I produced a Jungle quest game called Lana Laxima and I created a dominant signifying image that was essentially feminine although it didn’t fit the reactionary female games cover. This is because the woman in my games cover is fully clothed and not sexualised by wearing tight, revealing clothing. This corresponds to Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987). In my production there is a clear focus on femininity. 

Further to this I have exaggerated the female attributes of my character with large lips, a small nose and a tiny waist. I also included clothing that was army/jungle-like an, including camouflage trousers which have connotations to combat and the army. My character opposes the ideas of the male gaze as the notion of the male gaze is quite distinct, 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 femininity is seen as am much more week, feeble and sexualised gender than masculinity. So in this sense my product is a radical representation of femininity.

Personally, I think that this is a positive representation of femininity as lana Laxima breaks all the stereotypes of females being week and sexualised. however in my game the main protagonist is a strong female woman who fights off the bad people, and is presented in non-sexual clothing. If I were to create this product again I would introduce more characters of all races, and sizes and look to create something that was more reactionary to the gamers. To draw in the attention of male users I would put some of the female characters in small, revealing clothes and some of them i would make more modest. I would also do the same with the male characters in the game, and have a range of body types from muscly to skinny to connect with all audience types. As such, i would be sending out a more positive message about race, gender, and body types to connect with the gamers and help them think about gender representation, with more positive role models for young people to aspire to. As Keith Stuart notes ‘the power of video games [is] a reflective, empowering and emotional influence on the lives of players’. (Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry, Guardian, 18 July 2017)

i produced a pirate adventure game and i created a dominant signifying image that was female in a role usually assosiated with males. This corresponds to Toril Mois analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987). In my creation i made her a pirate which is usually seen as a males job, ignoring video game steryotypes.

further to this is have exaggerated the feminine features without over sexualising my character, through clothing that covers the legs and the back of her. The clothing i included and a large sword signifies- combat, movement, power and hints of fights… This tactic links to laura Maulveys notion of the male gaze in that my main character is not to be objectified and stared at. However, my character will still probably be sexualised due to being a female pirate.

Nevertheless, I believe that it isn’t generally accepted in society that females in video games can be the main character (aggressive, strong, powerful) and females are often seen as the ‘prize’ or the thing that needs saving. so in this sense, my product is reactionary

I think this is a positive representation of a strong female character as i personally believe, females are in the spotlight enough when it comes to video games, it is usually strong men. I do not think it is healthy for any gender to play a video game which includes a female who is powerless for no other reason than her gander. I wouldn’t change much about my character as i believe she doesn’t signify a particular type of person, and wears similar clothing to those of which men would wear in video games. However, I do believe I could’ve made my character less conventionally attractive as it would send a more positive view out to players and have them play the game for the adventure, not for the character. As Keith Stuart notes ‘the power of video games [is] a reflective, empowering and emotional influence on the lives of players’. (Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry, Guardian, 18 July 2017)

I produced a game based around the idea of the T.V show ‘Love Island’ and I created a dominant signifying image that was female as the game’s target audience is teen females. This corresponds to Tori Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987). In my production there is a clear focus on femininity. This can be identified in the purple bikini I put my character in and her womanly curves. My character is the stereotypical woman that has a body type that would be classed as reactionary as it is something you would expect the main character in a game like this to look like.

Further to this I have exaggerated the womanly attributes of my character with expanded her hips, breasts, and, although you can not see this on the front cover, her butt. I decreased the size of her waist to give her curves, her shoulders, so they weren’t as masculine and also the sizes of her wrists and ankles to make her seem more dainty. In some ways this inverts Laura Mulvey’s notion of the male gaze as my main character is there to be objectified and looked at. This could be in the way that she is being sexualised by men but also envied by women in the sense that some will feel jealous of her ‘perfect body’. The notion of the male gaze is quite distinct as it relates to the sexualisation of the dominant signifier, which is certainly the case for my character with regards to men. The quote “Women’s desire is subjected to her image as bearer of the bleeding wound” perfectly explains a woman’s view in the way that she feels she is only there for her male partner to look after him.

I believe that in society, masculine males are a lot more respected and accepted than feminine females so I produced a game where instead of the man being the main focus or any visual vocus at all, it is the woman who’s more dominant and she is on the front cover. In this sense my product is a reactionary representation of femininity that challenges the stereotype of a male being the main focus.

However, I don’t think that this is a positive representation of femininity, I personally believe that a female with perfect body that represents a photoshopped body (if it was someone in real life). This kind of representation can be toxic to the public/ga,e players as it is not healthy for females to aspire to such a high expectation.

As such, if I was to create this product again, I would avoid the stereotypical representation of a curvy, young model and try to create a character that was more radical in representation. I would maybe inhabit a range of signifiers that would connote a male character. I could do this by re-sculpting my character in terms of their body type, hair colour and length and their posture. As such, I would display a much more positive and inclusive message about not just masculinity but just people’s identity in general, one that used a positive countertype to present a radical and challenging representation this could help it’s audience to encourage more of an open and accepting society, with more positive and unique role models for young people to aspire to. The quote ”Young, white, straight male” when referring to ‘typical’ games characters and audiences, show that there is a certain type for video game inventors. For a violent game this might be for ”Young, white, straight male”s whereas, the reactionary character and audience for my type of game is teenage, straight females who are interested in relationships and drama-filled gossip.

ANALYSE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGNIFIERS AND SIGNIFIEDS IN THE TWO CSP GAMES COVERS

In this essay I am going to apply a semiotic analysis to both the Tomb Raider and Metroid video games covers. I will argue that the Tomb Raider cover is a creation of the Male Gaze, I feel it doesn’t represent women in a positive way and in fact is extremely sexist. I believe that the Tomb Raider cover attracts the audience’s attention as it displays the example of the male gaze. Semiotics is ‘the study of signs and symbols and their use of interpretation’. Signs are made up of both material forms and mental concepts.

I believe that the Tomb Raider cover attracts the male audience by inhibiting ideas of the male gaze as Lara Croft is dressed in short shorts, a vest and holding weapons. The Male Gaze theory is where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and are represented as objects of male desire. Her bottom half is also facing the back while her top half is turned around to display her butt and also her attractive face to the audience. Her character is highly sexualised which is  reactionary representation of a female being used for players. Stereotypical women are seen as weak and dependant on men to fight for them, for example Feminist Frequency’s idea of the damsel in distress whereby the male character has to save their love who is a woman is a main focus and aim for a lot of video games. However, there is also a radical side to the representation of Lara croft. On the cover of this game Lara Croft is holding guns which sways away from the more reactionary side of the game and is more of a radical feature. The guns are an indexicalsign that shows that she is adventurous which is stereotypically a trait that men have more so than women, and indicates that the game involves violence whereby the role is reversed and the woman has to save herself through brutality.

I produced an alien warrior game and I created a dominant signifying image that was essentially feminine. This corresponds to Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987). Only in my production there is a clear focus on the female gender. This can be identified in the posture that I created for my main character, it is an exaggerated hip-sway, almost sexual pose, which when I tested it on my target audience they recognised as “a typical female pose!”.

Diversity in video games:
DIVERSITY MATTERS

‘Playstation recently sponsored Pride London, providing a joyous, hugely colourful presence in the parade’ – This displays how playstation is supporting LGBTQ+ events and supporters, not to try get into another selling group, but actually to support the companies.
‘For every forward step however, there is often a reminder of how far is left to travel‘ – This shows how that no matter how much effort or help that a company can put in, there is always more to go, or more to do before people are happy.

Ethnicity in video games:
LEVELING UP

‘Sony’s most recent masterpiece showcases people from all walks of life in a way that seems natural and refreshing‘ – This is a quote displaying how newer games are getting better, the quote is supporting “The Last Of Us Part 2”

‘Not only did Parvati show some great representation for Southeast Asians, she also represented the LGBTQIA+ community amazingly.’ – This supports the game “The outer Worlds” and how they well supported both a different ethnicity and the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Oversexualisation in films:
Laura Mulvey

‘Woman as image, man as bearer of the look’ – This displays Mulveys idea on how woman are made to be in films.

‘Woman displayed as a sexual-object is the erotic spectacle’ – displays how woman are treated unfairly within films.

Male unfairness and superiority in society:
Feminist Frequency

“Woman are unfairly put in the Damsel in Distress role” – displays that woman are unfairly treated in video games and are used as a plot point instead of playable characters.

“Simply made the main character into a plot point instead of giving her the original game she was the main character in.” – following the story of Dinosaur planet that follows a female main character, the gamer was cancelled and the main female character was used as a plot point in star fox adventures.

Leveling up article –

“Most games feature white protagonists”

“Asain people are heavily portrayed in fighting games”

Why diversity matters –

“As a girl growing up playing games I was always like, why do I have to play games as a boy?”

“We’re bringing that ‘it looks like me’ moment to more people”

Laura Mulvey

“In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness”.

“In herself the woman has not the slightest importance”

Feminist frequency –

“The Damsel in Distress predates the invention of video games by several thousand years”

“The gruesome death of women for shock value is especially prevalent in modern gaming”