Do you think that the reason females aren't main characters in violent games is because...

pulse2

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....We like to depict females in a more positive light and don't like the concept of them being hurt?

I say this because lets take GTA4 for example, its quite apparent that there is a majority male AI, pedestrians, main characters etc, much of this could be because the developers suspected males gamers would have a violence towards women approach, maybe not, who knows. WWE games have now separated males and females in their games, which to me seems pretty stupid, I can understand the realism approach, but it kind of defeats the purpose of even putting females in the game, the number of matches you can have with females included is limited and they can never directly compete with the males, so why even bother putting them in the game? I don't JUST want to play normal and tag matches, I want to play all with any character I feel like choosing. Besides that we have very macho male orientated games from FPS to Sandbox and few feature female protagonists.

Its nice to see the choice available in games like Dragon Age and Fallout, but what about other games?

But like I said, do you think think that its the protective nature that we have of females and violence? Could it be political correctness? Why can't there be a female protagonist in Dead Space? Is it because she'd suffer the same morbid deaths as Issac does? Like someone said, why no females in FPS games?

What do you think it is and do you think things should change or stay as they are?

(QUICK EDIT: I think its a little more than just "Its a male dominated market", because then we have to look at the specifics of it, like race and culture, I don't identify with Marcus Fenix because he's a male, to be honest I couldn't give a damn as long as the gameplay is sound and the plot makes some sort of sense otherwise I would never have played Tomb Raider games. Heck, saying I identify with the male characters more is almost insulting, its like saying I'm simple minded, I'm a black, fairly skinny guy who lives in England, I'm neither American, White or Muscle Bound, so I have no connection with these characters whatsoever, I live nothing like them, their lives are alien to me, but I enjoy the games all the same.)
 

Chamale

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I have noticed that video games and movies tend to shy away from showing women being killed, especially not as violently as the men getting killed. It's a subtle form of sexism, probably descended from the belief that men should go fight in wars while women stay in the kitchen.
 

Tragedy's Rebellion

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No, it's because males identify themselves more easily with other males. Gaming being predominantly a male "thing", developers cater more to them. I doubt any developer have ever said to themselves "We won't make a woman a main character in this WWII game just because women need to stay in the kitchen".
 

the spud

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That's society. More males game=more games with male protagonists. I would like to see more games with female protagonists, but publishers want guarunteed income.
 

DannyJBeckett

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Females can be the protagonists of violent games, it's just they're not chosen often (males are more aggressive? I dunno). BloodRayne, anyone?
 

HassEsser

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Chamale said:
It's a subtle form of sexism, probably descended from the belief that men should go fight in wars while women stay in the kitchen.
Everything is some sort of "-ism" these days. . .
 

jesskit

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Tragedy said:
No, it's because males identify themselves more easily with other males. Gaming being predominantly a male "thing", developers cater more to them.
I never quite understood this. Yes sure it works for the majority of cases but just have a look at the popularity of Tomb Raider. Sure you could say is cause of the polygon overrun that occured in the first game (you know what Im talking about), but honestly I think people actually connected with Lara. I don't really see the whole, guys can only experience fun in a game through a guys eyes. If you make a meaningful character who is a girl, I think guys are equally capable to enjoy the game as if it was a guy. Possibly even more so because they gain an experience they might not otherwise have had.
 

pulse2

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Tragedy said:
No, it's because males identify themselves more easily with other males. Gaming being predominantly a male "thing", developers cater more to them. I doubt any developer have ever said to themselves "We won't make a woman a main character in this WWII game just because women need to stay in the kitchen".
No, its a bit more then that, that's why I pulled up the topic. I don't think developers have an issue with creating female leads even if it is a male dominated market (which is less the case nowadays then it used to be) and evidence of that is Tomb Raider and Pandamonium, Heck, even Blood Rayne, these are old games in the times when less females played games.

I know the views towards Lara Croft were pretty sexist, but nonetheless, she was a powerful character in gaming, its only because the games have become a little dry that they are in less demand, not necessarily to do with her. But the refresh TR releasing soon is evidence that women too can be put in difficult situations that mean life or death.

It happens in movies as well, you will always see in zombie flicks males being ripped apart by zombies, never will you see that happen to females and that could be the reasoning for games as well.

Take Issac for example, in the first game he didn't speak, if it wasn't for the support characters and flashbacks, he could have been a she or heck, even an alien for all we knew, so there wasn't that much stopping them from making him a her as well, giving gamers that choice and simply tweaking the plot a little. They just wanted to avoid putting females in that kind of danger or harm.
 

Gentle Dementia

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it upsets us more, same reason getting hit in the testicles is so very unpleasant, it directly threatens the continuation of our genes, so we have an atavistic hate of it.
 

krazykidd

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Perfect dark .
Dino crisis
Parasite eve
Mirrors edge
Final fantasy x-2
final fantasy xiii
Final fantasy 6 ( debatable)
Xenosaga (debatable)
Kingdom hearts (joke )
Metroid
Velvet assassin
Portal ( i think)

And im sure there are many more

Oh you mean war games with manly men with muscles bigger than their heads . Yeah although there are women that go to war , it's a tiny percentage . So having a female main character in CoD is boarderline unrealistic , plus i don't want to relive metroid other M ever again.

Edit: Thought of some more , Tomb raider , X-blades , Silent freaking hill 3 (comon you can't get any more greusome than that !) Resident evil , Clock tower 3 , Wet , Alice . Okay i' going to stop here you get my point
 

Chamale

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HassEsser said:
Chamale said:
It's a subtle form of sexism, probably descended from the belief that men should go fight in wars while women stay in the kitchen.
Everything is some sort of "-ism" these days. . .
Not everything an -ism, but treating members of one gender differently in media because of their gender is sexist.
 

Chemical Alia

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Many publishers see it as a risk to sales. I'd also like to see people move beyond whatever stupid instinctual aversion they have to gibbing females, in any case.
 

AceTrilby

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On the subject of women rarely dying violent deaths in video games, in Alpha Protocol
Some of the leading ladies die HARD (Mina's was particularly shocking if you weren't careful), but they're also portrayed as strong, capable women.

Ladies are getting deaths that are equally as gruesome as guys in games nowadays, slowly but surely, e.g. Shadows of the Damned or The Darkness - which I suppose coincides with the fact that there are more female protagonists now.
 

neonsword13-ops

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Well, we can't have a female main character without sparking some type of controversy.

You know the drill, "Her breastz r shwing! Covr or we ban gamz! She iz killing too muchz! Tone down Violence! Also, make it have unicorns and fru-fru colorz. Theeen we might consider..."

This is what happens when the general public can not be mature about what type of gender is being portrayed in a game. Male gamers want buff manly characters with 8-inch wide muscles and big, bloody guns. Female gamers probably couldn't care less but I bet they would like to play as a nice, rounded female character who isn't a walking stereotype. (Like Lilith from Boderlands. She was not sexually portayed and she fits in just fine with the rest of the group. Or Elena from Uncharted. She is as real as all of us. She has feelings and character.)
 

Kurai Angelo

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pulse2 said:
....We like to depict females in a more positive light and don't like the concept of them being hurt?

I say this because lets take GTA4 for example, its quite apparent that there is a majority male AI, pedestrians, main characters etc, much of this could be because the developers suspected males gamers would have a violence towards women approach, maybe not, who knows. WWE games have now separated males and females in their games, which to me seems pretty stupid, I can understand the realism approach, but it kind of defeats the purpose of even putting females in the game, the number of matches you can have with females included is limited and they can never directly compete with the males, so why even bother putting them in the game? I don't JUST want to play normal and tag matches, I want to play all with any character I feel like choosing. Besides that we have very macho male orientated games from FPS to Sandbox and few feature female protagonists.

Its nice to see the choice available in games like Dragon Age and Fallout, but what about other games?

But like I said, do you think think that its the protective nature that we have of females and violence? Could it be political correctness? Why can't there be a female protagonist in Dead Space? Is it because she'd suffer the same morbid deaths as Issac does? Like someone said, why no females in FPS games?

What do you think it is and do you think things should change or stay as they are?
There was Elizabeta... (I think that was her name) in GTA4. She shoots a guy in the face in a cut scene and makes a living selling cocaine.

Seems to be doing fine in a man's world.
 

Saltyk

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Chamale said:
I have noticed that video games and movies tend to shy away from showing women being killed, especially not as violently as the men getting killed. It's a subtle form of sexism, probably descended from the belief that men should go fight in wars while women stay in the kitchen.
There's a lot of truth to this statement, I think. Take God of War 3 as an example. Notice all the people Kratos kills in very graphic ways. You watch from Poseidon's point of view as Kratos kills him up until his eyes are poked out. You cut the legs off of Hermes. Rip out Hades' soul. Punch Hercules until he doesn't have a face anymore.

And then there's Aphrodite and Hera. Well, Kratos doesn't even lay a hand on Aphrodite (in terms of murder) and completely ignores Hera. He seems to regard her as a drunk that isn't worth his time. It's not until she insults Pandora that Kratos kills her. By strangling her with one hand. And it's not interactive. Literally the only non-interactive and non gruesome kill in the entire game is a middle aged drunk woman. He'll burn a man trapped in Hades, um, alive (that was actually gonna help him), but Hera gets a free pass.
 

ryo02

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DEAD SPACE SERIES SPOILERS

dead space? while the main character is male there are female necromorphs Nicole is dead Kendra gets smeared all over the place by the hive mind ***** deserved it too.

in the 2nd game Ellie gets an eye torn out daina is spaced/shot.

in dead space extraction Catherine Howell murdered/allowed to die.

the cartoons have major if not main female characters that either get spaced or lobotomised. among lesser character who kill themselves/get killed.

and many random victims.

I think you used a bad example of games to prove your point heh.