Difference between revisions of "Playable female character"
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| − | Games with a '''playable female character''' are noteworthy because, although women make up roughly 50% of the world's population, games which feature playable female characters make up far less. Those few games that do feature a playable female character often have her as a single female in an otherwise all-male cast, or change the character portrait and swap an "M" with an "F" in a status box. Since having a playable female character is a novel concept, I have made a category for it on my Wiki. | + | Games with a '''playable female character''' are noteworthy because, although women make up roughly 50% of the world's population, games which feature playable female characters make up far less. Those few games that do feature a playable female character often have her as a single female in an otherwise all-male cast, or change the character portrait and swap an "M" with an "F" in a status box. Since having a playable female character is a novel concept, I have made a category for it on my Wiki. Most gaming databases have lists for female protagonists, but my site expands the category to any playable female character, even if she's a side-kick or other minor playable character. Games which feature a playable female character often also have a [[strong female character]], though not always. |
| − | + | The first game I ever remember playing where a playable female character was a notable experience for me was ''[[King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella]]'' around 1989. Although I had played games like ''[[Ms. Pac-Man]]'' before, the fact that she was female was totally irrelevant to the game, so I never really considered it to be important. At first, I didn't like the idea of having to play a princess in a game because I wanted to live out my boyish fantasies of being a strong heroic knight, however, as I matured and my tasted in fiction became more nuanced, I began to really appreciate games which feature playable female characters. I'm pleased to see that percentage has been increasing over the years, but there is still a long way to go before playable women appear in a tenth of the games being made, let alone half. | |
==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||
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==Links== | ==Links== | ||
| + | {{Link|MobyGames|https://www.mobygames.com/game-group/protagonist-female}} | ||
| + | {{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_featuring_female_protagonists}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [https://www.giantbomb.com/female-protagonists/3015-2287/games giantbomb.com/female-protagonists/3015-2287/games] - Giant Bomb. | ||
| + | * [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Female+Protagonist store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Female+Protagonist] - Steam. | ||
Revision as of 11:06, 17 September 2019
Games with a playable female character are noteworthy because, although women make up roughly 50% of the world's population, games which feature playable female characters make up far less. Those few games that do feature a playable female character often have her as a single female in an otherwise all-male cast, or change the character portrait and swap an "M" with an "F" in a status box. Since having a playable female character is a novel concept, I have made a category for it on my Wiki. Most gaming databases have lists for female protagonists, but my site expands the category to any playable female character, even if she's a side-kick or other minor playable character. Games which feature a playable female character often also have a strong female character, though not always.
The first game I ever remember playing where a playable female character was a notable experience for me was King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella around 1989. Although I had played games like Ms. Pac-Man before, the fact that she was female was totally irrelevant to the game, so I never really considered it to be important. At first, I didn't like the idea of having to play a princess in a game because I wanted to live out my boyish fantasies of being a strong heroic knight, however, as I matured and my tasted in fiction became more nuanced, I began to really appreciate games which feature playable female characters. I'm pleased to see that percentage has been increasing over the years, but there is still a long way to go before playable women appear in a tenth of the games being made, let alone half.
Examples
These are games that are important to me which feature a playable female character. For all games, see the category.
| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Borderlands | 2009-10-20 | One of the playable classes is Lilith the siren. |
| Borderlands 2 | 2012-09-18 | One of the playable classes is Maya the siren. |
| Diablo | 1996-12-31 | The rogue class is female. |
| Diddy Kong Racing | 1997-11-21 | Pipsy is the only female kart racer. |
| Final Fantasy VI | 1994-04-02 | Playable female characters include Terra, Celes, and Relm. |
| Gauntlet | 1985-??-?? | The Valkyrie is female. |
| Golden Axe | 1989-05-?? | Tyris Flare. |
| Gone Home | 2013-08-15 | The game's protagonist Katie. |
| Her Story | 2015-06-23 | The game's protagonist is female. |
| King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella | 1988-??-?? | The protagonist Rosella. |
| Left 4 Dead | 2008-11-17 | One of the survivors is Zoey. |
| Left 4 Dead 2 | 2009-11-17 | One of the survivors is Rochelle. |
| Mario Kart 64 | 1996-12-14 | Princess Peach is the only female kart racer. |
| Metroid series | 1986-08-06 | The bounty hunter Samus Aran is a woman. |
| Portal series | 2007-10-10 | The protagonist Chell. |
| Secret of Mana | 1993-08-06 | Primm. |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 | 1988-10-?? | Princess Peach. |
| Ultima series | 1981-??-?? | Almost all of the Ultima titles allow you to play a female character, and later titles even alter the player's graphics. |
Links
