In many discussions about video games, it's a pretty common topic to discuss what's wrong with the designs or writing of women. It's an important discussion to look into, to be sure, and there are countless examples of this or that being handled poorly with various characters. What I seem to notice, however, is that there's far fewer examples of what people feel is good design of women in video games. A negative trait can get an entire essay dedicated to it, but a positive portrayal will at most get a "yep, I like this" from most, if positive portrayals of women are even acknowledged to exist.
More or less, I feel like this is a side effect of criticism as a whole. The positive traits of video games in general tend to suffer a similar fate in the realm of analysis, and the positive traits of media as a whole as well. It's a natural tendency of a critic to feel more strongly about negative traits than positive ones. However, in this particular case I feel a particular curiosity in understanding what should be aimed towards rather than simply away from. Designing a woman that would make for a great video game protagonist sounds like it would be both positive and an interesting project, but attempting to research articles on what people feel is good design of women turns up precious little of use.
With that in mind, I think I'd like to ask what ResetERA thinks are the best portrayals of women in video games. However. I will not be simply asking "Who are the best characters?" I'm of the expectation that asking such would lead to a similarly vague and low discussion response to what is typical of the question. So instead, I'm going to be asking what your favorite characters are from five types of categories:
1. What woman/girl character do you think has the awesomest design?
This is about which woman has the clothes that look the most epic. Everything about their character design screams "awesome," or at least "gosh, I only wish I was cool enough to pull that off." Or perhaps it's about that perfect hairdo and eyes that glint into your soul with a single glance. Or maybe they're just so cute that it always melts your heart, or so well dressed that it's hard to describe. Or all of the above! This is about the design you find the most fun to look at.
2. What woman/girl character do you think has the most respectful design?
This is about asking which design does the best to respect the dignity of women in your eyes. I'm not making this a category to try to encourage prudishness, in fact I'm largely adding this because I worry people won't feel comfortable going wild in the first category if they're trying to weigh between their sensibilities and what's just downright fun. So I'm going to split them off.
3. What woman/girl character do you think is the best written?
This is about the overall quality of writing of a woman or girl. What character do you think had the best story arc, the best explorations of their nuance as a human being, and so on. Which character would you give a writing award to if you were judging off of quality?
4. What woman/girl character do you think is the funniest?
I find that humor is something rarely discussed in the light of these types of conversations. I love funny characters to bits. They don't have to be super deep or nuanced to me, although I'll certainly take that with open arms alongside it, but writing a character successfully funny is something skilled in itself. Note that I'm not asking for characters that are accidentally funny, as I feel that it misses the point of pinpointing what makes a woman character good and would direct this thread into a degree of toxicity I'd rather it not steer into. Rather, which characters were intentionally written to have humorous moments and managed to succeed at entertaining you with them?
5. What woman/girl character do you think is the most empowering to play as?
If the first question was about what design makes you feel the greatest to look at, this is about which character's gameplay and characterization feels the most exhilarating to play. What woman do you feel exudes awesomeness with every word they say, fills you with a sense of thrill every time you press a button? Or just gives you this sense of respect for them as you play? Who feels the greatest to be in the shoes of, and earns your respect as a protagonist?
Keep in mind that answering with younger characters is perfectly within the bounds of this thread and just as encouraged as older ones, hence the use of "girl" in several spots as well. I'm trying my best in my first thread on ResetERA to encourage a bit more variety and clarity when discussing this topic rather than simply leaving a single vague criteria for people to have wildly varying interpretations of. Although I'm not very experienced in this whole thread making business, so I probably messed up somewhere anyway. . .At any rate, I'm hoping to inspire some sort of conversation on the topic. I don't really have any article or grand story to link to kick off the discussion, but I feel that discussing what you think is positive design of girl characters in gaming is something worth kicking off even without it.
More or less, I feel like this is a side effect of criticism as a whole. The positive traits of video games in general tend to suffer a similar fate in the realm of analysis, and the positive traits of media as a whole as well. It's a natural tendency of a critic to feel more strongly about negative traits than positive ones. However, in this particular case I feel a particular curiosity in understanding what should be aimed towards rather than simply away from. Designing a woman that would make for a great video game protagonist sounds like it would be both positive and an interesting project, but attempting to research articles on what people feel is good design of women turns up precious little of use.
With that in mind, I think I'd like to ask what ResetERA thinks are the best portrayals of women in video games. However. I will not be simply asking "Who are the best characters?" I'm of the expectation that asking such would lead to a similarly vague and low discussion response to what is typical of the question. So instead, I'm going to be asking what your favorite characters are from five types of categories:
1. What woman/girl character do you think has the awesomest design?
This is about which woman has the clothes that look the most epic. Everything about their character design screams "awesome," or at least "gosh, I only wish I was cool enough to pull that off." Or perhaps it's about that perfect hairdo and eyes that glint into your soul with a single glance. Or maybe they're just so cute that it always melts your heart, or so well dressed that it's hard to describe. Or all of the above! This is about the design you find the most fun to look at.
2. What woman/girl character do you think has the most respectful design?
This is about asking which design does the best to respect the dignity of women in your eyes. I'm not making this a category to try to encourage prudishness, in fact I'm largely adding this because I worry people won't feel comfortable going wild in the first category if they're trying to weigh between their sensibilities and what's just downright fun. So I'm going to split them off.
3. What woman/girl character do you think is the best written?
This is about the overall quality of writing of a woman or girl. What character do you think had the best story arc, the best explorations of their nuance as a human being, and so on. Which character would you give a writing award to if you were judging off of quality?
4. What woman/girl character do you think is the funniest?
I find that humor is something rarely discussed in the light of these types of conversations. I love funny characters to bits. They don't have to be super deep or nuanced to me, although I'll certainly take that with open arms alongside it, but writing a character successfully funny is something skilled in itself. Note that I'm not asking for characters that are accidentally funny, as I feel that it misses the point of pinpointing what makes a woman character good and would direct this thread into a degree of toxicity I'd rather it not steer into. Rather, which characters were intentionally written to have humorous moments and managed to succeed at entertaining you with them?
5. What woman/girl character do you think is the most empowering to play as?
If the first question was about what design makes you feel the greatest to look at, this is about which character's gameplay and characterization feels the most exhilarating to play. What woman do you feel exudes awesomeness with every word they say, fills you with a sense of thrill every time you press a button? Or just gives you this sense of respect for them as you play? Who feels the greatest to be in the shoes of, and earns your respect as a protagonist?
Keep in mind that answering with younger characters is perfectly within the bounds of this thread and just as encouraged as older ones, hence the use of "girl" in several spots as well. I'm trying my best in my first thread on ResetERA to encourage a bit more variety and clarity when discussing this topic rather than simply leaving a single vague criteria for people to have wildly varying interpretations of. Although I'm not very experienced in this whole thread making business, so I probably messed up somewhere anyway. . .At any rate, I'm hoping to inspire some sort of conversation on the topic. I don't really have any article or grand story to link to kick off the discussion, but I feel that discussing what you think is positive design of girl characters in gaming is something worth kicking off even without it.
