A Guy's Opinion on Female Characters in Video Games

So I was talking to my boyfriend, Jason, who is an avid videogamer, about my media class. I told him about our project and how we wanted to research gender differences in videogaming. An interesting aspect of that was brought up recently in posts previous to this was how female characters were portrayed in video games. I decided why not ask a guy's perspective on the sexualization of female characters. I then asked him what he thought about it and what it did for him while he was playing. He agreed that the female characters are sexualized on purpose to appeal to guys who are playing the videogames. There aren't that many positive images of female characters because naughty looking female characters are more interesting. Exaggerated body shapes are fantasized by guys and seeing that on the tv screen makes the videogaming experience worthwhile. It's something to look at while you're playing. He also said that people need to keep in mind that the target audience of majority of videogaming are for guys ages 13-26. My boyfriend says he is more indifferent towards seeing a sexualized female character because it does nothing for him. It is just a virtual world. Off the top of his head, he can only name 1 positively portrayed female character: Jade (Beyond Good & Evil). He says that she is portrayed positively because she has substance. She is a journalist, and isn't scantily clad. She is part of a game story where it isn't violent and she is aiming to help the unfortunate like an orphanage while trying to expose the corrupt side of the government. Whilst, there are many other negatively portrayed, sexualized female characters in games such as Blood Rayne. Here, you can see how disporportionate her body is. I feel like there is no need to exaggerate her chest size. Overall, Jason is interested in all genres of games (adventures, arcade, action) most of which are male lead characters. They don't feature any overly exaggerated females. However, if they were to be featured, Jason says that he'd be indifferent towards them.

The 50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Games

Here's a few of the top female characters..a list compiled by a male video gamer, Rob Wright. He claims, "A quick note about this list: it's for the greatest female characters, which means it's not a list of the "hottest video game chicks" or "top video game vixens." Sure, looks count. But these female characters have to make an impact beyond their appearance. To measure greatness, I looked at how each character made a significant impression on the game play or narrative, whether they are central characters, playable characters or supporting characters. How would the game have turned out if the character had been eliminated? Was the character distinguished as being a "first" such as Princess Daphne in Dragon's Lair? How many appearances has a particular character made in games as well as other media, such as movies? Do the character's story, narrative and voice acting elevate the game?" -50 Greatest Females in Video Games.

Whatever he claims, his pros and cons are filled with terms such as "easy on the eyes, nice outfit" or "outfit could use some work" aka less of it perhaps?

Sure, these female characters may be able to kick some butt but why does Lara Croft have to have a size double F chest? This topic has already been brought up on the blog by Brenda but I'd like to reiterate..what do female gamers think about these female characters? Let us know!

Are they really strong? What is your ideal female gaming character? What would she look like? Do? Act? Say? How would she be compelling?

Female Characters in Games

I found this Game Trailers video on Youtube that talk about their top ten women in gaming. In order to make the list “these ladies of the pixel had to be hot and empowering”. I guess you can’t break all stereotypes. As this clip shows, women characters in games has definitely changed from being the damsel in distress (though we still see this) to the independent strong woman who is just as powerful as any man. Yet while this clip portrays strong, independent female characters, most of these characters, with the exception of one or two, are scantily dresses and have voluptuous bodies. What kind of message do you think this gives to younger girls playing these games? They use to be exposed to the stereotype of the weak females but now that that stereotype is somewhat resolved, they are faced with this image of what it means to be an attractive woman. In my opinion, based on the characters I saw in the clip, there should be more characters like #3 on the list: AlyxVance (Half Life Two). “Alex’s charm lies not just in her looks but in her personality and intelligence. Alex is the whole package. She may not end up on the pages of Maxim but she ‘s one of the more empowering representation of women in video games.”

Rockband Interview Part I

I went to a videogaming event on Saturday, April 11th at the Bentley Student Center Pub. I decided to go because it would be good research for our media project. And plus, maybe I could play too. I came ready with a digital camera and a tape recorder, ready to interview any girls that I see playing. However, I half expected it to be an all guys party, with the girls only there to watch their boyfriends playing. When I got there, the pub was already filled with a majority of guys who frequently come to the pub to participate in events held by the Bentley Gaming Organization. I only saw one girl who was interested in playing. After I approached her and asked her permission to interview, we sat down and started talking about gender differences. Caitlin had decided to come to the pub tonight and play Rock Band. Her response was that she had nothing to do that night and plus she loved playing Rock Band. She loves Rock Band because it's a good way to socialize with her friends and it was a fun game to play. Caitlin described herself as an amateur player, someone who doesn't play more than one time a week. She also believed that there is a difference in skill level between female videogamers and male videogamers. Male videogamers according to her, are more skilled and more likely to play videogames because videogames are geared towards guys. I brought up the Xbox controllers and asked her if she ever had difficulty using them. She agreed that she did have frustrations playing Xbox because the two joysticks were hard to swivel and control. Often, she’d stop playing an Xbox game because the controllers were too hard to think about and still focus on the game. An example of this is Halo 3 where she’d have to use one joystick to control walking and another joystick to control the angle of the perspective. Overall, she enjoyed playing games but felt that guys and girls were on different levels. This is due to guys being able to play a lot more.

I was hoping to find a female videogamer who considered herself intermediate to advanced. I wanted to get a variety and get their perspectives on gender differences. However, the interview from Caitlin reaffirmed my theory that there is a gender difference in videogaming. What she said followed what I thought about videogaming as well. See previous post (http://mc399v2.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-favorite-games.html ).

I will upload the audio from the recorded interview on our website later on.

Benefits of Gaming from a Girl's POV

For me, games help put me on an even playing field with boys. I'm 4'9" and when I compete with guys, it is normally intellectually. You won't see me wrestling or lifting or running against any guy..and winning. Games are a medium in which I can sit in front of an interface and despite any physical weakness or lack or height, I can compete with a guy. I may not be any good, but with enough practice and playing I could potentially win.

More on this issue later.

Some Benefits of Gaming

Videogames are a positive influence not only on society but on physiology too. I’m going to start with the physiology. There have been a few scientists that had done research on how videogames affect “visuomotor skills.” They showed that videogames resist distraction better, more sensitive to the information in peripheral vision, and ability to take in information and analyze it quicker. They said that action games are good training material because you don’t focus on just one object; you have to focus on multiple things happening at the same time.

Videogames for society are a positive because they are pieces of art. There are games awards for graphics, story, game play, and other categories. They are becoming more like film. Most of the people that you see on the credits for a game are those that you would see in film; cast, producer, music supervisor, art director, casting director, et cetera. Many games are basically interactive movies that might take in upwards of 20 hours to complete.

Also videogames can help people learn. They can enhance problem solving, like Tetris. People can pick up and play at any level of skill, but it takes time to master. There have been many books that have been written on the subject of videogames and learning. One such book, written by James Paul Lee, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, talks of how we need to tap into videogames to help teach our children. He says, “We don't often think about video games as relevant to education reform, but maybe we should. Game designers don't often think of themselves as learning theorists. Maybe they should. Kids often say it doesn't feel like learning when they're gaming - they're much too focused on playing. If kids were to say that about a science lesson, our country's education problems would be solved.” In a nut shell we need to utilize videogames not only for entertainment, but for education too.

Wikipedia
What Video Games Have to Teach Us....

Public Sphere with Sports Video Games

Sports video games have been both positive and negative within the public sphere. 

With a growing attention to video games amongst younger generations and away from traditional textbook and learning, many educational institutions and software makers are finding ways in way to link interactive video games and education. Here is a link to an abstract form of educating young people ways to reduce the risk of having a concussion in hockey. There are also research theories upon this topic because there is a huge issue with generation Z veering away from education and sucking themselves into education.

However there also have been cons within sports video games with new technology. Now there are video game consoles that also imbed a network of online gamers. Video gamers can now go online and play against other gamers such as Madden 08 competition where a gamer sides with a team and plays head on against another represented team. However this creates more polarization as individuals separate themselves towards one particular identity and instead benefit the better good.