While majority of the video game community is male dominated – in terms of characters, developers, industrial leaders, cosplayers, gamers and much more, there are some women even men would salute to. Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate all the ladies that have been a part and parcel to the epic gaming experience we thrive on!
We, at GC, have curated a list (or several) of some of the famous women in gaming that we must celebrate on this day.
Famous Female Video Game Characters
Boys and girls, we bet that you would agree that these female video game characters are absolutely kickass since these are the women you’ve grown up playing as!
1. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: arguably one of the most famous video game characters in history, known even to non-gamers from the graphic novels as well as the blockbuster films where she was portrayed by Angelina Jolie.
2. Chun-Li, Street Fighter: Chun-Li was the first female character in a fighting game, and not just any game but the iconic Street Fighter, making her a legend, hands-down.
3. Jill Valentine, Resident Evil: Definitely one of the most likeable female videogame characters of the Resident Evil series (and films), this French-Japanese beauty kicked some serious zombie a**.
4. Sophitia, Soul Edge: If you’re a 90s kid, like me, you definitely know who Sophitia is. This badass Greek-sex bomb is known to slay not only with her gladiator skills but her *ahem* gorgeous face and massive cleavage.
5. Lightning, Final Fantasy: Also known as Claire Farron, Lightning has been known to be one of the greatest female video game characters ever. She went from being a narrator and temporary playable character to in Final Fantasy XIII-2 to the main character in Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. #LikeABoss
Famous Women In Gaming History
It hasn’t been an easy journey for women to make a mark in the gaming industry but these ladies, with their grit and determination, paved the way for generations of women to come.
1. Carol Shaw, the First Woman Game Programmer & Designer: Known for her work at Activision with the retro hit River Raid, computer programmer Carol Shaw had already made her mark in the history of video games in 1978 as she was the first woman to design and program a video game 3D Tic-Tac-Toe for the Atari 2600.
2. Roberta Williams, Co-Creator of Graphical Adventure Games, Co-Founder of Sierra: Hands-down one of the most important figures in gaming history, Roberta stepped found inspiration in gaming while playing a text-only PC game “Adventure”. She quickly created a design doc outlining an interactive game with text and graphics. Along with her husband Ken, a programmer, they created a software and the tech to bring her idea to life. Their first game Mystery Hill was an instant hit, giving birth to the graphical adventure genre. The couple founded On-Line Systems (later called Sierra) dominating the PC Gaming industry.
3. Anne Westfall, Programmer & Co-Founder of Free Fall Associates: Even before Anne had made a mark in gaming history, she had created the first microcomputer based program to help structure subdivisions. She ventured into gaming in 1981 with her husband, John Freeman and formed Free Fall Associates, the first independent developer contracted by Electronic Arts. Among their games co-designed by John and programmed by Anne, included the hit PC game Archon which was EA’s best seller of the time.
4. Dona Bailey, the First Woman To Design An Arcade Game: With the zeal to make a mark in the game development business, Dona joined Atari as an engineer in 1980. Since Carol Shaw had already left for Activision, Dona was the only female game designer at the company. She, along with Ed Logg, co-created and designed the classic arcade hit, Centipede.
5. Amy Briggs, Creator Of The First Adventure Games For Girls: Amy, in her brief time world of gaming showed a vision ahead of its time by creating an adventure game featuring narrative and protagonists, specifically for the female audience. It happened for her in 1983, where she worked for text game adventure company Infocom as a tester. Her strong writing skills and determination impressed her bosses enough to create a game on her concept of an adventure-romance game for girls namely Plundered Hearts.
Famous Celebrity Gamer Girls
You might know them as famous actresses but did you know these women can whoop your a** if you got down to gaming with them?
1. Mila Kunis: This Black Swan star has been known to be addicted to World of Warcraft and being responsible for dragging her friends in the game. Mila used to play WoW so much that she had to stop playing the game as she spent way too much time on it. Though she’s still a gamer chick and is known to be an ace at Call of Duty.
2. Michelle Rodriguez: As badass as she is on-screen, Rodriguez can really dome you at Call of Duty. Michelle has been known to speak about violence in video games, for acting in game-turned movie franchises such as Resident Evil and still remains a loyalist of Doom.
3. Megan Fox: This Transformer celebrity would have flawless victory over you if you challenged her at Mortal Kombat. She would probably melee you at Halo get an OMBFC at Guitar Hero if you don’t quit challenging her. A sucker for Super Nintendo (master of Disney’s Aladdin) and a fan of Wii, Megan Fox has got to be one of the hottest celebrity gamers to exist.
4. Olivia Munn: This actress and Daily Show correspondent is next level, bruh! She literally started her career with G4 network’s geek-themed Attack of the Show and is proud of her nerdy background. She claims to be such a huge video game addict that if she sat down in a first person shooter game, she’d skip meetings, etc just to sit in and play. Olivia Munn’s favourite game has been known to be Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
5. Jessica Alba: Our very own Fantastic Four superhero Sue Storm is a gamer in real life. Though she’s played several console and PC games, she’s a hardcore Nintendo Wii fan. She plays all the Wii Sports games and literally uses it to stay fit because of the physicality that the Wii provides. Btw, did you know that Jessica Alba loves the Nintendo DS so much that she bought one for the whole cast of Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer when they finished filming?!
Women have always been a vital part of shaping the gaming community. They might not be in majority but they have been an equally compelling force to be reckoned with. Women have left no stone unturned. Even at a comic con, you’ll find increasing rate of female cosplayers – many even put a gender spin on the classic characters. The representation in the game development industry is also on the rise, thanks to all those brilliant women who have contributed over the course of time, encouraging more to follow their footsteps.
(Also read: Cosplayer Interviews & Gamer Girls Interviews)
So, ladies, give yourself a round of applause because you deserve it and guys get off your games for a minute and give them a standing ovation and lets all celebrate International Women’s Day together, today!
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