'Life Is Strange' Developer States Gender Is Irrelevant In Creating Good Stories

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia President Hiroshi Kawano speaks during a news conference in Tokyo September 9, 2013. Reuters/Toru Hanai

While most gamers would argue that character gender isn't a big deal, video game sexism has been one of the major problems surrounding the video game community. That doesn't mean there haven't been improvements over the years, though as thankfully an answer from the "Life is Strange" development team shows some people might know better.

For those unaware, "Life is Strange" is about a young woman who must time travel to discover how and why her dear friend disappeared. The game is set to be an episodic adventure series in the same vein as a Telltales Game like "The Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones" and is being published by "Final Fantasy" creators Square Enix.

In a Reddit thread created by Dontnod, a fan questioned his own interest in playing "Life is Strange" considering the protagonists were female. The user stated he wasn't a fan of high school girls as protagonists and assumed "Life is Strange" would be more drama and romance oriented. But he did find the concept interesting.

Dontnod game director Michel Koch replied, saying"Life is Strange" is anything but a high school drama and is more of an unexpected journey. Though no hobbits and dwarves are involved, Koch states the developers feel this game's concept is actually an original inception.

"Life is Strange is starring a teenage girl, you're right, but it is clearly not only a teenage girl story and we really think that both male players and female players will relate to this game and enjoy this adventure," Koch replied to the Reddit user. Koch does bring up an interesting point here. Spider-Man is considered to be one of the most relatable characters in comic book history and was at his most relatable as a teenage boy in the 60s. The fact that this game is about a teenage girl in 2015 shows we still have some ways to go regarding the perception of equality.

While this could be considered a minor complaint, keep in mind publishers wanted to change the genders of the "Life is Strange" protagonists. A report from Kotaku back in January revealed it was only Square Enix who allowed Dontnod to keep the leads as female, since other publishers advised them to change their characters to male.