(I am considering trying this jam, if I can find a group who wants to work with me. If you are interested let me know)
Here are my views on the subject. I'm going to skip the "why would you change the gender of a character" vs "Link is a reincarnation, so it's not changing a gender so much as exploring a possibility" because it's already been discussed (plus I think I just did)
First, I don't think the idea is an attempt to "force" or bully Nintendo into making Link female in this game or any others. More that it's designed to draw attention to the fact that we are not OPPOSED to the idea that Link could be female, and to encourage Nintendo to entertain the idea while still coming up with their own design for the franchise. I think that most people behind this idea are also fine with him continuing to be male, but for all we know there are clever ideas being thrown out because they involve Link being female, and Nintendo thinks there's no interest in that. And showing interest in a female Link also encourages the idea that we'd enjoy a game that stars Zelda too. So don't think of it as trying to force our views on Nintendo (among other things, Nintendo is a juggernaut company in another country, so we really CAN'T force them to do anything) but rather raise their awareness in our interest in a female lead in the LoZ franchise.
Why not just create a new franchise? This question was asked a lot with Thor becoming female as well. The problem with creating a new character/game series/comic book is that there's no magic formula to guarantee it will be a big hit. For every Laura Croft, there's probably at least five Beyond Good and Evil's - good games that - just do to circumstance and luck - never take off. By starring a female lead in an already established franchise, you know the game will get attention and be able to stand on it's own merits.
Next, femLink vs Zelda vs Impa vs New Character. While I'd love a game that stars Zelda (or Impa) the nature of that request, and the history of the game series, would probably make any attempt to star them into a side-story game. Similarly if you create a game that co-stars both characters, than chances are that it will star Link just a little bit more, and you will end the game with Link delivering the final blow. Not to say I wouldn't want to see any of these games. Honestly, if I was making a game with just the idea "Legend of Zelda with a female protagonist" I would probably star Zelda, but the Jam is going a different way, and I intend to support them, so I'll play by their rules.
Next, there's the complaint that this would disrupt the dynamic with Link/Zelda/Gannondorf. So my view on that is that the dynamic changes pretty much every game anyway. Several games don't even have Zelda, and even more don't have Gannon/Gannondorf. Link and Zelda have only canonically been romantically involved in the first game and in Skyward Sword. All other games are either ambiguous or they don't have enough screen time together. So you could have femLink and a still female Zelda and not have it impact the story that much, since they don't have to be romantically involved. Or you could have a male Zelda. There's a lot of fluctuation with the characters, and I don't see this impacting it.
How about the "Anything negative we do will be viewed negatively as an attack on women" approach. Well, that's always going to be a risk, but you can't please everybody. Yes, some people will say that femLink being captured is saying women are helpless, but maleLink has been captured in plenty of games. Yes, some people will say that femLink getting hurt in a cutscene is mysoginistic, but maleLink has been injured in plenty of games. Hell, Laura Croft gets a ton of attention like this, but that doesn't stop her from being a success.
Finally, a lot of people have mentioned that changing Link to female would have no impact on the game, and therefore be nothing but a publicity stunt. Which is why I think that it SHOULD have an impact on the game. Now obviously this is a fine line here, but one I think can be handled quite well. I don't think there should be much of an impact on the game-play mechanics, but it could impact the story. For example, what if nobody believes that Link is the Hero of Courage, because the Hero of Courage has always been male before. So she needs to steal the tunic and sword, and run. The Goron's might require more tests because they're afraid Link is too frail, even for a Hylian, do be their champion, while the Zoras - often lead by a woman - see it as a plus and help her out. You could even have a funny scene (jokes varying based on how old they are) where Zelda is a little confused/disappointed that Link is a girl. There's a lot of little ways you can have a female Link impact the story without it dominating everything.
Sorry for the long post, but those are my views on the subject.
Comments 1
Re: Game Jam Tasks Developers With Creating A Zelda Title Starring A Female Link
(I am considering trying this jam, if I can find a group who wants to work with me. If you are interested let me know)
Here are my views on the subject. I'm going to skip the "why would you change the gender of a character" vs "Link is a reincarnation, so it's not changing a gender so much as exploring a possibility" because it's already been discussed (plus I think I just did)
First, I don't think the idea is an attempt to "force" or bully Nintendo into making Link female in this game or any others. More that it's designed to draw attention to the fact that we are not OPPOSED to the idea that Link could be female, and to encourage Nintendo to entertain the idea while still coming up with their own design for the franchise. I think that most people behind this idea are also fine with him continuing to be male, but for all we know there are clever ideas being thrown out because they involve Link being female, and Nintendo thinks there's no interest in that. And showing interest in a female Link also encourages the idea that we'd enjoy a game that stars Zelda too. So don't think of it as trying to force our views on Nintendo (among other things, Nintendo is a juggernaut company in another country, so we really CAN'T force them to do anything) but rather raise their awareness in our interest in a female lead in the LoZ franchise.
Why not just create a new franchise? This question was asked a lot with Thor becoming female as well. The problem with creating a new character/game series/comic book is that there's no magic formula to guarantee it will be a big hit. For every Laura Croft, there's probably at least five Beyond Good and Evil's - good games that - just do to circumstance and luck - never take off. By starring a female lead in an already established franchise, you know the game will get attention and be able to stand on it's own merits.
Next, femLink vs Zelda vs Impa vs New Character. While I'd love a game that stars Zelda (or Impa) the nature of that request, and the history of the game series, would probably make any attempt to star them into a side-story game. Similarly if you create a game that co-stars both characters, than chances are that it will star Link just a little bit more, and you will end the game with Link delivering the final blow. Not to say I wouldn't want to see any of these games. Honestly, if I was making a game with just the idea "Legend of Zelda with a female protagonist" I would probably star Zelda, but the Jam is going a different way, and I intend to support them, so I'll play by their rules.
Next, there's the complaint that this would disrupt the dynamic with Link/Zelda/Gannondorf. So my view on that is that the dynamic changes pretty much every game anyway. Several games don't even have Zelda, and even more don't have Gannon/Gannondorf. Link and Zelda have only canonically been romantically involved in the first game and in Skyward Sword. All other games are either ambiguous or they don't have enough screen time together. So you could have femLink and a still female Zelda and not have it impact the story that much, since they don't have to be romantically involved. Or you could have a male Zelda. There's a lot of fluctuation with the characters, and I don't see this impacting it.
How about the "Anything negative we do will be viewed negatively as an attack on women" approach. Well, that's always going to be a risk, but you can't please everybody. Yes, some people will say that femLink being captured is saying women are helpless, but maleLink has been captured in plenty of games. Yes, some people will say that femLink getting hurt in a cutscene is mysoginistic, but maleLink has been injured in plenty of games. Hell, Laura Croft gets a ton of attention like this, but that doesn't stop her from being a success.
Finally, a lot of people have mentioned that changing Link to female would have no impact on the game, and therefore be nothing but a publicity stunt. Which is why I think that it SHOULD have an impact on the game. Now obviously this is a fine line here, but one I think can be handled quite well. I don't think there should be much of an impact on the game-play mechanics, but it could impact the story. For example, what if nobody believes that Link is the Hero of Courage, because the Hero of Courage has always been male before. So she needs to steal the tunic and sword, and run. The Goron's might require more tests because they're afraid Link is too frail, even for a Hylian, do be their champion, while the Zoras - often lead by a woman - see it as a plus and help her out. You could even have a funny scene (jokes varying based on how old they are) where Zelda is a little confused/disappointed that Link is a girl. There's a lot of little ways you can have a female Link impact the story without it dominating everything.
Sorry for the long post, but those are my views on the subject.