Female protagonist?

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Judging by the game's cover, the game features a female protagonist. Am I correct?

If so, then I'd like to know why. I'm not personally against it, mind you; in fact, I think it's a neat idea. I'm just curious, that's all.

[Abysswalker]

Protagonist is a generous term for it. It is little more than your avatar, which you can customize by interacting with a mirror when you start your game.

And yeah, it seems like you're female by default but can change to male via the aforementioned mirror.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Still, I'm surprised male developers would make the default character female. Usually, it's the other way around: female avatars usually have to be unlocked (e.g. The Binding of Isaac). It's a minor yet interesting subversion. I like it!

[Neit]

mm..

[Goblinesque]

I don't understand why this is even a topic of discussion.

[Neit]

People just want to talk.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Just giving credit where it's due: most developers nowadays would have been okay with a generic-looking male for the default avatar for their game. Again, it's a minor but neat subversion of a common trope in video games.

[Thanes of Danes]

OP has it right on some accounts. Female protagonists are generally seen as less marketable than males because most developers want to cater to boys who want to live out a super macho power fantasy. And when women do hit the protagonist spotlight, they're almost always scantily clad and/or sexualized and ALWAYS have the same body (large bust, slim waist, light skin).

I think it's a good topic to bring up because female voices in the gaming community are speaking up more than ever and I think the topic of womens' roles in gaming is always relevent.

[Nasty Peep]

I'm amazed this thread hasn't gone haywire yet, I don't think I've ever seen this topic go smoothly.
Anyway, on topic, I can't be the only one who does this...
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=188190184

[dphrygian]

Let me start by saying: This is a sensitive subject to many people, and I will not hesitate to close this thread if discussion gets out of hand.

Yes, the main character in Eldritch is a non-sexualized woman of color. In game, Eldritch lets you customize your character. Customization makes no real difference in the game, but it's important to me. It was also important to me that the default character was not exactly like me (i.e., a cisgender heterosexual white man).

The representation of women (as well as minorities and marginalized people of all kinds) in games has been and continues to be a problematic part of our medium.

Eldritch is a very "video game-y" video game, for lack of a better term, and is neither intended nor well suited to address social politics. And, frankly, I'm not the person for that job. But in an industry where marketing teams remove women from box covers because market research says games will move more units that way, I can't do nothing. Honestly, making the protagonist of Eldritch a woman feels insubstantial and insignificant compared to the meaningful work being done by my peers, but I need to do at least this small bit to improve a problematic aspect of video games.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Thank you for replying to my inquiry! However, you don't need to be so modest about it: little touches, like making the main character female by default, are what matters in the long run. Just look at Portal: Chell has yet to have a single line throughout the entire series and yet she's already a fan favorite among gamers, regardless of their gender.

All that being said, good job and I'm looking forward to play your game!

[gr8stalin's mustache!]

Why is the character's gender relevant in the first place? All that matters is if the game is good and fun.

[Deadly Habit]

As commendable as it is, in a FPS game it's hardly noticable unless you:
- Have fully working mirrors in game
- Cutscenes with the character in view in 3rd person
- Vocalization differences
For this title it's kind of like the typical blank slate avatar in a RPG like The Elder Scroll games where it's just for the player to create someone they relate to.
It works for certain titles and genres and for some it doesn't.

[Tweed]

It's relevant because popular gaming media has decided to make it a huge controversial issue in order to dredge up more views and make it sound like anyone who DARES to make the protagonist of their game female will be shunned and scorned by the male dominated industry.

That's when I start remembering all the titles that have had female leads that somehow weren't ruined forever because the lack of Y chromosones, like Metroid, King's Quest 4 and 7, The Laura Bow series, Legend of Kyrandia 2, Tomb Raider (The originals, not that ghasty remake), Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3, and Code Veronica, Alone in the Dark (which is also heavily based on H.P. Lovecraft) and of course any game that lets you pick your gender, just to name a few.

Yes there are more male than female leads because it really IS a male dominated market, but the "sky is falling" attitudes journalists exhibit don't change anything.

[Plainbear.ttv]

Well, from my point of view, most females characters that are liked are female characters that do not "feel" female. If the game turn around and say "I'm a female", then it's bad. If it's a silent protagonist, the sex of the avatar is meaningless, and if she talk without going into tropes, then it's fine too.
But doing a game and doing a conscious effort or changing the game vision to include everything that goes against the mainstream idea of the protagonist is not good in my book. Take Eternal Darkness for example. The main hero is a white female. But nobody cared that she's female because she was realist and likable and didnt throw the fact that she's a woman in your face every second.

[Oddst]

Lol a 'neat' idea; As if no games ever had a female protagnist before. Rofl.