The Xbox Games Showcase opened up with a new trailer forFable, kicking the showcase into high gear straight from the get-go. Fans have been wanting a look at the game for three years, and Microsoft finally delivered a trailer so beautiful that many believed it was CGI. No, it has been repeated over and over again that everything shown forFablewas in-game footage containing a few slices of gameplay, and combined with fable-like conventions, a back-to-roots approach, and more, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Xbox title.
Except, for some reason,Fablehas been mired in controversy for this trailer; in fact, one could argue that Summer Game Fest and all the recent gaming events dug up a “controversy” around women in the industry. Many were quick to point outhow few women were on the stage for Summer Game Fest, and in reaction, many online kept asking why it mattered. It obviously does, and most of those folks are simply being facetious out of spite. When stats were shared on social media like Twitter highlighting how many women are involved in the gaming industry, player and dev side, that didn’t stop them.
RELATED:Fable Trailer Flooded with Dislikes
In turn, this also kicked off the age-old “female video game protagonist debate” where, when pointing out how few there are, people react with the fact they exist. People will point to Bayonetta,Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft,Horizon’s Aloy, orAssassin’s Creed’s Aveline as if they somehow nullify the fact that very few exist. It’s always the same characters on repeat, hollow arguments, and feigned ignorance, despite it constantly being shown, told, and proven how hard it is for real women in the industry,how minimized characters like Aveline, Evie, and Aya are inAssassin’s Creedand other franchises, and how to simply even put a female character front and foremost receives this reaction every. single. time.
A viral post, for example, responded to the fact thatStar Wars Outlawsfeatures a female protagonistby asking what happened to the men in the universe, as if there hasn’t been a plethora of maleStar Warsprotagonists. It almost seems like a mandate to surviving Order 66 is to be a white dude, but no, “men are dead” inStar Warsbecause one game features something a little different. And every time this comes up, people react like this is something new, and it’s not. If anything,Fableis receiving the same spin by gamers asHorizon Forbidden Westdid prior to release, showing just how messed up and repetitive much of the mentality in the industry is.
Fable and Horizon Forbidden West’s ‘Controversies’ Are the Exact Same
Thus far,Fablehas resulted in a seemingly endlessly childlike debate on the internet regarding the role of women in video games. It doesn’t matter how good the game looks, asFable’s trailer was flooded with dislikesdue to, at least in part, the appearance of the protagonist. In response, there has been an image floating around on social media where someone has decided to “fix” the protagonist’s appearance via Photoshop or some AI work to give her long hair, make-up, and other nonsensical beauty standards as if any of that matters in a video game. Prior toHorizon Forbidden West’s release, Sony released a few trailers looking at how remarkable its graphical fidelity is. Fans can see, with a high degree of detail, the peach hair on Aloy’s face. Instead of being impressed by advancing game technology, fans were upset about her oval-like face,“fixing” Aloy to look more like some version of what AI defines as beautiful.
Furthermore, it’s quite noticeable how gamers almost never “fix” male characters. There was some controversy around the wayThor looked inGod of War Ragnarok, which is ridiculous on its own merits, and it has certainly happened before. But never in such a high profile way, never in such a malicious way, and never to the same degree. There have been plenty of white male protagonists that no one thinks twice about, perceived flaws and all.
How two controversies can follow the exact same track and gamers trench in as if they are on the frontlines of some super moral war is beyond reason. The fact isHorizon Forbidden Westreceived high-scoring reviews, resulting in a Top Critic Average of 88 on OpenCritic and 96% of critics reviewing the game. That didn’t stop folks fromreview-bombingHorizon Forbidden Westat release for Aloy’s appearance, again as if that somehow mattered. In fact,Fablecould release as the best game of this entire generation, putting current high-performing titles likeDiablo 4andZelda: Tears of the Kingdom, outperforming every single metric of success possible, and someone on the internet is going to cry because of this character’s appearance in the trailer. Fact is, fans may be able to customize the protagonist inFable, no one really knows about its features yet, but it’s clear they don’t deserve it. And on the flip side, ifHorizon Forbidden Westwas bad andFablesomehow ends up bad, none of that justifies this “controversy.”
Nothing about any of this is right, and none of is really even “controversial.” That’s an overstatement. It’s the sad, entitled reaction of people who have been catered to their whole life by entertainment media crying because they may not be in one title. The reaction to playing as a woman in any game seems to be that there’s nothing worse in this world, and that’s not controversy. It’s just not. The fact thatHorizon Forbidden Westcan be used to track the marketing and general reception ofFableis incredibly disappointing for this entire industry.
The fact thatFableis almost guaranteed to be review-bombed years ahead of its release is detestable. This moment of triumph and celebration in the industry, the non-E3 period that so many look forward to, is undermined by the very people it exists for.
Fableis in development.
MORE:Fable 4 is Taking a Page Out of God of War Ragnarok’s Book
