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Vela from Jet force Gemini is a prime example but why is it important to have a character a certain gender? Well First person shooters don't matter. You may be Bond or Joanna but the way the game is set up is that it is you! meanwhile 3rd person will have you follow someone around which is when developers have to choose Male or Female or both.
A male character such as Link from Zelda is someone you will wonder around with all day but what if you wanted a female character instead? What could you do? Nintendo are slowly realizing this (a bit slow mind) with the upcoming Pokemon crystal where for the first time in a Pokemon game you can play as someone of the opposite sex.
When developers do incorparate girls in to games it tends to be in the worst possible taste. Lara Croft may of originally started off as a nice girl but now the way this character has transformed it has become a boys fantasy! Even Vela off Jet Force Gemini is a little obscure with her very short dress.
So this is what we have a male character who mainly appeals to men and a Female character who also appears to men even when Joanna Dark appeared on the scene she wasn't meant to be adored by many, which she is. Rare honestly tried to make her seem as a male killer with a female's sensative side as shown when Dr Carol dies but she is still seen as an attractive character!
What can they do here they can't make an ugly character as this won't be someone to wonder around with so now what?
Turok 3 incorperated a female, not a particulary attractive one or Ugly at that matter and is an designed character which can be enjoyed by females whilst we can play as the boy.
So character design is important, it is all well and good making a female character but if she is to appeal to the boys in a sexual way we may have a problem and if she is ugly to counteract the problem then we still have a problem.
It is difficult to get it right so lets hope the skill of making a well designed character is a skill we can see more of in the future!
Dringo