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That women are treated negatively in some computer games is no industry secret. Duke Nukem 3D has become almost infamous for their portrayal of women as hookers and strippers, with cheap pick up lines such as "Shake it baby..." scattered throughout. Then Lara Croft came along - A dashing, fearless adventurer of the same material as Indiana Jones. Female gamers must have thought Lara Croft was the perfect role-model then, before the first Tomb Raider was released at least. Suddenly, they found their role-model armed with two guns, wearing shorts and a skin tight t-shirt battling knee-deep in snow. So much for that. At least her wardrobe later became more appropriate, with a wetsuit for underwater missions and winter clothes for the Himalayas.
However, since then, things have begun to take a turn for the better. Most renowned shooters such as Quake III, Unreal Tournament and Star Trek : Voyager - Elite Force feature at least quite a number of decent female skins, clad in standard combat fatigues instead of halter tops and camouflage bikinis. And with plenty of mod and skin creators out there busy doing their thing, it is starting to become more and more normal to see a female gamer fragging with the best of the guys. Role-playing games are also getting in on the act, with the popular RPG Arcanum : Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura possesing different side quests and items for both genders. The Final Fantasy series by Square also features a female main character in its latest installment, Final Fantasy X. The famous people sim from Maxis simply entitled The Sims also helps put female gamers in the spotlight. The recent add-on, The Sims : Hot Date, which manages to introduce the sims to the exciting and often turbulent world of dating, also allows female gamers to take control of the action.
From the evidence presented above, it would appear that this upward trend in the portrayal of women inside the gaming industry will only get more positive. These are the types of representations women deserve, and its about time game companies portrayed them as real human beings, instead of simple battle bimbos with some major breast augmentation that could knock a guy out cold, a big smoking gun and short leather pants. |
