Unique Female Character Design
The Aesthetics of Unique Video Game Characters is a thesis/project created by Shaylyn Hamm. Border House describes the project thus:
Last week, Game Career Guide posted an article called “The Aesthetics of Unique Video Game Characters”. The author, Shaylyn Hamm, describes an experiment she did where she created alternate female Team Fortress 2 characters and solicited feedback from various gamer communities. She writes, "The information gathered in for this project will suggest whether or not females, designed with the same considerations as their male counterparts, are well-received by both male and female audiences."
In the background section, Hamm examines character designs in various games and points out that, while there exist a wide variety of male characters across the video game spectrum, female characters have a lot less variety. She contrasts the unique designs of each character in Team Fortress 2 with a long line of thin, sexualized female characters that pander to the male gaze, pointing out that female characters must be “sexy” above all else, while male characters have designs that say something about their personality and work with the setting of the game. This section is a fantastic examination of the state of female characters in games today.
For the study, Hamm created female versions of TF2’s Heavy and Medic characters. She describes the process of designing the character models, getting feedback from communities such as the TF2 forums, and developing the actual models. She does a fantastic job of creating characters that have a unique design, evoke a lot of personality, and are cool-looking without being a “generic sexy lady” character. The reaction from the gamers she surveyed is heartening:
I discovered several things about my characters from the survey results. There was a very positive reaction to both of the characters, overall. The majority of testers felt that both the Medic and the Heavy fit the style of the game, maintained a good distinctiveness of their body types and silhouette, and would be interested in playing video games with female characters similar to these. Another important fact I learned is that the testers found both of the female characters to be about as attractive as their male counterparts. And although they weren’t considered especially attractive or sexy, their designs were still enjoyed.
This shows that straight male gamers aren’t going to be disgusted by female characters that aren’t sexualized-I hope that developers catch on!
Shaylyn Hamm's project.
Border House's write-up.
And for good measure, Gamasutra's write-up. If you enjoy getting rage-y, read the comments section.