Saturday, July 28, 2012

Women and Videogames


Based on the gamers categories identified by Royse et al, I would be considered a non-user; and like many non-users, my responsibilities as a full–time mom, full-time teacher, and as a graduate student take priority. However, this doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t engage in gaming if I ever manage to have more spare time. If I had more time, I would probably select to play games with science fiction themes; this is the reason why I looked into the game “Resident Evil 6” for guidance to write this blog. My comments are entirely based on the game’s two-minute trailer –as I have never played the game before— and some comparisons to the Resident Evil movies I’ve seen. To my surprise, the game didn’t have a female protagonist like the movie. Could this mean that the game developers designed this one for male audiences? It seems that way, but even though there is no female protagonist, there are some female characters in the game that look a little appealing. One female scientist appears to have some control of the action, and the antagonist is a strong female character, but she does have the characteristics of the typical muscular, big breast, tough lady in video games.

In war-like games such as “Game of Throne” or “Call of Duty, BlackOps2” female characters are almost nonexistent. Yet, many women seem to enjoy this type of games because they are able to construct and build upon identities completely different from the ones they have in real life, as stated by Royse et al.  Interestingly, one of the designers of “Call of Duty, BlackOps2” recently stated in an interview that the reason why both men and women were fascinated by videogames was due to the fact that they are able to change the faith of the characters, as opposed to only observing the development of a predestined end in a movie or a book.

Nora

2 comments:

  1. "one of the designers of “Call of Duty, BlackOps2” recently stated in an interview that the reason why both men and women were fascinated by videogames was due to the fact that they are able to change the faith of the characters, as opposed to only observing the development of a predestined end in a movie or a book. "

    One aspect of games is that we can adopt a different persona than our real selves. What's more, we can control this fantasy world in a way that operates at times much easier and dimplier than real life. We are empowered to take control via these games.

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  2. I think there can be some power in playing as someone vastly different than yourself. For some women, playing as a male character might allow a sense of strength and power.

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