[poeticadventurer]

Anyone else find this a bit puzzling?

I think they do it to try to bring in female players, but....why? The adventure game genre has now become synonymous with "puzzle solving genre" (this deserves a separate topic which I once started on this forum ), and it seems to me that men enjoy using logic and solving puzzles (how many times can I use the word puzzle in this post?) more than women, so why even bother to bring in female gamers, when they wouldn't like it as much? Is it purely for the money? That doesn't seem right.

[rtrooney]

Am taking cover while awaiting for the explosion to occur.

[skeeter_93]

Uh, there's a fair amount of female gamers already (myself included). I think it depends more on your taste and interests as to whether you like adventures or puzzle solving, rather than your gender. I find reproductive organs have little say in which games I choose

As for why there are more female protaganists, well I can't say I've noticed. I'd have thought there was a decent amount of both male, female, alien, child, adult etc main characters in games.

[poeticadventurer]

Originally Posted by skeeter_93

Uh, there's a fair amount of female gamers already (myself included). I think it depends more on your taste and interests as to whether you like adventures or puzzle solving, rather than your gender. I find reproductive organs have little say in which games I choose

As for why there are more female protaganists, well I can't say I've noticed. I'd have thought there was a decent amount of both male, female, alien, child, adult etc main characters in games.

Huh? what are you talking about? Last year I decided to try some adventure games I never played and every last one had a female protagonist: still life, secret files, dreamfall, culpa innata, keepsake, legend of crystal valley and experience 112.

The games were great, mind you, (I plan on writing a review for experience 112) but the inclusion of the women felt a bit off to me. It's like they were blatantly trying to bring in women. I'm glad you enjoy puzzles, but I haven't met any women that do. Where do you guys hang out ? ha

[adventor]

ceville, tales of monkey island, sam and max, wallace and gromit, machinarium, ankh trilogy, murder in the abbey, dracula origin, runaway series, simon the sorcerer, jack keane, sherlock holmes


Upcoming:
a bat's tale, pirates of vooju island, the whispered world

These are just a few recent ones with male protagonists. I don't think there is an unbalanced amount of male and female protagonists. The character has to fit the story.

[mtgmaster]

I prefer female leads in adventure games, or maybe it's just I prefer those game and the main character happens to be female? Probably a mix of both.

It could be that adventure games as escapism are better with protagonists of the opposite gender.

[Henke]

poeticadventurer, are you for real? You're asking for a possible reason why there now are more games that features female protagonists as well compared to before?

If anything we now get a variety when it comes to the main characters' gender and in my book variety is not a bad thing. If there is even the slightest chance that this also will make more people (in this case more woman) play games then I can't see that as something bad in any way.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

If anything I'm appalled at the lack of gay main characters in adventure games and practically all other kinds of games. Being gay myself, it's disheartening. Surely writers can create a gay character who also appeals to large demographic of gamers, not because he or she is gay, but because of character complexities, intelligence, emotions, and other common denominators of humanness. Or they can least give the player a choice of types of character.

If you think it's frustrating trying to find more male characters in adventure games, think how frustrating it is for me and others who feel like I do trying to find gay or even bisexual characters in almost any kind of game.

There are also other factors like ethnicity and body types, but that begs perhaps another, more expansive thread (when was the last time you saw a black, Asian, or Hispanic character?).

This is why I find games like Dragon Age, Fable II, and Mass Effect refreshing (even if they're not adventure games).

[fov]

I'm glad you enjoy puzzles, but I haven't met any women that do.

Nice to meet you.

This article doesn't talk about adventure games specifically, but it does cite the IDGA as saying that women make up 40% of the video game audience. For adventure games that number is probably higher. This isn't a new development - the adventure genre has traditionally had a larger female audience than some other genres.

Which is not to say that a game needs to have a female protagonist for a woman to like it. That's just silly. But the fact that there is a large female audience surely has something to do with the abundance of female protagonists.

I personally don't care if the main character is male or female, as long as it's a well-developed character who makes sense in the grand scheme of the story. And frankly I'd hope that any man playing a great game like Dreamfall would agree that the characters of Zoe and April are completely integral to the story, and wouldn't be put off by the fact that he's playing as a woman.

[terhardp]

I'm a male, and I enjoy playing games where main character is a woman, especially if the game is TPS.

No, really, I think that the gender of the main protagonist of the game isn't crucial; it his/her personality and character. Personally, I've never had any problems getting involved in the good role, male or female. I have many favourite characters both in the adventure and outside adventure world (Agent 47, Max Payne, Lara Croft, Cate Archer, George Stobbart, Guybrush Treepwood, Elaine Marley... the list goes on).

I remember, back in 1997, I've played Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2, and read many articles how TR series is revolutionary in many ways; also because it was a bold choice to put a woman in the main role of action/adventure game. Well, this was just the beginning... I'm glad that the things evolved significantly since then.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by fov

Which is not to say that a game needs to have a female protagonist for a woman to like it. That's just silly.

True, but back in the mid eighties I was very excited when Sierra announced a new KQ game featuring a female protagonist. Revolutionary! In spite of the blocky graphics Rosella managed to swing her hips and walk like woman, but her character was just as underdeveloped as King Graham's. I played a lot of text adventures in those days and you could count the number of heroines on the fingers of one hand. I have fond memories of Infocom's pulpy Plundered Hearts. Fun game, tongue firmly in cheek.

And now we are concerned that men might be put off by female protagonists? Great, that means we have come a long way, us women.

[Mohlin]

Originally Posted by poeticadventurer

I'm glad you enjoy puzzles, but I haven't met any women that do. Where do you guys hang out ? ha

Hi there! Here is one more! Love locical puzzles, perhaps that's why I became a programmer!

[kadji-kun]

No mention of Gabriel Knight? One of the most realistic yet colorful male lead in a game?

Seriously though. Sex doesn't matter. To be completely honest, most of the games pointed out that have a female protagonist have such dry and flakey main protagonists. They lack so much character.

We shouldn't be worrying about the sex of the main character, but how the developers are handling the creation of these very characters.

Story or not. I"M getting bored with these boring main characters. (Of course, there have been great games with both sexes. First Still Life, ToMI, Ceville, etc)

[Little Writer]

Good question, though I don't know whether this is actually the case. I think there's about an equal amount of male and female protagonists and when it comes to both, I either like them or I don't. It all depends.

My clearest memory of playing a game with a female character is "Silent Hill 3". For some reason it worked as an extra motivation to play the game to the best of my ability. I just didn't want Heather to get hurt. The other guys in this game series, I never really cared whether they took a beating or not (and once in a while I'd even LET them get killed for fun). Not so with Heather.

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by Little Writer

My clearest memory of playing a game with a female character is "Silent Hill 3". For some reason it worked as an extra motivation to play the game to the best of my ability. I just didn't want Heather to get hurt. The other guys in this game series, I never really cared whether they took a beating or not (and once in a while I'd even LET them get killed for fun). Not so with Heather.

Characters such as Isaac from Dead Space, Nathan Drake from Uncharted, or even the said Gabriel Knight has given me the feel of fear for the protagonist. You might have some daddy issues if you can share the same fear for a male character.....or you just haven't been playing a decent game with good character development.

[tastebud]

listening to a female voice makes me feel all warm and relaxed inside.

[flamedrake]

Originally Posted by Little Writer

My clearest memory of playing a game with a female character is "Silent Hill 3". For some reason it worked as an extra motivation to play the game to the best of my ability. I just didn't want Heather to get hurt. The other guys in this game series, I never really cared whether they took a beating or not (and once in a while I'd even LET them get killed for fun). Not so with Heather.

It helps that Heather is damn near the only Silent Hill protagonist with an actual personality. If you take the time to check everything, you see a really strong arc where she starts off freaked out by just about everything she sees and gradually becomes desensitized by it all. The concept of the series is "normal people trapped in horrifying extraordinary circumstances," but Heather is far more relatable than any of the other playable characters, with the possible exception of Harry in Shattered Memories. All the other guys are sorta emotionally dead.

[Josho]

One reason that seems obvious to me: most Western societies find it more dramatically compelling to see a female imperiled. If a female "conquers the odds" and emerges triumphant at the end, that's considered a greater success than if a man emerges triumphant. Men are considered more expendable, and women are considered less capable. Who would you rather see prevail?

This is why you almost never see one of the male protagonists left alive at the end of a slasher movie. It's always one of the more vulnerable-but-feisty female protagonists.

[Ariel Type]

I think it doesn't matter, male or female, as long as we have a developed character, which is a rare thing today. Most of them are lifeless and stereotypical, and this alone often ruins the experience. You just don't care for them.
But yes, there are many female protagonists nowdays compared to the 20th century. You may call it a result of women emancipation. Though many of them are made with men in mind. It sure helps the sales. If you look at most of them closely, you'll see April Ryan..

Intrepid Homoludens

the lack of gay main characters in adventure games

I always thought of Brandon from Kyrandia series as a gay.

[Vahkris]

Originally Posted by poeticadventurer

Anyone else find this a bit puzzling?

I think they do it to try to bring in female players, but....why? The adventure game genre has now become synonymous with "puzzle solving genre" (this deserves a separate topic which I once started on this forum ), and it seems to me that men enjoy using logic and solving puzzles (how many times can I use the word puzzle in this post?) more than women, so why even bother to bring in female gamers, when they wouldn't like it as much? Is it purely for the money? That doesn't seem right.

Originally Posted by adventor

ceville, tales of monkey island, sam and max, wallace and gromit, machinarium, ankh trilogy, murder in the abbey, dracula origin, runaway series, simon the sorcerer, jack keane, sherlock holmes


Upcoming:
a bat's tale, pirates of vooju island, the whispered world

These are just a few recent ones with male protagonists. *snip*

I think it's a perception thing. More of the games you've played recently have had women protagonists, but overall it's far more equal between the two genders. I'd like to say, but can't find the statistics for it, that it might also be the same perception as women in conversation...as a woman's contribution to a conversation approaches half of it, the more guys think she's dominating the conversation.

Women are over half of the human population, and almost half of those who play video games (according to latest statistics, I think it's more but that's me). It seems reasonable that they should be protagonists in approximately half of games.