Guys what do you think about having female protagonists in video games?

[NamerOfStars]

On the surface, it really doesn't matter; few games make anything gendered a big part of gameplay. And so far as relatability goes- maybe it's just me, but I've never considered my sex a core part of who I am. The derived attributes, sure (I'm very psychologically masculine and doubt I'd do well as a woman for that reason; but then, if I'd been born female, I'd likely be more psychologically feminine, no?), but not the fact in itself. There are very few things I relate to with my genitals. Add in that many (perhaps most) games coming out now are more about escapism than storytelling; I can relate a LOT more to, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer than to Generic Space Marine Number 642,127,843.

But there's a deeper issue. Much of mainstream media has, in recent years, taken up the idea that female protagonists cannot be depicted as weak, and must never lose- ESPECIALLY not to a male opponent. Putting the obvious sexism aside, a character who's never believably threatened is a character it's hard to feel tension for- not a problem in a farming simulator, but if you're selling it as an intense action game, it's going to fall flat. Similarly, a villain who's constantly beaten is never going to come across as a threat. Take a look at Disney's efforts at making Star Wars movies, and you'll see what I mean. You take that dull, characterless, inexplicably super-powered plank of wood, and put her up against, say, Mara Jade, and it's no contest who's more interesting and compelling. And that from three books and ONE expansion to ONE video game, vs a multi-billion dollar movie trilogy.

One still CAN avoid that, of course- but how many DO?

[abc3643]

I like gender-free video games. Like old-school video games in which it's just questing, shooting, or fighting with all the realistic crap (which isn't necessary) didn't exist.

Does anyone care what sex Q-bert is?https://www.youtube.com/embed/karPYs22ACcor the sex of the player in Tempest?https://www.youtube.com/embed/AMto2HJJSSAor what the sex of the pilot is in Asteroids?https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Ydu8UhIjeUor the sex of the player in Missile Command?https://www.youtube.com/embed/nokIGklnBGYWhat made these games great is that all the bullshit didn't exist. In these games, the only things that are important are reaction times, quick thinking, and a killer instinct so you can survive.

I have never owned a video game system and never will bother with one because it's all the same shit for the past 30 years, but with better graphics.

[zollo]

I personally don't like many female protagonists in games because of how they're written. Most of the male characters feel more genuine while many female main characters are overly sexually, overly meek or polite, or are just not like really women. Bayonetta gets a pass though.👀 But seriously, why can't they be chill characters and sometimes be sexy? Also where are my cute sexy dumb male fanservice characters?

[spuitkaas]

It depends on how they're written. In general I like it. For example with Assassins Creed where you can now choose to play as a female. The female is always a respected and badass bitch which is refreshing, however, I don't like it when women are overly sexualized or completely made for the male gaze in video games.

[captain_voidwalker]

You used to have some awesome female protagonists back in the day. Samus from metroid, Heather from silent hill 3, Jill valentine from resident evil. You had marle, lucca and Ayla from cronotrigger. You have rydia, terra, celles, aerith, Tifa, garnet, Yuna, snd rikku from the final fantasy series. Back in they day these were compelling characters who happened to be female. But in the modern day they expect you to find a character compelling purely because she is female.
Take comics for example. From the xmen you have Rouge. She had the ability to absorb powers from people but it would also drain the life from that person. One day she absorbed miss marvels powers until it killed her and permanently gained her ability of super strength and flight. But the guilt of this forced her to stop bieng a villain and dedicate her life to doing good in the world. A compelling narrative if ever there was one.

Now let's look at her modern equivalent captain marvel. Captain marvel just got her powers from gets her powers. And once she gets her powers she basically treats everyone like shit. She suddenly is just the mist powerful in the marvel universe for no reason whatsoever. She has no personality, she has no compelling character arc. You just supposed to like her because vagina.

[Jusin]

I think having a female protagonist is pretty awesome. They for sure don't need to be all about fan service and skimpy, I prefer them to be more realistic and relatable than showing tons of skin. Overall the gender of the main character doesn't matter too much to me as long as the character themself is interesting, but I suppose I do relate to female characters easier for some reason. Whenever there's a choice to pick between male or female for a character I always choose to play as the female character since I'm male in real life so it's a nice little change to mix it up. Plus I get a little into the fashion/clothing making her wear stuff that looks nice and whatnot :p

[BCA6010]

I don't care one way or another as long as the protagonist is well-written. Games are works of fiction, and "being able to relate to the protagonist" is completely irrelevant. That in itself poses a problem, because most game developers now are so desperate to be "inclusive" that their characters are incredibly one-dimensional, usually void of personality, or very inconsistent because they're trying to touch as many bases as possible.

In other words, it's more important for characters to be believable than relatable.

[MCheetah]

I don't mind or care about their gender at all, unless it's a first person perspective. I don't want to play "inside the head" of a woman. Likewise, I don't want to play as any first person character who talks. I HATE that sh*t! The whole point of the first person perspective is so that you can pretend that YOU'RE the protagonist! A first person character who talks or does pre-recorded things just makes me a passenger in their head and takes away the illusion of immersion. It's even worse when it's a girl (because I am not one), but this is the only time gender comes into play when playing a video game. I have no problem playing as a third person male or female video game character.

[FilmGuy93]

The gender of the protagonist doesn't change the relatability of the story for me. I basically don't have any preference about the issue. I will say this though; if you are going to have a female protagonist, I demand deeper storytelling (I demand deeper storytelling in general, but I think there's a greater element of plausibility in a male character being motivated by something simple). If you give me a female protagonist and she's a super boring two dimensional stereotype with no real growth; I had better be BLOWN AWAY by the gameplay and art style of the game.

[Anonymous]

I dont mind them but I more enjoy games where there is a character creator or at very least a gender choice.

I'm quite picky with how I play games, I like to play characters i can see myself in, so tend to play humans in fantasy games or the generic helmeted soldiers in games like gears of war.

I like characters who aren't some super legendary hero but are instead a standard person who's actions are what define him. It stretches beyond just a question of what gender or race to play as, to the point that I love the alternate start mods in games like skyrim, where you aren't the dragonborn. Playing as just some mercenary using conventional weapons and motivated by gold rather than some legendary destiny.

[BUNroaster]

I think its great in a lot of cases but it does kinda erk me still just seeing this blend of male and female characters being implemented. Everyone has to bend to the will of society standards or whatever. I mostly get annoyed with it cuz I go into all these political thoughts after seeing the changes. As in no longer is male and femal a thing. You just go in and dress them up, add boobs or whatever and still have a beard I don't know just not used to it, not really much of any science backing it up so

[User_40000]

Yes, of course I relate to a male protagonist more. However at the same time I can still sympathize with a female protagonist depending on her character & how she came to be from her origin story.
Personally I prefer male protagonists in videogames but I still enjoy some female ones, so long as they have a good personality & are portrayed as actual FEMININE women instead of some feminist butch. An example of a good female protagonist would be Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn & also an example of a bad female protagonist would be that psychotic "IT'S MAM" Abby from The Last of Us 2.

[Anonymous]

If the protagonist is a female I either avoid playing the game altogether or I ignore the story and judge it solely for the gameplay.

It really depends on how much input you as a player have on the character's behavior.
If it's a game where the player makes no choices whatsoever (such as The Last of Us 2) then it doesn't really matter, because I wouldn't emphasize or identify with the character regardless of their gender (which kind of defeats the point of the game for me to begin with, a big reason why I don't play such games), but I may still play the game for its gameplay.

If the player does make decisions for the character, especially in game where romance options are available, then I'm picking the male character or just not playing the game if one isn't available.

[JDavid25]

It's not really a big deal.. Female protagonist have been in games for a long time starting with Samus from Metroid.. So it's not like it's some new phenomenon.. And generally most dudes don't care.. I can't relate to most of the protagonists male or female so that's definitely not a factor...

[Caunsos]

Vidio game protagonist weird duel edge sword. During gameplay i am that character. I have full control of thier actions choices everything. I have full ageancy of them. I pull the trigger on the head shot. I trick the enemy. I did those things. However narratively they are also their own character with there own stories. And there verisin of characters i like and versions i don't. Ultimately is the mechanical character and narrative character mesh well together it lead to a enjoyable experience.

[FruitAndBlueEyes]

It’s pretty cool and it’s honestly refreshing. I enjoyed one of the tomb raider games (can’t remember it now but it is in my Xbox library). I remember playing as Ciri in the Witcher 3 and loved it. There is also Heather from Silent Hill 3, Claire from Resident Evil 2, Sherry from Resident Evil 6, Jill from Resident Evil 3, and the female fighters in Mortal Kombat.

[RationalMale]

Good male characters: you either project yourself onto them or you imagine them as the brother you wish you had.
Female characters: attractive and you feeling protective that you want this character to be alright.

[Chimeguy]

I generally don’t care. But in cases of RPGs where you can create your own character, I generally play as a female character. I don’t know why. It is just my preference.

I don’t understand this push of having to have a character that’s like me in a video gane. I’ve played Mario games for years, and I really don’t feel like an Italian plumber is someone who represents me or that I can relate to. In fact, I feel like a lot of times people go out of their way to try to be someone who isn’t like themselves. You are playing this game as a way to escape your life for a bit. Why would I want to drag that into it.

[UserGAG]

It's cool. I play the female protagonist because of the attraction. Feeling protective... Nah! When making custom characters I create guys because they are who I relate to. When I create female custom characters it is for the attraction. If the female was not made to look attractive I would still play as them because I like girls.

[MartinGoulet]

I like female protagonist in video games. In some kind of games, I prefer them because their stories are better andled; male protagonist being shown as more of a villain with his intentions and attittudes than the hero is supposed to be. Also, as for the look, females are better presented than males and they have more options.

[Howdy13]

I don't really mind what gender the character is. As long as the character is good. Or at least to story is well I wouldn't mind.
It does seem weird sometimes playing with a female protagonist. The male character will usually be better to relate to or at least allow me to vision my self as the protagonist. But like I said earlier that can all change with a great story and great character build/ progression and I would then do the same with a female protagonist. So yeah I wouldn't mind it.

[MrKinktastic]

I’ll play either if the gameplay and story are good; that said I usually find it easier to identify with male protagonists. Though that’s really only relevant for RPGs to me.

[Lynx122]

Idc as long as the story is good I'll like it. If I can chose I make male characters just because it feels more real to me but if its a story game and there's only a female lead then I'm fine with it.

[GnatSocks]

I prefer make protagonists. I don't relate well to female protagonists, but I've mostly just stopped playing video games anyway. It's just propaganda to a culture I despise now. Same with movies.

[Astarlessnightsky]

I don't care about the sex at all.
Its the least important aspect of a game.

Everything else is much more important, like gameplay, story, sound and music, grafic and artstyle, ...

[IAMNathanael]

Doesn't matter to me. I just hope they're well written an not just placed in the game for the sake of having female characters.

[EivorVal]

I really can't stand female protagonists. They annoy any joy i might feel for the gane right out of me.

[jshm2]

Nothing. It's just a bloody game.

You don't think about the car's feelings when playing a racing game, do you?

[clampfan101]

Female protagonists with a good personality and story,(no need for “fan service”), are awesome!
My top 3 favorite game protagonists of all time happen to all be guys, but 2/3 are often called pretty boys. lol

[naraku]

Depends on the game and how well they're written. Tomb raider and resident evil had good female leads, but so did FF XIII with Lightning. Other FF games have strong female's even if they're not the lead like Tifa and Rinoa and to a point, Yuna.

[Montano_lady]

I guess I’m more used to male superheroes but it would be cool to have more female superheroes. Like imagine if we grew up with Superman as superwoman and Flash as female. How different our world would be.

[OfDeath]

I honestly have no preference at all about that. I loved tomb raider and never had a problem with playing as a female protagonist. I've also likes games that had male protagonists but honestly can't think of any as iconic as Lara Croft.

[mortonc57]

I liked Lara Croft... the "rape" scene was pretty disturbing tho

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't care abour relating to protagonists.
And I don't know if we can call it a preference, but when the game allows me to create my own character, I usually go with female because most of the time you have to play a male.

[SenseiSeptred]

Both, but they need to not be more accurate to what they can do for their body type and weight in the game, and to show their scores increasing, or decreasing.

[Steve1071]

Well I’ve been playing Tomb Raider since the beginning and I really like female protagonists in video games but I also love female villainess in video games as well.

[Kaneki05]

I always pick the female character if there is a choice and always think female ones are better.

[taleswapper]

I prefer to play a female toon. If I'm going to spend hours watching an ass bouncing away from me; I prefer it be an aesthetically pleasing one...

[TheSpaceGnome]

Doesn't matter honestly, I don't play games to relate to characters, I play them to have a challenge.

[OddBeMe]

It’s good. Same for leading roles in action flicks. As a society we need to see women as just as important. Empathy is hard to learn. Playing a game as a woman is a good way to learn it.

[rondon06]

I could care less about the gender of the character. I don't have a proper with female main characters

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I won't buy a game if it forces a female protagonist on me. It depends on the title. I won't support virtue signaling games but I don't object to all female protagonists. It really depends on the publishers intent

[InfobotLives]

I don't mind as long as the gender makes sense and the game is good. Lara Croft doesn't need to be Larry Croft, the games are still great.

[Unit1]

No preference at all. I do like the alternation between the sexes.

[ThisIsMyOpinion]

I prefer male protagonists, buy I don't mind playing as a girl.

[bamesjond0069]

I don't know its mixed. I like and/or dont mind the option depending on execution but i dont like being forced into a female protagonist.

[EmotionOfFear]

They're great! Though, admittedly... all my favorite video games have a male protagonist. That's not my fault

[Snoofloof9291]

It's nice to have female protagonists in games, shows that we girls play video games. I find it weird that some guys get so surprised that a girl plays a certain game or that she is skilled in it.

[Somoneelse]

No problem at all. I truly don't understand why some people has to make so much of a hassle of it.

[TheFlak38]

I want a good protagonist. male or female. it doesn't matter.

[Sabretooth]

Not a game I'd play. I'm not a sexiest-i just like playing my own gender and race. I am glad that female protagonists exist, though.

[Daniel_Dano]

I was never a fan of it , I always preferred male protagonists, I dont like games that force you to play as a female character.

[MrTaboo]

Like any male ones. It has to be done right. No signs of political/feminist agenda.

[WhiteWolf69]

doesn't matter either way to me. As long as the game has good story line and good game play

[ItsMeItsMe1989]

Well, Buffy is one of the best shows I've ever watched.. Wasn't it made into a video game?

[sheikalana]

I grew up playing Tomb Raider and Resident Evil both have female protagonists and I love it.

[Anonymous]

We have that already with Lara croft in tomb raider, and other games but overall I think it's a great idea

[Morokei]

Don't care as long as it doesn't come with spoon fed social justice politics.

[Ryfyle]

It's a fucking video game. It really doesn't matter unless the game-play is good.

[Dinosaursandanime65]

It doesn’t matter who or what they are. If they’re a p*ssy then I don’t like them. What happens when the whistle blows in five minutes?

[blondfrog]

Yeah sure why not who cares. As long as the game is good.

[Aurora1010]

I relate better to the female protagonists

[AkshiJanjua]

If its done tastefully then great
not great when its to support some feminist propaganda

[Anonymous]

i just want a good game with a good storyline. Doesn't matter if it's a guy or girl character to me