Assassinating the Excuses

(Ignore the pun, I couldn’t help myself.) Since Ubisoft made their controversial comments last week regarding why they had decided to not include female assassins in their latest addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, I’ve seen a lot of problematic justification going around. While plenty of concerned players and developers alike (including myself) have taken to the internet to express just what made Ubisoft’s comments so troublesome, plenty of others have come to excuse these comments by further degrading the need for female characters and dismissing the issue as “overhyped PC nonsense.” These comments always seem to involve the same exclusionary rhetoric and excuses that build upon and feed off each other, so I thought I’d compile them there and address them one by one (briefly, to avoid a wall of text) just to set the record straight on why this is such an important issue to discuss in the gaming world.

1. If not having women lets Ubisoft devote their resources towards making the game better, then it’s in their and our best interests to let them do that so they can make the game as good as possible!

First, the fact that they didn’t (and apparently that these commenters don’t) see the inclusion of a female multiplayer option as something that is worth devoting resources to or something that would make the game better is problematic in its own right. I discussed why this was so upsetting to me after the incident so I’ll just make it brief here. Despite having a track record of diverse characters and despite their claims that they attempt to uphold that diversity in all their work, these comments equate diverse, playable (because diverse NPCs and background characters are nice but they don’t offer the same immersion factor that makes representation so crucial in video games) representation as less important than the variety of features we’ve seen in the demos and trailers – including the extensive costuming, hyper-real detail, and hordes of NPCs. As much as some like to deny it, adding diversity in a game does make it better. It allows developers to reach more players, including those that are often neglected or who might not play otherwise. It offers women, people of color, and other marginalized gamers and non-gamers alike the chance to see themselves as heroes or empowered protagonists, among other things. Diversity does not take away anything from a game or reduce the quality, it can only add it.

Secondly, multiple developers have come forward to state that the claims Ubisoft has made regarding how much effort it would take to include a female assassin were exaggerated at best and false at worst. I’m not a programmer or developer so I can’t speak about how many resources it would take to make this happen. But considering that professionals have chimed in with their estimates and that Ubisoft has a large portion of their international team working on the game, I find it hard to believe that it would be that difficult to make happen if it was considered important or a priority. And therein lies the problem; the resources aren’t being allocated to this because it isn’t seen as something that adds value.

2. Game publishers are designing for their audience and there’s way more men who play video games so of course they’re going to use male characters!

The issue surrounding Ubisoft really has less to do with the fact that there are four white male protagonists and more to do with what Ubisoft actually said (covering up their lack of diversity with flimsy excuses and then using “well look for the strong female NPCs to come!” despite the fact that playability is the issue here). Women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people are used to playing as straight white men. We are used to taking the role of someone we can’t completely identify with because they’re missing a crucial part of our identity. Time and time again we play straight white men. We’re used to it and we continue to enjoy games nevertheless. But women and people of color and LGBTQ+ people want and deserve to be represented. Even if we’re not a majority of the gaming audience, that doesn’t invalidate the need for representation and certainly doesn’t invalidate the fact that we have stories that are worth being told in games.

This is all ignoring the fact that these “minority” gamers are not such a minority. Women make up a little less than half of the gaming population and our numbers are only growing.

3. That statistic is exaggerated! Women who play casual games shouldn’t count!

The definition of what a “gamer” is a whole other debate in and of itself, and I’m not even sure I’m comfortable with creating an actual definition aside from one that supports a person’s right to self-identify as a gamer if they so wish. But I do know that “casual” seems to prominently be a title given to women in a derogatory way so as to exclude them from the gaming “boy’s club.” I think the reality of that is evidenced enough by the fact that a “casual” percentage is not being proposed or removed from any of the male statistics. Although I disagree that this percentage is dominated by “casual” female gamers, I’ve found that casual games are a great gateway into more serious games and a higher commitment to games. For instance, I like to mention that at first a friend of mine stuck exclusively to Lego games and the Sims. But after watching me play she’s picked up Mass Effect. Having more female protagonists available for female gamers to play as encourages more women to start picking up other games, which can only be a good thing for publishers as their consumer base increases.

4. Stop making such a big deal out of this! Women already have [insert game with a female playable character here], they shouldn’t expect to be in every game!

Ignoring the fact that many games with female protagonists/playable characters feature problematic representations and are often written for male audiences in mind, this point goes back to the necessity of having equal representation. We like variety in our titles as much as any other gamer and while I for one am appreciative of many games with female main characters, this is not a “okay you got your one character/title now we can move on.” As previously mentioned, women make up almost half of gamers and more than half of the population. Proper representation is not a one-time checklist or a quota; it must continue to evolve. Again, women, like people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, etc. deserve to have a variety of characters to relate to and play as.

5. Why are you making such a big deal out of this when there are women actually being oppressed in third world countries?!

This is a question that I’ve seen feminist critics across mediums receive when discussing the importance of representation. As I’ve seen them say, these are not either-or issues. You can be concerned about multiple issues at once. Too often are issues of representation dismissed because people who aren’t being affected by it don’t see the importance. It’s not surprising that male gamers – specifically straight white male gamers – don’t see representation as an issue; most games on the market allow them to play as themselves. Equal and proper representation in games, as in other forms of media, allow people to create a stronger sense of self-identity, challenge negative stereotypes or portrayals, gives an accurate glimpse into the reality of nation and worldwide diversity, and challenges the “normality” of the straight white male protagonist.

6. All of these feminists and SJWs need to get out, this is a creative medium they can do whatever they want, this is bringing down the industry, you’re all so entitled!!

No.

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