You see this woman? You see her? That’s Rieko Kodama. Bless this lady. Bless her.
She is the creator of Phantasy Star and a little game called Skies of Arcadia. She is also called “The first lady of RPGs”. But that’s not nearly enough. Let me tell you why she is awesome.
This woman was the lead designer of several very large scale games back when console gaming was only about a decade old. She was designing games before I was even alive. Let’s not forget she’s old enough to be my mom now and she’s still producing blockbuster games like 7th Dragon in Japan!
In 1987, she created Phantasy Star. Not just the lead designer, she wrote the story and came up with the setting. A large scale RPG with a rich universe, it was revolutionary for its time and gorgeous. This game was TRULY ahead of its time. Not just graphically but as far as the setting and scale. Nobody had attempted making a setting like that in a video game. Hell, storytelling in video games was still in its infancy in 1987! Also, the protagonsit of Phantasy Star is a woman. Barely even a woman, she is a 15 year old girl. JUST ONE YEAR after Samus surprised the world with her sex, Phantasy Star had Alis Landale. Nobody cared that she was a girl, she was judged by her character, not her sex. And she was far from eye candy. Sure she had a pretty face, but her design is hardly attention-grabbing, and she wears pants and armor. Later installments in the Phantasy Star series show Alis Landale as the legendary hero of the Algol Star System. Need I mention that she is a headstrong badass? And let me say this again, THIS WAS IN 1987. At the time when people were only just starting to tell stories through video games. Dragon Quest was just starting to have its “save the princess” plot, Final Fantasy was just getting started building its world… The console RPG was still in its infancy, still having yet to be defined.
RIGHT AT THE START OF THE GAME her brother is murdered in cold blood for trying to intercept a government conspiracy. And Alis takes his sword and swears vengeance. Just like that.
And you know who wrote and designed this game? The one in charge of the story, dungeon, and character design?
This sweet little lady.
Let me add that the only iconic video game heroine that predates Alis Landale is Samus Aran (And uh, I guess Ms. Pacman). Before Lara Croft, before Chell, before Jade, before ALL of them, there was Alis Landale. And Alis is proof that though it has its problems even today, gaming has been blessed with wonderful heroines since the 80’s! Do we need more though? Yes, we do. And that’s why pointing out and celebrating great examples like Alis is important. But yes, in the 21st century, we need to focus on representing much more than just straight, white women like Alis.
Girls be ambitious! Become a great game designer like Rieko Kodama, Kim Swift, Robin Hunicke all of them!
