Greg Kasavin Executive Editor

Now Playing: Painkiller (PC), Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC), World of Warcraft beta (PC)

Samus' Suit Was Made by Men

One of my theories is: The worst thing about today's games is that they're developed almost exclusively by men. "Theory" is actually much too strong of a word, as it's really nothing more than a hunch. The idea that games are developed almost exclusively by men is an assumption, which may or may not be accurate depending on your definition of "almost exclusively." By now, many women seem to be working in the game industry, and many of them have positions of authority, so don't take this as some sort of plea for equality, because I happen to think the equality is already there. It's just that our minds have some catching up to do. Anyway, my assumption is based on how the names I see in the closing credits of the games I play are almost all male names. And I think the result of these men working together on all these games is a decided lack of balance in the creative process.

Scene from a recent Stanford conference about the future of the game industry. The panel is all men. Two of those women back there look bored, and one is stifling a laugh.

While I'm making disclosures and disclaimers, here's the last one worth mentioning: I have no real clue as to what differentiates men and woman past a superficial and physiological level, but I assume there is some difference of perspective and experience that the average man has versus the average woman, if only because of those superficial and physiological differences.

At any rate, I'm sure we all agree that today's games (notwithstanding casual games and a handful of other exceptions) are predominantly malecentric, and their depictions of women, by and large, are embarrassing. For me, certain female characters in games make me feel embarrassed to be a gamer, especially when I'm otherwise enjoying the game. Female characters in games are even more superficial than male characters (I should note, though, that most male characters in games also leave a lot to be desired), and I'm going to argue that even when they're supposedly being portrayed in a sympathetic light or cast as strong, respectable characters, they're still mostly just being objectified and are presented to suit an adolescent male audience.

Does this look like a tough-as-nails interstellar bounty hunter to you?

Let me give you some examples of what I mean. Metroid, the perennial favorite sci-fi series from Nintendo, has a female main character. This was first discovered by surprise at the end of the original 1986 Metroid game, in which, if you finished the game having met certain special conditions, you'd see a brief cutscene of Samus Aran's red and gold armor magically disappear to reveal a shapely, scantily clad woman, who then waves at you. It comes as a bit of a shock, and why shouldn't it? Samus doesn't sound like a woman's name. Also, isn't she cold in that?

Anyway, so now we know Samus' "secret," and while she's still best known for that red and gold armor of hers, fans of the Metroid games also know that each game in the series encourages them to reach the finish line as quickly as possible to catch a glimpse of the woman beneath the suit. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that I disapprove of this--I like the series, after all, and it's targeted at people like me--it also rubs me the wrong way. I don't appreciate that Samus being a woman is a punch line.

Ironically, Metroid is often cited as one of those games that's quite progressive in its portrayal of women. It's obvious, I hope, that I happen not to think so.

I think some people's emotional attachment to ICO is as misguided as the game's female protagonist.

Another game that many critics and game lovers love to talk about is ICO, which, chances are, you've heard of by now but haven't actually played. It's an artistic, emotionally charged game, and those who appreciate rare instances in which games tug at their heartstrings often swear by it. In the game, there is the delicate, unspoken love between the game's main character, a young boy, and the frail wisp of a girl he is trying to lead to safety from a shadowy menace.

I never finished ICO. Not only did I get stuck at a certain point about halfway through, but more to the point, I grew sick and tired of the girl, Yorda, and her uselessness. This character was so pathetic, it almost made me angry. I admit that this is not the effect the game was intended to have on me or on anyone; however, here's this supposedly sympathetic female character in a video game that can do absolutely nothing for herself and is constantly in danger of being kidnapped. Who better than a man--or in this case, just a boy--to come to her rescue. In short, I decided that Yorda deserved her fate and that ICO was one big male fantasy about being the classic hunter/provider/protector. The woman is there for comfort, and the man must do all the work. Sorry, no, that's not what I've been taught from living in the Bay Area for most of my life.

That's also not what I've been taught by my parents. My mother is a neurologist. Her mother is a physician, as well. The women have always worn the pants in my family, so to speak. Perhaps this helps you understand my perspective.

Of course, I'm overlooking all the more apparent cases of female characters in games. The issues with such cases already have been well documented, from what I've read in articles such as this one. Meanwhile, I'm just perversely pointing out that even those commonly accepted cases of "positive portrayals of women in games" are deeply flawed.

Alis wears a pink hair band, lipstick, and a skirt, but she's still OK in my book.

I suppose there are a few exceptions. The original Phantasy Star, a classic role-playing game for the old Sega Master System, incidentally has a female main character. It's a simple story of revenge, and Alis' gender never comes into play at any point. A talking cat, whose name I was never really sure how to pronounce, and two male companions (one of whom was androgynous but had a man's name, so I assume it's a he) join her quest because they believe in what she's trying to do.

Archer's cool, too.

Also, Cate Archer from the No One Lives Forever games at least seems to carry herself with some dignity, even if she is kind of a polar opposite to Austin Powers and so is a bit ridiculous in her own right. There's also one specific female character from Grim Fandango, Olivia, whom I like a lot. And, April Ryan from The Longest Journey. But, that's pretty much it.

In short, I think men are inherently incapable of doing an adequate job of properly presenting female characters in games, which leads me to my hunch. Fortunately, I have another hunch that this problem will be solved within the next 10 years, if not the next five.