Stronger Women, Better Games

Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD

We as gamers need to demand better female characters. This isn’t just an issue for femenists, but for all of us who care about the quality of this industry. And I’m not just talking about women in leading roles. Take a look at the women in some of the more recent blockbuster games.

You might not recognize that last one, but that is Samus Aran from Metroid. Seriously. They took one of the most powerful women in gaming and quite literally stripped her of her armor. The developers of Other M apparently decided that seeing Samus as a more vulnerable character (some would say sexistly so) would enamor her more to gamers. As the reviews were painfully polarizing, I can’t say they made a good choice.

Why do women in games need to dress like this? When compared to the armored and grizzled men of modern games, the contrast is quite severe.

Look, I’m not saying that video game characters can’t or shouldn’t be attractive, but that needs to stop being a defining characteristic. As more and more titles focus on the story over graphics, we should stop focusing on bra size over more important traits.

As for me? I’m going to start a new save file in the Mass Effect Trilogy and give FemShep a go. Maybe I’ll learn a little something playing from other side. Maybe we all should try to do the same.