Unknown Worlds’ asymmetric shooter, Natural Selection 2, is soon to get a whole lot more equal: they’re adding a female model to the marine faction. The developer says that a female marine was “one of the first features of Natural Selection 2 to ever be revealed to the world” and that without the financial success of the game they’d have been unable to add her to the game’s roster.
She looks absolutely awesome but, most notably, she’s kitted out to fight aliens. I.E. not wearing a bikini and boob plate.
“The game industry has a history of depicting female characters inappropriately,” write Unknown Worlds. “Often, they are stylised to such a degree that they become sexual objects: While their male comrades are clothed, armed and armoured to fight, the female character is notable for the lack of any clothing at all. When female characters are granted equal protection, that protection often ignores basic laws of physics in favour of offering titillating form.
“This is not good enough, and it’s not a trope Unknown Worlds will entertain. Games are legitimate cultural influences, and game developers are responsible for the message they choose to convey to players. The Natural Selection 2 female marine is first and foremost, like her male colleague, a soldier. Her armour puts function before form, while adopting the science fiction, melee combat aligned design ques that have made the male marine so uniquely recognisable.”
The female marine model is in the final stages of development and is due to be added to Natural Selection 2 by September. It will be a completely free update and if you bought a special edition of the game, along with it’s special edition marine models, you’ll have a female skew of that character.
Good going, Unknown Worlds.