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Sony was nervous about Horizon's female protagonist, did lots of focus testing

Tigress

Member
I wish focus testing wasn't necessary and that artists/developers could just tell the stories they wanted to tell. Reality is that almost every game with a female lead has sold poorly IIRC, with the exception of Tomb Raider.

This one at least is getting some really good reception. The only negative responses I've seen is about her talking a lot. Which seems to me was done more to expose the world to the audience watching the demo rather than something she'd do in game.

Oh, and one guy on here in another thread saying he wants to feel empowered when he gets home and doesn't want to play as a character with big tits and a vagina (crudely put but basically he wants to be able to put himself into the character he's playing. I pointed out to him that then he should know how female gamers feel when they hardly ever have that option outside make your own character games).

Oh, and on a different note, some one said she looks like that character from Game of Thrones, the one that is famous for the "you know nothing Jon Snow" quip (I can't remember her name). Gotta agree. I almost want to pretend I'm playing a wildling when I play her cause she does look very similar design to the wildlings from that show.
 

Skux

Member
What I am wondering is why she is CONSTANTLY talking to herself? No one does that. It looks stupid, breaks the immersion and is not helpful when you are HUNTING. lol

I think it's her internal thoughts rather than self-narration.
 
A "female" protagonist per se is not a problem -I guess- for almost the whole community.

A "badly designed" female protagonist, on the contrary, can be worse than a generic badly designed male protagonist because there are some social warriors out there only waiting to go under the spotlight once again regardless of the overall quality of the game.

But in this case I really see no problem: this girl looks perfect: she's athletic, a little too cute for me, she need a scar or something, but it's okay.
Hair too is perfect both in color and shape.
 
Kinda bizarre to read. What were they thinking would happen? People booing because there is a female lead? I'm not sure I quite get it.
What I am wondering is why she is CONSTANTLY talking to herself? No one does that. It looks stupid, breaks the immersion and is not helpful when you are HUNTING. lol

I'm thinking that was likely done for demo purposes
 
If they've had bad experiences with making games in the past that had female leads, then it's perfectly understandable that they would be cautious about it again. Especially considering how big of a deal the project is for not just GG but PlayStation too.

Instead of complaining about their decision making motives, I suggest focusing energy on praising this games existence and hoping that it turns out great.

If it ends up doing well then it could alleviate some of their fears about having female leads and open up the doors for more games with them.
 
I was more annoyed by how incessantly chatty that character was in that demo. Its like, "Yeah I'm stealthily hunting some robot dinosaurs so I'm going to commentate to myself on every little thing that's going on!" Thats something that too many games seem to do for no reason.
 

Kimosabae

Banned
Hoooly shit @ the moral outrage on display on the first page! Somehow, I doubt anyone would have cared had he been calling a male character "ugly" - it's done all the time! Is there something gender/sex-centric about calling someone or something "ugly" that I've missed??

Maybe I'm just not sensitive enough to the context? If so, could someone explain??
 
Once again, Yoshida really worries me as head of software. He has a lack of balls and routinely makes kinda really bad decisions (Demon's Souls). Heres another example of him not having his finger on the pulse of the 2014-15 zeitgeist.

I feel like Sony software succeeds in spite of him rather than thanks to.
Dude what. Shu is easily the best thing that has happened to Sony. He is a gamer first and foremost, and not an empty suit. Sure he may like numbers, but he definitely understands the core gamer. He made Bloodborne happen. He knows Demon's Souls appeal but realized it after the fact. Face it; NO ONE saw the Demon's Souls as a juggernaut. Right money would have been in wait and see approach. It became juggernaut only due to word of mouth and for things like these you really need a magic 8 ball which none of us have. He also kept TLG on life support swithout pulling the plug. Look at Shenmue 3 and FF7 Remake. He knows that core gamers are the ones who drive console gaming and he knows how to keep them happy while also keeping the shareholders happy too. The focus testing might have been unnecessary. But its a new IP, and they are looking to make Aloy the next Drake or Kratos, an official Sony mascot. I dont really think its anything malicious or dumb business decision.

He also gave us banderas.gif reenactment just for gaf. Dude's awesome all around.
 

Mononoke

Banned
Here's the unfortunate truth, and why any business-man like Shu has to do it: sudies have been done time and time again that show such choices do impact the way people feel about characters, even if they are well designed. And that these things can often sell worse if they're not targeted properly. It's fucked up, immature... but it's the world we live in. I'm so glad this one made it through the filter, it's a remarkable design.

The question is if this is because of the way society has molded people, or if this is some innate quality humans sometimes can posses.

Basically, if this flops, this will be massively disappointing. This is about as badass a demo/trailer you can do for a game. It has freakin robot dinosaurs for fuck sake.

Or I should say, If this game reviews well and is actually great, paired with it having an amazing concept and marketing, and still fails, then fuck.
 
I think she's one of the best female character designs I've seen in ages. I love how unique she looks, how she looks rugged and muscled, how she has fierce features and red hair. I love love love her design, don't change one thing Guerrilla Games.

Seriously. I think it's great that she looks like a survivor first and foremost and there's little to no attempt to turn her into eye candy (not that she's unattractive, but I consider 'eye candy' different - emphasis on exposed midriff and legs and shit like that). She instantly looks believable in this setting.

Also, you'd think that after the reasonable financial and overwhelming critical success of Mad Max: Fury Road, they'd have way fewer qualms about a 'badass female postapocalyptic lead' character.
Good, but please made her talk less while hunting dino robot
One of my favorite moments was when she apologized to the smaller machine for killing it. Great way to subtly build out her character *and* the culture she's from while adding to the weird-familiarity of the world.

I think they had her talk way more frequently because it's an E3 demo and because it's a new IP where they wanted to establish her as a character, though, and I doubt she'll speak so often in the final game. But the *quality* of the writing for her seems good.
 

M.D

Member
I can't really understand why would anyone have a problem playing a female character
What are the actual arguments people are brining up?

The one thing I did notice about myself is if given a choice, I will create a male character in most games, but that's because I'm creating someone that I would like to think of as myself in that particular game
 

Who

Banned
"Omg female protag in video game!" never even crossed my mind. I was more focused on how awesome the game looked. It all just worked.
 

Fliesen

Member
The fact they even focus tested over it is pathetic.

they're a huge corporation who are in it to make money, of course they'll focus test. There's nothing wrong with that.

Just look at the like/dislike ratio to a simple montage that celebrates female protagonists of this year's E3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUT4MYeULPo

The whole GG SJW MRA thing is a huge mine-field of PR disasters and possible shitstorms . The only thing they really can rely on would be focus testing, really ;)

"Omg female protag in video game!" never even crossed my mind. I was more focused on how awesome the game looked. It all just worked.

that's kinda nice, but it also kind of should cross your mind. Unless people are actively celebrating this and create positive feedbacks when these kinds of games are released, the only feedback you'll be able to read or hear would be the negative reactions.

There were "awesome games that all just worked" at last year's E3 as well, and the one before that. Still, they weren't really diverse in their choice of protagonists.
 

magnetic

Member
I instantly liked the way she looked. I love playing as tough girls, which is why I always go for the female in Monster Hunter. (Yeah, that game has its share of "boob armor", but it´s relatively mild and the model in MH has a pretty powerful looking body shape.)

She has a certain hippie vibe and just a dash of androgyny in her face (maybe the intense eyebrows?) - really fits my personal taste.
 
More like:

"Woman" is the focus here. Some people won't buy a game if it has a female main charachter.
God knows why....
Aloy fits perfectly here. Already love here. Great design, great character imho.
Dude, do you think I'm that dense? My point is, why did they include word "young"? Nitpicking, sure, but it's sort of weird to me. They could include her hair color there instead and it would be confusing.
 
Kinda bizarre to read. What were they thinking would happen? People booing because there is a female lead? I'm not sure I quite get it.
What I am wondering is why she is CONSTANTLY talking to herself? No one does that. It looks stupid, breaks the immersion and is not helpful when you are HUNTING. lol

I think it's for the purposes of the E3 demo, to give more context and character to the world and Aloy, which you otherwise won't need in the actual game (and/or subsequent reveals).
 

Skux

Member
The fact they even focus tested over it is pathetic.

Everything gets focus tested, it's part of marketing. New snack food. Film endings. Logo designs. TV pilots. Restaurant menus. Movie posters.

All of this stuff just doesn't suddenly pop up, the creators have to know that people will be interested in it because they're putting a huge amount of money on the line.
 
Stop being nervous and just

V63sgnL.gif


She just looked awesome and so did the game !

All game devs should have Shia motivation on repeat.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Hoooly shit @ the moral outrage on display on the first page! Somehow, I doubt anyone would have cared had he been calling a male character "ugly" - it's done all the time! Is there something gender/sex-centric about calling someone or something "ugly" that I've missed??

I think it is more about the fact that we finally have a female character that is structured correctly in build, dress, and looks and we have people instantly criticizing her because of it.
 

JMDSO

Unconfirmed Member
The fact that she is female was one of the last things that went through my mind while watching the trailer.
 

EMT0

Banned
I'm hyped for this. Finally a female protagonist that isn't all sexually dolled up and can kick ass. Dinobots! Plus I love red heads and bows lol. GG made this game for me.

She's still a redhead though. How many female protagonists or even just prominent female characters are redheads though? At this point, I've long lost count. I'd probably appreciate this more if there was a bit more variety in what we got.
 

Popnbake

Member
It's embarrassing that they had to do this, but considering that people on GAF have even come out and said they won't play this game since it has a female character, I guess I can't blame them.

I hope this game sells very well.

Usually I don't like to play as a woman in games outside of fighting but this one is too appealing to pass up.

It's hard to say no to shooting down giant machine dinosaurs with a bow and the graphics look incredible.
 

li bur

Member
I really love Aloy design, it hits all my sweet spot really. They didn't design her to be overly feminine and has some edges, but still manages to make her easy on my eyes.

Reps to their character designer really.
 
I guess some genres have more of a male appeal, or have traditionally been male dominated. Could you imagine the reaction from fans (aka kids and dudebros) if the next COD game starred a female lead?

Yoshida is wrong, I think. Maybe some sales will suffer based on this alone, but I think they'll earn some sales off the female lead alone too.

Most of the sales will be from reviews and the concept, which I hope they nail. So I don't think he should think it's significant enough of an issue to conform to. It's the consumers who will conform, if devs confidently make games more diverse.

I also think the lead is pretty nicely designed too. A female from a tribe of hunter-gatherers, not sexualized, and focused on the conflict against the machines that inhabit the planet. Yes, she's a woman, and that is part of her character that will probably be made particularly evident in contrast to a masculine male lead, but she's not portrayed poorly for it thus far. GG has a great opportunity to do a great job here.
 

LiK

Member
"Omg female protag in video game!" never even crossed my mind. I was more focused on how awesome the game looked. It all just worked.

Robot monsters were my first thought. I wasn't even thinking anything of a female protagonist either.
 
Maybe there are right to be nervous, I think some narrow minded people won't buy it cuz the MC is a woman...
I personally enjoy this character.
 
its reasonable to be nervous...this is a huge project, maybe even the most epensive right now at the Sony World Wide Studios.

I guess they want this game to be a full sucess ala God of War and Uncharted.
 
"Omg female protag in video game!" never even crossed my mind. I was more focused on how awesome the game looked. It all just worked.

Same, I mean I noticed it was female and kinda, stopped caring once the hunting with bows to take down robots started.
 

The Lamp

Member
This is a sad thing in our reality that someone would even be worried about such a thing. I think the main character is awesome as a female. As a male, after playing Gone Home and some of Life is Strange, and years of Tomb Raider, I find I am wanting to play a young woman more often. Bring 'em on.

You should have read that stupid post in the Horizon thread from that person that said they couldn't play as females because they feel weak due to boobs and vagina on their character. Really.

So it matters. Some male customers actually think that way.
 
I think she's one of the best female character designs I've seen in ages. I love how unique she looks, how she looks rugged and muscled, how she has fierce features and red hair. I love love love her design, don't change one thing Guerrilla Games.

Her face deffinately struck me. Its a wider set face, bigger jaw, real eyebrows, a bit of a larger brow and nose. It is deffinately less delicate than you typically see on a female character design. I like it, and I think it is really convincing for the role.
 
Aloy's design is shockingly good. Don't change it GG.

As for Sony, I guess they were really nervous about making their money back with a female protag?

Is there evidence that female protag games make less money?
 
Love the design and glad they went with it. I wasn't sure given its open world if this was going to be a "create your own character" thing and she was just a placeholder. Glad it isn't this case. But I also get why shu would be nervous. These are huge, expensive projects and even though I wish it wasn't the case putting female main characters can still be risky. But hopefully this game is a hit and more will continue.
 

Afrocious

Member
I think she should be less chatty while hunting, but I think that was only due to devs wanting people know what was going on. Slight nuance is needed there, but I felt her talking was mostly harmless.

Yeah, we need diversity for characters in games. We get way too many white dudes doing all the cool shit. In the Souls series, I mainly make black women.
 

Melchiah

Member
Luckily, the focus group didn't ruin it by wanting a clichéd testosterone-sweating mangorilla there. I much rather play as her than something like that.
 

daveo42

Banned
I'm glad they went in that direction and stuck to their guns (or bows in this case) with her. What's better is her character model makes sense in the world she's in. She's not over sexualized, she looks rugged, and she's wearing armor that provides both agility and protection.

Good work GG. You guys have something special on your hand here.
 

Zornack

Member
You should have read that stupid post in the Horizon thread from that person that said they couldn't play as females because they feel weak due to boobs and vagina on their character. Really.

So it matters. Some male customers actually think that way.

I don't get the outrage about that post. Plenty of people make the argument that more women would play video games if there were more women main characters, implying that they are turned off by male main characters, but someone saying the reverse, a male being turned off by a female main character, is crazy?
 
You should have read that stupid post in the Horizon thread from that person that said they couldn't play as females because they feel weak due to boobs and vagina on their character. Really.

So it matters. Some male customers actually think that way.

It may take baby steps for the industry realize it because it's so risk-averse, but I think we're finally getting close to the point where they realize that there aren't a lot of those people and the industry can safely and correctly tell them to go fuck themselves.
 
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