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ESSAY PREP

I produced an open world multiplayer PVP game in which I attempted to use females on the cover which I warped to fit stereotypical body standards to try and target a specific audience using specific stereotypes. This corresponds to Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation seeing as the model is female, has feminine features and is a feminist stereotype. The main reason I chose to present these radical representations of women is to copy how “The industry traditionally projects to an image that is young, white, straight and male”, a point which is made in The Guardians article on Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry.

My character also falls in line with the typical representation of the male gaze, which refers to the sexualized interpretation of the gaze in a way that sexualizes/objectifies women and empowers men. In terms of the male gaze, women are often positioned as the object of a generally straight male desire- which is exactly what John Berger mentions in his book Ways of Seeing.

representation – diversity quotes

Levelling up article: LEVELING UP REPRESENTATION: DEPICTIONS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN VIDEO GAMES

  • Most game companies create games that do not involve diverse characters, this is an issue because it creates an un-comfortability for these players who are a massive amount of the market’s players. “With the high percentage of teens of colour playing games, representation is incredibly important but has — at least historically — been lacking.”
  • The “most-active gameplaying demographic is African American teenagers”
  • “Despite many video game companies being based in East Asia, most games feature white protagonists.”

 why diversity matters article:

  •  “PlayStation recently sponsored Pride London” (PlayStation is starting to show a support for the LGBTQIA+ community)
  • “The industry traditionally projects an image that is young, white, straight and male, but there is growing understanding” (This shows that there is beginning to be a greater diversity in video games for different ethnic groups, beliefs and sexuality)

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (The male gaze):

  • “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female”
  • “Women displayed as sexual object is the leit-motiff of erotic spectacle: from pin-ups to strip-tease from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire”

Feminist Frequency Site:

  • “The sexualization of female characters is about designing them, dressing them or framing them in ways that are specifically intended to be sexually appealing to presumed male viewers or players.”
  • “conjunction with other aspects of their design, to make them exude sexuality for the entertainment of the presumed straight male player.”

REPRESENTATION – KEY DEFINITIONS

  1. Male gaze – The objectification of woman for the pleasing of a male eye.
  2. Voyeurism – Watching and gaining interest by watching undressed, naked individuals.
  3. Patriarchy – A male dominated society.
  4. Positive and negative stereotypes – A group of people stick by an idea to receive positive or negative feedback.
  5. Counter-types – An opposite view to a stereotype.
  6. Misrepresentation – People giving misleading or wrong information to put off other people or teams.
  7. Selective representation – Only showing specific bits of events and media.
  8. Dominant ideology – This is the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs and culture of the dominant/ruling society.
  9. Constructed reality – Advertisement that views media as reality.
  10. Hegemony – The leadership or dominance by a state or social group.
  11. Audience positioning – Explaining the idea behind the text to the audience.
  1. Fluidity of identity – To be able to change how you see yourself and the world around you.
  2. Constructed identity – Your identity which is formed by you and others opinions of you.
  3. Negotiated identity – Having a constructed discussion on other peoples identity.
  4. Collective identity – A common, shared identity .

Essay prep

I produced a game based off the maze runner series and I created a female character as the dominant signifier as it is not stereotypical for a female character to be in such a game and be seen in a strong and independent matter.

Further to this I have exaggerated the feminine attributes of my character with her slightly shorter and thinner build. I also included clothing which completely covers her as a way of skipping the stereotypical idea that women in video games have to wear revealing clothes. In the words of Laura Mulvey, “displayed for the gaze and enjoyment of men” this is how in the video games industry many female characters are made to look at. however my character does not fit the male gaze as she is completely covered.

however in society it is woman for women to be used as a reason for the main character to progress in the game, but the female is the main character inh my game. So in this sense my product is a radical representation of females in video games.

however I believe that this is a positive representation of femininity as the dominant signifier outlines a more realistic idea of females and is not oversexualising them in any way. as such this is showing a more positive outline of femininity and gender representation. the character also gives a more realistic role model to look up to as it is a more ‘normal’ image of a female character who hasn’t been oversexualised or victimised.

essay prep (not finished)

For my video game cover that I have created is avoids the stereotypes of women in video games. The game is aimed for teenagers who are 16+ because of mild fantasy violence, mild language and suggestive themes. In the game a young female named Alice was captured by a gang of criminals but she finds away to escape. The game is based about surviving in the wilderness. From exploring temples to diving into to the deepest seas to fairies helping you through the enchanted forests. The character wears something a bit revealing but isn’t sexualised like most games. My idea of the game was to do something radical where the female isn’t the damsel in distress in this game and holding weapons that mostly male characters are seen holding in video games because they are know to be stereotypically strong.

The reason why I chose to do a female character instead of a male character is because most females in media are represented sexually to give satisfaction to the heterosexual male player. Most games enlarge the females breasts and butt and position them in an awkward angle, wearing tight or short clothing, my game I didn’t enlarge the breasts or butt to sexualise the character.

I think this is a positive game representation because my character is a strong independent female character which I haven’t over sexualized her. The female representation in my game game perfectly fits in with feminine frequency and Toril Mois analysis between female, feminine and feminist categories.

key terms around representation

MALE GAZE – The male gaze is depicting women and the world, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer.

VOYEURISM – The practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.

PATRIACHY – a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.

POSITIVE STEREOTYPE –  encourages a certain attitude on how we see things and how things are accepted

NEGATIVE STEREOTYPE –  encourages a certain attitude on how we see things and how things are not accepted.

COUNTER – TYPES – a representation that highlights the positive features of a person or group.

MISREPRESENTATION – False claims or ideas about how people are represented. This can give the wrong idea about someone.

SELECTIVE REPRESENTATION – When groups or people are selected to important positions and represent the majority.

DOMINATNT IDEOLOGY –  values and beliefs in a group or social majority.

CONSTRUCTED REALITY – the way we present ourselves to other people is shaped partly by our interactions with others, as well as by our life experiences.

HEGEMONY – Leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.

AUDEIENCE POSTIONING – Audience positioning refers to the techniques used by the creator of a text to try to get the audience to understand the ideology of the text.

NEGORIATED IDENTITY –  refers to the processes through which perceivers come to agreements regarding the identities that targets are to assume in the interaction.

COLLECITVE IDENTITY – refers to all the affective aspects deriving from belonging to certain groups with which adolescents identify themselves and which place them within certain social categories such as ethnicity, nationality, or gender.

FLUIDITY OF IDENTITY – Having a fluid identity means having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions.

CONSTRUCTED IDENTITY – individuals’ sense of belonging to a group.

key definitions – representation

  1. Male gaze – The male gaze is an objectification of and towards women by men.
  2. Voyeurism – An interest in observing people while they are engaging in sexual activities such as getting undressed or naked.
  3. Patriarchy – A society in which men are in charge and women are excluded from the power.
  4. Positive and negative stereotypes – When a group of people are widely fixed to a particular idea of a person or thing and receive negative or positive feedback from said stereotype.
  5. Counter-types – An opposite view to a stereotype.
  6. Misrepresentation – Giving misleading information and/or facts made by a party to affect others.
  7. Selective representation – Only showing parts of some events or conflicts, usually for ones benefit.
  8. Dominant ideology – This is the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs and culture of the dominant/ruling society (the majority).
  9. Constructed reality -A way of advertising that allows media to be seen as a reality, a false reality.
  10. Hegemony – The leadership or dominance by a state or social group.
  11. Audience positioning – The techniques used to apply the understanding of the ideology of the text to the audience.
  1. Fluidity of identity – The ability to change how to see/view the world, yourself and actions.
  2. Constructed identity – The development of ideas and beliefs for ones self, a manufactured perception.
  3. Negotiated identity – Agreements, discussion and a negotiation of a persons identity with another persons.
  4. Collective identity – The idea of an identification which is shared between groups and individuals.

essay prep

My game cover has a female in the front cover and follows an idea of a mighty non-sexualised character. I produced a battlefield warfare game where I created a dominant signifying image that was essentially feminine although it didn’t follow idealistic and reactionary view of women not being empowered or being a soldier in war, in this game cover a female is shown to a be leader and is appropriately empowered. This corresponds to Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987)This can be identified in the posture that I created for my main character, it is a unorthodox, almost silly pose, which when I tested it on my target audience they recognized as “a different and intriguing pose!”. Moreover this quote reinforces my view on it being used to tackle common visionary views and bring forth new ideas and a game cover that is unique. As well as bringing different perceptions of women in video games and challenging our generations male gaze, objectification and overall derogatory views and use of women in this market and others…

Further to this, I have exaggerated the dystopian attributes of my character with an armored helmet, legs and torso with tough leather to emphasize the dystopian setting. I also included clothing that was war-like and confrontational, including a large satchel – signifying combat, aggression, conflict etc – and once again, a war-like as well as an almost knight-like helmet, once more showing the dystopian ideas I am trying to portray. This character is shown to be brave and can effectively use her surroundings. In some ways this inverts Laura Mulvey’s notion of the male gaze in that my main character has no one to be objectified and looked at. However, the notion of the male gaze is quite distinct as it relates to the sexualisation of the dominant signifier, which is not the case for my character. Nevertheless, I believe that it is generally accepted in society that masculinity is seen as much more aggressive, confrontational and violent than femininity. So in this sense my product is a reactionary representation of femininity in an almost typical masculine way. To explain this, my female character shows a stereotypical masculine type notion in most video games, meaning the use of a female in a non-sexualised way, is a strong tool used to tackle these routine and repeated negative stereotypes and instead illustrates counter-types where the female is not misrepresented as a weak character incapable of a leading story line and is instead a strong and adept leader worthy of being the main character. In conclusion my character is not a typical character with toxic masculinity and shows and leads males to a more healthy view on society.

representation – key terms

Male gaze – refers to the way in which women are typically presented in media often through the eyes of the straight male.

Voyeurism – specifies a conduct of someone who is engrossed in prying on the personal affairs and lifestyles of other individuals.

Patriarchy – male dominated society.

Positive stereotypes – subjectively favourable belief held about a social group.

Negative stereotypes – subjectively unfavourable belief held about a social group.

Counter-types – a representation that highlights the positive features of a person or group.

Misrepresentation – to represent something incorrectly or improperly often due to a sense of prejudice.

Selective representation – to only show/represent part of an event, ideology, topic, individual where the representation is often chosen based on importance, proximity to home and viewer preference.

Dominant ideology – values, beliefs and morals shared by the social majority, which frames how most of the population act.

Constructed reality – selection of events or issues to be covered and also the the decision making of how they are defined and interpreted – when media reality begins to impose itself onto real life.

Hegemony – the dominance of certain aspects of life and thought by the penetration of a dominant culture and its values into social life – a crucial shaper of culture, values and society.

Audience positioning – relationships between the audience and the text, how an audience receives, reads and responds to a text.

Fluidity of identity – an identity that has the potential to be changed and shaped frequently in many directions.

This is often due to different representations of men and women in media and as a result people find themselves adapting and changing their identity’s in order to reciprocate said representations they are exposed to.

Constructed identity – an identity that has been built upon experiences, relationships and connections. A persons identity will differ depending on:

  • where they’ve been brought up
  • how they have been brought up
  • who they have been brought up with
  • their financial state and/or social class
  • a persons faith
  • life experience

The list if different influences is endless and each factor can also be affected by one another.

Negotiated identity – the process of which people reach an agreement of their identity and well as their relationships with other people’s identities – once the agreement is established, people are expected to remain faithful to their identity.

This establishes what people can expect from one another and therefore reinforces the inter-relations that holds relationships together.

Collective identity – cognitive and affective attained from belonging to certain groups (ethnic, gender, class, sexual orientation ect…) creating a sense of belonging to that group for the individual.

It seems that if someone begins to reciprocate certain practices of a group, such as they way they dress, their mannerisms etc, they will become part of that persons own individual identity and will develop a sense of belonging within that group. This can sometimes take over other aspects of a persons individual identity.