Can the sexism in these types of games stop?

[Tiger]

As a male, I find it insulting that the protagonist is always a male going mad and doing terrible things. Why isn't it ever a female that gets depicted as a murderous lunatic? Yeesh.

Justine?

She's the definition of "Don't stick your dick in crazy".

[Alardem]

As a male, I find it insulting that the protagonist is always a male going mad and doing terrible things. Why isn't it ever a female that gets depicted as a murderous lunatic? Yeesh.

I'd like more games like Silent Hill 3 - Heather was the only female protagonist in the entire series, but she was a relatively believable and appropriate character for a horror game.

Including more female protagonists in games, particularly the first-person perspective, would gradually allow players to empathize with them more and grow accustomed to seeing them as not different to men. Justine isn't exactly the best example, but at least she's as physically inept and cruel as Mandus and Daniel.

I was struck by how the one female character in AMFP was dead - even Amnesia 1 and Penumbra had female voice actors. Maybe the new Frictional and TCR projects will change this? It'd be nice to have some actual interaction with characters in upcoming games...

Spoiler below!

Seeing people getting slaughtered by pigs isn't really what I'd hoped for.

[Ahiam94]

I guarantee if Frictional Games made the next game with a female protagonist you would be pretty pissed.

Yeah, see, on Justine you were a girl. And I didn't even really notice. If I were playing as a girl I really wouldn't be able to care less. Male female, just so long as the game is good. Back in the old days there was a game for the Playstation. It was called Parasite Eve. You played as a female. I loved that game. I also really like Silent Hill 3. And when I played Resident Evil 6 I tried my hardest to unlock Ada Wong. So, yeah. You need to stop pretending like you know what you're talking about, cause you don't.

[Argoon]

I don't really care when i play a game with a female lead, i have played many games like that (on some they are a little sexyfied tho) is only when i have a choice to play with or a male or a female that i chose the male and that is obviously because being a male makes me relate easier with the character.

[RigorM]

I honestly think that is a a weak argument; as a woman I have absolutely no problem creating male characters, I've been creating tons of them since I was a kid.

Congratulations. You rock! Unfortunately not everyone has the same ability.

There is also not that much of a difference between men and women.

They both have a similar average body temperature. That's really about it.

[kojack]

I guess there weren't many woman industrial moguls in Victorian era...

Seems appropriate for the setting of AMFP.


I think it's unfair to make claims of misogyny against developers due to the lack of female protagonists rather than due to the actual content of the games.

Should a developer be forced to look at the distribution of male / female protagonists in previous games in the same genre every time they design a new game, just to make sure the ratio is balanced?

Treatment of women in games and the games industry itself is a valid topic for concern (I see Everquest Next is continuing it's tradition of marketing using cleavage). Insulting developers due to numbers seems fairly petty.

[Alardem]

I like how you're admitting to be too lazy to imagine yourself as a woman. It is no problem to imagine yourself as a wealthy lunatic/ex-Pinkerton/space marine/scientist-turned-action hero - but it's absolutely impossible to imagine being a lady. Perish the thought of being those frailer, flightier beings!

(This whole thread is troll bait and I hate that it's taking up so much debate space that should be dedicated to the story - but I may as well chip in if everyone and their pig has descended upon this topic to blindly defend themselves.)

I'll restate my own thought on AMFP's treatment of this issue: Lily is the only female character, and she has zero presence in the story aside from a symbol of lost love. A Victorian cliche, a regurgitation of Esther, a lost opportunity. It doesn't damn the game, but I do wish they had a ghostly woman involved in there somewhere. Or Tabitha Stepwood, the woman who provided orphans for Mandus.

But then again, the cast is pared down to a battle between a wealthy monster, his grieving doppelganger, and his boys. Not much room for interaction with any other characters...

[alyssak]

Personally I really don't care one way or another if the main character is male or female, heck they could be a fish person for all I care as long as they are well developed. (Although more often then not when given the choice I will choose a male character over a female, because female characters are often to underdressed for my tastes but that has nothing to do with this topic)
I have to say though I would like to see female monsters in one of frictionalgames's games. Of course the current ones are very freaky it just might be a nice change to slip in one every now and then, but if that never happens it's no biggy, there have been other games that have done it well and I would love to see FG's interpretation of a scary female monster.

[Alardem]

Personally I really don't care one way or another if the main character is male or female, heck they could be a fish person for all I care as long as they are well developed. (Although more often then not when given the choice I will choose a male character over a female, because female characters are often to underdressed for my tastes but that has nothing to do with this topic)
I have to say though I would like to see female monsters in one of frictionalgames's games. Of course the current ones are very freaky it just might be a nice change to slip in one every now and then, but if that never happens it's no biggy, there have been other games that have done it well and I would love to see FG's interpretation of a scary female monster.

I'd say that a feminine monster, when not exploited for sex appeal, comes across as more disturbing and repulsive in a horror story because of its alienating nature to male audiences. We are so accustomed to seeing sexless or presumed-male monstrosities that seeing what appears to be a woman engaged in monstrous acts is a shock because of its rarity. I'm not saying that men are the only consumers of horror media, not at all, but rather that many games seem to be developed for the male perspective.

After all, how many female villains or monsters can you name that are both clearly feminine AND not 'sexy'?

[Deep One]

After all, how many female villains or monsters can you name that are both clearly feminine AND not 'sexy'?

Siren from Killing Floor
Witch from L4D
Spider queen from Doom 3
GLaDOS from Portal