"TWO?!" Also, women!
Oh my, Sterling writing a second entry on day one? Truly, no one could have seen this coming!
Whatever, let's talk about something that a frankly alarming number of people have pointed out to me over the years: I write a lot of female protagonists. Like, a lot. Yeah, it has been noted, I am aware, why thank you. And since apparently it's the kind of thing that warrants a raised eyebrow, I figure I might as well explain myself!
You see, it has never been about eye candy or sex appeal. Not once, not from the very beginning. This is actually easier to explain than you'd think, because a while back, while doing research to write one of my original characters (yes, I spend an unholy amount of time on research, yes it is completely voluntary, yes I find it fun), I finally figured out I'm aroace. So that particular angle was never on the table. I did, however, come out of that research hating everyone equally, which I think is more inclusive anyway. :)
No, the reason goes back further than that. It was a different time in gaming, and there was something genuinely exciting about a woman being an actual co-protagonist, or better yet, the sole protagonist of an entire game. Because the default was that women were just... love interests. They orbited around the main character, they existed in function of him, to motivate him or reward him or ugh occasionally get kidnapped for him. That was the role, that's it.
So when it wasn't that, it stood out. Lara Croft from Tomb Raider raiding tombs and dodging traps. Samus Aran from Metroid being one of the most iconic bounty hunters in gaming. Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield from Resident Evil , shooting down B.O.W.s and carrying their own stories. Shanoa in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia! Kiana, Mei and Bronya from Honkai Impact 3rd! There are way too many to list properly, so I'll stop here, but you get it.
Now, you might be asking: "Sterling, that's cool, but wtf you telling us that?"
Fair question. You get two answers, dear reader!
First, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want with it!
Second, and seriously, this serves as a nice little prelude of sort I guess. Because at some point, inevitably, I am going to talk about my flagship original character. The one I've been writing for years. The one who lives in my head rent free and has done so for longer than I care to admit...
And yes, she's a woman.
You're shocked, I'm sure.