This is just a link to a blog In-depth analysis made at GamaSutra, called “In-Depth: No Female Heroes At Activision?”.
My two cents here, is what’s mentioned by the comment of Rayna Anderson, following the post:
I’m sad to say that I’ve encountered this before, activision isn’t the only company. When I was lead designer/writer on a murder mystery game, I was forced to rewrite everything because the higher-ups didn’t want a female to be the murderer. They said that people wouldn’t believe that a female could overpower her male victim. Every game I’ve worked on, I’ve tried to include more female characters, but the higher-ups just keep cutting them. It’s pretty discouraging to keep pitching those kinds of characters when you know they have no chance of surviving through the production phase.
I wonder… female leads are often encountered on Japanese game, because of the different cultures and all. Here in occident, we are kinda Hollywood-driven, so a strong male lead is often characteristic of a script. Maybe, just maybe, sometimes we can have a God of War protagonized by a female. It just CAN be done. It’s not just a term of culture. You just need a good writer.
