Should the role of females in video games change?

Should the role of females in video games change?

Some people like to think that videogames are a work of art. By default they're designed to be open to critique and comment, (mostly) accessible and open to the users interpretation. 

The problem for some, is that a lot of games tend to be male orientated, or rather 'dudebro', macho, testosterone fuelled experiences, despite the fact that as of 2012 (1) females make up 47% of the 'game player' market.

The worst examples are pretty easy to find, but Dead or Alive is probably one of the most well known, vaguely misogynistic, series' to ever exist. This is a trailer for a piece of DLC released for DOA:5, unabashedly titled "Hotties Swimwear DLC".

Now, to be fair to the game, it does look pretty fun and it has a certain harmless charm, (even though it features a grown man repeatedly curb stomping a half-naked girl at a beach, whilst wearing flippers) but it does represent the way in which women are objectified in a lot of games. I'm sure the term 'jiggle mechanics' exists in my brain because of this series but as long as people continue to buy the games, they'll continue to be produced and underneath it all, the core fighting game is very good and usually receives high praise. 

 Here's an advert for Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden Sigma II:

 Yeah. Sixaxis breast control.

Japan does seem to repeatedly offend. In Final Fantasy 13, the protagonist Lightning is a soldier, but goes to battle dressed like this:

No arrow to the knee jokes please.

However, this isn't to say that the west is blameless when it comes to female representation. Many titles claim to offer worlds in which men and women are equal, a la Mass Effect, but still show the player copious amounts of backside. 

Female backside obviously.

It must alienate female players to some extent, because it seems like no matter what, you'll end up watching Miranda from a 'man's point of view'. During half-time breaks in sport, adverts tend to be male orientated but that's because it caters to it's supposed audience. When 47% of your possible audience may be alienated by something as simple as a camera angle, maybe things should change.

The issue is hot at the moment because of comments made by David Ellis of 343 Industries, who tweeted; "This character design is disgusting. Our industry should be better than this." What character design, you ask?

This character design.

The character in question is Quiet, from the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5 title. 

So, is the character design really 'disgusting' and does it really have a place in modern gaming? Titillation used to have shock value, but now that we've had near photo-realistic graphics for a few years maybe we should focus more on improving storytelling aspects of games, rather than ensuring female characters have an impressive rack.

Speaking out about the issue can only help to raise awareness and at the time of writing, the article concerning Ellis' tweets is ranked top of CVG's website. As long as people within the industry continue to speak out like he did, maybe there will be change, but sales show that there is a market for it, as long as the game underneath is enjoyable.