Returnal, a game by Housemarque, was purchased without any knowledge. It's actually not true. From the trailer, I knew it had to do with escape from a time loop. There was futuristic technology and monsters. It didn't matter what it was because I wasn't buying it for its gameplay. I was buying it because Selene, the protagonist, was my reason for buying it. Selene is an ordinary video game character. She's smart, agile, capable and intelligent, but she faces an almost impossible challenge. Selene is a unique character because she is a female playable character. She is middle-aged. Finally, I get to see myself in a game.This year I will be turning 50 and it is not what I had hoped for. Although I am not old anymore, I don't feel old. It turns out that middle age feels just like it does. This is the time in life when you are smarter than ever and smart enough to realize you don't know everything. Although I am not able to move as fast as I did in college and have lines on my face I'm doing well physically. This is my best self, if I may be so bold. It's too bad that nobody notices.People don't pay much attention to me because I lack the one thing they need to make me useful: children. They recoil slightly when they discover that I don't have children, regardless of whether they mean it or not. It's not out of dismay, but confusion. What can a woman 50 years old say about her children if she is not talking about her children? What can women of that age do?This attitude is reflected in the characters of video games. In video games, women are usually either young and sexy, or old and wise, unless they're villains. They are often friends, party members or not very prominent but they are not the star. It's not as bad now as it was in the past. The big revelation of Metroid was that the hero had been a woman. We love Samus, and we should not forget that it was supposed be a big twist to see you as a woman. You have far more options to play as a female than ever before, especially when you consider games that allow you to create your own character. However, they are almost always young.This, let's be honest, makes some sense. An older body is more capable than a young one. If you're playing a game that involves a lot of physical activity, it makes sense to lean towards someone in their twenties and thirties. I don't have anything against younger characters. Lara Croft's young age makes the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot great. She's only recently graduated from university, so she hasn't faced any real challenges yet. So when she finds herself alone, shipwrecked and hurt, she must tap into the emotional resources she didn't know she had. This is a powerful experience that almost all of us have had in our lives.Think about what Lara would look like 30 years later after her first adventure. What lessons would her decades of adventures have taught you? How many friends and enemies has she made? How many times has she tried to cheat death? And how has this affected her approach to danger? We won't know because the game publishers believe Laras is only interesting if she makes Forbes list of 30 Under 30.
