The topic of female representation in video games is a multifaceted issue that encompasses various aspects of the gaming industry. The issue dates as far back as 1958’s Tennis for Two, which is often referred to as the first video game created simply for entertainment.
In the early days, when the gaming culture wasn’t as widespread and inclusive as today, the industry primarily targeted male audiences. This had a massive impact on the early design of video games, as well as their marketing to said audience. It also led to a prevalence of male protagonists in video games, along with the themes that traditionally appealed to male audiences.
However, the industry witnessed a gradual shift in recent years, with games such as 1999’s Urban Chaos, 2003’s Beyond Good & Evil, and 2013’s Remember Me leading the charge for wider female representation in gaming. While BGN previously covered the importance of Urban Chaos, it’s important to talk about both Remember Me and Beyond Good & Evil and how these games broke the molds of an industry that often puts female characters into familiar tropes.
Female characters in video games were often portrayed through stereotypical lenses; even the mighty Lara Croft from Tomb Raider didn’t escape stereotypical tropes. Admittedly, she wasn’t a typical damsel in distress, but she was an overly sexualized figure. Running through dusty and musty temples and jungles in a sleeveless T-shirt and shorts — really? Fortunately, the aforementioned gems sought to challenge the stereotypical tropes once again. Despite both releases facing lukewarm reception, they’re often lauded for their pioneering portrayal of female empowerment.
2013’s Remember Me introduced us to Nilin Cartier-Wells, an amnesiac freedom fighter and memory hunter in a dystopian Neo-Paris run by Memorize, a corporation that created the memory-changing and storage technology known as Sensen. The game opens with Nilin, a female protagonist of African descent, in a rather vulnerable position, as she has been captured by Memorize. Nearly all of her memories — which play a crucial role in shaping our core identity — have been scrubbed. Fortunately, she escaped before the last bits of her memories were deleted.
As she regains her memories within the game, it becomes apparent just how powerful Nilin really is. She’s portrayed as a female hero who’s confident in her own body and skills while also being resilient enough to fight those who would erase her very existence, her very core. The portrayal of African-American women as strong, stone-faced, or angry individuals in the media often plays right into the “strong Black woman” trope. But Nilin was portrayed differently. She was every bit as powerful and tough as she was emotional and, at times, vulnerable within the game.
2003’s Beyond Good & Evil is yet another game that explores the themes of identity and self-discovery, but also corruption and propaganda, along with resistance and rebellion as countermeasures. The game, which gained a cult following in a decade subsequent to its release, introduced us to Jade, a photojournalist on a mission to expose the corrupt planetary government responsible for planet-wide disappearances of locals and mysterious alien attacks that have been plaguing the planet.
Similar to Nilin, Jade was also spared when it came to stereotypical tropes. She was portrayed as a young woman who had lost her parents at a very young age. She is now running a children’s orphanage by day and fighting the corrupt government as a photojournalist by night. The game’s design and its old age initially give the impression of a child’s game; however, Beyond Good & Evil is anything but, as the game’s narrative explores various themes and criticizes government and media roles in manipulating public perceptions.
Despite childlike aesthetics and its shortcomings, Beyond Good & Evil became recognized as one of the best games ever made, and its protagonist became recognized as one of the pioneers of female empowerment in gaming. Both Jade and Nilin prove that female protagonists more than measure up to fighting dreadful adversaries, and the legacy of Remember Me and Beyond Good & Evil and their respective protagonists are evident in the games that followed.
2012’s Assassin’s Creed: Liberation, though released a year before Remember Me, was the first in the franchise to feature a female protagonist. Lara Croft finally received proper pants and clothing in 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot trilogy — which is great — and we strongly encourage gamers to try it out. The same can be said for Horizon Zero Dawn, which also features a strong female lead. We shouldn’t forget Senua from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, a Pict warrior who descends into Helheim to save the soul of her dead lover. And lastly, Ellie, the main protagonist and a very complex and deeply written character from the acclaimed The Last of Us Part II video game.
Sure enough, we can easily discern that strong female protagonists in gaming are no longer a distant dream but a rising trend in an industry that now seeks to include all demographics rather than focus solely on just one. And we, the gamers, have Nilin and Jade to thank for that. Â