Games Should Grow With the Audience

Youth is easy. We spend our lives on the quest to be happy, yet the journey of life is exciting. The thought of Kratos becoming a parent, or in later years, Grandparent is one that doesn’t initially appeal, much like life. If you had the choice of whether to age or not, you would choose to stay young. I would.

Youth is easy and we have so many cool characters these days that it is hard to reflect at times. Solid Snake smoking on his cigarette, whilst reminiscing about the war is what life is about. Okay, we do not have nanomachines and chaff grenades but the memories and regrets are what life is about. The time we have to play games reduces as we age, but we still have the desire.

Right now, I have more in common with the Nathan Drake of the fourth game than the first but being settled is not something to fear, but you can always get dragged back in. With the correct intentions, yes, but these conflicts resonate more than the teenage angst of Life is Strange. It has been more than a decade since I was a teenager and so I would like to see games that showcase more grizzled characters.

Age Has No Colour

The grizzled veterans outlined in the introduction are very much white heroes. They are the major minority (in regards to older characters and their adventures for the console). Their games are captivating and draw you in as they deliver beyond the cool superpower which can melt the eyeballs of their enemies. They offer depth but when you look at the diversity displayed, you do have to ask why more is not done to widen the net?

Age is just a number and you are only as old as you feel, yet the colour of your skin is something tangible and can be seen on screen. It is something that should be easy to change and add into consideration in order for age to not be limited to a few middle-aged white adventures.

The Portrayal of Older Women in Games

Horror games of the last few years and in particular, Resident Evil games, have brought to light the older female enemy. Lady Dimitrescu and Marguerite Baker stand out here. Terrifying on the screen and blood-curdling in virtual reality. These lead females are to be feared and respected, bringing with them a real x-factor in terms of intimidation. The question here is why does it take the horror genre to bring this opportunity to light?

The Monstrous Mummy is how we accept older women in games, rather than accepting that they could very easily take on the role of lead hero. Lara Croft is a key example of how empowerment has reached over and slapped the audience into paying attention. The caveat here of course is that Lara Croft is eternally youthful and when she reaches an age beyond that of 30 (I have no idea how old she really is), she is killed off and rebooted.

Why are older women not able to swing for the vines as much as Nathan Drake or Kratos are able to do? A Lara Croft adventure in which our heroine is protecting her daughter or even son would be appealing to me. To pass on that knowledge and add a level of parental need would be intriguing, or on the flip side of those, a mature Ms Croft who is filled with regret...she is after all one bullet short of being a mass murderer.

Age is but a Number

You are as old as you feel. This is how I like to look at the world. In my head, I am still 18 and have infinite possibilities. I know this is a fabrication as soon as I look in the mirror, which offers up a stream of thought from the life that has been.

Age offers wisdom and challenges. It offers the chance to ponder and consider alternative options, rather than walking in and punching the nearest villain in the face. There could be a barrel nearby that would reduce those advancing to rubble and so why waste a clip, when one bullet will do?

More heroes from diverse backgrounds are what I am searching for at the moment. We have seen Snake, Kratos and Nathan Drake take on the role of grizzled veteran and the outcomes were great. More of this is what we want but with a broader stroke of diversity to represent society as a whole. We have seen teenage angst to death now and we want to change, or at least I do.

A Final Thought

Age will eventually arrive at our doors, and whether we like it or not, it is not going anywhere. I firmly sit within the 31–40 age category and connect with characters of the upper age range, those that have been life tested. Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4, Nathan Drake from Uncharted 4 and Geralt from the Witcher series, stand out for me. Whilst I can enjoy the antics of too cool for school, Ratchet, I realise that if I met him in real life, I would most likely not text him back.

Videogames are big business, yet the generation of gamer from which I come is one that grew up with games. We have less time to play them, yet have more disposable income. We may have children and a desire to share our hobbies. We want to play games that resonate with us, not cutesy youths who simply pull off a few jumps to get ahead.

Age wants to struggle in a way that youth cannot appreciate. Nothing in life is handed down and so is it too much to ask for a few more grizzled veterans to be created in a few new franchises? Is it too much to ask for heroes one step away from needing a walking stick heading out on one last adventure? Is it too much to ask?