FloweryMarston
Member
.jpg)
Elizabeta Torres from GTA IV is a great character for the themes of the series, and i would love to play someone with the same style as her in a grand theft auto.
Yet the majority of the responses seem to be powerful, empowered and magnanimous women stereotypes. The equivalent of the male power fantasies with women skin. Most of these characters would work as a male protagonist withouth losing much of what makes the character in the process, because the femininity of said characters doesn't play an important role of their essence.
What is a "good" representation of a woman, and why am I or anyone else in this thread (male or female) qualified to decide?
I have favorite female characters, but are they "good representations" of women? They're women. Sometimes they're realistic and sometimes they're not, just like men. Some strong, some weak, some warlike, some nurturing, and any number of things in between. There isn't a checklist of qualities in my head that makes a female character a "good representative". On that basis I challenge the premise of the thread, unless we're honest with ourselves and call it what it is: a list of our favorite female characters, irrespective of meta gender politics.
odd thread, I'd say 99% of the women in this thread are of a similar sort. strong asexual leads who show male like traits of strength and banter.
Truth is that is not even half of what a woman can be, There are very few examples of female leads who use their sexual prowess for example without it falling into stereotypical female types. Woman's power over a man for one example isnt something to laugh over, its real and a tool that is built into the foundations of what make a woman a woman.
Chloe in uncharted is a good example of that, So is Eva in MGS3. It annoys me when people think sexual female characters cant be strong.
This kind of nihilistic approach falls on its face as we as people consume and compare all media, as we do with all things.
This is like arguing if you can say that a movie is a good, or a song is good, or that a character in any piece of media is "good." We have standards that change all the time, and we discuss our personal preferences and share our opinions with others. And certain entities begin to emerge as avatars of success and examples that we generally hold as "being good."
So to answer your question: we're anyone who has an opinion to decide on who we think are good (and bad) female characters.
So it's a list of your favorite female characters, then.
So it's a list of your favorite female characters, then.
Samus was always a great female character to me because it wasn't important or made a big deal what her gender was (Other M doesn't exist). Kinda like Bill in The Last of Us.where his sexuality is subtly alluded to but isn't made to be some defining character trait
post
Because most of the time, they're weak damsels in distress or insipid love interests. It's not all to make them "tough" obviously, but it's infinitely preferable to the previous alternative.why do women have to be represented as tough to be called worthwhile characters?
What are "manly" words? What manly things do they do exactly?so many female characters with varying degrees of characterisations, etc. but somehow ellie and tess get the trophy for best women representation. why? because they're tough and weild guns and do "manly" stuff and say "manly" words? i really don't get it.
Because teenagers never do what they're not "supposed to", especially during a zombie apocalypse. LOL.I don't think a foul mouthed is a realistic depiction of young girl around her age right? Or is it only in my country that both males or girls is not supposed to speak that foul language to anyone?
It wouldn't... but it does, because that's how bad the state of female characters in the industry is.Exactly. She does fuck all and we know shit about her. Just because she's not sexually objectified and spout stupid dialogue does not make her a good characters
Nah. "Mrs. Male Character" is an old trope of having a token female character who's just a reskin of the male character with a feminine attribute, such as Mrs. Pacman. A common manifestation of the trope is the Smurfette syndrome, where you have an ensemble of male characters, each with their specific attribute, and their single female counterpart, whose defining attribute is... being female. For example in the Smurfs you have the smart wanna-be moralist, the handy mechanic, the soulful poet, the funny jester, etc. and you have the female one.What's the difference between Mrs. Man and Man with Boobs? That's the same thing right?
True. That's the fault of the character designer though. If you want your character to be taken even remotely seriously, don't make her so pitifully pandering. That said, the modern Lara Croft (2013 as opposed to classic Lara) is the other way around; she looks more proportionate, but her character is beyond boring. XDYou know what I find somewhat bizarre about the whole women in games? The only reason classic Lara Croft isn't a "good" representation is because of her appearance
Literally every other aspect about her is almost ignored because of tits. She's one of the most knowledgeable and competent characters in her respective game and field. She has an actual personality, isn't just a guy with tits, and can kick ass.
That being said, I do understand how you don't want a walking caricature of bad design, it's just a bit sad they would create what would otherwise be an excellent example
And she also made TLoU better. Good for Anita, she makes mistakes but she's a positive influence in the industry.
I think it just comes back to have generally well written characters.
Like, I'd say that Grace Peyton from Lost Planet 3 is also a good representation even though she assumes a more traditional role of a house wife. You only see her in the game through video messages she sends to her husband, but you can really feel how there's a whole character beneath there who struggles with taking care of her child while also supporting her husband.
http://youtu.be/slLSllzfxMU
There's nothing wrong with Princess Peach though. The only time people should get annoyed is when there is a statement to be made. If Nintendo made a statement about how "all that females are only good for are being captured" then yes. That would be a statement worth fighting back against. When you make a character like Princess Peach but don't make any statement towards [insert group] then I still don't understand where the negativity comes from? What other female character is a damsel in distress AND makes a statement that females are useless?Because most of the time, they're weak damsels in distress or insipid love interests. It's not all to make them "tough" obviously, but it's infinitely preferable to the previous alternative.
This entire thread is dedicated to good female characters and you're using "because that's how bad the state of female characters in the industry is". This thread is why that statement is a bad generalisation. If the state of the industry is bad, then why is this thread able to give so many examples (plus more that haven't even been mentioned)?It wouldn't... but it does, because that's how bad the state of female characters in the industry is.![]()
I'm glad Anita brought this topic into the spot light but she is far from the person to talking about the subject matter. Anita has a very uneducated view on media in general.And she also made TLoU better. Good for Anita, she makes mistakes but she's a positive influence in the industry.
This entire thread is dedicated to good female characters and you're using "because that's how bad the state of female characters in the industry is". This thread is why that statement is a bad generalisation. If the state of the industry is bad, then why is this thread able to give so many examples (plus more that haven't even been mentioned)?
Yes OP.
The rest of you keep on posting the same old anonymous boring characters.
EDIT: I mean seriously, Chun Li? A fighting game character?
Call me crazy, but I did not find Tess to be a likable character.
Most fighting games these days have expanded lore and characterization.A fighting game character?
Especially when people call out Femshep, she's saving the fucking galaxy through military force. You don't do that "like a girl". Unless the story is actually about gender or sex and societal crap I seldom see why women should act clearly distinctly from men, especially when we're talking "shit is trying to kill you". Fighting back when something's trying to slaughter you/your planet/the galaxy isnt' "being a man" it's just the appropriate response.
Yes OP.
The rest of you keep on posting the same old anonymous boring characters.
EDIT: I mean seriously, Chun Li? A fighting game character?
As mediocre as I thought the game was, Nilin from Remember Me was a great way to represent women in videogames
![]()
As an 80s kid with fond memories of the 90s, I remember the girl power vibe of the 90s too, but I don't remember it much translating into gaming.
And I think game companies are obsessing more over the money that comes with a certain masculine demographic, not just for the sake of the demographic; games like Halo (at one point) and CoD have proven it's a financially reliable demograpic. If either of those didn't work out, it'd be interesting to see what else would dominate the market and create multiple clones.
It's sad that I can't say you're actually kidding, even with the ""
No one has said they have to be. But it's refreshing when they are, and even more so when they are in a believable manner rather than a cartoon way, such as Bayo...In order for a female to be considered "acceptable" they have to be "strong and tough".
Hahaha whatI like Ellie but she's far from a stand out character like Bayonetta.
What is this nonsense? You don't have to "make a statement" explicitly for a trope to be problematic. The problem with DiD is how prevalent they are, which in itself is a form of statement (even if it's just laziness, it's still rooted in a sexist mindset). It's very telling that Peach is a DiD in most mainline Mario games, and the only game where she's the sole playable character, she attacks enemies with her mood swings.There's nothing wrong with Princess Peach though. The only time people should get annoyed is when there is a statement to be made. If Nintendo made a statement about how "all that females are only good for are being captured" then yes. That would be a statement worth fighting back against. When you make a character like Princess Peach but don't make any statement towards [insert group] then I still don't understand where the negativity comes from? What other female character is a damsel in distress AND makes a statement that females are useless?
You could argue Zelda but then that has context for her being captured. Even then, she is strong enough to be come a character like Sheik.
Yeah, the game that doesn't even tell the players the character is a girl, but instead rewards the player with a girl with less clothing the faster you complete it. A girl in underwear as a reward is so progressive!Keep in mind Nintendo made Metroid in 1986.
Because there's far more bad female characters than good ones. Obviously there's some progress being made recently, but a few good examples do not make the bad magically disappear. FFS, I checked two random games on the Steam homepage recently, and both had female "warriors" with super-skimpy and heavily sexualized outfits. We still have long ways to go.This entire thread is dedicated to good female characters and you're using "because that's how bad the state of female characters in the industry is". This thread is why that statement is a bad generalisation. If the state of the industry is bad, then why is this thread able to give so many examples (plus more that haven't even been mentioned)?
I agree, Alys Brangwin from PS4 is the best. <3 Rieko is awesome. I miss her.In general, I think Sega has done a great job with female characters going all the way back to the matriarch of female game characters, Alis Landale.
Alis being a woman doesn't mean anything. She could have just as easily have been a male character who's seeking vengeance for the death of a brother and taking down a corrupt galactic empire. She's just a bad ass. Phantasy Star, being a Master System game, is pretty primitive in terms of character development but in general I think the Phantasy Star series does a great job at its portrayal of women and I suspect having a female fronted development team is the reason. This is why women are so important for game development. Sega should get credit for being pretty early in giving a woman, Rieko Kodama, such a prominent role in development. Her games do a great job at not alienating women at the same time many others (Sega included) were.
Most of my favorite female characters, such as Aika, Elenor Camuel, and Rika come from her games.
I think you're missing my point completely. It was a thought exercise, not a complaint that men aren't being represented fairly in video games. The point is that its silly to think there's any 'best' representation of women, as if what a woman is is pre-defined and you can rank representations of them according to that definition.
And that what the obvious answers are are the most politically correct ones, cuz naming some girly girl is not politically correct, even though there are girls like that.
The greatest of all time: