Guerrilla Games goes more into detail about the headstrong and brave protagonist, Aloy, in "Horizon Zero Dawn." Even before her creation, the studio claimed that they never made her as a "selling point" for the game.
A Female Lead Was Never the Main Focus
Guerrilla Games has also supported their decision on choosing a female lead for their upcoming game. Their previous titles included various male protagonists so they wanted to try something different and fresh this time. However, the studio never focused on placing the entire selling point of the game solely on her.
Instead, the game's lead narrative designer, John Gonzales, claimed that the studio aimed to try and create the best possible character they could, as per J Station X. They never focused the fact that she was a female and wanted to focus on her as a character. Because of this, Guerrilla Games wanted the selling point to be the fact that the player takes control of "the best possible person and character" suited for the world of "Horizon Zero Dawn."
Even so, the studio recognizes Aloy's popularity surge who is one of the only few female lead characters in video games. Gonzales noted how people have had a positive reception towards Aloy after playing as her. Furthermore, he claimed that it is easy to relate to her as she dreams of being accepted into a community since she is an outcast.
Will the "Horizon Zero Dawn" Protagonist Become an Icon?
In line with this, there has always been some form of vulnerability for these types of characters who just cannot seem to fit in. Despite this, Aloy has an "incredible toughness and grit" to her character as she still has a lot of fight in her. Despite Sony's previous worries about having a female lead protagonist, the fanbase seems to be looking forward to having a new female PlayStation icon.
However, My Games Lounge reports that Aloy alone is not enough to earn her a spot among the other PlayStation legends. Guerrilla Games must deliver an equally epic storyline that gives justice for the protagonist. Although, Aloy will be making her own choices in the game which gives players some freedom to seeing how she ultimately develops.
With Aloy's recent popularity, the question stands if other game developers will consider creating more female lead heroes for their games. Will the "Horizon Zero Dawn" protagonist invoke a possible change in modern gaming with her highly-boasted personality? Fans can play the upcoming title for the PlayStation 4.
