by James Briscoe

Created on: May 03, 2008   Last Updated: July 05, 2011

Role models or eye candy, how do we portray female video game characters? Well to start this discussion I am inclined to point out that male video game characters are also very handsome most of the time, and ask how are they portrayed? Surely not as eye candy, but as a star character in a fantasy land where gamers are allowed to picture themselves as that person saving the world. Next I ask this question, what do the princesses and star characters on the big screen look like? Of course they are beautiful women. Fact is that all entertainment is a mix of an entertaining plot, and eye candy characters filling the staring roles.

It is true, most female video game characters are sexy women in the digital sense; but why not? Who would want to spend the hours it would take to complete a game while looking at an unattractive character? If anyone said they would enjoy a game looking at a revolting character, they are probably lying. Yes the characters are eye candy, and rightly so. Video games are supposed to be about fantasy and real world escape. Why debate the issue, because nobody notices the male characters who are Fabio type studs. The reason is likely the fact that most games have a male star, and most gamers are men. That is another reason for the gorgeous women, the targeted audience are men. If we had a choice to play a game where the character was a half naked Tarzan, or a half naked Laura Croft, I do not think we would think twice.

So is it immoral or perverted to have these women on the game screen? Of course not, it is simply a game, not an X-rated movie. If we changed the look of all the video game characters to appear as average men or women, half the fantasy of the game would be depleted. Video game characters are supposed to be eye candy, just as the movie stars of the world are beautiful. We are all human, and we want to see these beauties in our games. As I said, that is all part of the fantasy world we wish to escape to. Rather it be a studly man or a sexy woman, let's keep our video game characters men or women as delicious for our eyes as we can.

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