In the early era of gaming the role of women in gaming was almost exclusively as damsels in distress. From Super Mario rescuing the kidnapped Princess Peach from the clutches of King Koopa (Bowser for the new kids) to Billy Lee and Jimmy fighting each other for the affection of their love interest Marian in Double Dragon. Since then there has been groundbreaking progress from lead roles in grand adventures, to strong supporting cast, and fan favorites in competitive gaming.
It all started in 1986 with a space bounty hunter that was on journey through space hunting down alien menace in Metroid! Gamer’s were taken in by it’s sense of isolated exploration, challenging gameplay, and deep world structure. The style of the game that had gamers going back and forward in that world to find hidden upgrades and unlocking secret areas gave rise to the Metroidvania genre. Players eventually ended up beating the 1st Metroid in 5 hrs and unlocked the secret ending revealing that the hero was actually a girl named Samus Aran when she took off her power suit!
She became a gaming icon since then.
This was the start of breaking the paradigm mentality that gamer’s weren’t interested in female heroes. Then in 1996 another heroine won the hearts of gamer‘s through her perilous and exciting adventures as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider! As an adventurer seeking out the mysteries behind famed stories and mythical ancient artifacts got her known as the female version of Indiana Jones. Her fame led her game franchise to many game sequels, movie adaptations, and a recent reboot game series in modern day consoles, her legacy lives on!
In 2017 another great modern day heroine in games came in the fierce adventeruing protagonist Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn! Aloy is a young woman born in a war torn post apocalyptic world ravaged by machines and technology. It took civilization basically back to the stone age and no one in that present world understands well the tech and machines except for Aloy. She sets off on an adventure to discover her origins and how to effectively deal with the machines! Her fierce combat against the mammoth machines, survival instincts and deep story has won her a place next to the likes of Samus Aran and Lara Croft as a gaming icon!
Another important role women characters have taken in modern day gaming is the role of a strong supporting cast. A great example is the fan favorite Sadie Adler in Red Dead Redemption 2. The game has lot’s of great characters, but she stands out for her strong personality and ability to overcome a horrible tragedy and traumatic experience. She naturally mourns and then becomes determined to be strong to confront and survive the harsh world that caused her grief. She even goes on to become as the right hand of the main protagonist Arthur Morgan and fights alongside him!
A second amazing example of a great female supporting cast is in the Witcher 3! Geralt of Rivia the Witcher sets off on an adventure that includes strong women as his main support cast, they consist of his adopted daughter Ciri, and his two love interests Triss and Yennefer. Ciri has incredible innate abilities and power, she trained under Geralt as a Witcher but also has incredible powers he does not. Triss and Yennefer are powerful sorceresses that are independent and have strong political influence. They are not you’re typical damsels in distress as they fight alongside Geralt and even help him in a lot of dangerous situations.
A third example I’d like to use would be the genre of competitive gaming. Two girls come in mind, Chun Li and D Va, each fan favorite in their respective genre. Chun Li has regularly appeared in almost every street fighter game and esports tournaments where street fighter participates. Her strong fighting style has made her an equal to other fighters. Then we have D Va, a fan favorite and my personal favorite in Overwatch. Her awesome mech, agile movements and likeable personality have made her a “main” character for many in Overwatch!
Many examples have been given on how the role of women as strong characters has increased throughout the years. They have become space bounty hunters, daring adventurers, fierce competitors and fan favorites! Many other iconic and memorable female characters have appeared making gaming’s culture even richer.
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