Video game writer: When are we going to get a gay protagonist who isn’t a one-off joke?
A leading video games writer has criticised the lack of gay or lesbian protagonists in film and games.
Lucien Soulban, writer of Ubisoft’s hit ‘Far Cry 3’, questioned how long it might take for the film and gaming industries to feature a gay or lesbian protagonist in one of its titles.
“I think the real question is, when are we going to get a gay or lesbian AAA hero(ine) who isn’t a one-off joke?” Soulban said.
“You look at Javier Bardem in Skyfall. His character’s sexuality was total shtick to satisfy one scene. Otherwise, he was a narcissist with mommy issues and a pedophile to boot.
“His ‘seduction’ of Bond was nothing more than vanity because Bond was his reflection, the new ‘him’. So it bothers me when I hear people using his performance as a benchmark for diversity in entertainment, and I have heard it being bandied about.”
Saying he did not think there would be a lead gay or lesbian character in a video game titles “for a while”, he did note certain games which allow users a choice over their sexuality.
He went on: “Either we’ll see a bait-and-switch like the original Metroid with Samus Aran, where we’ll find out damn near after the fact, or it’ll come out of left field with Rockstar, Valve, Naughty Dog or Telltale, perhaps.
“But when it happens, I hope it’s a serious take on it and not played up for jokes.”
Addressing the Skyfall scene in an interview, Daniel Craig, who had resumed the role of the world’s most famous spy for the third time, said: “Someone suggested that Silva may be gay. And I’m like, I think he’ll fuck anything.”
Craig, who said that he “loves the scene,” added “I don’t see the world in sexual divisions.”
