Video games haven't typically featured female protagonists, and that's not something that makes Double Fine's Tim Schafer proud.
The noted game designer - director of cult favorites like Psychonauts and Grim Fandango - was speaking about his new adventure title Broken Age when the topic came up. Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki films like Kiki's Delivery Service, which feature strong female characters, he told the audience at the inaugural Twofivesix video game and culture conference that it's important to get fresh perspectives from new types of characters.
Schafer said that while some would claim featuring a female protagonist "comes out of a social agenda," it's also about "having a creative agenda." Video games should be telling different stories from different perspectives.
As for the medium's lack of female protagonists, "It's kind of embarrassing," he said.
For Schafer, the realization came from having a daughter of his own and going through different experiences with her while watching movies or playing games. He always assumed his daughter's toy bunny was a boy, so when she put a dress on it he couldn't resist asking why. To his daughter, though, the rabbit was always a girl; why shouldn't she wear a dress?
"I have a point of view that skews everything I make," he said, adding that it's important for girls to be able to pick their own characters, to have these kinds of choices available. The fact that they often don't is an area in which game creators have come up short.
Broken Age tells the story of young girl and boy leading parallel but separate lives who are trying to break out of routines set for them by past generations. After the young lady is chosen as a sacrifice for a dangerous monster, she decides to fight back. The boy, meanwhile, is being raised by a computer, alone, on a spaceship when he decides to break free.
Since Broken Age is the title Double Fine broke records with when asking for funding on Kickstarter, expectations are high. Originally, Schafer and Co. wanted to raise about $400,000 to develop a new adventure title. They raised $3.3 million.
Schafer said that when you get "such an outpouring of love," you definitely don't want to let fans down. But more than that, the Kickstarter experience had an even more profound impact on the company as a whole. Schafer said he was taught to move away from a history of secrecy and let people in, even if that means filming awful meetings for viewers to see on the accompanying Broken Age development documentary.
Surprisingly, Schafer found that showcasing the company's struggles made people more invested in his team's output. They see the good moments and the bad, and they root for you more. They become more invested.
There's no firm release date for Broken Age just yet, but development is expected to wrap up by September.
