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Sony was nervous about Horizon's female protagonist, did lots of focus testing

X

Xeteh

Member
Nirolak said:
Syndicate is a bit of a different case since Evie only appears in 20-25% of the game if the original rumors hold true, which makes me suspect that's actually a case of them seeing the response they got last year and adding her in mid-production.

It will probably become apparent while playing the game if all the important story beats also do not include her.
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That is insanely lame. Especially since the word that they've been putting out seems to imply you can play either or and no mention of restrictions.

I don't understand caring about what gender a game's main character it is. The fact that it is a marketing issue is crazy to me.
 
Bitch Pudding

Bitch Pudding

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
Lol in what world is this an ugly person?

tumblr_nq1m8k6Gkt1rj26nxo1_500.png
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Maybe the world in which you don't own a PS4.

I think her design and looks are absolute fabulous. And kind of serious. Not that cool type like old-school Lara Croft, and sure not insecure like the new one. In some ways she really reminds me of Ygritte.
 
S

Simply Sami

Member
Arcayne said:
Good on Guerilla for sticking to their guns. If it was a male protag, I probably wouldn't bat an eye and chuck it up to a generic shooter. That said, it's depressing that game devs and publishers have to second guess themselves on whether or not to follow through with a female protag. This stigma against women in games is so archaic and stupid.
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Seriously?

So if it's a male protagonist you wouldn't look at it. But if it's a female you would. Why does it matter what gender or race it is? A good game will be good regardless.
 
M

Meaty

Member
Its clear that the industry and society is evolving.


I wonder how many years until we can see a trans protagonist
 
S

silvermember

Banned
Simply Sami said:
Seriously?

So if it's a male protagonist you wouldn't look at it. But if it's a female you would. Why does it matter what gender or race it is? A good game will be good regardless.
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Maybe because first impressions while wrong are still very important. Also you wont know that is a good game until months afterwards, so having a female character intrigued him enough to watch the full trailer.
 
C

ChaosZeroX

Banned
In this day and age. I dont think people care about the gender of the main protagonist to much. If the game is good, I myself don't give 2 shits.
 
Pimpbaa

Pimpbaa

Member
I like her just the way she is. And I'm the type that enjoys overly sexualized women in games. If they change her too drastically I'd be pissed. Also I'm quite annoyed at Sony being "nervous" about a female protagonist.
 
M

mugwhump

Member
It's a pretty good design
though I'm not that fond of the hair
and the concept is awesome, I think we might've got lucky that focus testing didn't fuck it up
 
C

Chuck Norris

Banned
Nerfgun said:
the hell? they forget about Beyond already? lol

i guess because it's robot dinos which definitely appeals a lot to the boys, but still, how silly.

heavenly sword ferchrissakes
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Maybe that's the problem?

I know a lot of us have progressed past this mindset of thinking, but I very much believe there is a large part of the audience out there who may avoid this because they can't play as a man. We already saw a few people like this in the unveil thread
 
Pyrrhus

Pyrrhus

Member
BreezyLimbo said:
That's the worst kind of thing that can happen. if she was really added in mid production of the game, then they're basically pandering and her character might suffer for it if she was literally just written in.
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You're doubting this is the case after that ridiculously hamfisted, terribly written "don't mess with Evie" montage they had this year? Where they have her brother gushing about how she's the brains behind the operation while we're treated to a video montage of her chopping up a bunch of dudes in a really sadistic fashion to show how she's "strong female protagonist." They were clearly running scared.
 
A

Arcayne

Member
Simply Sami said:
Seriously?

So if it's a male protagonist you wouldn't look at it. But if it's a female you would. Why does it matter what gender or race it is? A good game will be good regardless.
Click to expand...

Look for my convo with Zornack in the previous page. He commented the same thing you did, but we both reached an understanding of each other after I clarified further.
 
D

Darksol

Member
Regardless of the concerns they may have had, I'm glad that they made the game in the way that they imagined it, and that the public has reacted favourably to it thus far.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
I like how she wasn't sexualized, almost every other video game with a lead female character goes that route

Hopefully she shuts up tho during gameplay, did not like the modern tomb raider approach of her speaking every 2 seconds
 
S

slapnuts

Junior Member
I think going with a female was the right move, going with another male character might of made the game seem just a "tad" generic, maybe? Or maybe i should say going with a female character makes the game feel more "fresh". Im just going by my gut feeling and opinion of course but going with the female character just feels right about this entire game.
 
A

Arcayne

Member
Bitch Pudding said:
Maybe the world in which you don't own a PS4.

I think her design and looks are absolute fabulous. And kind of serious. Not that cool type like old-school Lara Croft, and sure not insecure like the new one. In some ways she really reminds me of Ygritte.
Click to expand...

! Spot on, I didn't know it at the time, but you're totally right; I'm getting massive Ygritte vibes from her. This is good.
 
C

crazygambit

Member
Meaty said:
Its clear that the industry and society is evolving.


I wonder how many years until we can see a trans protagonist
Click to expand...

This is a very good question.

On a AAA game I'm thinking we're looking at something like 20 years. Obviously in indie games it will happen much sooner.

Save this post for future reference.
 
O

Orthogonal

Member
slapnuts said:
I think going with a female was the right move, going with another male character might of made the game seem just a "tad" generic, maybe? Or maybe i should say going with a female character makes the game feel more "fresh". Im just going by my gut feeling and opinion of course but going with the female character just feels right about this entire game.
Click to expand...

I don't think it would make it generic with a male lead. The game premise is so crazy to make it interesting regardless of protag.

That they chose a female is only important in that this was their original vision for the game and its story and they did a great job with her. Her design is excellent and unique.
 
T

The Baron Count

Member
Discotheque said:
I like how she wasn't sexualized, almost every other video game with a lead female character goes that route

Hopefully she shuts up tho during gameplay, did not like the modern tomb raider approach of her speaking every 2 seconds
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Not this year. So many female protagonists at this E3 and pretty much all of them were just incredibly human depictions.
 
S

StrongBlackVine

Banned
Shiina said:
We've seen a good bunch of them lately and nobody(?) batted an eyelash. Is this really such a big deal to people what the gender of the protagonist is?
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Examples outside of Tomb Raider and Mirror's Edge? Remember Me was not a AAA title and games allow you to play as or male or female do not count either. Pretty small list.
 
K

Korigama

Member
Shiina said:
We've seen a good bunch of them lately and nobody(?) batted an eyelash. Is this really such a big deal to people what the gender of the protagonist is?
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"A good bunch of them" being the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy and what else exactly? When the vast majority of games go with a white male as the protagonist, yes, it is a big deal to people when something doesn't.
 
S

Steel

Banned
Bitch Pudding said:
Maybe the world in which you don't own a PS4.

I think her design and looks are absolute fabulous. And kind of serious. Not that cool type like old-school Lara Croft, and sure not insecure like the new one. In some ways she really reminds me of Ygritte.
Click to expand...

Not just in some ways. She's totally Ygritte.
 
R

Reebot

Member
A lot of people in this thread arguing very hard against a plain market reality. This stuff does effect the bottom line, directly, and no matter how morally against it we may be its understandable Sony would be nervous.

Glad its changing though. Girl with bow is definitely trendy, but a few more successes will open the way for variety in character design.
 
S

STILLethal

Member
She looks a lot like a younger Lagertha (from the TV show Vikings) but with red hair:
katheryn-winnick-vikings-lagertha-season-3-history.jpg

tumblr_n4j4z0ubK41s6bxzqo1_r3_500.png

(thats a good thing btw, Lagertha is badass)
 
Bitch Pudding

Bitch Pudding

Member
st1llx said:
She looks a lot like a younger Lagertha (from the TV show Vikings) but with red hair:
(thats a good thing btw, Lagertha is badass)
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I have to disagree concering the word badass. To me she was not "badass". When she kills the small robot, she even puts her hand on him to calm him down. A badass would have kicked it afterwards or made a stupid joke, but she even felt sorry for that little fella.

I think her character is far deeper and far more serious than that of a "badass".
 
A

AndyD

aka andydumi
Bitch Pudding said:
Maybe the world in which you don't own a PS4.

I think her design and looks are absolute fabulous. And kind of serious. Not that cool type like old-school Lara Croft, and sure not insecure like the new one. In some ways she really reminds me of Ygritte.
Click to expand...

That's my take on it too.

I commend them for their choice. But especially for not falling into the same tropes about women other games are known for. The skimpy outfits and so forth.
 
vpance

vpance

Member
I'm fine with playing as her but I'm not a huge fan of her young and chubby cheeked design. If she were more like Ygritte or the Viking lady that would be cool.
 
R

Reebot

Member
DidntKnowJack said:
I can respect that opinion but I don't know, having a bow in this game seems to fit. Works for me, anyway.
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I'm not criticizing it, looks great, just following up on my previous marks. Sony likely had an easier time green lighting this design because of its current popularity.
 
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