Girl Power

Ever notice something when it comes to lead characters in video games? All of them tend to be male.

It's a shame and an argument that has gone on for awhile, but it is more of shame when very serious allegations are brought upon a huge video game publisher/developer.

Gamasutra, a website providing news and resources for video game developers, covers allegations against Activision in a lengthy report on their website. You should read it, but if you are a little impatient like me you can get a summary of the important details from this Game Informer article.

The report revolves around Black Lotus - an action game that was supposed to cast a Lucy Liu inspired female lead in Hong Kong action/cinema setting. Gamasutra has several sources (most former Activision employees) that claim Activision purposely ordered for the lead character of BL to be changed to a male. It appears as though the company did not feel that a female could sell units.

Gamasutra points out that this game was being developed in 2007 when the top sellers in gaming were Halo 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed and Madden NFL. The game became True Crime: Hong Kong and has been pushed back in development. There is currently no female lead.

If this isn't serious enough, the game itself pays the price. It is difficult for a design team to complete their creative vision if it is altered mid-development. As a result, quality and innovation suffer.

Still, the truth is video games are an industry. If games don't sell, the company won't make any money and they won't continue to make any more games.

Focus testing might be to blame. It is a common tool of the trade, but when does market research go too far? Sources from the Gamastura article claim that Activision has taken focus
testing to a whole new level and has even chosen to ignore tests that come out positive regarding female leads. When Barbie and Dora the Explorer are the only types of games a publisher releases with a female main character, it really does start to look pretty sketch.

I read an old Game Informer article a while back (Issue #204) that also covered the gender gap. What made the article so interesting was that it expanded on the theory by also discussing how it was more technically complicated to create female characters. Game Informer explains these technical concerns:

"While creating a female avatar isn’t any more difficult than a male counterpart, including both genders as playable characters is a monumental commitment, requiring double the render work, motion capturing, and voice acting."

It all has to do with workload.

Really though, are any of the arguments above any excuse for such limited diversity in gaming?

I felt it was a good time to cover this subject since I am currently playing Final Fantasy XIII. I know I posted that I was a little disappointed with the game, but I've become more and more addicted to it as the storyline progresses.

Anyway, I usually like playing male characters. I know that may be a bit strange with me being a girl myself, but I like the change of pace. My boyfriend claims that he likes playing as a male, but I think he's lying. He couldn't put down the controller during Bayonetta and he currently has a huge crush on Lightning (the female lead in FFXIII). Not just because she's super hot but also because she's super badass.

In numerous video games, the male heroine must rescue the damsel in distress. Females tend to be integral to the storyline, but you may not play as them directly. These females side characters also tend to be ditsy and maybe just a little bit risque.

This is a stereotype, but I am hopeful for change. Designers themselves get tired of being pushed to alter their vision for the sake of making money. Not every game is interesting just because there's a guy carrying a gun.

I don't want to put all the blame on Activision, of course. Someone needs to step up and set the foundation. I don't know if it's the type of change that will culminate over time or if one game will break the glass ceiling. Will there be another Lara Croft to shake up the industry? Either way, it should happen so that the demographic of gaming more accurately reflects the demographic of society.

Activision obviously has denied all of these allegations. You can read their response in the Gamasutra article.

What do you think? Consider these questions from Game Informer:

"Do you believe Activision's claims that they don't dictate the gender of characters in their games? Or do you think the anonymous developers quoted are probably telling the truth? And either way, is it okay for Activision as a business to make that decision or should it be left up to the developers and their creative vision for a game?"

I hope this post wasn't too heavy, but it's important to talk about. Look out for my next!

Love,
The Girl Informer