Vance. I just always drop that name in these forums.

I used to do that too, but In all honesty, Alyx Vance is the anti-thesis of what I'm talking about. She DOES flaunt her femininity, she DOES scream "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!",

Wait... What? Alyx screams "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!" and Veronica doesn't?

Forgive me, but I don't seem to recall Alyx ever telling me of how she dreamed to be pretty and constantly badgering me to get her a dress.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

@ Scorched: I think I get what you're saying, just because there are generally more male characters/protagonists in video games does not necessarily mean they are complex, shining, paradigm examples of good characterisation. It annoys me to see games labelled as sexist for featuring negative depictions of females, when the male characters are equally poor representations of our gender.

 

[olicon]

And if it's Female Protagonists you are clamoring for, I ask: What the hell is the fuss about? 70% of game protagonists are Silent anyway, so what difference would it make? If you REALLY want (and if they are totally silent), just imagine them to be girls.....

Keep it hush-hush, but they ARE female. Just very butch one. That's why the Dev don't want you to find out.

Personally, I think that the jRPG fares much better in this area, simply because character development is all they have, seeing as they don't give you much freedom.
I really like the cast from Tales of Legendia. Grune really made quite an impression on me.
Kid from Chrono Cross still haunts me to this day. And that glasses girl from Trigger? Heck yeah.
Yuna, Serah and Ashe are my favorites from FF series. They just seem so human. They have doubts, they have regrets, and they have a purpose. You see them develop and change as a person, not just as a combat machine. I would dare anyone to sum up these characters in 1 sentence, let alone a paragraph. The Yuna laugh scene, the revelation of l'cies' purpose and Serah's story, Ashe's wedding scene. These scenes really exemplify strong, REAL humans (who happens to be able to cast fireballs or outright kill you and an army with just a stick). Their dialogs are all very well done too.

 

[Manji187]

And if it's Female Protagonists you are clamoring for, I ask: What the hell is the fuss about? 70% of game protagonists are Silent anyway, so what difference would it make? If you REALLY want (and if they are totally silent), just imagine them to be girls.....

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Is the plea for female characters noble but nigh exaggerated?

Well that's more or less it: how many non-silent, non "guy with boobs" (mentally swappable for male) female protagonists with genuine character do you know? I know of three: April Ryan (The Longest Journey), Zoe Castillo (Dreamfall) and Jade (Beyond Good and Evil).

Some people say:

-Samus (Metroid: Other M)
-Bayonetta
-Lara Croft
-Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Personally, I find these examples highly debatable.

*Sigh* In the end, it's a matter of writing.

EDIT: Oh..and Alyx Vance isn't a protagonist. Still a debatable character though...as you will see across forums.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

And if it's Female Protagonists you are clamoring for, I ask: What the hell is the fuss about? 70% of game protagonists are Silent anyway, so what difference would it make? If you REALLY want (and if they are totally silent), just imagine them to be girls.....

So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Is the plea for female characters noble but nigh exaggerated?

Well that's more or less it: how many non-silent, non "guy with boobs" (mentally swappable for male) female protagonists with genuine character do you know? I know of three: April Ryan (The Longest Journey), Zoe Castillo (Dreamfall) and Jade (Beyond Good and Evil).

Some people say:

-Samus (Metroid: Other M)
-Bayonetta
-Lara Croft
-Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Personally, I find these examples highly debatable.

*Sigh* In the end, it's a matter of writing.

Off the top of my head:
-Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark)
-Lilith (Borderlands)
-Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
-Ayame (Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven)

Edit-missed the protagonist bit edited list

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Alyx Vance. I just always drop that name in these forums.

I used to do that too, but In all honesty, Alyx Vance is the anti-thesis of what I'm talking about. She DOES flaunt her femininity, she DOES scream "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!",

Wait... What? Alyx screams "LOOK AT ME!! I'm a GIRL!" and Veronica doesn't?

Forgive me, but I don't seem to recall Alyx ever telling me of how she dreamed to be pretty and constantly badgering me to get her a dress.

In all honesty I didn't get to hang out with Veronica much since I had to do "that quest" for House (against my better judgement); But I did talk to her for a while at 188 and, yes I ran across that line about the Dress.......and I laughed ever so much.

Veronica has been wearing, what is essentially, a burlap sack for her whole life. She reserves the right to want a dress, to feel like a lady(Is there actually a quest about getting her a dress, btw? Now I HAVE to replay that game...)

Alyx on the other hand. Well this guy said it well...

Ugh don't get me started on Alyx. The patronizing and the nagging and the I just naturally fall in love with a mute mass-murdering physicist.

Sorry, but that says in bold text "token female eye candy".
or well.....token female eye candy

That being said, I do Honestly believe that if you were ever allowed to have a deep, meaningful conversation with her, she could be shown to have an absolutely stunning personality. As it is, her personality can be summed by the phrase "Be careful, Gordon [shy, flirtatious hair adjustment]"

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Veronica has been wearing, what is essentially, a burlap sack for her whole life. She reserves the right to want a dress, to feel like a lady(Is there actually a quest about getting her a dress, btw? Now I HAVE to replay that game...)

She teaches you the unarmed move "scribe counter" if you get her a suitably girly dress and put it in her inventory. White Glove Society wear or pre-war formal wear stuff works.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Well that's more or less it: how many non-silent, non "guy with boobs" (mentally swappable for male) female protagonists with genuine character do you know? I know of three: April Ryan (The Longest Journey), Zoe Castillo (Dreamfall) and Jade (Beyond Good and Evil).

Some people say:

-Samus (Metroid: Other M)
-Bayonetta
-Lara Croft
-Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Personally, I find these examples highly debatable.

*Sigh* In the end, it's a matter of writing.

Zoe Castillo was an interesting example in that, she was sexualiased and ridiculously hot but that was only one tiny aspect of her overall likable personality.

So, yeah, she was a great character and we need more protags like her who are basically "I'm the protag; I'm a girl; DON'T DARE make a fuss about it." Not many of the other female protags can claim that; like Bayonetta and Croft.etc. whos' games revolve around the gimmicky fact that they have Vaginas'. We don't need that....

......and hasn't Dreamfall been overdue for a sequel for the last five years or summing?

 

[Sallix]

The problem I see is that a lot of female characters come across as completely interchangeable with a male character, Samus Aran is the obvious one for this. What needs to happen, in my opinion, is what Extra Creditz alluded to in their episode on the subject. The female characters SHOULD set themselves apart from their male counterparts, there should be an exploration of their femininity because otherwise, what sets them apart from their male counterparts? I believe there is a way to make this happen without falling into stereotyping females, possibly by exploring ideas such as their matriarchal feelings whether it involves them having children of their own or just their want to protect the people they hold close. Perhaps delving into feminism as well.

Obviously this is a sweeping statement and really only applies to games with a serious story and has a focus on character development.

 

[Auxiliary]

The Taco Wench and the Little Orphan Girl in Deathspank are amazing!