The Never Ending Fight We Wish Would End: Female Protagonists in Video Games

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**Holden** (0:27)
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Samus, Princess Peach, God of War Laufey. These are famous women in video games. How do you start an episode like this? You know, I will say this, I will say this. Welcome, first of all, to Nerd of Mouth. We have Jake and Mike here. They're very fun to be with.
I guess the reason why I started, I pitched this episode. So blame me, by the way, if all the pitchforks come out and everything like that. It's cause I-

**Mike** (1:57)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Holden.

**Jake** (1:58)
Why are you so, why do you think on the internet and YouTube specifically, people are going to try and ruin your life just for saying you're not mad about women in video games?

**Mike** (2:09)
Why do you think that the chuds that will disagree will just hate us more? And why do you think the women that will support us be like, wait, shouldn't women be talking about this chud and not these chuds?
Look, here's, you know, I rationalized it to myself where I was like, look, there are incredible women and amazing podcasts and journalists who are speaking on this from their perspective. This is more chud to chud. This is us guys talking to other guys being like, shut the fuck up and stop ruining it and embarrassing us.

**Holden** (2:45)
I'm trying to balance out the YouTube algorithm. I have some guys that look like this speaking not like a complete ass absolute. Words I don't want to say right at the top of a YouTube video. I'm trying to make it so that we get further and further.

**Mike** (2:58)
And yes, we are all married and yes, they told us we had to do this.

**Holden** (3:00)
Yes, absolutely. They forced us to do it.

**Mike** (3:04)
They wouldn't get off our faces until we agreed to do this episode.

**Holden** (3:09)
And LPN has brought in a diversity expert slash intimacy coordinator who has been working with us and forced us to do this episode.
I don't know why he had to watch me have sex but it happens. That was part of it. But then he also said, you have to do this episode. No, I also, please, if you're so mad at us, no, don't talk in the comments about it.

**Jake** (3:34)
No, don't.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:35)
Don't boost our visibility, please.

**Holden** (3:40)
The reason why I wanted to do this episode was a reaction I had. I saw the trailer for God of War Laufey. I enjoyed God of War. I enjoyed God of War.
Ragnarok wasn't a big God of War guy back in the day. That was kind of that time passed me.

**Mike** (3:54)
But I will say that I was.

**Holden** (3:56)
Yeah. Okay.

**Mike** (3:57)
Those are my favorite games besides the Mega Man franchise. And I do love the transition into the new game.

**Holden** (4:03)
Yes. And I love it all. Dad of War and the evolution of game developers, people.

**Mike** (4:08)
I'm a warm of war. Yes.

**Holden** (4:10)
Awesome.

**Mike** (4:12)
I consume all the war. Okay. Yeah.

**Holden** (4:15)
But I saw that trailer for God of War Laufey. If you're not aware, the new God of War's protagonist will be essentially his Kratos' deceased wife, right? Battling her way through hell.

**Mike** (4:28)
Does a great job of being a body in a blanket. Yeah, exactly.

**Holden** (4:34)
It's kind of that for the first couple of movies.

**Mike** (4:36)
She is a center focus, you feel her presence because she is the humanity that Kratos is now losing. And obviously, she's the link between him and Atreus. And they're over... Boy!
But especially in the first game, they're overcoming their grief of her together.

**Holden** (5:04)
Yeah, exactly. It's beautiful. It's really interesting. It has so much depth. And so for this third game, they're like, it's going to be her now as the main character.