Videogames: Introduction - Women in videogames
Part 1: Medium article - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?
Read this Medium feature on whether female representation in videogames is finally changing. Answer the following questions:
1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames?
Women are typically either objectified or damsels in distress in video games. There are examples of this, from Lara Croft to Princess Peach, according to a post by the 'Gamecult Blog' Princess Peach appears in "14 games of the core Super Mario Brothers plat-former games and she's kidnapped in 13 of them". This shows sexism, heteronormativity and misrepresentation.
2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?
For many years, people believed that all gamers are predominately male, which may have been the case in the arcade age but based on the survey "Distribution of Computer and Video Gamers in the United States from 2006 to 2017 by Gender", 42% of the video game demographic is female, which is a clear indication that times are changing.
3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
Recent popular games like Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and The Walking Dead series have female protagonists, co-protagonists or otherwise important characters. All of these games have characters who are role models for real women, as they are strong, independent, intelligent, wilful and compassionate.
4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
I believe that audiences do reject media products if they're misrepresented in them as there have been many scandals in which a company has shown a negative representation of a particular group of people which has led to them boycotting said company to make a stand for themselves.
5) What does the writer suggest has changed regarding recent versions of Lara Croft and who does she credit for this development?Brianna Wu's 2015 article suggests Lara Croft was saved by Crystal Dynamics as they decided to make huge changes as to how she was represented in the reboot of Tomb Raider. Rihanna Pratchett made the decision to focus on ensuring that Lara Croft became a character that players could identify themselves with
Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis
Visit Anita Sarkeesian’s ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games Series 2’ YouTube playlist and watch ONE other video in the series (your choice - and feel free to choose a video from season 1 if you prefer). Write a 100 word summary of the video you watch:
Title of video: All the Slender Ladies: Body Diversity in Video Games
100 word summary:
In this episode of Tropes vs Women in Video Games the main topic is how there is a very limited range of female body types and shapes in video games, which hugely contrasts the wide range of male body types commonly represented in many different games. Anita states that playable female characters are almost always young and have the same body type, they are intended to be sexually appealing to straight male players. The absence of older playable female characters wrongly suggests that women’s value is tied directly to their beauty and youth and when they’re older that value is all used up. She also mentions how in Overwatch all female characters have a similar slender physique however the male characters are much more diverse and offer more representations. In addition in Street Fighter 4 not one of the female characters represents a notable departure from the slender body type that has been established as the standard of conventional female attractiveness.
Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview
Finally, read this Gamespot interview with Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency and answer the following questions:
1) What reaction did Anita Sarkeesian receive when she published her videos on women in videogames? You can find more information on this on Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.
2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism?
Anita Sarkeesian states "Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings" and that of course feminism has a long, diverse and complex history with many interpretations and applications, but at the very core it's really about working towards the equal treatment of women socially, culturally, institutionally and economically.
3) Why do stories matter?
Stories matter because narratives have always been a core way for humans to learn about, make sense of and understand the world we live in. Additionally, stories have embedded myths and messages an can be carriers of positive, heroic, or subversive values, however they can also propagate or reinforce negative stereotypes and oppressive social norms.
4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?
Sarkeesian views these two characters in both a positive and negative light. She likes the idea of the two characters being female and also the main protagonists in the games they appear in as it represents the change in women in the media, but at the same time she has a negative outlook on them both as they are often represented in the wrong way as they are highly sexualised and objectified for the enjoyment of the male audience.
5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?
There has been a huge increase in the number of female characters in video games in comparison to the days of the original Metroid, Super Mario Bros and Zelda games which shows how female characters have evolved a lot. However, everything still isn't as it should be due to the fact that things have seemed to have gotten worse in may ways as we've seen a resurgence of the 'Damsel in Distress' in recent years as developers are rushing to remake or reboot many classic games. In addition, as the number of female characters has steadily increased so has the upsurge of sexualisation and hyper-sexuality.
6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?
The female characters are women of colour and both serve as the protagonists of their own games without being overly sexuality or objectified. Both games employed interesting underdog plots, innovative gameplay mechanics, and emphasised less violent creative problem solving instead of brute force.
7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?
The qualities she listed were: protagonists with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal: transformative story arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws: and some emotional depth and expression.
8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?
The gaming industry has been typically male dominated, therefore the characters in games are designed to feed into male expectations and desires. Sarkeesian suggests that this can be countered by including more women on development teams so that they can offer their own female perspective that can be implemented.
9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?
On one level, she wants to promote media literacy and give people some tools to look critically at the type of games we play. Her hope is to clearly present the issues surrounding women's representations as a systemic problem by identifying reoccurring patterns. Sarkeesian also wants gaming to become more diverse and complex in terms of the female characters that are offered to the audience, that way gaming is more enjoyable for all genders.
10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?
She hopes her series serves as a piece of the larger ongoing conversation already happening elsewhere about women in video games. She wants young women to know that there are also real life issues females must be aware of as well
Read this Medium feature on whether female representation in videogames is finally changing. Answer the following questions:
1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames?
Women are typically either objectified or damsels in distress in video games. There are examples of this, from Lara Croft to Princess Peach, according to a post by the 'Gamecult Blog' Princess Peach appears in "14 games of the core Super Mario Brothers plat-former games and she's kidnapped in 13 of them". This shows sexism, heteronormativity and misrepresentation.
2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?
For many years, people believed that all gamers are predominately male, which may have been the case in the arcade age but based on the survey "Distribution of Computer and Video Gamers in the United States from 2006 to 2017 by Gender", 42% of the video game demographic is female, which is a clear indication that times are changing.
3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
Recent popular games like Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and The Walking Dead series have female protagonists, co-protagonists or otherwise important characters. All of these games have characters who are role models for real women, as they are strong, independent, intelligent, wilful and compassionate.
4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
I believe that audiences do reject media products if they're misrepresented in them as there have been many scandals in which a company has shown a negative representation of a particular group of people which has led to them boycotting said company to make a stand for themselves.
5) What does the writer suggest has changed regarding recent versions of Lara Croft and who does she credit for this development?Brianna Wu's 2015 article suggests Lara Croft was saved by Crystal Dynamics as they decided to make huge changes as to how she was represented in the reboot of Tomb Raider. Rihanna Pratchett made the decision to focus on ensuring that Lara Croft became a character that players could identify themselves with
Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis
Visit Anita Sarkeesian’s ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games Series 2’ YouTube playlist and watch ONE other video in the series (your choice - and feel free to choose a video from season 1 if you prefer). Write a 100 word summary of the video you watch:
Title of video: All the Slender Ladies: Body Diversity in Video Games
100 word summary:
In this episode of Tropes vs Women in Video Games the main topic is how there is a very limited range of female body types and shapes in video games, which hugely contrasts the wide range of male body types commonly represented in many different games. Anita states that playable female characters are almost always young and have the same body type, they are intended to be sexually appealing to straight male players. The absence of older playable female characters wrongly suggests that women’s value is tied directly to their beauty and youth and when they’re older that value is all used up. She also mentions how in Overwatch all female characters have a similar slender physique however the male characters are much more diverse and offer more representations. In addition in Street Fighter 4 not one of the female characters represents a notable departure from the slender body type that has been established as the standard of conventional female attractiveness.
Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview
Finally, read this Gamespot interview with Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency and answer the following questions:
1) What reaction did Anita Sarkeesian receive when she published her videos on women in videogames? You can find more information on this on Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.
In the time since, the project has become the target of an organized harassment effort. Of this, Anita says, "While I always expect some level of harassment when discussing gender issues online, this time it's a more extreme and sustained torrent of sexism, hate, and threats. All the horrible backlash has just made me even more determined and committed to creating this video series. I'm also happy that all the backers and supporters of the project have been and continue to be a source of encouragement and inspiration." It is also mentioned by Anita that The intimidation and harassment effort has included a torrent of misogyny and hate speech on my YouTube video, repeated vandalising of the Wikipedia page about me, organized efforts to flag my YouTube videos as "terrorism", as well as many threatening messages sent through Twitter, Facebook, Kickstarter, email and my own website. These messages and comments have included everything from the typical sandwich and kitchen "jokes" to threats of violence, death, sexual assault and rape. All that plus an organized attempt to report this project to Kickstarter and get it banned or defunded."
2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism?
Anita Sarkeesian states "Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings" and that of course feminism has a long, diverse and complex history with many interpretations and applications, but at the very core it's really about working towards the equal treatment of women socially, culturally, institutionally and economically.
3) Why do stories matter?
Stories matter because narratives have always been a core way for humans to learn about, make sense of and understand the world we live in. Additionally, stories have embedded myths and messages an can be carriers of positive, heroic, or subversive values, however they can also propagate or reinforce negative stereotypes and oppressive social norms.
4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?
Sarkeesian views these two characters in both a positive and negative light. She likes the idea of the two characters being female and also the main protagonists in the games they appear in as it represents the change in women in the media, but at the same time she has a negative outlook on them both as they are often represented in the wrong way as they are highly sexualised and objectified for the enjoyment of the male audience.
5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?
There has been a huge increase in the number of female characters in video games in comparison to the days of the original Metroid, Super Mario Bros and Zelda games which shows how female characters have evolved a lot. However, everything still isn't as it should be due to the fact that things have seemed to have gotten worse in may ways as we've seen a resurgence of the 'Damsel in Distress' in recent years as developers are rushing to remake or reboot many classic games. In addition, as the number of female characters has steadily increased so has the upsurge of sexualisation and hyper-sexuality.
6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?
The female characters are women of colour and both serve as the protagonists of their own games without being overly sexuality or objectified. Both games employed interesting underdog plots, innovative gameplay mechanics, and emphasised less violent creative problem solving instead of brute force.
7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?
The qualities she listed were: protagonists with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal: transformative story arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws: and some emotional depth and expression.
8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?
The gaming industry has been typically male dominated, therefore the characters in games are designed to feed into male expectations and desires. Sarkeesian suggests that this can be countered by including more women on development teams so that they can offer their own female perspective that can be implemented.
9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?
On one level, she wants to promote media literacy and give people some tools to look critically at the type of games we play. Her hope is to clearly present the issues surrounding women's representations as a systemic problem by identifying reoccurring patterns. Sarkeesian also wants gaming to become more diverse and complex in terms of the female characters that are offered to the audience, that way gaming is more enjoyable for all genders.
10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?
She hopes her series serves as a piece of the larger ongoing conversation already happening elsewhere about women in video games. She wants young women to know that there are also real life issues females must be aware of as well
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