[Fireman]

QUOTE (junkpile @ Sunday, Feb 12 2012, 08:59)

Consider this: You rather look at the ass of a guy or a woman?

Really, that's your argument for having a female protagonist over a male one?

You notice how the women you mentioned were exceptions though, didn't you? And that you had to look for woman that actually shot people in real life, before you could post it here, while you could name a million men who have used guns before.

That's why I don't want a female protagonist with a gun, she stands out too much, for me it wouldn't feel as realistic as a man with a gun.

[Robinski]

That's circular logic though: we can't do that because it's against the norm, therefore we'll enforce the norm, meaning we can't do it because it goes against the norm... It's the same argument as those who supported things like DADT.

Besides, you're talking specifically about shooters. Why couldn't you have a female protagonist in say, a driving game? As long as you set it in Saudi Arabia, women drive pretty much everywhere.

This post has been edited by Robinski on Saturday, Feb 18 2012, 12:27

[acmilano]

No problem with female protagonists at all.I enjoyed playing Tomb Raider,Mirrors Edge and Age of Empires 3 just like GTA or Uncharted series.Good character is good characters,no matter his gender.In Max Payne 2 Mona Sax was also realistic portrait of what female character in video game should be.And in Mass Effect and Saints Row female VA's did great job,just like their male counterparts.When is left on choise,people often check both options,for example,in Mass Effect forum people posted almost equal amount of pictures of their male and female versions of Shepard's they used in ME3 demo:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effec...-9273063-1.html

If Rockstar include female protagonist insome of their next games i'm sure they would find good formula for that to be in place,not just for sake of it.

[JBanton]

I think a female could fit any protagonist role IF their character is correctly executed.
For example if a female MC had the strength to beat down any guy, I'd be a bit worried, more importantly if a female MC displays too little femininity then that for me would also make the character too unrealistic and drive me more to dislike the character, simply because a female character's femininity is for me a key factor for their likeability.
I still stand by all my previous posts .

This post has been edited by JBanton on Wednesday, Feb 22 2012, 15:05

[JBanton]

Personally, probably the best protagonist I've had the pleasure of playing as. Also the other female members of the team do look pretty good when brandishing their weaponry as well .

[Moonshield]

QUOTE (JBanton @ Wednesday, Feb 22 2012, 10:01)

I think a female could fit any protagonist role IF their character is correctly executed. For example if a female MC had the strength to beat down any guy, I'd be a bit worried, more importantly if a female MC displays too little femininity then that for me would also make the character too unrealistic and drive me more to dislike the character, simply because a female character's femininity is for me a key factor for their likeability. I still stand by all my previous posts .

WOW, how about you ease off the sexist banter, dude? You even said it yourself, a female character isn't likable unless she's "feminine".

[JBanton]

QUOTE (Moonshield @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 15:45)

WOW, how about you ease off the sexist banter, dude? You even said it yourself, a female character isn't likable unless she's "feminine".

Notice that I have said "feminine" to an extent though my moderating friend, a female character is great and in a number of cases better than a male, so long as there is still a believable amount of femininity.

[Linki]

QUOTE (Moonshield @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 15:45)

QUOTE (JBanton @ Wednesday, Feb 22 2012, 10:01) I think a female could fit any protagonist role IF their character is correctly executed. For example if a female MC had the strength to beat down any guy, I'd be a bit worried, more importantly if a female MC displays too little femininity then that for me would also make the character too unrealistic and drive me more to dislike the character, simply because a female character's femininity is for me a key factor for their likeability. I still stand by all my previous posts . WOW, how about you ease off the sexist banter, dude? You even said it yourself, a female character isn't likable unless she's "feminine".

You know the world is screwed when expecting women to be feminine is apparently wrong.

When I play a male character, I expect him to masculine. Is that wrong too?

It's like gender doesn't even matter anymore.

[ccrogers15]

I absolutley love when games have female main characters. Alot of times it does the game good. Like Primal, Tomb Raider, Hydrophobia. They all 3 have great female leads that you can connect with. Usually, game devs do this so that Females can have a video game rollmodel, and males can have sexual feelings. (its the truth, and there usually is never any butt ugly female characters, not trying to be sexist or rude.)

[Robinski]

QUOTE (ccrogers15 @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 22:27)

males can have sexual feelings. (its the truth, and there usually is never any butt ugly female characters, not trying to be sexist or rude.)

It's more difficult for us (I'm assuming) hetero males to see/comment on it, but I don't think there are actually that many butt ugly male protagonists in video games either. I certainly wouldn't mind looking like the real life counterpart of the default Mass Effect Shepard or Uncharted's Nathan Drake.

[Moonshield]

QUOTE (Linki @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 17:24)

QUOTE (Moonshield @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 15:45) QUOTE (JBanton @ Wednesday, Feb 22 2012, 10:01) I think a female could fit any protagonist role IF their character is correctly executed. For example if a female MC had the strength to beat down any guy, I'd be a bit worried, more importantly if a female MC displays too little femininity then that for me would also make the character too unrealistic and drive me more to dislike the character, simply because a female character's femininity is for me a key factor for their likeability. I still stand by all my previous posts . WOW, how about you ease off the sexist banter, dude? You even said it yourself, a female character isn't likable unless she's "feminine". You know the world is screwed when expecting women to be feminine is apparently wrong. When I play a male character, I expect him to masculine. Is that wrong too? It's like gender doesn't even matter anymore.

You're not getting it. Gender shouldn't matter if the character's strong enough. That's the issue here. That's why heroines like Ellen Ripley or Sara Connor are so strong, they're women, yeah, but that's not what makes them great. It's secondary. There's nothing wrong with a female character to be feminine at all, but when it becomes a crutch, when it becomes a gimmick, then the character becomes flat and uninteresting.

[Linki]

QUOTE (Moonshield @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 22:39)

QUOTE (Linki @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 17:24) QUOTE (Moonshield @ Wednesday, Mar 7 2012, 15:45) QUOTE (JBanton @ Wednesday, Feb 22 2012, 10:01) I think a female could fit any protagonist role IF their character is correctly executed. For example if a female MC had the strength to beat down any guy, I'd be a bit worried, more importantly if a female MC displays too little femininity then that for me would also make the character too unrealistic and drive me more to dislike the character, simply because a female character's femininity is for me a key factor for their likeability. I still stand by all my previous posts . WOW, how about you ease off the sexist banter, dude? You even said it yourself, a female character isn't likable unless she's "feminine". You know the world is screwed when expecting women to be feminine is apparently wrong. When I play a male character, I expect him to masculine. Is that wrong too? It's like gender doesn't even matter anymore. You're not getting it. Gender shouldn't matter if the character's strong enough. That's the issue here. That's why heroines like Ellen Ripley or Sara Connor are so strong, they're women, yeah, but that's not what makes them great. It's secondary. There's nothing wrong with a female character to be feminine at all, but when it becomes a crutch, when it becomes a gimmick, then the character becomes flat and uninteresting.

Oh OK, I understand that.

[finn4life]

I looked at this. A little differently, we have already seen loads of female characters in games, usually bot the main character, look at elaina from uncharted, she is a very believable female character, she does many of the same things drake does, swap her in as the main character and hey presto it works!

[EDMEISTERX]

I can't vote for any of the choices,because I just see that men fit games more,maybe that's just because I mostly play action and shooter games,I don't mind a female protagonist,but if she stays for the whole game,I don't like that.I like it best when female protagonists are optional,like in the Saints Row series.

[ccrogers15]

Well game series`s that fully have the story to fit there character even if there female:

1. The Sims
2. Mass Effect
3. Fallout
4. Elder Scrolls
5. Saints Row (2 and 3)

[JBanton]

QUOTE (EDMEISTERX @ Thursday, Mar 8 2012, 13:23.)

I don't mind a female protagonist,..., I like it best when female protagonists are optional, like in the Saints Row series.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, I fully understandably your point. For me, I'm usually playing racing games but when I'm not it is nice to be able to play as a female character when it's available because it's a nice change.

As for the Saints Row series, I've only played 2 and the Third, but that character customisation system makes for better immersion for me, but also in The Third was probably the only thing that kept me playing it for a decent amount of time.

[ccrogers15]

Like i said before, one of the best game franchises out there for playing as a male/female and having the exact same story is The Saints Row Series. Just like GTA, but a little um... lets just say SR3 is not the best game in the world.

You can be Male or Female in SR2 and SR3.
In saints row your stuck as a male.

In saints row 3 there is actually a trophy/achievement if you experiment using both genders. You earn it if you play as a female for 2 hours, AND play as a male for 2 hours. Since all your stats are carried over to new games because of your profile, it makes it easy to do.

[Gtaghost22]

Yes, but only if optional.. (No offence to females)

[JBanton]

We recently had a discussion on female police officers in GTA V, I think it's a pretty interesting conversation.

On the one hand you could be promoting womens' equality but on the other it could be targeted as an offensive move; promoting the killing of women... (although I'm sure we've been running them over for ages)

Personally I think it would be a bad move to include female police officers because I'd be less likely to want to kill them. In GTA the male police officers always looked or acted annoying and I was naturally given an incentive to wipe out each and every one of them. If women came in as police officers I would have to think twice or even three times about pulling the trigger or dropping that explosive