Listen, I do understand the freedom of speech thing. As I stated, I am a writer. It annoys me when people demand writers do what they want. But I believe that in this case, it is for a good cause and I can't get too bothered by the pressure because devs and writers still have the reigns, not the public.

@ChaosUndivided I agree. If it's blatantly stereotypically, I think some criticism is in order. But I prefer she receive the same scrutiny a male character would, rather than being judged on whether she's a perfect female role model. I mean, I know the scrutiny is because female main characters are rarer, but it just doesn't seem fair.

@biggestnewb @4nationfury Shall I scream intolerance every time a petition is made? If a movie promotes racism and murder as good, and a sequel is being made, are people in the wrong for speaking up and pressuring (vocally) for improvement? Nobody is impeding on anyone's freedom of speech here. They're just trying to make progress. It's not even really aimed at one game, but at the industry as a whole. If males were, for the most part, poorly represented by the majority of games, would you or i be in the wrong for bringing it up?

@biggestnewb @4nationfury They are most certainly not the minority. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/11/report-nearly-half-gamers-are-women/?page=all

I can bring up other links if you like. That said, nobody said the developers have to do anything. But feminists are equally allowed to speak up for better representation. Try not to get too emotional or offended by them having voices.

You guys aren't getting it. You're acting like females in lead roles are unrealistic. There are certainly scenarios where this holds water (GTA V is a decent example), but you forget that most video games chuck realism out the window to begin with. It never bothered you then when male leads performed unrealistic feats (super strength, etc.).

But games have shown us that strong female characters work, can be convincing, and can be engaging. Certainly, writers shouldn't be forced to compromise their vision. (This is coming from a writer) But something tells me that, even when it's a perfect opportunity to place in a female lead, most writers will opt for a male lead. Nothing will change by just letting devs and writers do as they please without someone speaking up. Many feminists want that change and so they speak up, not out of spite, but for the sake of representation and progress. If I were female and a gamer, I'd definitely feel women deserve more representation in video games. Most likely, if you were a female gamer, you would too. Consider whether you're defending artistic integrity or simply brushing away the feminist argument because you have no empathy for it.

Books, film, and video games are also free to glorify rape and genocide if they like. That's freedom for you. Doesn't mean people can't complain or that they are wrong to complain. Not liking someone's vision does not make you intolerant of freedom of speech. It just means you don't like it. If I used your logic, game critics couldn't criticize incoherent writing and shallow characters since that would be "intolerant of freedom of speech". People who complain are not forcing the artist and writers to do something against their will. Oh, and by your logic, you ought to stop trying to silence their freedom of speech to complain.

@cmacinnisOf course it's the artist's right. Bioware had the right to create the lackluster ending to Mass Effect 3 and to not compromise the "purity" of their work. But people have the right to not agree with the artist's product and to criticize it.

@BlazeKingz Except Tomb Raider is one of the only games released this year to feature a female protagonist. The criticisms will stop when females receive more representation and lead roles in games. It doesn't mean the devs have to listen. Obviously they aren't in this case.

@musalala @grommmmmm Why not have a discussion about it? If devs were dumping out endless titles featuring women and practically no men, that too would be worthy of criticism. We criticize not just to state we don't like something, but to bring about change. More female protagonists aren't going to show up by saying nothing because "the devs can do what they want." Sure they can do what they want. And people can criticize. You can say the male to female protagonist ratio doesn't matter, but it obviously does matter to other people besides yourself. It's a legitimate criticism when roughly half of the world's population is underrepresented in video games. You can say that it's unrealistic for females to be so strong in action titles, but games are escapism entertainment typically, which already give male protagonists a free pass in engaging in the unrealistic. Am I putting down GTA5 for its decision? Not particularly. Just clearing things up.

I'm personally disappointed with the lack of female lead. Unlike everyone else here, I think women can be tough too. That said, I don't think the game is bad for not having a female lead. I do encourage devs to include more female protagonists in games though.