But why is it that companies are still overwhelmingly using dudes as protagonists when roughly half of all gamers are women? Well, when a certain developer from Ubisoft was asked why the multiplayer mode in the next installment of the Assassin's Creed series didn't have female characters, he answered that they got cut because they'd be too much work -- specifically, they'd have to redo 8,000 animations to show a lady assassin sneaking around and killing people. And apparently this is a common problem in Ubisoft: Another developer was asked why the Far Cry series has never showcased any female leads, and he answered, "We just couldn't squeeze in the time." See, they totally wanted more diversity, but just couldn't do it.

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But that's apparently bullshit. Naughty Dog animator Jonathan Cooper said that a female Assassin's Creed character could be easily animated in "a day or two." Yeah, well, what does that guy know about changing male characters to female? A lot, actually: He did exactly that in Mass Effect 2. Sure, OK, but what does he know about animating hooded killers specifically? A lot, too: He was the director of animation on Assassin's Creed 3. So we're gonna go ahead and guess he's not just talking out of his ass.

Ubisoft via Kotaku

Of course, AC3 is the one where this happens, so who the hell knows.

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But the point is, maybe next time Ubisoft can perhaps have "playable female character" up there next to "playable male character," instead of somewhere down at the bottom of the list next to "realistic rabbit fur swaying in the wind" and "the sound of farting clouds on rainy nights." Just an idea, developers. Or, hey, you could stop with the crap excuses and just do the work! That would work, too!

The third part of XJ's epic science-fiction novel is out now on Amazon. The first $0.99 novella can be found here, with Part 2 out here. Or leave a review and get a free copy! Poke him on Twitter and follow him on Facebook.