The battle of the sexes may mean nothing in our digital world.
Sometimes our industry is plunged into controversy, at which time the media, politicians, and others line up to take shots at us for their sound-bite news programs. After a while, things typically die down and they go back to ignoring us as usual. Everything from school shootings to domestic violence and bullying have resulted in the finger being pointed in our direction. As many of you already know, this ruthless cycle seemingly never ends.
The most recent storm on the horizon is the gender inequality debate. Many have jumped on the bandwagon of bashing various developers for either only using females as T&A or not treating them with the same level of respect as their male counterparts, in regards to leading roles. However, Michel Koch (Dontnod Co-Game Director of Life is Strange ) had a different take on the matter when he spoke with Reddit users during a Reddit IAmA session.
When one user felt Life is Strange seemed to focus “more on drama and romance and less on the actual story,” Koch was quick to assure him this was not simply a game for young girls. He responded:
To be honest, we also really think that the gender of a main character is quite irrelevant when creating a good story, it really depends on how you write your characters in relation to the themes you are dealing with. Life is Strange is starring a teenage girl, you’re right, but it is clearly not only a teenage girl story and we really think that both male players and female players will relate to this game and enjoy this adventure.
I’m going to be completely honest with you. Seeing a game like Life is Strange doesn’t do much to convince me gender lines have been completely torn down in 2015. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much in it that would appeal to a 30-something guy such as myself.
The problem is… that’s the problem! For all I know, Dontnod’s latest release could be a truly touching, rich narrative that I’ll remember for years to come. Yet I’ll never know, because I’ve already written it off as “not for me.” When I think back on some of the great gaming memories I have from years past, I can honestly say they have little to do with whether or not the main character was male or female. That was a consideration which never made it onto my radar. If Super Mario Bros . was actually called Super Maria Sisters , I doubt I would have given it a second thought.
As long as it provided the same depth of play, addictive fun, and memorable design, would I have really cared all that much? Probably not. It’s a classic example of that old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Except with us, that’s all we do in gaming. The only difference here is our “covers” are the polygon models. If developers could simply focus more on crafting a stellar experience, rather than anticipating community reactions to the protagonist’s gender, this debate would quickly fade into obscurity.
I’m truly hoping 2015 is the year where these and other ridiculous stereotypes are finally buried six feet under once and for all.