Main Character's Gender Irrelevant to Creating a Good Story, Life is Strange Dev Says

Life Is Strange developer Dontnod thinks that the gender of a main character in a game is irrelevant when creating a good story.

Dontnod made the comment in response to a question during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) last week. A Reddit user asked whether he should play Life Is Strange, which features a female main character, since he's not a teenaged girl.

"The concept seems very interesting IMO but I'm not a fan of highschool girls as protagonists, seems to be focused more on drama and romance and less on the actual story," the user said.

Dontnod co-game director Michel Koch said that Life Is Strange isn't a high school drama, that it's an unexpected journey, and "a first for games in our opinion."

But speaking more to the point: "To be honest we also really think that the gender of a main character is quite irrelevant when creating a good story, it really depends on how you write your characters in relation to the themes you are dealing with," Koch said. "Life is Strange is starring a teenage girl, you're right, but it is clearly not only a teenage girl story and we really think that both male players and female players will relate to this game and enjoy this adventure."

The notion that some players might not be able to enjoy the game because of a female protagonist echos a resistance Dontnod encountered when pitching Life Is Strange.

"Square is basically the only publisher who didn't want to change anything about the game," Dontnod Creative Director Jean-Maxime Moris said in a recent developer diary. "We had other publishers telling us to make it a male lead character, and Square didn't even question that once."

Dontnod previously said that it's not trying to make a statement by putting female characters in lead roles.

Life is Strange is an episodic series published by Square Enix. The first episode launched January 30 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. For more on Life is Strange, check out GameSpot's review.