8 Ugly Problems About Gender Representation The Gaming Industry Won't Admit

3. Playable Protagonists Are Still Predominantly Male

Some of the industry's biggest icons have been women - everyone from Samus to Lara Croft to Joanna Dark and Faith have all come to form a part of some of the most recognisable imagery so far. That doesn't excuse the fact that they're still in the minority, however. Out of 2015's biggest releases this year the number of titles featuring a leading woman are very infrequent, with most making their numbers back through RPGs allowing a player created character. Next year fairs slightly better in this department, though the strength of writing included remains to be seen. As well as underrepresenting women in many regards, to date the industry has barely tackled transgender and/or none-binary characters when telling a story, instead often electing to go with the 'safe choice' in following a white, cisgendered heterosexual male as the main protagonist. Diversity is a great thing to include in a story, but so far a lot of titles have been lagging behind in that area. There's no doubt that as years move forward, so too will the gaming industry's variety in its characters. Indeed, titles such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect are already excelling in portraying a diverse set of peoples in the fantasy and Sci-Fi genres respectively. Here's hoping their lead will be followed by more developers in the future.