Is Microsoft Encouraging Studios To NOT Make Suggestively-Designed Female Characters?

gameranx.com:

The history of video games is fascinating and is something that everyone should consider taking a look at for various reasons. After all, many might not remember that gaming in the United States almost straight-up ended in the 1980s or that there were once numerous console makers and publishers doing software titles before getting “narrowed down” to the ones we have today. However, one of the biggest “history lessons” we need to learn from and adjust in the future is how female characters have been depicted in games, and Microsoft seems to finally be ready to take a step in the right direction on that account.

On Microsoft’s official website, they have a page dedicated to not just helping gamers “feel seen” via the characters they witness on their screens, but they’re asking developers to think about several “layers” of game development that could define their titles as stereotypical. To the extent that have a “Questions To Consider” section that has the following things listed on it about female characters:

“Are you creating playable female characters that are equal in skill and ability to their male peers. Are your female characters equipped with clothing and armor that fits their tasks? 

Do they have exaggerated body proportions?”

All of those questions come under the banner of “Are you reinforcing any negative gender stereotypes?”

Let’s be honest here, if there are any negative stereotypes in gaming that need to be changed, it’s how women are portrayed, and have been portrayed, for decades. We can give you dozens of examples of how female characters have been designed or “integrated” into titles solely that they can use their “appeal” to lure in gamers.

Easily, one of the most overt examples is Lara Croft. When she was first born, her “aesthetics” were what really drew people to try out her games, and it wasn’t until her reboot saga via Crystal Dynamics that she had more “average proportions.”

Then, there are characters like Bayonetta, who weren’t just designed