To say gaming has a mixed legacy regarding female representation is a powerful understatement. For every positive role model, there are dozens of less-than-ideal portrayals, and this can be extremely frustrating to deal with. In a time when gaming is bigger than the movie and music industries combined, strong female characters are more important than ever.
Looking back at gaming’s past and present, we want to explore some standout examples of female characters done right. Curiously, not all of these characters have seen the same amount of respect over time, with some falling into and out of designs made to cater to the male gaze. So, in which games do these characters most often appear, and which ones stick with us most?
Genre Dependence
Before looking at three characters who epitomize the struggles and success of female characters in gaming, it’s important to consider the genre’s effects. In most games, those that have the longest legacy of mixed portrayals tend to be titles with third-person perspectives. This perspective means showing a woman for hours in the middle of the screen, which game developers saw as a perfect way to exploit looks for success among male players.
On the other side of the spectrum, genres that don’t focus on third-person navigation have much better records in female representation. A standout example could be seen in the online casino games that you might include as fun activities for the weekend. These titles like Majestic Beasts and Plinko Rush embrace a far wider spectrum of ideas than AAA video games, and they follow an enormous range of topics. Exploration, animals, and lost civilizations are all key here, and whether on a smartphone, tablet, desktop, or laptop, their female characters are often highly respected.
Samus Aran from Metroid
The coolest early example of positive female characters in gaming appeared in Metroid for the NES. This side-scrolling action adventure placed you in the power suit of Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who destroyed scores of enemies without breaking a sweat. The official Super Metroid Nintendo’s Player’s Guide also noted her as 6 ft 3 inches tall and 198 pounds even without her suit. She was a powerhouse, and many players who didn’t read the manual were shocked to discover that a woman was inside the suit at the end of the game.
There were also issues with her portrayal, however, even in the first game. The reward for beating this title as fast as possible with a high item collection rate showed Samus in her
underwear, the implications of which are troubling. A later poorly received title, Other M, also changed her appearance into one more obviously designed for a specific audience, making her weaker and more subservient. While later games have remedied this issue somewhat, it’s still a disappointing trajectory to such a badass original.
Lara Croft from Tomb Raider
Operating from the other direction is the world-famous Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Lara was an international phenomenon after her first game, gaining popularity through the era of the PlayStation 1, but not always for the right reason. Lara’s physical attributes in early games were overly focused on, but this would change.
Lara’s redemption story would come in the reboot trilogy which started in 2013. This title and the advertising focused less on Lara’s appearance, instead emphasizing her personal challenges and development to become the eponymous Tomb Raider. Standout scenes later in the game even had enemies screaming and cowering in fear from her power, which was extremely gratifying to experience.
Aloy from Horizon
A more modern and reliably positive interpretation came from the Horizon series which was released in 2017 with Zero Dawn. The lead character here named Aloy has maintained her position as a character that, while sometimes outgunned, was never truly backed into a corner. Aloy is designed to be competent and human, without any of the baggage that so infects other female characters in gaming.
Aloy stands as a reflection of more contemporary gaming ideals, where feminism is taken seriously and not just paid lip service. Voiced by the ever-fantastic Ashley Burch, Aloy is a standard to which we hope more future game characters will chase. Of course, we know this is likely not to be the case, but we can hope.
It’s been a long journey for female representation and portrayal in gaming to get where it is today, and it still has a long way to go. With that being said, it’s great to live in a time when so many new and classic characters are those we can really enjoy as being more than just their looks. We could be entering the golden age of women in gaming, and it makes us excited to see what might come next.
