How Ratchet & Clank's Rivet Was Saved From Being Oversexualized
Recent comments from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart developer Sam Maggs have shed light on how the game's female lead, Rivet, was stopped from being oversexualized. The Lombax heroine played opposite series mainstay Ratchet in Rift Apart, which is one of the best PlayStation games of last year in the opinion of many gamers.
Despite being a new character in a long-running and beloved franchise, Rivet made quite a splash when she arrived in Rift Apart. Much of Ratchet's character in this series centers on his belief that he is the last of his kind - an idea that is challenged with the arrival of Rivet, a fellow Lombax. Ratchet and Rivet's stories play off one another in a satisfying way, but Rivet is much more than just a female sidekick or generic love interest. Rather, Rivet is a fully playable character who has her own life, personality, and aspirations that are separate from Ratchet and Clank. Rift Apart sold exceptionally well, so many gamers were able to experience Rivet's story.
Several fans love the fact that Rivet is a strong female character, but she was almost presented in an overly sexualized, objectifying manner. IGN published an article that went into detail about how Rivet was developed to be a character independent from Ratchet. Rift Apart Writer Sam Maggs shared the article on Twitter, bemoaning that her work on making Ratchet a unique, complex female lead was being ignored. Maggs made a follow-up Tweet stating that she had to fight for the developers to "take the BOOBS and MAKEUP off Rivet", claiming that it was this stalwart opposition that kept Rivet from being depicted as too sexual. Ultimately, IGN updated the piece to credit her - something that Maggs publicly thanked the outlet for.
Maggs's statements are interesting and important, especially when considering the influence and aspirations of Insomniac Games, Rift Apart's studio. Female characters in media, and especially in video games, are frequently portrayed as overly sexual - and not in a way that most would consider empowering. For women and girls to be presented as real, complicated, and memorable characters, it's important for those involved in media to speak out against such objectification.
This is to say nothing of the fact that Rift Apart is a game intended for children and that Rivet is a Lombax, not a human. It wouldn't make sense for the character to be presented with human secondary sex characteristics (this is something pointed out by Maggs in one of her threads). Ideally, developers will take note of how Rivet was depicted in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and avoid the pitfalls outlined by Maggs.