Baby Steps Devs Talk Failsons and Resisting the “Masculine Empowerment Fantasy in Action Games”

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Baby Steps is similar to popular, challenging games, but it’s designed to be less frustrating. A key part of this is the main character, who isn’t the typical powerful hero you often see in games. The developers intentionally created this unconventional character, moving away from the usual focus on male empowerment in the gaming world, and have discussed their reasons for doing so.

The creators of the challenging game *Getting Over It* are back with a new physics-based game called *Baby Steps*. The game centers around Nate, a lazy and unsuccessful young man who finds himself in a peaceful mountain setting and must learn to turn his life around. Game Rant spoke with the development team – Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy – about *Baby Steps*, with Foddy explaining Nate’s personality and how he differs from typical male protagonists in video games.

Baby Steps’ Failson Protagonist Nate Explained

How Nate Is Set Up As A Failson

The term ‘failson’ is becoming increasingly common, particularly when discussing the main character in *Baby Steps*. It simply refers to a young or adult person who hasn’t achieved traditional success. Originally appearing in the mid-2010s, it’s usually used to negatively describe unemployed adults who rely on their parents for housing and financial support. This is especially common among those from wealthy families, and the term often overlaps with the idea of a ‘nepo baby,’ though it applies to a wider range of people.

The idea of a ‘failson’ – a man seen as unsuccessful – is closely tied to both capitalist culture and traditional ideas about masculinity. Capitalism, particularly in Western societies, has promoted a family structure where men are expected to be the primary financial provider. Because of this, a man who doesn’t achieve financial independence or a traditional job is often considered a failure. This is the situation faced by the main character in *Baby Steps*, as society judges him based on these capitalist standards of success.

How Baby Steps Subverts Gaming Culture

When talking about what makes the game *Baby Steps* unique, Foddy explained how the character Nate fits into the overall design. He described Nate as a character who consistently fails, and how this reflects a deliberate attempt to challenge typical portrayals of powerful male characters in video games.

In Baby Steps, we wanted a character who challenged the typical power fantasy found in action games. We explored the idea of a ‘failson’ – someone who receives a lot of support to achieve traditional masculine goals, but consistently falls short. This felt like a perfect match for our gameplay, where the character exists in a world of action heroes but struggles with even the simplest tasks.

Philomena Foddy’s comment that Nate “struggles with the basics” gets to the heart of what makes *Baby Steps* interesting. Many games put you in silly situations that challenge traditional ideas of masculinity, but *Baby Steps* uniquely focuses on the simple act of walking. Video games often reflect societal norms, and action games especially tend to promote the idea of men as providers. However, *Baby Steps* seems to be questioning whether success is something we should automatically expect, and it does so through its core gameplay. While most games assume you can walk without thinking about it, *Baby Steps* makes its main character struggle with each and every step.

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2025-09-16 17:06