MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Rockstar co-founder and vice president of creativity Dan Houser has briefly touched on the male-only character roster for Grand Theft Auto V. As the first game in the series to feature more than one protagonist, some observers have bemoaned the decision not to use this flexibility to introduce a female …
Read More »Female characters banned from Iranian League of Legends tournament
The scantily-clad nature of the majority of League of Legends’ female characters has led to a ban on their use in an upcoming Iranian tournament. Kotaku reports that over 35 female characters have been banned with 13 remaining under consideration. Those that could remain are characters that basically wear less …
Read More »MP criticises lack of female representation in UK games development
Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central Chi Onwurah has asked Parliament to address the lack of females employed in UK games development. The call to action was made last night in a discussion about low-level female employment in the tech sector ahead of today’s International Girls in ICT Day. …
Read More »Quantic Dream "categorically refused" to put gun-touting Ellen Page on cover
Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream has admitted it was asked to depict the game’s female star holding a gun on the cover of the game. Such a depiction would betray the game’s real content, the studio felt, and as a result it rebutted the request and fortunately emerged triumphant. …
Read More »Naughty Dog fought to get Ellie a starring role on The Last of Us cover
The creative director of The Last of Us has admitted that the studio has come under pressure to relegate the game’s female lead Ellie to the background of the game’s cover. The final box art of the game, which can be seen below, has Ellie in the foreground with fellow …
Read More »Link, the bravest little girl who ever was
Gave us a proper lump in the throat, this. Dad Mike Hoye loves to play The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker with his daughter. Three and a half year old Maya likes sailing, scary birds and remembering to be brave, rescuing her little brother and finding out what’s happening …
Read More »Online firms to cash in as girls market grows
The number of gaming girls is on the rise, but firms expect this audience to seek out mobile and online titles over boxed ones. Peter Hofstede of free online portal Girls Go Games told MCV the site has seen the amount of time girls spend playing online games more than …
Read More »Female gamers are 4x more likely to be harassed online than men
The sad truth of sexism amongst on line gamers has been laid bare by a new report. A study published on PriceCharting, which surveyed over 800 online gamers, says that 63.3 per cent of all female participants had been taunted or harassed while playing online. Common slurs included ‘c*nt’, ‘bitch’, …
Read More »Gearbox goes into reverse, introduces female characters into Aliens: Colonial Marines
A victory for girl power, and indeed common sense. Developer Gearbox has acted on the criticism it received earlier this summer and confirmed that playable female characters are to be introduced to 2013 release Aliens: Colonial Marines. The exclusion of playable women was bizarre in itself, but the decision was …
Read More »Female character was the ‘best fit’ for Remember Me
Capcom admits it was initially unsure about using a female as the lead character in Remember Me. The firm’s head of marketing for the US and Europe Michael Pattison told MCV that there was the question as to whether a female lead character could potentially damage sales of the game. …
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