Do you like to play for female characters?

I bring to your attention a translation of an entertaining article published yesterday on the MCV website.
Its name:“Women are the future of the video game”, or the story of how Tomb Raider and Ko put the girls on the agenda again ”.
Official source by link –
www.MCVUK.COM/News/Read/Women-E-The-Future-OF-Gaming/0111714

Is it true that gamers do not want to play for female characters?

Even if not, then such a market theory is very popular today. The games of the current console generation are simply teeming with muscular guys shooting at everything. Take at least a few representatives of this season – Dead Space,Army of Two, God of War And GEARS of WAR – Big guys with large guns (with the exception of Kratos – an approximate translation) who kill large monsters (and here Kratos is ahead of the planet – an approximate translation).

It is not surprising that games, the main characters in whom are women, do not pay off. Official Xbox Magazine I once asked Chris Parma, art director Epic Games, Could the girl become the main character in one of the games of the GEARS of War series. To which he answered:
"If you look at sales, then such a solution would not justify yourself".
And this is not the first time we hear a similar answer. Naughty Dog, Developers "One of us", VG247 admitted last year that they were asked to move Ellie (companion of the protagonist of the game) to the back of the cover.

Immediately after Capcom announced their new project Remember Me, The protagonist of which is a girl named Nilin, the publisher in an interview with MCV hinted about whether the main character can cause a commercial failure of the game.
But Capcom did not turn away from Nilin, and the Naughty Dog flatly refused to remove Ellie on the front side of the cover.
Will they be able to Tomb Raider and “behind the line: two souls”, the main characters in whom are just girls (and not just girls, but strong personalities), serve as evidence that in 2013 female characters will come to the forefront? And will they be able to interest a new, namely female, audience?
Lara Croft is the main evidence that games with women on the covers can be sold in million circulations. But in many respects Lara was created by men for men. Along with Bayonette or heroines Dead or Alive, She was a character focused on attracting a male audience.
But Crystal Dynamics, The developers of the rested Tomb Raider set themselves the goal of creating a new, realistic Lara, which wants to empathize.

“We have retained the main features of her character: she is a British, smart, resourceful and brave,” says Darrell Gallagher, Head of Crystal Dynamics. “But we needed a more mundane, more realistic Lara Croft – the most ordinary person who fell into an unusual, emergency situation”.

“The reboot is not intended for a https://nongamstopsites.uk/review/gxmble/ certain gender, and this is definitely not a story about what it is“ to be a girl ”. No, this is a story about what it is – to be a person fighting for survival. And we hope that as a result, the game will gain popularity among players ".

Indeed, the gender of the protagonist itself cannot be the key to attracting a wider female audience. Be it Portal, Link from Zelda, Samus from Metroid Or Nathan Drake from Uncharted – all these games on equal terms turn to players, regardless of their gender.

We also talked with the head Quantic Dream David Cage, working at the moment on their new game "beyond the line: two souls". “The Faces” is PS3-Exclusive, the main role in which is played by the Hollywood actress Ellen Page, The heroine Jodie Holmes. So why did Cage chose the girl for the main role?

“I don’t feel that it was some kind of conscious choice-to make the girl the main character. I just wanted to tell a story, ”he says in an interview with MCV. “What surprises me, no one would ever ask the writer or the director such a question. Their audience simply would not have the question of whether the female character makes the story more interesting and powerful ". “Sexism is still inherent in video games, especially considering that most of them are focused on violence. Of course, because male characters have more muscles and combat skills. What distinguishes women in video games? Basically, the large breasts and primitiveness of psychology, they serve as a kind of trophies for male heroes. Most gamers are men, and if a woman is not as sexy as Lara Croft, then they are unlikely to consider her attractive ". “But there are progress, and not least because interesting characters and a strong script begin to come out in the first place”.

The head of the marketing department Capcom Michael Pattison shares the point of view Cage, which is primarily important by a person, not his floor.

“We do not think that the character’s floor is so important. When we first saw Remember Me and Nilin, we almost immediately realized that it was her head of the plot of the game that was the right decision. The main thing is the context, narrative, creating images and what role the central character of history plays ".

But what to do with the common opinion that video games are best sold, the narrative in which is spinning around male characters?

“Perhaps it happened historically-the developers were afraid that they could not attract a sufficient number of male gamers if the main role is female,” says Pattison. “But much has changed since then.”.Cage adds: “It doesn’t matter who the main character is a man, a woman, a plastic toy or a blue alien – this does not matter. The only thing that is important is the emotional involvement of the player in history. And to achieve this goal, there is no and cannot be any restrictions imposed on the characters. ".
No one argues that a good game can captivate any person, regardless of his gender. But the developers have a problem: how to convince a wide female audience that games are not only for men. Will they undoubtedly help them in this matter, strong female characters like Lara, Nilin and Jodi?

“It is very gratifying to see that in the examples you are really completely independent and, no less important, believable female characters. I think the industry will only win from such a variety. So, yes, we hope that games with girls in the lead roles will become more and more, and we are proud that if this happens, then not without our participation, ”says Gallagher.Cage Adds: “Yes, having such an actress as Ellen Page, playing the main role in“ beyond ”, we hope that our game will become more attractive to the female audience, but we never specifically thought about making the central character a woman, just to attract more attention from the fair sex”. “I think that the period has matured when people already at the level of the unconscious are trying to get away from that stereotypical and the traditional image of the hero of the video game – an invincible, pumped brutal man. Many designers are simply tired of creating the same for many years. And if any of the games you mentioned will gain commercial success, I have no doubt that soon you will see even more games with girls in the main roles ”.

Thus, images with girls on boxes will be able to help attract a wider audience to action. But Cage, Pattison And Gallagher They insist that their projects can attract attention from the female audience not so much due to the fact that the main characters are girls, but rather because it is a new wave of smart, plot-oriented games that can offer the player much more than just a bunch of stems and a sea of ​​intestines.

“Women are more demanding in terms of entertainment than most men: men will arrange almost any game where there is a gun from which you can shoot in someone,” summarizes Cage. “Women want a story, characters, something that could hook them. Therefore, they more often prefer cinema and video of video games ". "Women – the future of the video game. If we can convince them to play, it will mean that we managed to create something non-banal, but at the same time more affordable for a wide audience ”.

First of all, I am very interested in your opinion on this issue, so I have prepared a small survey, and I also propose in the comments on this topic to tell about what your favorite female character from the world of video games. 🙂