In videogames female protagonists are often depicted as attractive young women pleasing to the eyes or most of the time, as sexual toys for the pleasure of an overcrowded male audience. Sometimes however there are some games capable of breaking such stereotypes by bringing refreshing new characters worthy of the female kind. Some of the relevant ones being Alyx Vance from Half Life 2 or Jade from Beyond Good and Evil. This cohort of words is however a shameful attempt at introducing a young lady who plays a huge role in Quantic Dreams’s latest game Heavy Rain. We could even say that to some extend she is the saving grace of the game.

It’s commonly accepted that women are not accurately represented in videogames especially when it involves their physical attributes. Although this argument is not being the main drive of this article it’s relevant to describe Madison Paige as one of the most realistic looking woman in videogames. Tomboyish to some extent, Madison is put in several instances where her femininity is challenged and her strong will and sense of self-respect are as well, which makes Madison a very interesting character to analyze.

Let’s take her introductory sequence as an example; as seen in many trailers of the game, Madison is attacked in her apartment by burglars who unless you’ve completed the sequence in game seem to be much attached on the idea that her days are counted.



That scene is reminiscent of a very specific sequence in the first Alien where Ripley being unaware of her surrounding is attacked by an unstoppable foe when she is at her most vulnerable. She tries desperately to survive from her attacker and of course her sense of survival is greatly tested. An environment of security and conform is then turned into an environment of tension and invading.

Some of the most interesting scenes involving Madison are in some ways unaffected by Blake’s omnipotent control over the course of the story. She is therefore the most independent character in the game of a somewhat masculin driven narrative.

At many instances, she uses her journalistic instinct to solve the mysteries behind the origami killer and becomes an active agent in the closure of the game. Without divulging too much of the story, various aspects of her personality and of her womanhood are challenge in those scenes notably with her pride, her physical vulnerability and her will to survive.



She also plays a great role in supporting Ethan in his quest to save what’s dear to his heart. This is quite an unexpected role for a female character won’t you agree?

The character of Madison plays a huge role in keeping the thrill and stressful atmosphere of the game alive exposing her in the game’s most intense sequences. It gives the player a great sense of control and self-awareness about the consequences off which they choose to take. These scenes alone are worthy of being the saving grace of Heavy Rain so much so that a full lengthen game about Madison alone should’ve been enough to create a superb experience about a female protagonist being the flagship to a great story.