Videogames: Introduction - Women in videogames

 Part 1: Medium article - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?

1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames?

It’s no secret that women are typically either objectified or “damsels in distress” in many major video games, like the iconic Lara Craft to Princess Peach in the Mario franchise. According to a post by the Gamecult Blog, Princess Peach appears in “14 games of the core Super Mario Brothers platformer games and she’s kidnapped in 13 of them”.

2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?

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.

3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?

In the past few years there has been a trend I feel will continue. A quick search on articles about women in video games turns up headlines like, “Why 2013 is the Best Year for Women in Video Games”. 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. These games were all released within the past 5 years. These games each have characters who are role models for real women, because they are 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 feel like in today's industry, audience today are more understanding with different roles as the game developers spends a lot of time and work on the character design so they don't offend anyone. But over the years we can see the over sexuality of video game characters shown to reject the female audience as they are misrepresented.

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.

Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis

Title of video: 

The Lady Sidekick - Tropes vs. Women in Video Games

100 word summary: 

This episode examines how female sidekicks and companions in games are often designed to function as glorified gatekeepers, helpless burdens, and ego boosters, a pattern that works to  reinforce oppressive notions about women as the ones in need of protection and men as the ones in control, who take action and do the protecting. It also feature some games with relationships that subvert traditional power fantasy mechanics, putting players on something  closer to equal footing with their AI companions as they offer examples of what real communication, compromise, and mutual support in games might look like.

Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview

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?

3) Why do stories matter?

4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?

5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?

6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?

7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?

8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?

9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?

10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?