I never understood this disdain for gender-locked games myself. If the story is good, then I will read it, regardless what circumstances it forces me into despite preferring male. Story is all that matters, everything else is second
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This is still tied to the bad example I gave. In another example nothing of this would be required; imagine an example just with the MC POV, not about someone reacting to them.
Besides, in the example Jacic gives, the MC acts the same way regardless of the gender; they both walk into the store (this was the only action given but it still didn’t differ from each gender).
I assume you are cis, male and (maybe) white?
Think of it like this: A game with an interesting story comes out. MC is genderlocked (cis)male.
The signal this gives to everyone else is
‘You don’t get to be the hero in this story, you are worthless, no one cares for you’
Look at the nonsense that went down when CoG released undercover agent. Look how guys gave it bad rating because they thought the MC is a woman (not even playing the game, obviously).
Look at the nonsense that went down with Fielder’s choice. same kind of players getting their bollocks in a twist over a remotely east asian appearing character being on the cover.
But the same kind of guys will get snarky when people get tired of there being many genderlocked male games, because ‘what’s the big deal, can’t you enjoy a game if the story is good??’
Are you one of those guys?
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Best keep to the topic at hand and not insinuate things about the posters.
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Sorry.
Though I believe in this case cause and effect are connected via sociological roots.
I’ll refrain from it further on.
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I didn’t realize this topic had been revived. Not a bad thing of course. Moreso speaks about how it’s a problem for so many in the CoG community.
@MeltingPenguins
@wonderfulcarpet
To build on Meeps point though, the reason for the contempt is people feel that (to give a economic example) they feel the “market” is a bit saturated (I should say way over saturated) with the gender locked male stories. While I feel people should temper themselves more the fact is people want more veriety with their stories. Simple and plain in my eyes. But that’s my opinion.
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I think I have mentioned it before in this thread, but I think the problem is more that the games that get genderlocked tend to fall into categories:
Male-locked are often games where the MC is in a position of power, or has to lead or govern.
Female-locked ones tend to be about personal relationships, and often romance.
(Notice that the two games that people tend to be more okay with being genderlocked, Guenevere and Study in Steampunk, have two similarities: They blur the lines of those categories, and they are both based on already established, fictional, characters.)
(You might also notice that the categories fit very neatly into the outdated ideas of binary gender-roles.)
So, if you prefer playing female characters and want to play a leading type game, the gender-locking limits your options severely.
Same goes for male characters and romance/family/friendship games. (Though male-MC otome games do make at least romance a bit easier available.)
What I would like to see is more gender-locked games that challenge this, and switch the gender-roles around.
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The Infinity Series is one of the uncover masterpiece of this forum and it gender lock. But it’s not done arbitrarily like the examples you listed above it has its reasons to portray a certain perspective. They’re women on this form that love this series despite the fact it gender lock. It’s based on the strength of the writing. So be yes a very boring white cis male. I support gender lock when it’s done well engines of different perspective. I love the LoA series I love how both the first one and the second one are gender locked in there there both different gender.
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The problem lies not with genderlocking in itself though, but that by now all of the published genderlocked works are genderlocked male. What is so well…unrelatable/unworthy to tell about stories that are specifically locked on diffierent persepectives? Why are there no more female-locked, nb-locked or trans-locked stories?
It’s not about the genderlocking it’s about what stories and perspectives are deemed worthy to tell. And right now perspectives that are specifically not male are terrible underpresented. Which has various manifold reasons, which are worth to be discussed, inspected and to be scruntinized.
I also personally don’t really agree with the Infinity series being a good example, because I’m also not fully behind the reasoning given for the genderlocking. Though it may also could just be that I’m bitter that it’s a setting/genre that I find very interesting, but based on the genderlock I just can’t enjoy it enough to ignore said restriction…Sorry if I want a game with such restrictions I don’t even need to search for it, the appeal in CoG and HG lies for me explicitely in the oppertunity to find people like myself in the role of the protagonist, not random Joe No. 999.
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Well me personally I don’t play the majority of gender lock game on here. Most of them to me are bland power fantasy. To me personally gender lock has a lot opportunity to tell our story more thoroughly in depth through protagonist particular time and place and a fictional setting or not. It is indeed under unrepresentative this not stopping anybody home writing a gender a lot game of being non-binary. Now I’m personally very vocal of support interlock regardless of gender Even though I don’t play the majority of them. I love Gender Lock in the LoA series for a particular how he’s using it. Honestly I was upset at some of the Fanbase this reaction that he made the gender locked as a female I thought it was great. Considering it generational family saga. It has to show multiple perspectives of different family through different times Period.
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I wouldn’t worry, @Cataphrak has a plan to make a female gender-locked game set as a sequel to the Dragoon saga.
So I have a feeling that it would be beneficial to try to make strives in feminism if you desire for the most change in the future series. If you don’t want to take that gamble, It’s perfectly okay to wait for the conclusion of the series to see how exactly you could shape Tierran society in order to benefit women.
But the biggest thing is, it is true because he is grounding it in traditional gender roles that fit the 17th Century-Regency England mentalities and while he could do a Broadsides type flip to cater to everyone and maximise profits he chose to tell his story like he wanted. The biggest thing this game is covering is imperialism and how it’s like to be the power that is getting the empire’s attention.
I get why you don’t like the gender-lock and understand why it has a bad taste in your mouth but, when the next series comes out with the female gender-lock I’ll try my best to play through it to and see the story through the eyes of the character I make and roleplay through. It’s easy for me to say it as a male, but, I do honestly believe that everyone should give it an honest shot and look at it with clear eyes and open minds just like I will through the Lords of Aswick series and the next Infiniverse series of games in the foreseeable future that will be female locked because while I would rather have the chance to play as a male, I know for a fact that the message of the story will be worth the discomfort of being the opposite gender.
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Guys…I can understand the need to defend a series you like, but the actual point of my post was to may stir the discussion away from well-written examples to defend the concept of gender locking to the actual question of: Why so few works locked to something else?
Why are there so many cis-male authors that argue they just couldn’t write or understand a female/different perspective? It’s a really common reason brought up to explain a gender-locked male game (or games that allow no gay romances too), but by now I have only seen one female author claiming the reverse, all the others with a gender locked female WIP stated they did just want to write a specifically female perspective for once (same with author’s that attempt to write games locked on a trans or non-straight/gay protag), the reasoning is in those cases explicitly to bring more balanced representation. And many of those author’s already brought proof with other WIPs that they have no problem to write games with gender choice too.
So I wonder how it comes that so many male author’s just seem to lack the empathy needed to write a different perspective, did those author’s in their whole life really never meet a person that was trans, or gay, or not white, or female?
And the historical accuracy argument also is in most parts bogus. Most people don’t want to write something historical accurate, but write about how they imagined the past to be, because gosh was the past weirder in so many places than people would believe.
(and yeah I know about those follow up works locked to female, doesn’t mean I will read the genderlocked male parts of the games, just as I assume that many male readers will not read the genderlocked female works… honestly I assume it will probably be less male readers reading the gender locked female works as female readers reading the male locked works, because by now - and here I may be cynical - I’m just pretty sure it indeed is rooted in a lack of empathy and interest for other perspectives and the luxus to just easily avoid every works like that.)
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maybe because there are many male readers
than female readers? not so sure though
Erm… No when writing a book writers write it for a certain demographic not because most readers are of certain demographics (my opinion may not be necessarily true)
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The only thing I can add, is that I believe female/gay etc. writers are usually more able to write a different type of prospective because most of them have read/played/watched so much stuff written from a different point of view, usually a male one.
I’m no writer, but I had written on my own some stuff (the reason I’m not going to start my own game is just lack of time and my bad english) and I had no problem writing from a man point of view.
But most of the stuff I’ve read/watched and expecially played in my life, had a male protagonist. I may not be a man, even less interested in women, but I have no problem immersing myself in a man’s shoes. (I’m just tired of the same old)
In few words, I think in a way male writers are a little “spoiled” since the mayority of entertainment have a male audience in mind first, and so female/gay people are just more used to a different point of view than their own.
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Unlikely 
I’ve said it before but I’m female and don’t mind locking to any gender if there’s a good reason for it in the world building or due to a “character lock”. Maybe we just need more balance to make this less of an issue. Go out and give lots of support to people people who are writing non-male locked stories as well as the gender choice ones on the forums and hopefully some female or non-binary locked ones may turn up on the HG store
Edit for inspiration link: Female warriors in folklore and history
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Firstly, before I answer Cari’s question generally and personally, allow me to say this is a very touchy subject for me as I am firmly on the side of the creator to decide what the best route for their work is. I’ll leave it at that, other than to say that the creator’s vision should be respected as we don’t have to buy/read everything (said generally). That said, I do want to say that based on the OP, you were calm and civil. I want to thank you for that, Cari.
For me, personally, just give me a good story at the end of the day. And if something isn’t to my liking? Then hey, that’s fine. I can just avoid it.
So, two parts to the answer. One short, one long. And I may not get my thoughts out too well with the long one, though I hope it’s of use.
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Generally, I think there is quite an easy answer as to why authors might write gender-locked characters as it’s no mystery, though it’s not lost on me that you are perhaps questioning why there aren’t more gender-locked female stories. It is because they want to and, while I don’t think it’s needed for a writer to explain their choices, I could expand on that by saying it’s likely because they think the gender-locked route enhances their story for whatever reason. (I can’t really go more in-depth as I can’t speak for them)
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As for a personal answer to your question, I am still very much interested in writing an interactive story, so I can answer ‘for me’ as to why I’d write a gender-locked character. First though, there is a terminology issue in my mind. I would prefer to think I’m writing a character-locked story, as opposed to a gender-locked story. If the story/game isn’t story or character focused, then I see no reason to not be as inclusive as possible in terms of allowing people to play/create the characters they want to.
So, why does, in my mind, a story/game that is heavily character/story based work better with a locked-character? Because with a character lock, I can narrow down the options to what that character would likely consider doing at any one moment without worrying about a reader disconnect in terms of having choices they might not want to make, as I do not take the viewpoint that the reader is the character. Rather, they’re more acting as . . . their conscience, as you essentially do in other games with a set character, like Batman. At least that is how I look at it. I know I literally don’t think I’m Batman in Telltale’s games for instance, and just think about what I’d do in the situations he finds himself in. So really, it’s just about providing a rich narrative experience, though that can obviously still be achieved without a character/gender lock. It allows me to squarely focus on the writing, story, characters rather than the gamey side of things.
But hey, they are fine if that’s what you want to read and write. I wouldn’t mind writing one myself sometime where I don’t have a set character, and I do read them. Some handle choices/stats very well while still branching. I have absolutely nothing against inclusivity as long people as people don’t try to force me to cater to them. And of course I’m prepared for low interest/sales if I don’t cater to them.
Finally, I think it comes down to what Cataphrak said earlier in the thread. There’s power fantasy and there isn’t. If I’m misrepresenting what you said, Cataphrak, I apologise, but I do know you used the term power-fantasy. Anyway, power-fantasy, in my mind, is about letting you be who you want to be and such. The centre of attention. Non-power fantasy is more about placing you in uncomfortable positions and forcing you to think. Sometimes you may not even have much power. And I suppose you could say whether a gender/character-lock is called for is dependant on each project. There are very few rules really, in creative products.
In closing, I again hope this at least made some sense. (Note I did edit a big chunk of this and remove the parts about game stats etc. as I felt I was going off-topic. I don’t think I was as I think there is always questioning as to why any form of character/gender lock exists at all, but I figured I’d take it out to be on the safe side. Still, you can find it in the edits, I’m sure.)
PS: I would say workload has a hand in things as well, at times, Cari. I know that I personally would want to try and include reactivity for gender. I think it’s all part of trying to construct a believeable story and world.
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I don’t think it’s a lack of empathy, I think it’s the safety and comfort you have in your own perspective. When you are getting into the mind of a main character, I think you naturally lean towards your experience. For instance, I like stories where a female MC is a protector of a male counterpart. I also like it when a woman takes the lead in a relationship. Do you know how hard it is to find this perspective? I gave up and started writing my own stuff awhile ago because I could never find any stories I could truly relate to. I’ve found some books that I think might have this but eventually it always goes back to the generic male in control. Whether it being the woman being attacked and needing to be rescued or the bedroom scenes where the woman suddenly loses all of her dominant traits.
The thing is, these books were all written by women. Also, the stories most popular with women tend to be these stores. I have no freaking idea why 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight resonated with so many women. I don’t feel anything when reading the NSFW scenes in books. But I know my perspective is in the minority when it comes to these things.
In the same vein, I struggle writing those ‘traditional’ archetypes in fiction. I’m trying to write a strong male MC and a gentler, flirty female counterpart and it’s a nightmare to get any creative juices flowing. On the opposite side of things, when I go back to my comfort zone I described above, I can bang out about a thousand words or so a day. So would I rather be writing what I love and enjoying myself, or forcing it and worrying about every little thing not being accurate to someone else’s perspective?
I think it’s the same with other authors. I think if you study and read enough you can diversify your writing but I’d think most people would want to write a protagonist that they could best understand.
PS: You also have to worry about reader response. I’ve seen women complain that they don’t want to romance ‘weak’ men who don’t take charge, and men complain that women are too overpowered and ‘unladylike’. It’s frustrating but for me, it’s a lot easier when I can ignore those comments because I know my perspective and I know it’s valid.
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A good post, njl. I think that’s the crux of the matter really. We write what we want to write and feel is best really, and just hope enough people also like it. Granted, it’s a bit different if you’re working for a publisher as ‘we just write what we want to write’ doesn’t quite cut it all the time, but yeah . . .
I was also tempted to touch on the fact that writing something you don’t enjoy or feel comfortable with would quite possibly have a detrimental impact on the project. Also, best I don’t get started on Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey. 
I did find the comment by Stephen King ages ago funny when he mentioned he’d had enough when he arrived at a scene with a boat paddle.
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