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Gamer Banter: Hampered by Hollywood

This month’s gamer banter is an unusually specific question:

Has a character redesign ruined how you feel about a character?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I was a big fan of Lara Croft as a teenager. In a world saturated with male action stars, male scientists and, of course, male archaeologists, Lara was a welcome sight. Here was a kick-ass woman who could climb up impossibly high walls, pilot speedboats and take on a pack of tigers while doing backflips. She faced down T-Rexes and supernatural monstrosities of the highest order. And she did it all by herself.

Hollywood gets involved and what do they do? Give her a man. But not just one. Nooo, now Lara needs a whole pack of men to help her out. Men researching what to do, men whispering in her ear to tell her where to go, men telling her how to use her own equipment. In one fell swoop she was reduced from self-sufficient adventuress trailblazer to just another woman who can’t handle things by herself.

Not impressed. Not impressed at all.

This post was part of Gamer Banter, a monthly video game discussion coordinated by Terry at Game Couch. If you’re interested in being part of this, please email him for details.