There has been a lot of talk in gaming circles lately about the lack of female leads in games. For some reason, the industry still sees us as "girl gamers" instead of just gamers. Thus we are subjected to the occasional bone, usually in the form of Barbie riding horses, an unfortunately named karaoke game, or the pink armor option in a hardcore shooter. (I go for purple myself.)
Two of this year's best games, BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us feature strong women NPCs who play major roles in the story. They are simply catalysts, however - not the leads. Granted, these women are not the protagonists of their stories. But a role reversal in both would have been easy, and it would have added another layer of depth. Both games have a paternalistic flavor to them that easily could have turned into some awesome "mama bear" action. Less "Daddy's gonna to take you home little girlie," more "Get away from her YOU BITCH!"
To be fair, in both cases, the women fend for themselves - and often save your ass as well. These are not 10-hour long escort missions. (Elizabeth might disagree a bit on that point.) Instead, they are joint campaigns that happen to feature a strong female as the non-playable secondary lead.
So why not promote them to the starring role? To be fair, you might get a chance to run around as Ellie in The Last of Us (I'm still playing - no spoilers please!) and there is BioShock Infinite DLC coming that lets you take over as Elizabeth in Rapture (swoon!). So we have that to look forward to.
In the meantime, game developers have an opportunity to build new games featuring strong female leads. You don't even have to get creative here. There are ample intellectual properties out there that feature highly franchisable women either in the lead role or damn close to it. I found a fine selection just by perusing my DVR and comics collection.
Here, I'll make it easy for you. Submitted for your approval (and licensing), 10 women who really need their own game. And there ain't gonna be any Barbie Dream House shit.
Oh, and there are a few mild SPOILERS AHEAD. You have been warned.
10. Sarah Manning (Orphan Black, TV series). This cult science fiction series ran over the summer on BBC America, and is now picking up new "clone club" members through digital downloads, streaming, and DVD. There's a heavy overlap between gamers and the show's target audience: smart people who like to be challenged and love science fiction.
Without giving too much away, this story offers the perfect opportunity for an open-world adventure a la Grand Theft Auto. Let me jump around the various characters and explore their worlds. The main mission will always be one pink cell phone call away.
Bonus: New seasons and new clones = DLC opportunity!
9. Mercy Sparx (Mercy Sparx, comic series). If this sounds familiar, it's because I plugged Mercy Sparx in a Make My Game podcast segment a few years ago.
Or you might be one of those adventurous comic book readers who picked up this limited run about a devilish bounty hunter who tracks fallen angels on Earth... and de-halos them! (Tagline: Combat Devolved!)
Mercy Sparx has the punk sensibility and attitude to bring all the boys to the yard and the girlish style to make women head to the nearest Hot Topic to start their cosplay projects.
Bonus: Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Josh Blaylock is releasing a new set of Mercy Sparx comics this year. It's time, guys.
8. Kate Bishop/Hawkeye (Hawkeye, comic series). I know what you're thinking. "Jeremy Renner's character in The Avengers movie is named Kate?!?"
Uh, no. In the current Hawkeye series (which you SHOULD be reading), original Hawkeye Clint has taken on a younger and possibly more talented protégée named Kate to carry on the Hawkeye name. Both still roam the city under the nom de Avengers, but no one is mistaking one for the other. Recent issues have been very generous with the Kate storylines including a book devoted entirely to her adventures on the West Coast. There is plenty of material to mine here. Let's get started.
Bonus: Thanks to The Hunger Games, young girls are enrolling in archery classes across the nation. Cash in while the iron is hot!
7. Katy Perry (musician). OK, just to show there are some things you can build with chicks that don't involve violence, I submit for your approval: a Katy Perry game.
I know the whole rhythm/karaoke thing has been pretty dead lately, but people still have their old instruments and mics - so why not give them something fun to perform?
Plus, Katy ain't anorexic, lets her freak flag fly, and actually makes an effort to be a role model for the young girls in the audience.
And let's face it - her costumes and sets would look super cute animated!
Bonus: Katy Purr-y has a new album dropping now. The timing is Purr-fect!
6. Catwoman (Catwoman, comics including The New 52 series). Something for the mature ladies who don't fear sexuality. Yes, her catsuit tends to be left unzipped, and the lack of bra just looks... painful. Somehow, it doesn't come off as exploitive in the books. Maybe because she's batsh-- (catsh--?) crazy, and forgetting to zip her suit up seems like... an oversight.
The books have done a great job of setting up the world, even if the stories have not always delivered. (The Penguin arc can't end soon enough!) Still, there are little moments in the book that would make for great side missions. I would totes go out of my way to deliver THAT teddy bear to the orphan! Make it open world, and let me loot my way around the city between missions. Just please, leave the Penguin out of it.
Bonus: Catwoman is a well-known IP, giving you a built-in audience from Day 1.
5. Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, TV and various comic series). Why Faith and not Buffy? A couple of reasons. First, Buffy has had a few games... and there were mostly awful. Second, the Buffy story really jumped the shark in the much-hated Season 8 comics, and Season 9 has not been much better. Faith, on the other hand, has grown and blossomed into a complex fascinating character through her partnership with Angel in his comic series. The current resurrection storyline had the potential to be all sorts of wrong - and yet it's proven to be great fun. I kind of don't want it to end. (Sorry, Ripper...)
Bonus: Faith has been very very good and very very bad. This is your opportunity to build a karma game that could prove both interesting and fun!
4. Batgirl (Batgirl, comics including The New 52 series). I'm going to reiterate the spoiler alert ONE MORE TIME as I am about to spoil the ending of legendary comic, The Killing Joke. If you don't know by now, well... you have been warned.
OK? Here goes. Yes, Barbara Gordon is still Batgirl. And no, she's not paralyzed anymore. As Alan Moore fans may remember, Barbara is terrorized and shot by the Joker in The Killing Joke, leaving her in a wheelchair. Her paralysis leads to the creation of a new alter ego, the Oracle. Barbara left the wheelchair and the Oracle behind with The New 52 reboot, shattering canon and leaving some fans deeply conflicted. Don't be; the book is one of the best stories on the superhero market, due in large part to the fearless writing of Gail Simone. The Joker storyline alone would make for one helluva game.
Bonus: The Killing Joke could easily be integrated into the story through dreams, flashbacks, or insanity. Any would work in Simone's world. And the fans would go nuts!
3. Detective Deborah Morgan (Dexter, books and TV series). Deborah may not be the eponymous star of the books or show, but she is the heart.
There's a significant difference in how Deborah reacts to Dexter and his Dark Passenger in the books and TV show, which could translate into some interesting choices in the game. Will you support Dexter and get out your pom-poms? Throw him in jail? Have another drink and a Cubano?
Give Detective Morgan a chance to move front and center, and let us explore the world through her eyes.
Bonus: Florida is the gift that keeps on giving. Finding inspiration should be easy.
2. Katniss (The Hunger Games, books and movies). Do I really need to spell it out for you? The books have sold a bajillion copies. The movie is one of the few successful franchises right now. And we've only scratched the surface of what's going on in the world of Panem. This has the potential to be the best "roam the Earth like Caine" series since Fallout.
Build out the other districts and let us wander, finding missions wherever we go. Would it be canon? No. But the movies have done plenty to expand on what's presented in the books. Open up the Districts. Getting to play dress up in the Capitol alone would be worth the price of admission.
Bonus: The Hunger Games arenas could be used for an innovative online multiplayer game. You're welcome.
1. Michonne (The Walking Dead, comics and TV series). Everyone's favorite sword expert is also one of the few characters to successfully jump from the books to the screen. While TV's Michonne is quite a bit chattier than Michonne of the comics, the general bad-assery is all there. And let's face it: They're going to keep pumping out Walking Dead games for the foreseeable future. Why not focus on one of the best characters in any medium? Let us explore her backstory: No one would guess what she did before the apocalypse. Then set us loose on foot. Give us plenty of hospitals, malls, and sewers (you know, the usual zombie game stuff) to explore, and throw in the occasional survivor to keep us company. Just don't make it an escort mission.
Bonus: Michonne is the breakout star of a hot TV show. Giving her a game IS the bonus.
That's my list. Which women would you like to see get their own game franchise? Hit the comics and shows, and submit your own suggestions!
And someone, please, go ahead and MAKE MY GAME.
Related:
- The original Go Ahead, Make My Game: Lost, Life on Mars, and Angel
- Make My Game: Mercy Sparx podcast segment
I looked through my marvel stuff real quick and this is what i came up with.
Dazzler could be a combination sing and pyrotechnics game starring everyone's favorites disco-singing, rollerskating mutant.
a stealth, spy game with black widow, sharon carter, spiderwoman and mockingbird where they run missions for SHIELD could be cool, they each have their own skills and abilities which could make each level repayable with a different style. A little alias, a little metal gear, a little mark of the ninja, guns, powers, gadgets etc. SHIELD is getting a show, BW was in avengers and SC is going to be in the new Captain america movie.
Fearless Defenders is an all female team comic that features some lesser know marvel heroines and could make for an awesome side-scrolling brawler or fighter. valkarie has a sword, Dani Moonstar uses arrows, she hulk smash etc. http://marvel.com/comics/issue/46074/fearless_defenders_2013_5 this issue's cover even does a street fighter homage.
The only things I can add to this list is what about games where you create the character? (my favorite!). In Mass Effect, Fallout, Dragon Age the lead character is your own. I have played through Mass Effect so many times with my character when I see the default Shepard he looks "wrong".
According to the ESA women now make up 45% of gamers. And I recall games like "The Operative: No One Lives Forever" and "Perfect Dark". Both critically hailed, and ask myself: Where did they go?