Ubisoft has come under fire after first axing the inclusion of female playable characters in their latest Assassin's Creed game, Unity. They later claimed their inclusion would have "doubled the work" on the game.
In an interview, Ubisoft technical director James Therien told VideoGamer.com it was a "question of focus and production."
A female character means that you have to redo a lot of animation, a lot of costumes [inaudible]. It would have doubled the work on those things. And I mean it's something the team really wanted, but we had to make a decision... It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of game development."
Their reasoning hasn't gone down too well.
"Female bone structure is just different," says Joe Ubisoft. "Are there spiders in there? We just don't know."
— creeping horror (@redfivetwo) June 11, 2014
This is by no means the first, nor will it be the last time, a game has come under fire for its lack of female representation. But the "women don't play video games" excuse doesn't fly anymore – in fact, nearly half of gamers are women.
It would take for ever to list all the times games were a bit sexist, so we thought we'd shine a light on those games which have some great female characters. Which games do you feel represented women the best? Here are a few to get you started:
Portal
Portal is one of those games when you play a female character, but it doesn't really make a difference either way. The only time you really see protagonist Chell outside of game art is if you catch a glimpse of her through portals during the game. Then there's the sadistic antagonist, the eerie robot GLaDOS, who's responsible for some of the funniest bits in the game.
Metroid
It's not until the end of the original Metroid on NES that the player realises Samus Aran is a woman. A woman who single-handedly wipes out an enemy race, no less. While it's a big twist at the end of the 1986 game, developers didn't have to do much to convince gamers Samus was pretty cool. Nearly 30 years later, she remains a memorable and popular character.
Beyond Good and Evil
Part of the reason Ubisoft's move to remove playable female characters has annoyed so many is that they've often stated they're committed to diversity in their games. Case in point: Beyond Good and Evil, with its reporter/martial artist protagonist Jade. Ubisoft developer Michel Ancel set out to create a game with a well-rounded female character. As a result, Jade has been featured on countless lists of top female characters in video games.
Here are some of your suggestions...
Surely the more best Valve female character would be Alyx Vance.
A strong and resourceful character who is central to the plot without becoming the damsel in distress, in fact the first time you meet her she's saving you. A great character and an example of how strong and well written female characters can really add to a game.
April Ryan from The Longest Journey - combination of female protagonist AND some characterisation! Kind of sad that one of the better examples (off the top of my head at least) came out like 15 years ago.
Elizabeth in Bioshock: Infinite.
Whilst not the protagonist, the entire story revolves around the mystery of her, and it's only her interactions and relationship with the main character Booker that give him any real character at all.
And she may *technically* be a robot, but GLaDOS is a definite favourite.
Guardian staff I don't care if she's a computer, GLaDOS is one of my favourite characters of all time.
Ellie in The Last of Us is brilliant - but really GLaDOS is the best single character in any game, ever.
Any we've missed? Add your suggestions in the comments below.
Hana from the Fear Effect games sticks in my mind, possibly because she was the first openly gay game character I can think of. Bloody good games too. Definitely worth an update imo.