Chitchat Female Heavies in video games

[Yang Xiao Long]

I've always wondered why it is so hard to find female heavy weapon's specialist in games and other media. I get that we chicks aren't as big as some guys are, but why are there so few females with big guns in games.


I personally love the big stuff, SAWs, LMGs, MMGs, HMGs, LSWs, Launchers, Flamers, and my personal favorite the Minigun. But when I'm in a campaign or reading a book, it's always the big macho man with the fun stuff. Usually when there is a female character she's half the size of most of the guys on the squad and carrying around a little sub machine gun. 


Oh and don't get me started on the armour (or lack there of).

 

[Axel The Englishman]

Don't worry, we lot in the armour always carry around an equal amount of armour. Also, it's pretty much to do with the fact that men tend to be more physically honed than women (due to increased muscle growth). However, if a man and a women are serving in the same military as the same role, they would have around the same physical capabilities (in the British Army physical exam, we're required to lift 25kg). Don't worry though, things are changing and more women are wielding bigger weapons. I recall this one RP on some other site some time back, I created a Fireteam of Super Soldiers, and there was a Female AT Rifleman.

 

[TPBx]

Its ok, because we have Zarya and Vi to make up for years of underrepresentation. And its not like women aren't just limited to being run and gun smgs. Its a common trope for the girl with the big gun to be the sniper, ie Kerrigan and Nova in SC2, Asada Shino from SAO, and Caitlyn from LoL.

 

[Axel The Englishman]

Its ok, because we have Zarya and Vi to make up for years of underrepresentation. And its not like women aren't just limited to being run and gun smgs. Its a common trope for the girl with the big gun to be the sniper, ie Kerrigan and Nova in SC2, Asada Shino from SAO, and Caitlyn from LoL.

Well, a Sniper Rifle is one of the most deadly weapons we've ever created as a species, and do require good skill to operate.

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

also random sidenote, I love how this is getting more replies than most RPs i'm in.

 

[Rantos]

Games such as God Eater host females carrying large weapons.

 

[Axel The Englishman]

I prefer games with custom loud outs, allowing you to choose what fits with you're playing style.

 

[TPBx]

also random sidenote, I love how this is getting more replies than most RPs i'm in.

Thats some rip material right there. Once winter break rolls around, there'll  be a lot more people back.

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

Thats some rip material right there. Once winter break rolls around, there'll  be a lot more people back.

On average, RPN is a rat hole of disinterest and non commitment.


Actually that's me being nice.

 

[The Gunrunner]

None of the roleplays I've been in have gotten to their end. A lot of them end before the main plot can even start. 

 

[The Fluffiest Floof]

The fact that females oftenly are so underarmored (speaking of fantasy stuff here, though) also makes it quite hard to find nice pictures to use for characters... 

 

[Ammy]

None of the roleplays I've been in have gotten to their end. A lot of them end before the main plot can even start. 

I'm at the point now where the ones I express interest in don't even start at all. Really killing my spirit, not gonna lie.

Games such as God Eater host females carrying large weapons.

While true, it doesn't really count for much when almost everyone else is as well just because it's falling into the anime rule of "oversized weapon = cool". It's alright though. Zarya is still around and she's still the best.

 

[The Gunrunner]

The fact that females oftenly are so underarmored (speaking of fantasy stuff here, though) also makes it quite hard to find nice pictures to use for characters... 

I tend to use males, but here's a few I was able to find:

Spoiler

Just save them somewhere and use imgur.com. The musketeer one is something I've had saved in my pictures collection for a while. I quite like it.

 

[The Fluffiest Floof]

I tend to use males, but here's a few I was able to find:

Spoiler

 

Just save them somewhere and use imgur.com. The musketeer one is something I've had saved in my pictures collection for a while. I quite like it.

Already know those.


Also, the issue with it is, that I don't make a character to a picture. The picture is the last step. And sometimes it's hard to find a fitting one. 


Anyway, thank you.

 

[Autumn McJavabean]

Games such as God Eater host females carrying large weapons.

Beat me to it.


I'd also add MGS series having some characters that fit this, like Crying Wolf.

 

[TPBx]

I tend to use males, but here's a few I was able to find:

Spoiler

 

Just save them somewhere and use imgur.com. The musketeer one is something I've had saved in my pictures collection for a while. I quite like it.

Just a few more, ty blizzard and hi-rez (though admittedly both also make very scantily clothed characters too)








From top to bottom: Amaterasu (Smite), Bellona (Smite), Johanna (Diablo), Hammer (Starcraft 2)

 

[The Fluffiest Floof]

Just a few more, ty blizzard and hi-rez (though admittedly both also make very scantily clothed characters too)View attachment 216498View attachment 216499


View attachment 216496


View attachment 216497


From top to bottom: Amaterasu (Smite), Bellona (Smite), Johanna (Diablo), Hammer (Starcraft 2)

I believe it is SGT. Hammer.

 

[avira]

Let's also not forget our wonderful heavy knight, Effie.

 

[Rifleman]

Don't worry, we lot in the armour always carry around an equal amount of armour. Also, it's pretty much to do with the fact that men tend to be more physically honed than women (due to increased muscle growth). However, if a man and a women are serving in the same military as the same role, they would have around the same physical capabilities (in the British Army physical exam, we're required to lift 25kg). Don't worry though, things are changing and more women are wielding bigger weapons. I recall this one RP on some other site some time back, I created a Fireteam of Super Soldiers, and there was a Female AT Rifleman.

US already implemented women into combat roles for the US Army and Marine Corps. That being said in BCT(Basic Combat Training) they often made the smallest person carry the M240B/M249. Generally speaking though in the regards of actual literature characters that are female and carry a big weapon, well honestly it depends what universe your stepping into. There probably isn't that many specific characters, however the capability is certainly there. For example, the Halo Universe, Males and Females are treated the same, you see Male and Female Marines, Pilots, Spartans, Tank Operators.

 

[ARSENIC]

Just gonna drop this here for relevance.
​

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

I'm not talking anime or that stuff. A little girl with a gun three times her size is not what I consider to be a heavy.

 

[Blaire Wisteria]

Beat me to it.


I'd also add MGS series having some characters that fit this, like Crying Wolf.

Yeah, the MGS series tends to have the ladies either be badass double agents, soldiers, or cool bosses with giant ass guns, like fortune.

 

[Autumn McJavabean]

I'm not talking anime or that stuff. A little girl with a gun three times her size is not what I consider to be a heavy.

"I get that we chicks aren't as big as some guys are, but why are there so few females with big guns in games," is what you said. You should be a little more clear. Do you mean fat girls or girl who are broad shouldered like men, tall, muscular, and holding big weapons? In which case, such a specific is not likely to be anything but scarce.

 

[Lord Pug]

I've often noticed in games with guns and violence (which, embarrassingly, I don't play a lot of xD) there seem to be less small men and less big women. Like, women that have muscles exist. That's a thing. And there are men that don't have huge, bulging muscles. I, myself, am a small, thin boy (although I'm Transgender so that's to be expected kinda) and I'd prefer to play a character that looks like me. Just as I'm sure a woman that has broad shoulders and is tall would like to play a character in a game that looks like her. Honestly, I chalk this up to, more representation please. 

 

[ARSENIC]

See, here's the thing. For the last decade or so, the vast majority of the people who play shooters have been heterosexual males with the attention span of a goldfish. These guys are happy to suspend their disbelief enough to get a little T&A show, and will be drawn more to a game that does this - sex sells; this is nothing new. The industry is merely a reflection of that fact. If throwing realism to the wind boosts my company's annual profits by 30%, as a business manager, it only makes sense to do so. Of course, the beauty of Overwatch, and games like it, is that it appeals to both targets; the guys who want scantily clad latex snipers, and the people who want a buff woman with a big-ass particle cannon - not because Blizzard is a stickler to realism (so much of Overwatch is blatantly unrealistic) but because they're recognizing how quickly the market of female and feminist gamers is growing, and they're looking to make a buck without losing their existing market. We'll probably see a few other shooters following in their footsteps after their incredible success, but at the end of the day, it's a business - plain and simple.