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[Kater]

Anita Sarkeesian made a tweet about the still unchanged landscape of a still mostly male dominated video game landscape when it comes to protagonists and I agree with her that it is indeed troubling how focused the game industry seems to be on only white adult male characters.

Here is her tweet:

https://twitter.com/femfreq/status/477524903852126208

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85M3LnoHz6o
Here is the link to the video that she linked to in her tweet.

There were only a Mirror's Edge 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Bayonetta 2 and (and Bayonetta 1 of course) at E3 which featured a female protag... and that was it. Also a handful of games like Splatoon and Hyrule Warriors were you could play as a female character.

It's really a problem for me as well as for a lot of other people that we mostly get those middleaged caucasian male characters and not a lot of an alternative to that.

So, what do my fellow GAFfers think of all that? Should it stay as it is or do you think that the game industry should introduce more female characters?

Edit: I wasn't aware at the time I made this thread that the thread title could make people offended, seems like I was wrong and I apologize for being insensitive. The right term would've been 'Caucasian' instead of 'white'.
...

TotalBiscuit seems to have a similiar stance on this topic as me.

https://soundcloud.com/totalbiscuit/the-discussion
13 min long

https://twitter.com/Totalbiscuit/status/477944960810242049
Here's the tweet.

 

[Bucket Mouse]

What about Zeld...oh.

 

[Pyramid head]

We need more female men in games.

 

[georly]

During treehouse it was mentioned that 'more than half' of the playable characters in Hyrule Warriors are female.

 

[velociraptor]

Because it is easier to design and market a game based around a male versus a female.

 

[oldmario]

what about infamous first light and hatsune miku project diva F 2nd?

 

[Karsticles]

Why not talk about the many playable women Nintendo has been adding to games instead?

 

[daviyoung]

Because white adult males play those games

 

[Abriael]

what about white male women?

 

[Soulflarz]

Well TLoU is a cheap one to put on the list, for those who know what im referring to...

 

[TheFurizzlyBear]

What about Zeld...oh.

Heh!

OT: I think the tides are changing slowly and surely but its gonna take time. I think if you push to hard we wont get good female leads, heck most of our male leads suck.

Edit:
Also you forgot Lara...

 

[sh4mike]

Developers are mostly white men.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

You forgot Tomb raider as well

Edit: The list of games where you can play as a female

Tomb Raider
Splatoon
Hyrule Warriors
Infamous First Light
Destiny
Mirrors Edge
Bayonetta 1 & 2
Hatsune Miku

Am I missing something?

 

[LGom09]

It always comes down to what is most profitable.

 

[Chris Murphy]

How many action films have a female lead?

 

[James Scott]

That guy in the middle of the picture you posted is not white

but yeah, a ton of white men in videogames. At least we got to see games like Splatoon with a mostly female cast.

 

[jediyoshi]

Lara Croft is still a woman to me, dammit OP.

Also the chick from that Alien game.

 

[Gilby]

Because it's primarily white males making games still. Once the industry is more diverse hopefully the characters will be too.

 

[Kid Ska]

It's infinitely easier to market white men and gaming is first and foremost a business. Not saying it's right, just saying why.

 

[licktheenvelope]

Mortal Kombat? Tomb Raider? Infamous Stand Alone DLC? Destiny?

 

[cheststrongwell]

Money.

 

[Verano]

where's mexican men in videogames?

 

[Kater]

During treehouse it was mentioned that 'more than half' of the playable characters in Hyrule Warriors are female.

But they aren't really the main protagonists of they game. are they? I'm talking about female characters in the leading role.

 

[Wolvesinthebathroom]

Are you only that guy with the mustache in the order? Or do you switch between the four characters?

 

[-PXG-]

The industry is mostly comprised of white dudes and most people who play and buy video games are white dudes...

 

[BPoole]

The US and Europe make up the largest part of gaming consumers, and also are predominately white male

 

[Kater]

You forgot Tomb raider as well

Yep, correcting it already.

 

[kodecraft]

where's mexican men in videogames?

I for one would love to see more diversity in gaming. The world is diverse.

 

[MichaelFassbender]

where's mexican men in videogames?

Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico!

A fun game.

 

[gngf123]

At least Nintendo are okay with adding playable women in their games. A lot of the industry could learn a thing or two from them.

 

[Ray Wonder]

The percentage of white males buying the product are probably pretty close to the percentage of white male lead characters. That "fact" came straight out of my ass.

I would love to see a chart comparing the two though.

 

[PairOfFilthySocks]

Now this is just a wild guess, but I'm going to assume it's because big publishers are mind-bogglingly risk-averse and pursue the largest audience for games with depressingly cynical precision?

But no, that's just crazy talk. I'm sure it's all because game developers fear and hate women.

 

[-MD-]

We need a new Perfect Dark to save women.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

where's mexican men in videogames?

Mario.

 

[Hubb]

But they aren't really the main protagonists of they game. are they? I'm talking about female characters in the leading role.

If it follows the normal Dynasty Warriors formula, there really isn't a "main" protagonists. I haven't followed the game though, so I don't know how they'll handle the story in it.

 

[webkatt]

I will assume all video game characters originated from Super Mario.

 

[Warewolf]

It's a perspective thing right? There are a lot of white people making games. It's hard to create from a perspective outside your own.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Motherbrain is female. Am I twisted if I should find her mildly attractive? I like bossy women.

 

[Johnny]

Why is the number of white male characters in games "troubling"?

 

[BibiMaghoo]

It's a perspective thing right? There are a lot of white people making games. It's hard to create from a perspective outside your own.

People that write books have managed it for a long time though, so why can't people that make video games?

 

[GQman2121]

The industry is mostly comprised of white dudes and most people who play and buy video games are white dudes...

Basically this. But this isn't an issue in just the gaming industry. Many actresses in Hollywood struggle to land leading roles in major films too.

 

[Momentary]

I'm pretty sure there were more than 2 females that were shown in games. I'm guessing Tomb Raider, Guilty Gear, Persona, and all that other stuff doesn't count. It's changing slowly, but these things... They take time.

 

[Christopher]

Tyler Perry should make games and see if he can tsp the marketer where he did in film and television

 

[jon bones]

Now this is just a wild guess, but I'm going to assume it's because big publishers are mind-bogglingly risk-averse and pursue the largest audience for games with depressingly cynical precision?

But no, that's just crazy talk. I'm sure it's all because game developers fear and hate women.

I love the disingenuous way people dismiss diversity problems in gaming. It used to upset me, but now I just think it's sad.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Why is the number of white male characters in games "troubling"?

Because the audience doesn't solely consist of white men.

Also to the OP: "market research".

 

[Heyt]

The face of feminism is female, patronizing and usually white and nobody seems to tweet much about it.

 

[ChosenPredator]

I think it's getting better slowly there is more options more female leads...I really like Sleeping Dogs and Transistor

 

[Honome]

You forgot Tomb raider as well

Edit: The list of games where you can play as a female

Tomb Raider
Splatoon
Hyrule Warriors
Infamous First Light
Destiny
Mirrors Edge
Bayonetta 1 & 2
Hatsune Miku

Am I missing something?

Transistor
Child of Light
Contrast
Borderlands 2
Remember Me

 

[Dragonborn]

Because that's the main audience and devs don't want to take any risks. Most devs are also white males so it makes sense that they'd want to make games for white males. I see nothing wrong with this (I say that as a non white male).

 

[ryamkajr]

Why are there so many metrosexual "men" with bad fashion sense and really sharp pointy hair that defies gravity in JRPGs? Why can't these games represent men as they really are with normal hair?

I AM BEING OPPRESSED BY JAPANESE FEM-GUYS!!!!!

wah wah wah