Evolution of Female Characters

Hello! The first thing that I want to talk about is how females have evolved in video games. I think it is important to acknowledge how much progress has been made in this front. As the industry itself has evolved so has the quality of characters.

The first arcade game was created in 1971 and it was called "Galaxy Game." In the following years games like "Pong," "Gun Fight," "Space Invaders" and "Pac-Man" were created. None of these games featured fleshed out characters. It was not until 1981 when arcade games started to feature actual heroes. The game centered around "Donkey Kong" kidnapping Pauline and Mario having to save her. There's not really much to say about Pauline as a character. She was a damsel in distress whose only contribution was to give Mario a reason to take on "Donkey Kong." 

The year after "Ms. Pac-Man" was released in North America. This game was an updated "Pac-Man" that featured "Ms. Pac-Man" who was "Pac-Man" with lipstick and a bow. This was a great start for the industry.

In 1986 "Metroid" was released. This game featured a fully armored character named Samus. It is not until the end of the game that Samus takes her mask off. It is revealed to the player that they have been playing as a girl the whole time. While this could have done to prove that the gender of the character does not matter, that fact is undercut by the fact that if you beat the game in a certain amount of time you unlock a bikini costume for Samus.

The next major game worth noting is the original "Mortal Kombat" in 1991. Another arcade game, this franchise is best known for the over the top level of violence. The playable female character Sonya Blade was scantily clad in tight clothes. This is a trend that has continued all the way into the modern "Mortal Kombat" games.

In 1996 Sega Saturn released a video game with a female lead. "Tomb Raider," featured a strong female lead, and while still having a lot of fan service, managed to be empowering. This change was exciting, because it showed that a game could be successful with a female as the main character. Now, it is not uncommon for a game to have a girl be the main character or at least in the main party of a game. While many female characters fit into the "damsel" stereotype, or are the "healers," overall there has been an increase in the number of female characters and the number of fighting female characters. Of course the costumes and personalities of these characters range from well-done to offensive.

There are some games that allow the main character to pick their gender. One of the best known ones is "Pokemon." In the 1999 (in North America) game "Pokemon Red" and "Pokemon Blue," the player was forced to play as a boy. It wasn't until "Pokemon Crystal" which came out in 2001 (in North America) that players had the option to play as a girl. Now the "Pokemon" franchise and many other roleplaying games give the option for a player to play as either gender. Some of these games have slightly different dialogue for characters of a different genders while others do not. Overall, these games tend to play the same regardless of gender.

Her is a link to an article about the general history of arcade games if you would like to read more: https://www.wired.com/2014/05/arcade-history/