Women and videogames: blog tasks
Work through the following blog tasks to complete this introduction to women in videogames.
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?
Within the videogame industry, women are typically either objectified or seen as "damsels in distress". Examples of major videogames where this has happened is in iconic Lara Croft or even Princess Peach in the Mario franchise. out of the 14 Mario games, Princess Peach is captured in 13 of them.
2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?
42% of the video game demographic is female, which indicates that times are slowly changing to become more equal.
3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
Recent games that signify a change in the sexism, heterosexuality, and misrepresentation:
- Tomb Raider
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Uncharted: The lost legacy
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- The Walking Dead
These games each have characters who play important roles empowering females to show them as being strong, independent, intelligent, willful and compassionate.
4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
I would argue that the video game industry is aware of this and is making strides to change the way they represent women because they are losing sales by misrepresenting nearly half of their audience. Strum’s article continues, This perpetuates a cycle of exclusion…Women don’t like to be seen as sex objects. When they don’t feel like game content positively reflects [their sex], they’re not interested.” This is certainly true and I would argue that the current trend shows that certain game companies are trying to fix this issue by releasing games that paint women in a more positive way, focusing on their strengths instead of stereotypes.
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 in Polygon details how Crystal Dynamics saved Lara Croft by making some big changes in the reboot Tomb Raider (2013) and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015). First they hired Rhianna Pratchett as the lead writer, a woman who “had a long history of working on games with complex female protagonists, such as Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge” and Pratchett decided to create a protagonist who players could identify with. Wu writes that “the essence of the new Lara Croft became the struggle she felt within herself”. When Lara Croft debuted in 1996, times were different, especially the ways in which women were seen. The rebooted game had to represent women in a more modern way.
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:
Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview
Title of video: The lady sidekick
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 onSarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.She states that when she started the campaign she did expect some sort of backlash and harassment due to the vocal voice of a internet based community. However she believes that due to the large growth of her campaign that she is able to receive a higher degree of support to the cause.
2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism? one way Sarkeesian summarises feminism is by this statement"Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings".
3) Why do stories matter?
The stories here matter due to them being able to tell diverse stories and allow the players to control and work through a story made by developers. For women to be objectified so often it shows that players being able to conduct acts can possibly affect real life.4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?
She believes that both characters are seen as sex objects in the game and their reward is their pleasure of viewing them, as Samus would lose her suit in varying degrees for however fast the players completed the game. For Lara Croft, it was the outfit she wore on her adventures as they would be very revealing to the player and is not suitable for her adventure at hand.
5) How has the video game landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?
The representation of women in video games has changed radically as games such as Horizon Zero Dawn featuring a strong female lead that holds her own just shows that the representation of women has changed over time. Other examples include The Last Of Us and Uncharted the lost legacy where both characters are wearing appropriate clothing for their adventures.
6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?
Both these games were made on last gen systems but both were one of the first to feature a female lead with the marketing for mirrors edge 2 focusing on the fact that Faith was a strong female lead. With portal a very successful game from valve it conveys that in all types of genres women were being seen.
7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?
She believes that developers need to focus on creating characters that are "protagonists with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal; trans formative story arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws; and some emotional depth and expression."
8) What is the impact of the video games industry is male-dominated?
In the past many developers, characters and producers have been male therefore this male driven teams of making the games. However more recently females have been up and coming into the community such as Amy Hennings who has worked on series such as Uncharted which is considered one of the best single player action adventure games. However there has been a cancellation of her recent EA developed Star Wars game and is the second time she has been pulled of a game mid development first with Uncharted 4 and now Star Wars. She is now scheduled to receive a life time achievement award at the GDC 2019 awards.
9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?
She would like to get people to critically look at games and question the representations they present. She does not believe that these are restricted to the sexist representations but also the typical stereotypes characters are given due to their race. She demands for females to have strong leads in video games and that "It's not OK to constantly portray women as sexualized objects for male desire. We want genuine female characters!" I want complex female characters because it will make games and gaming better overall, more diverse, and more innovative. Making gaming better is not just good for women and girls; it's good for people of all genders."10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?
She hopes that the series will be able to cause debates over stories of how women were represented in video games in the 80's and onward and how there is a tide changing the way people and developers make characters. With recent game Mario Odyssey featuring Peach needing saving and then her being saved but not going for the man who saved her instead leaves Mario to go on her own adventure shows how the community is chaning and viewing women in new ways.
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?
Within the videogame industry, women are typically either objectified or seen as "damsels in distress". Examples of major videogames where this has happened is in iconic Lara Croft or even Princess Peach in the Mario franchise. out of the 14 Mario games, Princess Peach is captured in 13 of them.
2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?
42% of the video game demographic is female, which indicates that times are slowly changing to become more equal.
3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
Recent games that signify a change in the sexism, heterosexuality, and misrepresentation:
- Tomb Raider
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Uncharted: The lost legacy
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- The Walking Dead
These games each have characters who play important roles empowering females to show them as being strong, independent, intelligent, willful and compassionate.
4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
I would argue that the video game industry is aware of this and is making strides to change the way they represent women because they are losing sales by misrepresenting nearly half of their audience. Strum’s article continues, This perpetuates a cycle of exclusion…Women don’t like to be seen as sex objects. When they don’t feel like game content positively reflects [their sex], they’re not interested.” This is certainly true and I would argue that the current trend shows that certain game companies are trying to fix this issue by releasing games that paint women in a more positive way, focusing on their strengths instead of stereotypes.
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 in Polygon details how Crystal Dynamics saved Lara Croft by making some big changes in the reboot Tomb Raider (2013) and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015). First they hired Rhianna Pratchett as the lead writer, a woman who “had a long history of working on games with complex female protagonists, such as Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge” and Pratchett decided to create a protagonist who players could identify with. Wu writes that “the essence of the new Lara Croft became the struggle she felt within herself”. When Lara Croft debuted in 1996, times were different, especially the ways in which women were seen. The rebooted game had to represent women in a more modern way.
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:
Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview
Title of video: The lady sidekick
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 onSarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.She states that when she started the campaign she did expect some sort of backlash and harassment due to the vocal voice of a internet based community. However she believes that due to the large growth of her campaign that she is able to receive a higher degree of support to the cause.
2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism? one way Sarkeesian summarises feminism is by this statement"Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings".
3) Why do stories matter?
The stories here matter due to them being able to tell diverse stories and allow the players to control and work through a story made by developers. For women to be objectified so often it shows that players being able to conduct acts can possibly affect real life.4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?
She believes that both characters are seen as sex objects in the game and their reward is their pleasure of viewing them, as Samus would lose her suit in varying degrees for however fast the players completed the game. For Lara Croft, it was the outfit she wore on her adventures as they would be very revealing to the player and is not suitable for her adventure at hand.
5) How has the video game landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?
The representation of women in video games has changed radically as games such as Horizon Zero Dawn featuring a strong female lead that holds her own just shows that the representation of women has changed over time. Other examples include The Last Of Us and Uncharted the lost legacy where both characters are wearing appropriate clothing for their adventures.
6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?
Both these games were made on last gen systems but both were one of the first to feature a female lead with the marketing for mirrors edge 2 focusing on the fact that Faith was a strong female lead. With portal a very successful game from valve it conveys that in all types of genres women were being seen.
7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?
She believes that developers need to focus on creating characters that are "protagonists with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal; trans formative story arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws; and some emotional depth and expression."
8) What is the impact of the video games industry is male-dominated?
In the past many developers, characters and producers have been male therefore this male driven teams of making the games. However more recently females have been up and coming into the community such as Amy Hennings who has worked on series such as Uncharted which is considered one of the best single player action adventure games. However there has been a cancellation of her recent EA developed Star Wars game and is the second time she has been pulled of a game mid development first with Uncharted 4 and now Star Wars. She is now scheduled to receive a life time achievement award at the GDC 2019 awards.
9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?
She would like to get people to critically look at games and question the representations they present. She does not believe that these are restricted to the sexist representations but also the typical stereotypes characters are given due to their race. She demands for females to have strong leads in video games and that "It's not OK to constantly portray women as sexualized objects for male desire. We want genuine female characters!" I want complex female characters because it will make games and gaming better overall, more diverse, and more innovative. Making gaming better is not just good for women and girls; it's good for people of all genders."10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?
She hopes that the series will be able to cause debates over stories of how women were represented in video games in the 80's and onward and how there is a tide changing the way people and developers make characters. With recent game Mario Odyssey featuring Peach needing saving and then her being saved but not going for the man who saved her instead leaves Mario to go on her own adventure shows how the community is chaning and viewing women in new ways.
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