… That kind of commentary drives me up the wall, but that is what this industry is working with.

But in the vidja-game world of 2013: “No way bro, I never play as a fuckin’ chick…” :

No matter what build I choose to draw, it’s not correct to somebody. Personality, sense of humour, and emotional
reactions? Not accurate to somebody. The character’s job, interests, or stance on things that drive the story? Doesn’t work for some people.

I used to want to try and make sure I wasn’t erring on sexism or negative stereotypes, especially because I grew up with heroines like Kitty Pryde, Buffy, Lara Croft, Tara Chace in Queen and Country – I don’t look at them as strong female characters, I look at them as strong characters. Lately I’ve given up, because there are so many different ways people interpret an idea, or twist an idea to fit an agenda, all I hope for is that the character’s design and personality resonates with someone like you. If one person gets it, it’s a victory.

It’s always seemed to me that female leads tend to be present in more abstract titles, like Mirror’s Edge (which ended up being a commercial success, but not as much as they’d hoped, why the sequel seems to be in a state of existential flux). And if you look back over the history of gaming, women tend to find more success – as characters – in adventure games. You’ve got April Ryan, for example, one of the most iconic women in gaming (assuming you’re a PC gamer…). So when you consider what kind of games developers typically use female leads for, it’s really not that surprising that they are perceived to sell less.

I don’t think Skyrim, Fable, etc. really handled the gender thing well. Skyrim barely acknowledges you as anything, let alone as your gender. Everyone talks to you in the same boring way irrespective of what you look like. Fable 3 was a bit better, but it still felt kind of the same. And Divinity 2… Sigh. Good game, but again, no real ‘gender’ recognition.

Good point! Also I must say yeeees lady orcs are awesome!

As someone who has worked as a marketer in the gaming industry, I have a vested interest in pinning down how best to sell to developing demographics — more specifically, to all my fellow feminist gamers (note: I purposely did not say female gamers). And as a professional you cannot solely operate on hunches or ideas of what “feels right or wrong.” Generally, when you don’t know how to solve a problem — and I argue that gender representation in video games is a longstanding problem that isn’t going to be solved anytime soon — you go with metrics in order to replicate successful consumer behavior.

And obviously, we can all agree that this is not always the best way to do things, but it IS a solid and safe approach. No business ever wants to lose money.

If you asked any of my friends, family or coworkers if I am feminine, the answer would likely be a resounding No. But at the same time, if you looked at what I wear, skirts, sexy boots, blouses in bright colors, long fancy nails, I stopped doing heels after I tore a ligament in my ankle, but I used to wear them nonstop. All of those clothing choices signify me as feminine, but my loud and abrasive manner, my love of body humor, geek stuff, and politics and my refusal to wear makeup 99% of the time mark me as distinctly non-feminine.

As I told a coworker who crossed a line with me when it came to discussing my aesthetic choices, just because I refuse to conform to traditional femininity, does NOT make me a defective woman.

And yes, if any of us were in battle and we suffered an injury to our feminine appearance, we would do what we do everyday in life, swear about it and move on. If there is an emery board handy, we’ll file off the edge and keep going.

Not that hard.