2013 a Better Year for Women in Games, Says Tomb Raider Writer

Game stories aren’t going to get better all at once. The predominant genres will continue to be macho, testosterone-fueled shooters with little but bloodlust pushing the player forward. As long as the simple narratives keep selling, there isn’t any great need to experiment – especially in AAA games. However, some developers were able to break out and try something new in 2013, and Tomb Raider Rhianna Pratchett argues that women saw a much greater spotlight in all levels of game development last year.

“I think 2013 was a pretty good year for female characters, both NPCs and protagonists. Although in gaming terms ‘pretty good year’ means that there were some, and they were cool, interesting and well thought out, rather than anything approximating equality,” Pratchett told IGN. “As well as more female protagonists (and antagonists) I hope we start to see a broader spectrum of representation in age, ethnicity, sexual and gender orientation and ability.

“You only have to look at TV shows like Breaking Bad, Luther or Orange is the New Black to see how popular a bit of diversity (or as I like to call it, ‘real life’) can be. On top of that, I still think there’s a lot of scope in broadening the way games approach depictions of masculinity, which is still extremely narrow in scope. It would be nice to see a panel about gender in videogames and it not just be about one gender! Because, frankly, they could both use work.”

Tomb Raider hit the mark, as did games like Gone Home that attempted to flip the script on player expectations. Hopefully, 2014 will continue this trend.