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[oahda]

dat means ur gay

Hhahaha look guys dis guy is gay

i bet he even plays NINTENDO GAMES LOL wat a loser

[Dacke]

Yeah, I feel the same. I tend to start out with a slight annoyance if the game presents yet-another-dude as the hero. If it goes on the feature all/mostly men my annoyance tends to increase. If I get to make a pick, I always pick a woman of color, because I'm sick of playing the same white dude.

[Jordgubben]

There was a great article about in The Mary Sue a few days ago about how not even teenage boys like how women portrayed mainstream AAA video games of today. I'm just going to leave it here and then run for cover. 

[Nillo]

There was a great article about in The Mary Sue a few days ago about how not even teenage boys like how women portrayed mainstream AAA video games of today. I'm just going to leave it here and then run for cover. 

It's worth noting that the survey you're talking about was shared on social media by prominent social justice activists and their followers were encouraged to participate. So the data is likely to be skewed towards teens who are interested in social justice (and thus more likely to care about representation of women in games).

[Alevice]

dat means ur gay

Hhahaha look guys dis guy is gay

i bet he even plays NINTENDO GAMES LOL wat a loser

i do the same, and i am really gay (as in happy... yeaaah)

[Dragonmaw]

I prefer games where u play as a female protagonist, like, seriously, if a game has a female lead I'm 10 times more interested

[Capntastic]

I don't have time to respond to your post point by point now (rude, I know, I apologize), but I didn't mean to go off on you specifically- my post was in response to the line of thought that art has to be some free flowing treesap from  the spinal cord, unaltered by conscious decision.  Obviously there's a breakpoint where a thing becomes tainted by trying to make it profitable above being expressive or whatever "artistic" merit you are striving for.

I do wanna address this though:

Some of the greatest artists in history are popular because they dared to be different, not just make what's popular or familiar at the time. Indeed, you'll never know if you have the next great thing if you don't try something different.

This is a point I'd like to address:  Going out of one's way to include non-white non-male characters is daring to be different.  An enormous example is that movies created in the US have vast overseas markets in the rest of the world, but for the most part, those markets really don't care about movies that don't have white males as the lead.  There is a distinct monetary loss for simply having a black guy or a woman as the protagonist.   

So yeah, make your stuff the way you want to make it, by no means was I implying that one should bend the core of their work to be more profitable. 

I feel comfortable saying that we both agree on challenging the "defaults".

[Capntastic]

But lemme get wrathful again:

If we're gonna talk about "going out of your way to make characters black or queer or a woman" and how it detracts from a work because then you're forcing those elements in, please walk me through the millions of movies out there that insist upon a character being straight as a matter of course, solely for there to be a love interest plot.  How many movies have a white dude as the lead because if he weren't white suddenly it's an "asian movie" or a "black movie" or "a chick flick". 

It's stupid and should be fought at every turn

[JWK5]

One of the most valuable tools art can provide is allowing us to imagine an experience that is different than what is common to us. Engineering your art to provide an outlook that is different than what your audience may have grown used to is not a bad thing, and is definitely not going to diminish the "magic" of art. More often than not the "magic" of art happens when the artists pushes themselves further and further away from their own comfort zone and begins to explore the things their mind wonders and questions below the surface. You reach that mental space by moving beyond automatic instinct into deliberate examination and learning. The greatest impact is made when you study both yourself and your audience.

[Capntastic]

One of the most valuable tools art can provide is allowing us to imagine an experience that is different than what is common to us. Engineering your art to provide an outlook that is different than what your audience may have grown used to is not a bad thing, and is definitely not going to diminish the "magic" of art. More often than not the "magic" of art happens when the artists pushes themselves further and further away from their comfort zone and begins to explore the things their mind wonders and questions below the surface. You reach that mental space by moving beyond automatic instinct into deliberate examination and learning.

Bless this articulate person

[JWK5]

Bless this articulate person

For my next act I will be presenting to you a classy assortment of fart jokes and phallic cartoon doodles.

[PixelJunkie]

But lemme get wrathful again:

If we're gonna talk about "going out of your way to make characters black or queer or a woman" and how it detracts from a work because then you're forcing those elements in, please walk me through the millions of movies out there that insist upon a character being straight as a matter of course, solely for there to be a love interest plot.  How many movies have a white dude as the lead because if he weren't white suddenly it's an "asian movie" or a "black movie" or "a chick flick".  

It's stupid and should be fought at every turn

But you're arguing with someone who is agreeing with you again. OP wants to be "different" and have a female character instead, and I agree with that.   And again those movies go against what I believe, they're products not art, if it's just about selling units. And wait hold on, I thought chick flick meant any cheesy movie about romance.

[oahda]

it's only a chick flick if lindsay lohan is in it

[ProgramGamer]

But aren't chick flick movies a super specific sub-genre of romance movies where the plot is solely focused on an uninteresting love story of which we know the outcome before even sitting down to watch it? I'm not against love stories or romance in movies, I just don't want to watch a boring excuse for human interaction for an hour and a half only for my mom to tell me "see, it wasn't that bad and it was funny and cute".

[Jordgubben]

There was a great article about in The Mary Sue a few days ago about how not even teenage boys like how women portrayed mainstream AAA video games of today. I'm just going to leave it here and then run for cover. 

It's worth noting that the survey you're talking about was shared on social media by prominent social justice activists and their followers were encouraged to participate. So the data is likely to be skewed towards teens who are interested in social justice (and thus more likely to care about representation of women in games).

This is a valuable point. Where the article comes from should also be taken into consideration. This it The Mary Sue we are talking about. I doubt they would ever report on a study that "proved" that the average teenage boy actually likes Kate Upton, except possibly to at the same time critique that study. Do not get me wrong here. I like The Mary Sue, just pointing out that just like any other media outlet they do have their own agenda.

Another issue with polls like this that – whether or not they are anonymous polls – most of us tend to think/claim we have a "higher" moral standard than we actually live "up" to. It's not like the the average GameStop customer walks in to the store and states:

- "Blimey! The protagonist on this front cover is magnificently fit and obviously heterosexual, what a fine specimen of caucasian supremacy. And this mademoiselle who is clinging to him has the most bodacious bossoms and the most spectacularly crafted rump I have cast my monocle clad gaze upon this century. This will definitely cure my issues of low self esteem for the duratioon of the 8-12 hours of the first play through. Hurry clerk, I must consume this fine work of literature post haste!"

But there is no denying that those games do sell their fair share.

[Diabetes Forecast]

Make de game with the big bobb lady just let it hang out! be freeeeee!

[ANtY]

Make de game with the big bobb lady just let it hang out! be freeeeee!

nice  : - )

[s0]

Another issue with polls like this that – whether or not they are anonymous polls – most of us tend to think/claim we have a "higher" moral standard than we actually live "up" to. It's not like the the average GameStop customer walks in to the store and states:

well yea that's one of the fundamental problems with self reported data. it's called "social desirability bias".

[DXimenes]

First of all, oh god, this topic has 7 pages and nobody went batshit crazy defending an extremist point of view for either side.  Hats off, gentlemen.

Now for my 2 cents on the subject:
I find it very curious that sometimes people refer to having a lead character that is either black, female, homossexual or any combination of the former as a "restraint".
"Now, remember that you can make any character that you want! It can be a man or a woman; black, white, asian; it can like boys, girls or both! It can even identify as something other than what it was born!"
"Oh, no, stop that. You're restraining my creativity!"
This is just complete nonsense. How does giving you a bigger number of variables make you feel "restrained"?

I don't know if OP is still reading the replies but I think he should do what he pleases. Don't worry about sales. Most men I know don't give a damn if they're playing a male or female protagonist as long as it's a good character.
That said, there are buttloads of games with white male protagonists in the market and it is always nice to have more variety. Also, take care with how you build your character's personality and backstory so that it doesn't fall too much into old, toxic and restraining stereotypes.

[oahda]

no hat off for me?