This article could not be timelier.  Many of our discussions have strayed into the gender issues that permeate throughout the play industry. Minecraft is now choosing a side in the controversy, by adding the option of a female character. As of Wednesday (4/29/15), Minecraft will introduce Alex and end their gender inequality.  Girl characters were available before in the game but apparently they were not free-of-charge or required technical skills of gaming the game.  According to Harwell, the creator of Minecraft, Marcus Persson, wanted to create a game without gender politics.  Late last year he is quoted as saying that, “The blocky shape gives it a bit of a traditional masculine look, but adding a separate female mesh would just make it worse by having one specific model for female Human Beings and male ones … That would force players to make a decision about gender in a game where gender doesn’t exist.”  To claim that the game is gender-less, seems rather counter intuitive when the games main character is Steve, a very obvious male with a scraggly face and the game developer himself admits to the “masculinity” of the game design.  Furthermore, if the consumers are asking for their gender to be represented, wouldn’t a company want to concede? Another game studio member that created Minecraft admitted that Steve did not represent the diversity of the greater Minecraft community, and supported Alex’s addition.  While not a particular fan of gender controversies, myself, it does seem reasonable that a game with such popularity could provide its fans this simple option.  I appreciate that the game developers gave Alex feminine features, without sexualizing her (which may have been rather difficult to do within the parameters of the game).  Her respectable design can fit into the designer’s intended greater goal of a gender-less world.  The introduction of Alex seems like a logical step in the story of Minecraft, matching the standard model of most gender exclusive industries/culture. Historically girls will be represented it is just a slow progress.

 

Harwell, Drew. “Minecraft is finally fixing its huge gender problem.” The Washington Post 27 April 2015. Internet.