When will game developers realize there are female players too?

[Jimmybobjr]

"When will game developers realize there are female players too?"
When female players are any good.

 

[the_bearpelt]

I don't really mind playing male characters, honestly. I think the reason why is because most female characters in video games are horrendous. THey're either whores, incredibly irritating and useless, or they're incredibly "badass" but still annoying and preachy. Or, god forbid, some unhol combination of two or three.

 

[Yingyangathena]

I don't really mind playing male characters, honestly. I think the reason why is because most female characters in video games are horrendous. THey're either whores, incredibly irritating and useless, or they're incredibly "badass" but still annoying and preachy. Or, god forbid, some unhol combination of two or three.

I totally agree with this, and that is why I usually play as the male when given a choice between the two genders.

 

[SofaKingCool]

I'm not sure I understand exactly why there is a problem in the first place...The very fact that a game is a good game or if a game is just the kind of game you like should be the reason you buy that game. I mean who honestly goes up to great games like the Halo games or The Gears games or Mario for goodness sake and says. "Hmmmm I don't feel like buying this because the main character doesn't share my gender." Honestly, if you like the genre or style of game then get it for that reason, don't let asthetic details keep you from a game you may enjoy. If you don't like the game play of a game then don't get it for that reason, don't make it a gender issue.

 

[SofaKingCool]

Don't be a sexist asshat.

 

[SofaKingCool]

Also for people who are just being sexist in this forum, it makes people dislike you and no one wants to have you post.(trying to give my previous post a meaning since it didnt get tagged to the person i directed it towards.)

 

[skeliton112]

TF2 has one. I refuse to believe the pyro is a male. Don't ask why.

 

[MasterV]

Reality is nothing of this has anything to do with the gender of protagonists since males clear accept both because both male and female character can have qualitys that men like
is not logical to suggest that women can only accept female leads why should a game with a male lead be completly unable to appeal to a female audience you could quite easily create a game with zero females and still appeal to a female audience

Well, my friend it's actually easy for devs to create likeable male and female protagonists. Why? Because they are males themselves. They don't think the same way a female does. And I agree that it's not necessarily a female lead that will attract a female player, it's more the story than the protagonist. Which is why I commented on the OP's view about what she is asking being a bit unrealistic and unfeasible.

The truth of the matter is that developers are either/and:
a)Guys like me and you who may or may not masturbate to their female creations and thus create them with a few more..."assets" then strictly necessary.

b)They like the age-old template of boy saves girl. Not necessarily bad, mind you. They are guys after all, I can sympathize with them wanting to save the girl, as can you.

c)They probably read/watch a lot of manga/anime (especially if they're Japanese), which ends up in the girl being a love interest and a romantic complement to the story's brutish/boorish protagonist.

Now, I'm not saying that female leads will lead gaming to a brave new era. Nor that it is necessary from my poin of view. Far from it. It'll just lead to female leads who are viewed more like actual characters and not just fap material, which can only be a good thing, no?

 

[jamesworkshop]

Reality is nothing of this has anything to do with the gender of protagonists since males clear accept both because both male and female character can have qualitys that men like
is not logical to suggest that women can only accept female leads why should a game with a male lead be completly unable to appeal to a female audience you could quite easily create a game with zero females and still appeal to a female audience

Well, my friend it's actually easy for devs to create likeable male and female protagonists. Why? Because they are males themselves. They don't think the same way a female does. And I agree that it's not necessarily a female lead that will attract a female player, it's more the story than the protagonist. Which is why I commented on the OP's view about what she is asking being a bit unrealistic and unfeasible.

The truth of the matter is that developers are either/and:
a)Guys like me and you who may or may not masturbate to their female creations and thus create them with a few more..."assets" then strictly necessary.

b)They like the age-old template of boy saves girl. Not necessarily bad, mind you. They are guys after all, I can sympathize with them wanting to save the girl, as can you.

c)They probably read/watch a lot of manga/anime (especially if they're Japanese), which ends up in the girl being a love interest and a romantic complement to the story's brutish/boorish protagonist.

Now, I'm not saying that female leads will lead gaming to a brave new era. Nor that it is necessary from my poin of view. Far from it. It'll just lead to female leads who are viewed more like actual characters and not just fap material, which can only be a good thing, no?

Sure realistic female character are a struggle to make but it shouldn't be viewed as being outside the realms of possibility when it's clear that most female character have never been created with the intention of being liked by female players, people are simply asking for more female MC's instead of better female MC's

Very few games are about boy saves girl, videogame characters are universally badasses even if they happen to be a scientists they will still fight off alien invasions with a crowbar, not really the issue because females are made to be protagonists but that doesn't make them more interesting to women because most female protagonists are created for the enjoyment of a male audience hence most are shallow sex objects.

It's not a lack of women it's the lack of quality and variety available thats the real problem Female characters are perfectly acceptable as shallow sex objects since we men clearly like them and they can easily coexist with female characters that are not designed from the male gaze but games rarely do that because most developers are targeting males primarlly.
Because of that asking for more female MC's is simply going to increase the number of games with sexy asskickers like Tomb raider rather than something like Dreamfall instead.


What people really want is for the videogame industry to make female demographic games however my view is that to do so does not require a female MC's for the same reasons that so far developers have had no trouble creating male or female lead games that appeal to men.

 

[Stickwell]

You mean like Gears of War 3 where there are two female main characters?
Halo Reach which also has one?
Tomb Raider.
Metroid.
Portal.
Mass Effect.
Dragon Age.
Fallout.
Tenchu.
Borderlands.
Mirrors Edge.
Perfect Dark.
Bayonetta.

Quite a few of these are Triple A titles.

I don't see why there has to be a female character for you to enjoy the game anyway. Portal is one of mine and a lot of peoples favourite games and a significant amount of them are males with no complaint.

Granted RPG's should always have a gender option because they are based upon role-play where people frequently like to play as themselves in a fantasy setting, but beyond that you are playing as a character not an avatar of yourself.

By that logic you shouldn't like books written in the first person with a male narrator either. Or television programmes or films where the protagonist is male as you cannot relate to them.

I personally have no issue whatsoever playing as a female character, and not because of the "If I have to stare at a pixellated ass..." argument either.

Bravo... Bravo.

 

[Azure Sky]

Now, I'm not saying that female leads will lead gaming to a brave new era. Nor that it is necessary from my poin of view. Far from it. It'll just lead to female leads who are viewed more like actual characters and not just fap material, which can only be a good thing, no?

This is basically my take on the whole situation.

Defiantly a good thing to happen, but the world won't end it it doesn't.

 

[mkg]

Men invented games. It's all we have, the only thing in our lives that the majority of women A) don't want to be a part of and B) won't take in the divorce settlement.

ZING!

 

[Legion]

I'm a little skeptical of GoW's implementation of female leads, actually. It's ridiculous to see some of the stuff Marcus, Dom, Baird, and Cole do in the game. But it's certainly less ridiculous to see huge, steroid-infused men performing these brutal superhuman feats than it will be to see one of the willowy, wispy idealized female forms I've seen in the promotional material.

They aren't steroid infused though, that's just the artistic direction the developers took, at least, according to their video documentaries that is.

To be honest the only two who look large are Marcus and Cole anyway, and they are described in the book as being so, the rest are pretty normal for someone in the military:

Spoiler: Baird

In comparison to body size (most of it being armour anyway) his arms aren't exactly huge.

 

[Anah'ya]

To be honest the only two who look large are Marcus and Cole anyway, and they are described in the book as being so, the rest are pretty average:

Spoiler: Baird

In comparison to body size (most of it being armour anyway) his arms aren't exactly huge.

I like Baird.

*stares*

... *coughs*

The Video Game industry has, indeed, realized that there are female gamers out there. And there are plenty of games where a female role is feasible and also present. Since they were already mentioned by previous posters I don't see why I should bother to do that again.

I really can't see a lack of them. Even if I try really hard. Whenever I think of the games I've played that have male leads, I just can't for the life of me figure out how a female one would have fit in there without turning the whole bloody story or gameplay around. The same might not apply for the ones featuring females, but in these instances the lead with a pair of airbags was at least justified.

... I mean I can picture Beyond Good and Evil with a lad dashing about with a staff and camera. Though it wouldn't have been as good, since Jade was tailored to fit the job description.
I could, however, not picture Garrett the Masterthief being replaced by Garretta. Ugh. *shudder*

As for shooters (in particular war "simulating" one): Until those are focused on a different military culture (read: not the US) we won't be seeing a female character on the front. Come to think of it. How would tea bagging work in that scenario?

Anyway.

Whatever are these womenz doin' out saving the world? They should be in the kitchen.

 

[science girl]

I don't mind if there is a female option I'll take but I wouldn't rule out a game just because it doesn't have a gender option.

 

[veloper]

There's mega popular games like the Sims and bejeweled that target women specificly.

Since when does Bejewelled and The Sims target women specifically? Maybe the men you hang out with won't play them because they're not manly enough, but those are games that can be enjoyed by pretty much any demographic.

Some guy could enjoy playing with virtual jewels or a digital doll house, but I don't think this stuff is appealing to most guys.
So pretty much yeah, I don't think these games are manly enough.

Both games are very succesful though. Very popular with female casual gamers.

The industry isn't ignoring women. Different games are produced for different audiences.

 

[PhiMed]

I'm a little skeptical of GoW's implementation of female leads, actually. It's ridiculous to see some of the stuff Marcus, Dom, Baird, and Cole do in the game. But it's certainly less ridiculous to see huge, steroid-infused men performing these brutal superhuman feats than it will be to see one of the willowy, wispy idealized female forms I've seen in the promotional material.

They aren't steroid infused though, that's just the artistic direction the developers took, at least, according to their video documentaries that is.

To be honest the only two who look large are Marcus and Cole anyway, and they are described in the book as being so, the rest are pretty normal for someone in the military:

Spoiler: Baird

In comparison to body size (most of it being armour anyway) his arms aren't exactly huge.

They're not huge compared to the arms of the other massive meatheads in that game, but a person with arms that large in real life would definitely be considered bulky. And whether you consider him to be big or not, it's definitely easier to accept him sawing a person in half in a few seconds than it would be to see this person

http://img.listal.com/image/1253247/500full.jpg

doing the same thing. The brutal acts that occur in GoW just seem like they'd be silly being committed by a woman with a physique that would be well-suited for modelling bikinis.

A female bodybuilder? Sure. An Olympic sprinter? Maybe. This? stupid.

 

[noble cookie]

When we have to play as female characters in games, we don't complain.

Anyway, this.

You mean like Gears of War 3 where there are two female main characters?
Halo Reach which also has one?
Tomb Raider.
Metroid.
Portal.
Mass Effect.
Dragon Age.
Fallout.
Tenchu.
Borderlands.
Mirrors Edge.
Perfect Dark.
Bayonetta.

Off topic: Halo Reach FTW!!1

 

[Mucinex-D]

Yeah when will they realize all the female gamers out there want a game of their own? A cooking game perhaps with a little sewing involved. Cook that turkey faster before your husband comes home! QUICK TIME EVENT BASTING!! Uh oh you didn't make it, now you get a few good smacks for being late on dinner again.

Honestly I think if you aren't going to play a game because "you can only play a male character" you're playing games for the wrong reasons. I play games because they're fun, regardless of if I'm playing a female or male character. If I had to play a female character only? Fine with me I won't get my panties in a bunch and refuse to play it because it offends me.

 

[PhiMed]

There's mega popular games like the Sims and bejeweled that target women specificly.

Since when does Bejewelled and The Sims target women specifically? Maybe the men you hang out with won't play them because they're not manly enough, but those are games that can be enjoyed by pretty much any demographic.

Some guy could enjoy playing with virtual jewels or a digital doll house, but I don't think this stuff is appealing to most guys.
So pretty much yeah, I don't think these games are manly enough.

Both games are very succesful though. Very popular with female casual gamers.

The industry isn't ignoring women. Different games are produced for different audiences.

People who study the video game industry for a living recognize the fact that women play casual games and life simulators more than men do. Women are pretty much solely responsible for the success of the Sims. This is a well-established, statistically supported trend. Saying, "Men play those games, too," is a little like saying, "Women play ultraviolent masculine games, too." It's true, but it would pretty much render this entire thread moot.