Should Rockstar's Next Game Have a Female Main Protagonist
- Thread starter Redx508
- Start date
ding ding ding.
If it's the RDR follow up.. hell no. Likelihood of being historically accurate with a female protagonist is near impossible.
If it's NOT the RDR followup.. then sure.. give us a good story and I'm down with a female protagonist.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I only want <dev> to use male characters for the right reasons too. Right?
LOL, yeah because RDR was the epitome of historical accuracy... and there weren't any female badasses in the old west eh?
they can still do that (it would require double the voice work and potentially some incidental tweaks here and there). but they should approach it like "shepard" in mass effect. shepard is shepard no matter what race or gender. it's a much better approach then say, saints row where they try to give you a lot of voices to fit the way you look...
just have 2. male and female and let the player create their aesthetic. if anyone should be able to do that, it's rockstar.
Audioboxer
Member
Cmon RDR has a load of ham. Ham as in made up shit for the fun of it. They aren't trying to recreate history, just draw from it in spades.
A female cowgirl lead could be awesome. Not to mention in the story being a bad ass would certainly make fun of the bandits sure to play you down for being female before you slaughter them all. So in that sense it could lead to quite a hilarious and entertaining plot.
I don't care and don't think it matters either way. We need to cut this PC crap and just let devs make games the way they want to.
*sigh* He's not being sexist. He's saying that they shouldn't do something for the sake of doing it. It's so dumb when you people try to twist this argument into something sexist.
*sigh* He's not being sexist. He's saying that they shouldn't do something for the sake of doing it. It's so dumb when you people try to twist this argument into something sexist.
SolidSnakex
Member
GTA is a series where your appearance, race, gender etc. matter. Characters in the world will comment on things specific to your character. That goes out the window with character creators where there are far too many variables to take into account. Character creators simply have no place in the main story of Rockstar's games.
Cid Highwind
Banned
GTA games usually have a plot based around the macho-man fantasy type stories, so it would be very interesting to see a female protagonist and how she could play into the story.
I'm absolutely down for it, though. Rockstar has a lot of talented developers and writers, I'm sure they could make it work.
I'm absolutely down for it, though. Rockstar has a lot of talented developers and writers, I'm sure they could make it work.
the NPC's have specifically commented on a persons sex or race in GTA? examples? i know they comment on their actions. but that has nothing to do with race or gender.
Thought Trevor was already a female
While not common there were apparently a few notorious and dangerous women in the past. Griselda Blanco was an extremely powerful cartel leader, and Ching Shih was a famous pirate commander a couple of hundred years ago with a massive fleet and tens of thousands of followers.
MMaRsu
Banned
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
And yet you never wonder why this standard is never applied to male character? Of course it's sexist. It's not malicious misogyny, but subtle sexism is still sexism.
But then again you go on about "PC crap" and how much you don't care, so that tells me all I need to know...
Hidden One
Member
Hurricane43
Member
If only they had the BENZ...
Well, considering Rockstar's history of writing women, I'm not sure it'd be the best of ideas, but sure why not?
The arguments of "it's unrealistic" and "don't force it" are as bunk as they ever were, to the point where I refuse to believe that they are still being sincerely argued for.
The arguments of "it's unrealistic" and "don't force it" are as bunk as they ever were, to the point where I refuse to believe that they are still being sincerely argued for.
If the developer wants to, they should. Rockstar does not behave like it is owned by a publicly traded company, and other than Max Payne, their franchises do not revolve around a particular character. Story justification is only really a requirement when you are replacing a character that is central to the plot. GTA is more or less an anthology. The GTA IV/V universe is distinct from the PS2 era games.
because there are thousands of examples throughout history in the 1800s and prior of strong powerful female protagonists in roles similar to the Red Dead games, etc. (i.e. in the weeds with blood on their hands, as opposed to the "more common" role in those periods of female leaders)
and "don't force it" is 100% valid. in a story-light game it really doesn't matter if you are male or female. In a story-heavy game, there are an almost uncountable number of differences between how females, think, behave, interact, etc. If you just copy/pasted a female VA and model into an existing protagonist of GTAV or RDR, it would be very awkward. The script has to be written in a way that highlights the common behavioral differences between a man and woman.
I don't think anyone is saying "if the story calls for it". More just "if they do it, they need to do it right, not just copy and paste a female model and VA into the role that is otherwise written as a male or even worse, gender neutral"
all for strong female leads. not all for female roles shoe horned into scripts that were written for a male role "just because"
I feel like a Rockstar Game featuring a female lead would feel too cliché in the way they'd portray her. The setting and theme of the game would have to fit. The majority of their stories wouldn't fit with a female lead.
Although GTA V could've worked though if they went with a similar set up as the film Set it off. That would've been cool.
Edit: I believe Rockstar themselves even stated that a female MC wouldn't fit with the stories they want to tell which in I agree. A female character driven story would have to properly made though.
Although GTA V could've worked though if they went with a similar set up as the film Set it off. That would've been cool.
Edit: I believe Rockstar themselves even stated that a female MC wouldn't fit with the stories they want to tell which in I agree. A female character driven story would have to properly made though.
Savantcore
Unconfirmed Member
The way Rockstar do women, no.
Spacejaws
Member
I really dont care as long as it doesnt feel forced one way or the other.
In a way we kinda have built a society that can accept any old shit story for a white non descript male. I like that if we have a female or ethnic character that it's either done well or completely ignored.
Nothing worse than stereotypes or having a change in the norm and drawing attention to it constantly.
I think Rockstar could do it well though, San Andreas and GTA IV(controversial here) did a great job.
In a way we kinda have built a society that can accept any old shit story for a white non descript male. I like that if we have a female or ethnic character that it's either done well or completely ignored.
Nothing worse than stereotypes or having a change in the norm and drawing attention to it constantly.
I think Rockstar could do it well though, San Andreas and GTA IV(controversial here) did a great job.
ScherzoPrime
Member
I'd love it if they had some one like Revy or Michiko Malandro, someone who fits Rockstars MO.
this was kind of where my thinking is... Tons of great games out there with female leads, because the writers and designers make sure the women are given the respect/attention they deserve. I have no faith in Rockstar doing a woman any justice.. They have the "gritty ego male" down to a T. I fear they are just going to copy and paste a female model and VA to one of those roles... or even worse... one of their existing female stereotypes.
Wickerbasket
Member
I'd love a new RDR with a gritty cowgirl.
But yeah, nothing I've seen from Rockstar shows that they know how to write it. But I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
But yeah, nothing I've seen from Rockstar shows that they know how to write it. But I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
bigboss370
Member
Yes most definitely.
I don't know about "should" as if they have some obligation to do it, but it would definitely make me more interested in their game.
I don't know about "should" as if they have some obligation to do it, but it would definitely make me more interested in their game.
I'd only support it if Rockstar really studied hard and did their research on the subject and got it right, not just swap out their usual style of characters for something they really haven't done before. It wouldn't do the character justice, and it would feel like they're pandering to the current times. It would feel weird if Rockstar just forced that kind of character, considering their usual stable of games. I know there are a lot of popular games with aliens out right now, but I'd want Rockstar to really get an alien race right.
Fake edit:
Oh wait WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WOMEN; why do these threads always confuse me like this
Fake edit:
Oh wait WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WOMEN; why do these threads always confuse me like this
first time i hear this not a bad idea. They can do the voice work also
Audioboxer
Member
All of Rockstars protagonists are assholes. Even the good guys they do are either killers, or in some way fucked up with baggage outside the realms of "normal" in comparison to most of us.
Them going with a female lead in RDR or GTA wouldn't be to champion for equal rights and respect, it would be to create a bad ass character with all the same tropes as their male counterparts.
Rockstar not being Rockstar is doing something for the wrong reason. Rockstar can create a female lead in line with the male leads in their other games using the same formulas. Usually anti-heroes with corrupt doings/killings but just a sprinkle of empathy from the gamer. Pretty much all bad ass and hilarious.
No one buys Rockstar games, at least not GTA for a moral lesson or teachings on how to behave in society. They're for entertainment and fun. Most certainly do-able with a bad ass female lead. I'd like to see it in GTA, but in RDR would also be great.
potatohead
Member
My lead in Saints Row 3 is a female and she is fucking hot and also a badass.
Better than anything Rockstar could do I bet
Better than anything Rockstar could do I bet
It really comes down to franchise vs. series. The next GTA or Final Fantasy game do not even need to acknowledge games that preceded them. Conversely, Gears of War 4 goes out of its way to explain the new protagonist's relationship to the established world with a one minute CG trailer. The series that can jump around with looser justification is Resident Evil. It has had a bunch of protagonists.
The problem with the RDR argument is that nobody actually knows if it would be serialized or anthology. From GTA's formula, you would expect it to be another setting in the pioneering west, in a slightly different time, with a new protagonist. But what if intent was to continue the story of Marston's son? We dont know, because we have yet to get the next game.
Does making Trevor/Micheal/Franklin women change anything at all about the game? Are you saying there are soooo many difference between men and women that there can't be women who act like them? C'mon, let's not get all biological determinism here.
And it is 0% valid for several reasons;
- It is a double standard. It is rarely if ever applied if the creator wants to put a straight white man in a role, always on women or minority characters.
- It assumes that male is the "default" and that women/minority characteristics are just "extra features" to spice a character up.
- "Don't force it" implies that a character must reach a certain threshold of "appropriateness" before they can "become" a woman/minority character. Otherwise, it is implied, they should just be male, which isn't "forcing it".
- People do not have to justify their existence in the real world, they just exist.
- What constitutes "forced"? Given people's reaction to just having a trans character say she's trans, it seems that just being a character other than a straight white cisgendered man is "being forced".
- It needlessly puts women and minority characters up on a higher standard of writing quality, which, again, is a double standard.
- What is a "male" role? Sure, there are certainly roles that are more appropriate for men in a story, Brokeback Mountain is explicitly about masculinity, same thing with roles that inherently speak to the female experience, but for a good majority of games and media it does not matter.
potatohead
Member
Great post.
I can only speak for myself here, but at least if I say something like that, what I mean is that, whichever gender they choose, it should be because that's what they want for the character, not just to make people happy. When I say "I don't care," I literally mean that I don't give a damn about what gender I'm playing as. It's not something I think about or feel that I need to think about. When talking about "PC crap," I mean that they shouldn't make a character female just for the sake of saying, "Look at us! We're so inclusive and progressive!" It doesn't add anything, and the characters often end up being flat or counter-stereotypes. If you need to do something to prove that you're not sexist, then that's just evidence that you are.
If thinking this way makes me sexist in your eyes, then that's just how it is.
ScherzoPrime
Member
What's wrong with a woman having an aggressive, masculine disposition?
JimmyJones
Banned
Females can't be gritty? I think the only way a female protagonist would fit into the GTA universe would be that she was a hardened badass. Someone like Red from Orange Is The New Black. You couldn't have a young girly girl going about beating people with baseball bats could you?
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
This was going to be my response. Kudos! Well said 👏
John Kowalski
Banned
they should, so sick of having all these forced straight dudes and the woes of being a man shoved down my throat
Phil-NeoGAF
Member
Sure. Make her an undercover cop, who'll do anything to get the job done. I'm tired of the "criminal on the come up stories". Maybe she has to take down a drug kingpin, who's the second playable character. That's if the next game is GTA VI.
robertsan21
Member
Gener doesnt matter as long as its a new game thats awesome.