Gamejam Challenge: Create a Strong Female Character

[BATZARRO WWD]

To be held July 12 in Vancouver, IAMGAMER is hosting a 48 hour gamejam: that is to say a 2 day competition to create a videogame. As a ground rule, though, said videogame must have a strong female protagonist. It's kind of trying counteract the idea that said protagonists of said gender don't sell in so and so games industry.

http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=11032

Personally I'd love to participate, but there's a lot of water between me and Canada. I think it's a meritory discussion, though. And I've always said rather than asking Nintendo to give it's princesses a less damsely role or asking for Sony to tone down the God of War orgies, the practical route for helping the game's industry gender issues is to start making succesful product that goes against the grain.

So discuss: would you participate in such an event. Do you think it could have some impact? Is this necessary?

 

[Silvermoth]

Yeah of course I would. I reckon the latest tomb raider shows there is definitely a market for strong women.

I wouldn't just make a strong woman though. I would focus on a great game that happens to have a female main character

 

[cherokeesam]

I don't know if this event specifically will have an impact on the gaming landscape, but it's definitely necessary to get the idea out there.

I think a (still) predominantly male gaming audience *will* buy games with strong female protagonists; it's just that the developers still are too chicken**** to pony up. Tomb Raider set the standard, and became an icon in gaming; yet, rather than trying to emulate that, the industry throws out gameporn like Lollipop Chainsaw and DOA Beach Volleyball. Even when they do a commendable stab at a great female lead, like Whatshername (yes, she's that forgettable) in the Assassin's Creed series, they shovel her off into the backwaters of handheld gaming instead of putting her front and center on a cross-platform release. At least there's Faith in Mirror's Edge; but as a first-person parkour with not much in the way of dialogue, it's easy to forget she's a woman. Just like Samus Aran.....hell, there's still plenty of folks out there who still don't realize that Metroid's lead character is a chick.

The industry has no one to blame but themselves for the misogyny in gaming. It's not the audiences.