MiHoYo, the publisher behind popular RPG Genshin Impact, has put a long-standing debate over which of the Travelers is the canon main character to rest, with a simple confirmation that it’s either of them. The developer responded to a player inquiry over whether the male Aether or female Lumine is the actual main character of the story, and confirmed that that decision was left entirely to the player and whichever of the twins they choose.
Genshin Impact’s story begins with the player’s choice over which of a set of twins, male and female, that they want to use as their protagonist. The other twin is then whisked mysteriously away by the enigmatic Unknown God, which sets the stage for the chosen twin, known thereafter as the Traveler, to continue the main quest through the world of Teyvat. While whichever twin the player chooses has no effect on the story, because the male twin, Aether, is usually featured in the game’s trailers, it’s become assumed that he is the canon main character of the game, over his sister Lumine.
A Redditor named CapGlace came across a screenshot from a Twitter user who wanted to clarify once and for all which of the twins was Genshin Impact’s canon main character. Although the message sent to MiHoYo isn’t clear in the screenshot, it can be reasonably assumed from the response that the player cited Aether’s prominence in all of the game’s promotional material as a reason why the debate over which twin is canon is still ongoing. The response from MiHoYo more specifically clarifies that there is no “canon” traveler, regardless of which one is used more in promos. The canon main character, in other words, is decided entirely by the player and whichever of the twins they choose at the start of the game and take to the end.
The debate over which of the twins is the actual main character reflects a similar debate over which iteration of the original Mass Effect trilogy’s Commander Shepard, male or female, is considered to be canon. Similar to Genshin Impact, trailers and official merch usually featured Male Shepard, leading some players to assert that only he was canon, although which gender players pick doesn’t affect the storyline at all beyond the choices for potential love interests. Furthermore, it shares the similarity with the Genshin Impact debate in that the female options for the main characters are criminally underutilized in promotional materials for their respective games; the debate likely could have been avoided entirely if both genders were given equal attention.
Giving players more control over their main characters, including their genders, is going to continue to be a feature in gaming, but male iterations are still front and center in trailers, posters, and other promos. Hopefully as time goes on and awareness of these issues increases, developers will realize that their female protagonists deserve just as much screen time as their male counterparts.
Source: CapGlace