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Girls And Gaming: Do We Still Have a Problem?

shannon — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 03:43:42 +0000

Girl playing videogames in a funny face

  It’s been a tumultuous two years in the world of technology and entertainment when it comes to gender. We’ve heard the outcry of the #MeToo movement, which has hopefully put an end to some of Hollywood’s more unsavory habits when recruiting women for roles. We’ve seen more female led movies being released to market in genres where men usually dominate; what with ‘Wonder Woman’ being a box office sensation, and the ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot proving that women can be every bit as funny as men in similar parts. We even, after fifty five years, have the first ever female ‘Doctor Who’.

  Despite the constant complaining from some quarters of society that this is ‘political correctness gone mad’, women in positions of power are becoming a more common sight on our screens. They’re also slowly becoming better represented in business and politics as well. The Prime Minister of the Great Britain is a woman. The Chancellor of Germany is a woman. The COO of Facebook is a woman. It feels like we’re finally getting somewhere with gender equality in every field other than one. Gaming.

  Origins of Gamergate
  Four years ago, in the aftermath of the 2014 E3 show, something called ‘Gamergate’ happened on the internet. It came hot onto the heels of tensions that had already been running high after it was revealed that the latest title in the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ franchise; one of the most anticipated releases of the year; would have four playable characters. All of them would be male.   

That was too much for some elements of gaming fandom, and especially women themselves. They felt that for far too many years, major games had been released for the enjoyment of men, with men in the leading roles, and with the role of women in the games being either to titillate the player, or require constant rescue by the heroic male lead. They were tokens, or trophies, and unrepresentative of the type of women who played the games. Simply put, a large proportion of video game fans felt that the way women were portrayed in games was sexist.

  There was also a predictable backlash against this viewpoint. There were those who felt that video games have been the way they are for years, and have always been fine, and there was no valid reason to complain. Those who did complain were called ‘social justice warriors’, and castigated on websites like 4chan. Online debates turned ugly. ‘Gamergate’ was not a fun thing to watch.   

Not All Gamers 
 When we discuss under-representation of, or even under-service of women by the gaming industry and those who create games, we should point out that there are notable exceptions. The gaming industry is a wide one, containing many subcategories within it, and one of those subcategories has no such issue with catering for female players. That’s the gambling industry.   Ever alert to changes in the way people engage with gambling, the industry recognized that more and more female players were coming online to gamble, and considered the aesthetic and appeal of their existing games. Realizing that more could be done to make female players comfortable, they took swift and decisive action.

One need only look at RoseSlots.com and the range of online slots available there to see how easily something can be customized to accommodate the female perspective without making dramatic changes to a format. Players browsing the homepage are invited to try their hand at woman-led titles like ‘Legend of Cleopatra’. Ten years ago, online slots were designed and released with male players in mind. The gambling industry realized they were leaving money on the table by ignoring women, and changed their ways. If a gambling website can offer a game with a female lead on the homepage of its website, why can’t ‘Assassin’s Creed’ make one out of its four playable characters female?

No Progress, Or Slow Progress?
  The answer to the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ question is ‘they can’, and in fact, they have. The gambling industry may have beaten them to the punch, but there are some signs that the makers of video games may have started to hear the aggrieved voices of their female players. At E3 this year, the newest version of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ was revealed to have two playable main characters. One would be male, and one would be female.   Other titles seemed ready to make changes, too. ‘The Last Of Us’, a PlayStation-only title which has a particularly devoted title, is really trying to make up for past wrongs. In the original game, the main character Joel leads a stereotypically terrified teenage girl named Ellie to survival. In the sequel, Ellie is now the lead. Ellie is also now all grown up, and has a girlfriend of her own. Switching the gender of the main character and also making her gay is a move that many major TV shows would steer well clear from. To see a video gaming company attempt it is commendable.

On the side of XBox exclusive titles is the ‘Gears of War’ franchise, which is now onto its fifth installment. All four previous games have featured a man in the lead role. This time around, they’ve gone with a woman. Have all the fans of the series liked the move? Absolutely not, but it’s not expected to dampen the game’s commercial prospects when its released in 2019.

On the surface, that might make it sound like a revolution is sweeping through the gaming world. Statistically, that’s not the case just yet. They’re good headlines, but they don’t change the rest of the news. A statistical analysis of the games which were displayed at E3 showed that only eight percent of them feature women in the lead role. By contrast, twenty four percent had a clear male lead. More or less exactly half of the games there allowed players to choose.

Perhaps just having the option to choose is progress; it’s certainly a better position than the one the industry was in as little as four years ago. But when the ratio of clear male leads is three times higher than the ratio of clear female leads, it seems the road of progress is going to be a long one.

The post Girls And Gaming: Do We Still Have a Problem? first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Queering geek culture: Developers to unite to increase LGBT presence in video games

Sidney — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 13:00:38 +0000

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

Instead of waiting for mainstream game companies to truly embrace diversity, independent developers have concluded that if you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself; to that end, Games [4Diversity] Jam 2014, a game development session for those set on making games with feminist and LGBT themes, is open for registration. The event will be held in San Francisco; the exact location has yet to be announced, but the date is set: March 21-23, 2014, which is the weekend after the Game Developers Conference 2014.

As the ticket page explains, “The Games [4Diversity] Jam explores ways to incorporate feminine and LGBT aspects to games in a constructive way: creating games. Hereby the 24-hour development session will show that female, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues can enrich games in an innovative and positive manner. So let’s jam! And diversify the game industry content now!”

Games [4Diversity] Jam 2014 is open to everyone; those interested can register here, or find further information here.

GaymerX convention showcases queer geek culture

Sidney — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 14:00:38 +0000

Anna Anthropy’s game is among the fun you’ll find at the convention.

BY NICOLE SCHULTZ
AfterEllen

GaymerX will be making history next month as the first gaming convention with a focus on queer geek culture. The two day event promises fun, socializing, and gaming related education in the heart of San Francisco. Taking place at the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown, the convention will feature an expo space sponsored by LogoTV, Bosses of Honor (special guests), panels, cosplay, music and parties.

Love and pride in cyberspace

Sidney — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 12:00:12 +0000

Lesbian wedding on IMVU.com

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

The social media site and 3D virtual world IMVU is celebrating Gay Pride Month with a new feature: weddings, which included marriage equality right from the star. The company’s headquarters are in the San Francisco Bay Area, and within the game world Pride is taking center stage; the in-game store is offering limited-edition Pride gear, and an online global “block party” is happening on June 28. This year, players also had a new way to celebrate love; a month before Pride 2013, a new release gave IMVU characters the option of getting married.

As in real life, marriage does include certain benefits; profiles are linked together and a new “life status” displayed on both users’ profile cards. Additionally, unlike the now-defunct Sims Social, married characters have a shared room to decorate. Through the end of the month, IMVU’s Photo Stream, where community members can share and showcase their IMVU photos, will be featuring Pride-themed photos; players can also select a Pride-themed frame for their default pictures.

‘Gaming in Color’: Documentary to feature LGBT, female gamers

Sidney — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:00:10 +0000

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

The latest bid to demonstrate that LGBT gamers do exist is to be a film. Freelance director and cinematographer David Gil is looking to make a documentary, titled “Gaming in Color” about the growing number of gamers who happen to be LGBT, femalr or other minorities underrepresented in video games.

In games without a choice regarding characters, the player’s character is almost inevitably a burly white man with short brown hair, so indistinct as to be virtually identical to the many other burly white men in the games he’s competing against. The documentary will focus on gamers and game developers who are LGBT, female and/or people of color to show the audience different perspectives.

Get in the game: November release madness

candy — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:16:04 +0000

BY DANIELLE RIENDEAU
AfterEllen

In just a few days, a brand new console generation will be born, with the launch of the Wii U, Nintendo’s follow-up to the monster success of the Wii. It’s an exciting time, for Nintendo fans, for industry analysts, and hell, for gamers in general. So why do some of us feel on the fence about the new system?

NHL 13 offers option to play like a girl

candy — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:29:05 +0000

BY LUCY HALLOWELL
AfterEllen

Last year EA Sports put out NHL 12 and when they received a letter from a teenage girl in Buffalo, New York who was frustrated that the game wouldn’t allow her to create a female player the company responded by making downloadable package that would allow players to do just that.

This year the game makers are going a step further. NHL 13, which comes out September 11, will feature two women in the legends section which also features the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Domink Hasek. Haley Wickenheiser and Angela Ruggiero will be the first two women featured in the game.

GaymerCon to be held in San Francisco in 2013

candy — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:44:57 +0000

BY KEVIN BURRA
Huffington Post Gay Voices

On August 1, a group of queer and ally gamers and technology industry professionals, primarily based out of San Francisco and Seattle, launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for GaymerCon, “the first gaming and geek lifestyle convention with a focus on LGBT culture” and reached the campaign goal of $25,000 in less than four days.

GaymerCon, slated to be held August 3 and 4, 2013 in San Francisco, will fill a perceived gap in the nerd convention circuit. Though some conventions, such as PAX, have integrated LGBT-oriented panels and events, Cons, for the most part, have historically been targeted at straight, male consumers ( e3 booth babes, anyone?).