Minecraft: Story Mode to allow players to choose gender of Jesse

Telltale Games announced today that for the first time in the studio's history of adventure games, players will have the opportunity to choose the gender and appearance of the main character in Minecraft: Story Mode.

When Minecraft: Story Mode was first announced, it had appeared as if the main character was a male protagonist by the name Jesse. Of course, with a gender-neutral name like that, it allows Telltale the ability to give players the option.

According to the studio, "Minecraft: Story Mode will be the first Telltale game series to feature a player character where YOU choose their appearance. Players will be able to select from several different options for both male and female versions of our hero Jesse."

We already knew Patton Oswalt would be voicing male Jesse, and now we can confirm Catherine Taber will be the voice of female Jesse. Other notable actors in the game include Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West, and Paul Reubens.

Below are a series of screenshots from the season premiere of Minecraft: Story Mode, featuring a sneak peek at the different versions of Jesse you'll be able to choose from.

While the idea of playing as a character of your choice fits with Minecraft's theme of player creativity, it'll be interesting to see if Telltale adopts a similar strategy with their other narrative-based adventure games. Would The Walking Dead have worked the same if you had not played as Clementine, but instead a little boy? Or what if in Season One you played as a grown female adult instead of a male? Would gender or race have impacted the story at all? I have my own opinion, but definitely not the answer because we all experience games differently. I'm just excited to see Telltale take a different approach and explore other options.