The Rise of Female Protagonists In Games

Women.

For the longest time, developers made us believe women protagonists don't sell games; female heroines take away from the experience and can not be marketed well. Male heroes toting and gun, a scowl and 5 o'clock shadow is what the industry wants and demands

Pardon me for sounding crass but...what a bunch of morons.

E3 2015 was more than just a showcase for new games for us to get our hands on; it was an event that carried the theme of evolution and change. Without change, this industry would still be stuck in the 16 bit era (nothing wrong with indie titles with these graphics) and falling into yet another crisis from poor video game parody.

To the ignorant few (or many) who proudly stood by their opinions of what the industry demands, forward thinking developers are proving them wrong. The following are those games.

Hellblade

Hellblade featrues more than just a woman wearing face paint, swinging a sword and battling enemies in her wake; beneath the surface, she battles demons as well. These demons and monsters that main character Senua battles are of her own hellish imagination. Plagued with psychosis, she must fight through inner turmoil and reach peace within herself. This, ultimately, holds her back from becoming the fierce Celtic warrior she knows she can be.

I feel this is a great twist on a game that would otherwise be just another hack and slash title. Fighting the battle within is a struggle many can relate to, whether combating mental illness or just stress. It really humanizes Sanua. I'm looking forward to seeing more as this game progresses in development. I have a feeling this will be quite the feelsfest (copywritten).

Horizon: Zero Dawn

In a post apocalyptic world where hulking, mechanical creatures rule, humans must survive by tapping into their hunter-gatherer DNA; once again, nature has reclaimed the environment. Here, we have a skilled archer and hunter, Aloy. In order to brave this treacherous land, she must search for, take down and salvage materials from these mechanical beasts (easier said than done). With an array of gadgets at her disposal (traps, flame arrows, electric arrows), strategy will be the deciding factor during each encounter of these monstrous creatures.  

Many may compare Aloy to the famous Lara Croft. I can see the similarities: both are survivors and both use a signature bow and arrow to take out enemies. Makes sense. However, Horizon is set 1000 years in the future where modern civilization has ultimately ceased to exist. There are monster mechs stomping around the Earth for Pete's sake! Aloy has to relearn tactics and skills used by her ancestors in order to stay alive in this new world.

From brief gameplay video shown at E3, I was thoroughly impressed by the fluid mechanics, lush graphics and personality of Aloy. She's a modern day David among Goliaths. However, the creatures that now inhabit the land basically act in self defense; they have already claimed territory within the vast, open world environment. I'm curious to see how this will play into the story of Horizon Zero Dawn.   

Rise of the Tomb Raider

This badass adventurer really needs no introduction. For those that are not familiar with her....for shame! In her last adventure, Lara (the lady above with the bow) found out, first hand, what it meant to be a survivor. She has been hardened by her experiences, doing whatever it takes to survive. Healing her own wounds and killing enemies is all part of the journey. This time around, there is no hesitation or second guessing; Lara takes on challenges head on.

We were shown ten minutes of intense gameplay at E3 where Lara and (friend's name) are braved with the task of scaling an ice-capped mountain, as it collapses in a snow storm. And to think that is the least of her worries. Stranded in the wilderness, hunting for food, fighting bears and other creatures is still in her future.

A critical moment in the previous title saw Lara being captured by the enemy. Although she escaped by killing her capture, the consequences of her actions stuck with her. She ended a life. Although she was fragile in state, this event acted as a catalyst for her evolution. Having only briefly played the early PS1 titles, I was hesitant to expect much from the first title. I played it and loved it. Her newest adventure may just surpass the previous game by leaps and bounds.

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst

Using her hardcore parkour skills, this free runner's mission was to deliver messages to the people, against the wishes of a corrupt government in a deceptively perfect, Utopian city. In Catalyst, we see the evolution of Faith; starting from humble beginnings, abiding by the crooked laws in the dystopian City of Glass, to becoming the last hope for change (no pressure). In this origin story, Faith must decide who she wants to be, combating the tyrant ruler Kruger to save the city.

Similar to the first installment, Faith will use her fighting skills to disarm and defeat enemies. Her runner vision will allow her to once again traverse the landscape. So what new changes can you look forward to? Try an open world environment, giving players the freedom to choose missions at their leisure. Oh don't worry. You won't get lost. DICE implemented an objective marking system, giving players several options to reach their chosen destination. Pretty sweet, huh? I thought so too.

There will also be time trial races against friends, delivery (combat) missions and free roaming to discover secrets throughout the world. For those that enjoy racking up the achievements and trophies, this is definitely for you.

February 23, 2016 can not come soon enough. I'm interested to see how this character goes from an everyday citizen to the savior of City of Glass.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Don't let the scantily clad outfit fool you: Quiet is every bit as deadly as the next soldier in Metal Gear Solid V. Some may ask "What's up with her name? Was she born in a library?" Not sure. What we do know is that she is a mute. In the trailer below, she is shown surrendering herself to the Diamond Dog military after showing off her elusive super powers. These powers give her the ability to move through the terrain at lightening speed and teleport short distances. In an extended gameplay video seen here, players get a full scope of how useful Quiet is on the battlefield. Can you say, badass?

Other than saving Big Boss before her surrender, not much is known of Quiet or as her character is described "A Sniper deprived of her Words." (Again, sooooo badass). Alright. I digress. One thing I can say about this special support for Snake (aka Big Boss) is that she can definitely keep up. She's able to take orders or independently take out the baddies with her trusty sniper. Once she has someone in her sight, game over.

The release date of  September 1, 2015 is slowly creeping up on us. I'll have to catch up with the last few games prior to yet another theatrical experience from Kojim...I mean Konami. Wait, he made the game with them so...it's from Kojima and Konami... Right? Ya know what, I can't wait to play the damn thing. Nailed it!

ReCore

A futuristic female soldier is accompanied by her trusty dog, in search of mysteries that lay beyond them in a desert. What they find is some trouble...big trouble. Yet it's nothing that Jewel and robotic pup Mack can't handle. 

After a brave sacrifice to dispose of the cybernetic enemies, the blue, glowing core still remains. This core, the soul of Mack, is what gives various robots that appear throughout the game, life. Hence the name of the game: ReCore. Although there was combat shown in the debut trailer, the game will focus on the friendship and the bond between Jewel and Mack.

I was really impressed after watching the teaser trailer for ReCore. It's nice to see another buddy game, similar to ICO and The Last Guardian, where two characters solve puzzles and defeat enemies together. I'm interested to see how Mack's core will be used throughout the game. Not much else has been explained about this post apocolyptic title. However, there will be more information and gameplay shown in the coming months (Gamescom 2015, anybody?)

Dishonored 2

In the first installment, players took control of Corvo: once a bodyguard for the Empress, he finds himself charged with her death, having been framed of her murder and abduction of her daughter, Emily. He uses his stealth skills and imbued powers to assassinate enemies on his search of the truth. In the end (SPOILER ALERT!) little Emily is rescued and rules as the next Empress of the Isles. See that stern lady above with the "don't mess with me" look on her face. Yeah. That's Emily. She's grown up a bit, hasn't she?

The trailer shown at E3 has Emily demonstrating the powers given to her, presumably by her father (SPOILER ALERT) Corvo. Although her skills are sharp, she is a bit rough around the edges. Obviously, Emily is fueled by vengeance; having known of her mother's untimely death and framing of her father. I would hate to be the people responsible for plotting such a heinous crime. This female assassin looks to be out for blood. Nothing and no words, begging or pleading, will stop her. 

I have to admit. I played just a few hours of Dishonored and stopped. I know, I know. Put the pitchforks away. I was spoiled by Bioshock. The games were too similar, Bioshock blew my mind and I was turned off by Dishonored. After seeing this trailer (10+ times in a row), I'll right that wrong and pick it up. Emily and her abilities are just too cool for words. 

Conclusion

The reason I felt the need to write this post is simple: celebrate the rise of female protagonists in gaming. Many will be in my camp, cheering along side with me. Others will find offense to giving female main characters the spotlight for many reasons. One specific one that I've heard of time and time again is this: what about giving male characters the spotlight? 

I can't tell you how ignorant that question is.

But ok. I'll answer that right now. What about male characters in gaming? Why haven't they been shown this type of fanfare and limelight treatment? 

The answer: They have. For many, many, many, many, many, years. 

Really? Why even ask those questions? I swear... some gaming fans love finding offense wherever and however possible. If there isn't an obvious reason to be offended, they create one. As they have after these strong characters were revealed in their respective games, one after the other.

Still need more proof that male characters have dominated the landscape of gaming for decades upon decades? Cool. Here's a list of all the popular and well known male protagonists in gaming (deep breath):

• Sonic
• Mario
• Luigi
• Pac-Man
• Ryu
• Ken
• Liu Kang
• Nathan Drake
• Altair
• Fox McCloud
• Cloud Strife
• Chris Redfield
• Leon Kennedy
• Crash Bandicoot
• MegaMan
• Donkey Kong
• Kirby
• Knuckles
• Solid Snake
• Marcus Phoenix
• Master Chief
• Max Payne
• Phoenix Wright
• Siegfried
• Kid Icarus
• Ratchet
• Commander Shepard
• Strider Hiryu
• Ryu Hayabusa
• Sora
• Tidus
• Terry Bogard
• Tommy Vercetti
• Viewtiful Joe
• Axel (Streets of Rage series)
• Dante
• Joel (TLOU)
• John Marston
• Squall Leonhart
• Cole MacGrath
• Kratos
• Jack (Bioshock)
• Booker Dewitt
• Fallout 3 main character
• Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Link
• Agent 47
• Geralt
• Corvo
• Adam Jensen
• Isaac Clarke
• Duke Nukem
• Gordon Freeman
• Sam Fisher
• Jak and Daxter
• Conker
• Banjo

Is your head spinning yet? Take a minute and compare that list to a list of all the well known female protagonists:

• Rayne
• Ms. Pacman
• Okami
• Claire Redfield
• Jill Valentine
• Rebecca Chambers
• Samus
• Joanna Dark
• Lara Croft
• Amanda Ripley
• Faith
• Bayonetta
• Jade
• Jodie
• Aya Brea
• Aurora
• Yuna/Rikku/Paine
• Lightning
• Kaitlin
• Skullgirls Cast
• Ellie
• Kameo
• Fetch
• Sam (Life is Strange)
• Juliet (Lollipop Chainsaw)
• Chell
• Nilin
• Heather (Silent Hill 3)
• Lenneth Valkyrie
• Violette Summer
• Sexy Silvia
• Clementine
• Rubi Malone

Do the lists look a bit unbalanced? That's be cause they are. For those who believe there are just as many notable female characters as males, boy are you sadly mistaken. Again, this was made to highlight female protagonists being featured as the main character of their story. And no, this is not to be celebrated as a revolution. Women characters should have been given their due a long, long time ago. 

And to those in development and gamers alike, games are popular based off these important things: a gripping story, amazing gameplay, replay value and character development. 

Just because a character has four generic guns, a 5 o'clock shadow and a story filled with explosions that would make Michael Bay wet himself, doesn't make it a hit title. And it does not dictate the winning formula that captures gamers everywhere. Games like Tomb Raider, Mirror's Edge and Bayonetta provide proof of this.

Male or female, we all want video games to deliver to us unforgettable experiences. In such a diverse and growing industry, there's plenty of room both genders to dominate. Game on.