The ‘paradox’ of women in the games industry and what this means for the future of gaming
BA(HONS) COMPUTER GAMES DESIGN
Jasmine Moore
Word Count without Quotations: 9,193
Word Count with Quotations: 9,999
Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………. Page 3
Chapter 1: Do women play games?................................................... Page 7
Chapter 2: Women as developers………………………………….. Page 20
Chapter 3: Diverse development: a case study of Journey………... Page 31
Conclusion………………………………………………………….... Page 38
References……………………………………………………………. Page 41
Bibliography…………………………………………………………. Page 48
Introduction
With the rapid growth of the gaming industry in the past few decades, the number of women being adopted into the gaming community has risen to such an extent as to almost equal that of male gamers. Women are purchasing and consuming more games than ever before, and with ingenious marketing strategies that inveigle them to participate in the current market and luring those who do not consider themselves ‘gamers’ into the spectrum, its not difficult to see why.
The aim of this dissertation is to closely examine the current standing of women in the games industry, a media that is primarily ruled by male hegemony, to discern the relationship between the female gaming community and the modest numbers of female game developers. Considering girls in relation to play is important, so that this may then translate to gender and roles within the games industry, only then can this dissertation look at the influence this has on future pursuits and the reflection of women within the industry. This paper will take into account the way gender has evolved within the games industry over the past few decades and with these at the forefront of the discussion, attention will be drawn to the effect gender inclusive play has on the gaming industry as a whole. By formulating an understanding of the newer and ever-growing female demographic, this paper will build a bridge between the player and developer and their perspectives over game play and encourage awareness of women as a relevant consumer base that the industry should be taking note of.
The paper is intended to steer away from the feminist debate surrounding the female gaming paradox, but will draw from the facts within these over zealous arguments pushed forward. It will look at the works of Laura Mulvey (1975) from a feminist film theory point of view and also the implications of gender within techno-culture, as inspired by Sadie Plant (1998) and how this reflects on the modern game industry and its potential.
The first chapter of this dissertation will cover the female gamer demographic and discuss why it is on the increase and how it can be maintained. This chapter will cover what it means to relate to a female gamer in the twenty-first-century, finding reverence in the attempts to create gender equity amongst players. This will be used as the foundation to deconstruct what is essentially a male playing-field and argue why the industry is still stumped by the more prominent introduction of a newer audience that they must accommodate or fear to lose.
Women have been consumers of video games for far longer than they have been developers of them. Chapter two will detail the female development scene within the game industry and why there is a shortage of women in game development, in comparison to the growing numbers within the gaming division. It will discuss the female developer populace in comparison to the Genderquake of the 90s (Plant, 1998) and why the games industry needs to be made into a more accessible career for potential female developers to help the games industry evolve in the future.
The final chapter will look into the types of game development in which women are already involved. More specifically, it will give a detailed case study of the independently developed Journey (Thatgamecompany, 2012), which is the result of a collaboration between a diverse mix of people. It will draw on points made in the previous chapters to compare to this game and how new thinking will help in the progressive future of the game industry.
While the current industry seems to be adequately attracting female gamers, the predicament modern designers now face is, how to define play for women and girls, through activities, dispositions, aspirations and accomplishments, when previously these have been defined under the terms of what they mean for boys and men at the fundamental base of most videogames (Castell and Jenson, 2007, p.770). They will need to provide them with acceptable material to keep this demographic interested in gaming. This means that games will need to comply with the prerequisites of feminine norms, whilst also fashioning new design practices to incorporate these requisites into the prevailing male gaming genres. Only then will design be an agent for change.
Gender in video games is a very fragile matter, and more delicate still are the reasons why games evolved as a male-dominated media. It is very easy to overstep the shrouded reasons behind the lack of women in games into a feminist debate, though this paper will touch on, but not directly discuss the social implications of this.
To understand what it means for women to become affiliated with the games industry, the age-old stereotypes of what define a woman and man must first be discarded. Women are no longer stay-at-home mothers whose sole purpose is to tend to the needs of the family, by the epitome of sensitivity and gentleness. Likewise, men are no longer the exclusive breadwinner in the home stead and do not always have the traits traditionally ascribed to them, such as strength or bravery. With this in mind, attempting to identify with gender types in this way ‘navigates a dangerous border zone between personal, specific, lived experience, and generalization’ (Flanagan, 2005, p.2) This in turn causes us to question whether so called ‘pink’ games are specifically designed for women or for the stereotype of women. Attempting to reach out to women and men is no longer a case of the differentiation between masculinity and femininity and without being able to define what a specific gender entails developers must find ways to adhere to their needs effectively.
Chapter 1 – Do women play games?
In this chapter, a discussion of women as gamers and consumers of games will take place. It will present their position as game consumers and consider affects on the industry as a whole. The chapter will be taking into account the statistics that suggest that the genders of players have all but balanced out and the reasons for this staggering increase in the past decade. Taking a look at what the market currently offers to women in terms of game design, genre and technology based products will indicate how contemporary gaming is attracting women into a commercial area that is still rife with masculine connotations. Then by doing this, it will also bring to light what this sector lacks in relation to female needs and interests.
Women have always been a part of the gaming community, though previously only as a minority. This has been a prime subject of discussion for numerous years, though the reason ‘why’ has always remained a constant. The mainstream games industry is a male dominated world, with games made by men for men; this is indisputable. It is also suggested that ‘it is not ‘socially rewarding for females’ to identify themselves as gamers because gaming is considered a male dominated area’ (Griffiths, 1997; cited in Heeter, 2004 p. 235). Further researchers suggest that there are ‘psychological barriers’ that defer women from arcade type locations, when they would much prefer to be able to play in their own ‘private space’ (Bryce and Rutter, 2003; cited in Heeter, 2004, p.3). The popular violent and competitive game genres are not typically very appealing to them, and the way they have been commonly represented as busty bawds with little personality or redeeming qualities often disparages women from wanting to associate with gaming.
Recently, there has been a consistent and ever-growing interest in gaming amongst women. Reasons for this include the evolution of computers and the widespread adoption of them in everyday life, contemporary design decisions and an influx in the social acceptance of gaming. Games are integrating themselves into all aspects of life, which is more convenient for the busy lifestyles of women who originally had little interest in gaming. They customarily enjoy objects that are flexible around their activities and carry out numerous functions, (Cassell and Jenkins, 1998) and ‘there is evidence that women are gaming more frequently but for shorter periods of time than men and that they play other genres’ (Vermeulen et al, 2011, p.2). Knowing this, it is not a big leap to assume that phone and console games and casual internet games would have influenced the female clientele numbers to flourish. Technology isn’t the only reason for the rise in women gamers though. Gaming companies have attempted to reach out to the new demographic by creating ‘girl games’ or ‘pink’ software as it is sometimes referred to as. Design decisions have also had a radical affect on the portrayal of females in games in recent years, allowing more realistic female imitation, which would surely appease those consumers that had shied away from games with male idealisations instead of women as hypersexualised characters. To further this, the paper will recount Laura Mulvey’s notion of the ‘male gaze’ in reflection of the similar medium of cinema.
According to the game player data collected by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association, 2011) in 2011, 42% of gamers are female; a 2% increase from the year before. This is quite an even gender split; it suggests that modern games are reaching out to a female demographic. These are quite reassuring statistics as it means that the current market is reaching a female audience and they are reaching them on a grander scale than ever before. This shows that the female gamer is no longer a minority, but is being noticed as a relevant and necessary audience.
A levelling-out of the gamer genders is noticeable, but why has there been this sudden rise in female gamers? Gaming is no longer just a mere leisure activity, but has now become infused in all of the everyday aspects of our lives that are taken for granted. As mentioned before, the recent boom in technology over the past decade has laid the path open for new ways to play and interact with video games. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, offer members the chance to use built in applications to play free games. They entice non-gamers to commit to the games by putting time-wait periods between actions made, whilst socialising at the same time. Vermeulen, observed that women ‘seem to prefer abstract, short and easy-to-master games such as casual Tetris’ (Vermeulen et al, 2011, p.2) whilst men tend to prefer ‘‘core’ genres’ that consume a lot of time (Kerr, 2003; cited in Vermeulen et al, 2011, pp. 1-20).
Furthermore, this is now an age where nearly everyone has a mobile phone, ‘Over a quarter of adults (27 per cent) and almost half of teenagers (47 per cent) now own a smartphone’, according to Ofcom’s latest Communications Market Report (Ofcom, 2011). Smartphones incorporate numerous advanced technologies including, but not limited to, voice input and facial recognition, with touch sensitive screens and accelerometer sensors. Studies by Cassell and Jenkins show that many girls Preferring applications that are incorporated into ‘house-hold objects that improve on existing technologies… with functions for use’ as opposed to the ‘features’ that boys prefer in design(Cassell and Jenkins, 1998, p.75).
According to statistics accumulated in Q2 2011 by Nielson Research, on Apps (applications) used, 64% of smartphone consumers played game apps in the past 30 days; more than any other App. As well as this, 93% of App downloaders were willing to pay for games, more than any other App type. The average amount of hours per month spent on Mobile Games was 7.8, yet Android users exceed this by 1.5hours and Apple iPhone users double this average usage (Nielsen, 2011).The reason for this is that users are not tethered to televisions or arcades to play, they are able to choose the location, when they play and they choose the amount of time they play for. Technology is advancing and so is its user-base. Similarly to the smartphones, games consoles in the home have become incredibly popular, almost 72% of homes in America have at least one game play device that they play video games on. Consoles in family rooms offer the chance to encourage social gaming, where friends and family can play co-operatively and competitively. As a communal activity, playing video games becomes ‘socially rewarding’ and breaks down the ‘psychological barriers’ that women have against gaming (Griffiths, 1997; cited in Heeter, 2004 p.235).
The recent introduction of the seventh generation consoles give players a whole new gaming experience, these include the Wii (Nintendo, 2006) and more recently the Kinect for Xbox 360 (Microsoft, 2010). These are the onset for a growing trend of ‘gadget gaming’, which is especially popular with female gamers (Ibrahim, 2011). Nintendo, have made an exemplary attempt to target a wider audience with their Wii console through a radical marketing scheme, which contained adverts of men, women and children from all ethnicities and walks of life enjoying their gaming system. Needless to say that such a thorough marketing strategy as this has paid off, with over ‘70.93 million units sold’ (Thorsen, 2010) since it was first released onto the market. The name Wii, is the phonetic transcription of the word ‘we’, ‘which emphasises this console is for everyone’ (Carless, 2006). ‘It is progressive for girls to be so intimate with new technology. My mum can’t programme the video, but her four-year-old granddaughter does it in seconds’ (Kane, 2004, p.146). A family gaming environment is the perfect place to introduce children to video games at a critical point in a child’s impressionable development years where they can become comfortably acquainted with gaming technologies.
The wireless Wii-mote controller is used as a hands-on approach to interactive gaming, which allows the player the freedom to move around and control their characters with motion controls. It is often used as a substitute for in-game accessories, such as tennis rackets, golf clubs and steering wheels, which you can also buy additional equipment for in the shape of these objects. The Wii Fit game along with the Balance Board accessory are very popular among women gamers, encouraging weight loss by getting the players off the couch and onto their feet; it is targeted at the mothers and the older generation of women. A draw back with the Wii is that in the push to reach out to ‘everyone’, the games on offer often lack the competitive edge that most gamers look for. Also, with the amount of novelty-games that have been made on the backs of its mascot characters, the Wii is often not taken seriously within the gaming community.
The Kinect is a piece of equipment designed for the Xbox 360. It uses gesture recognition software to read your movements. It means the game will recreate actions made by players, within reason, without the need for a controller. As the market slogan says, ‘you are the controller’. The Kinect draws on the popular attributes of the Wii and targets a family audience much in the same way, giving a huge boost in prospective players, for a console that is already leading with a huge ‘serious gamer’ market. It is a step towards a future of the prospective world of virtual reality in gaming without a controller. The prospect of using body movement to control your actions is exciting and has attracted a lot of interest from women gamers as they feel it is an empowering technology that fits into their social and environmental surroundings. They can make use of this new found tool to be expressive with their play (Cassell and Jenkins, 1998, p.77); an example of this is within dancing games. Currently the most popular dancing games the Kinect has to offer are Zumba fitness, Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 3. These games offer a variety of ways to interact with the console and make considerate use of the gesture recognition. Unfortunately, the Kinect offers very little towards the serious gaming market, providing very few of the more popular genres and ‘being the controller’ can get physically tiring quickly.
In relation to technology, one of the fastest growing and most efficient communication options of this century is via the internet. The female creative director for game developer Oberon Media/I-play, Cara Ely, mentions ‘women are particularly interested in online game play,’ (Ely, 2010). Last years statistics from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) prove this, showing that women accounted for 42% of the online players, whilst 58% of online game players were male (ESA, 2010). This mirrors the current gaming demographic exactly and therefore gives us a very clear indication that online play is a big factor in the increase of female game use. The internet has become a crucial part of modern networking and communication, offering almost instantaneous visual and audio feedback. Incorporating this into gaming has been revolutionary. Most strategy games, offer some kind of online multiplayer experience option via the internet. This gives players ‘affordance for verbal exchange… explaining and suggesting tactics’ (Atkins and Krzywinska, 2007, p.72). It also makes an allowance for empathetic gameplay, something which a lot of current mainstream games lack. Connectivity on this scale is an impressive feature, opening doors to players in terms of the style of play they are interested in and it could be said to offer a whole new gaming experience.
Online multiplayer provides more realistic competition, compared to the obtuse Artificial Intelligence you fight against in the main campaign missions. This is where the ‘skill’ of the serious gamer is injected. Unfortunately, online multiplayer can be quite unforgiving for players of lower skill level or those with a slow internet connection, the latter being a drawback in the exploitation of digital games. With this in mind, the online play is the perfect place for women to assert their gaming ‘skills’. Girl-gaming groups such as the Frag Dolls are enlisted by companies to advertise gaming to women. The group was started in ‘2004 by an open call for gamer girls with competitive gaming skills… in response to the continuing perpetuation of video games as a male-dominated pursuit’ (Frag Dolls, 2011). Groups such as this allow women to stand out amongst the gaming community and ‘represent’ the minority in a professional capacity. An unfortunate repercussion of creating ‘girls-only’ clubs is that it unwittingly, forces them to stand out from the gaming community. Being in the limelight means that they epitomise the ‘woman gamer’ in the media and they wield a lot of power over the view of women in this area, be it good or bad.
There is a severe lack of a more aggressive publicity which highlights the increase of women in games; as such women are still seen as a minority consumer. Regardless of the statistics referred to above showing us otherwise. Ely proposes that in order to market games to girls the industry needs to ‘debunk the notion that women are disinterested in video games’ (Ely, 2010). In this case, women who enter mainstream gaming, online play and professional tournaments are often idolised and admired or leered over whilst walking on egg shells. When in the limelight, it may feel that these women are responsible for representing women gamers everywhere, and that their actions may be the make or break for pigeonholing whether women can be taken seriously as viable members of the gaming community. Bad publicity for girl gamers would prevent the further integration into the patriarchal gaming culture and inevitably cause further friction.
Regardless of the growing female interest in the game market, the current game genres that reach the mainstream market are as male-oriented now as they were 20 years ago, with Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo: Reach, which are both first-person shooters and Madden NFL 11, an American football game, being the top selling video games of 2010 (ESA 2010). It is important to note that Halo: Reach is the only game of the three that actually allows you to play as a female character. The reason for the reoccurrence of these genres is because they have become a tradition, since the early war strategy games, alongside racing and sports video games. Many of the male commercial games, such as the Grand Theft Auto series portray females at the center of violent acts that many women may find to be demeaning or sexist activities (Dickey, 2006b). This is not to say that women do not enjoy these genre types and their competitive nature, which is apparent from the increase in online female players. Developers should be looking to find new ways to reach out to these players, if not directly, then through introduction of alternative playable female character, new colourful narratives and alternate combat methods within the games as a whole.
Men and women are very different, personality-wise, socially and in experience. Women too enjoy shooting, racing or sport games, yet it is widely recognised that girls are more cooperative than competitive. It is because of this that many developers have resorted to the creation of ‘pink games’, these are gender inclusive games aimed specifically at women. The term ‘pink games’, comes from the way developers use pink-coloured characters, environments and marketing in an attempt to draw female intrigue towards games. It is a ‘movement that has emerged from an unstable alliance between feminist activists and industry leaders’ (Cassell and Jenkins, 1998, p. 4) They are easily recognisable from the feminine themes and traits associated with women, such as empathy, tenderness and sensitivity.
A large number of ‘pink games’, including Diner Dash (Playfirst, 2003), Barbie Fashion Designer (Mattel, 1997) and Nintendogs (Nintendo, 2005) are aimed at younger girls and it is questionable as to whether they are even video games at all, or merely an interactive entertainment media (Dickey, 2006a, p. 788). It could be argued that pink games are used to provide a feeling of female identity within the gaming community. They are mostly puzzle-orientated casual games that require little skill or tutoring. Many women find these types of stereotypes and clichés patronising if they are established gamers, as it is seen as a ‘dumbing down’. It may not be the most appropriate way to attract a female fan-base by reducing games to their most basic state and making them ‘pink’, but Dickey reminds us that advocates for girl games argue that digital 'games designed for girls encourage girls to view technology as a positive tool’ (Dickey, 2006a, p.789) and they are a popular form of entertainment for younger girls, which draws them into the gaming market.
Irrespective of statistics, ‘Pink games’ have evolved as a response to the lack of female gamers, they are a step towards trying to define the female demographic, but have typically followed the route to femininity which does not always include the full scope of women. The rise of games synchronised with the social networking site Facebook could be classed as an evolved state of these Pink games. They fit into the criterion, allowing for empathy, socialisation and cooperation between players or participants in an online space.
Laura Mulvey is a feminist film theorist who gives a psychoanalytical take on film, dictated by the male gaze and influenced by the likes of Sigmund Freud. She refers to the paradox of phallocentrism as the state in which men ‘castrate women in order to provide meaning to the world’ (Mulvey, 1975; cited in Braudy and Cohen, 1999 p. 833). Her theory of the ‘male gaze’ in cinema is that women are portrayed in one of two ways; the voyeuristic manner, in which the woman is considered a harlot, and the idea of fetishism, where women are idealised as young maids. The ‘look’ refers to the visual portrayal of women in film. She conveys in great length the countless examples of women portrayed in films as a blatant erotic symbol, whilst men are considered the ‘watchers’ (Mulvey, 1975). Similarly, games - often coupled with film as a cross sensory media – have been known to deter women because of heightened eroticism and suggestive performance of characters in games. Although this dissertation does not directly relate to the representation of gender on a character level, the representation of women in game world does cross over to the players and affects them on a visceral level.
In 2008, a blog post from the game-based blogging site Kotaku, questioned the way Western developers design ‘beautiful’ female Asian characters and the difference between Eastern and Western ideals of what ‘beautiful’ is (Ashcraft, 2008). The post had been inspired by a picture of Faith, the lead character in the free-running game, Mirror’s Edge. The picture was a doctored version of the original concept art. It depicted a character more skewed to Eastern tastes; enlarged breasts, thinned out figure and rounded out face and eyes. When Farrer, the producer of the game, was presented with the picture he told them that it made him sad to see this ‘real’ character they had developed in order to ‘get away from the typical portrayal of women in games’, had been transformed into the exact thing they had tried to avoid; ‘tits and ass in a steel bikini’ (Farrer, 2008). This situation questions the negative response from male players when female characters are not idealised, as well as the ethnic design decisions made in games. It is possible that modern culture has become accustomed to these gross exaggerations of the female form and that they now come to expect it.
It is possible to make a comparison between the fan treatment of female gaming characters and the reactions towards female gamers online. The website ‘Fat, Ugly or Slutty’ (Fat Ugly or Slutty, 2012) attempts to draw awareness to sexual harassment during online play. It is a place where women can post photographs of messages, voice clips and videos of gender specific attacks on them during play; the majority asserting that the female in question is Fat, Ugly or Slutty. It is this type of hegemony over female players that would clearly make women hesitant towards partaking in online gaming that was mentioned at the beginning of the chapter as being one of the attractive features of modern technology. The reason for this type of behaviour online is often put to question, but one of the most prevalent answers is that it is the result of ‘the online disinhibition effect;’ (Suler, 2004) this is the way that people no longer control their behaviour whilst online and treat others in a manner that would be considered disrespectable in a real life situation. They feel ‘invisible’ online and ‘disassociate’ themselves from their actions, whilst communication can be considered ‘asynchronous… as people don’t interact with each other in real time’. In these online settings there is often a sense of ‘minimisation of status and authority’ as there is little ‘fear of punishment or disapproval’(Suler, 2004, pp. 321-324). With this in mind, it is not difficult to see that this sudden increase of power and status results in vulgar language or why women prefer to stay anonymous online for fear of gender-focussed harassment. Setting clearer guidelines of acceptable online-play conduct and enforcing these rules would provide a safer and more enticing atmosphere for potential players and detract from gendered discrimination.
This chapter has shown two sides to women in gaming. On the one hand, women are expressing keen interest in gaming as it evolves with the times and technology. On the other hand, it is still being restricted by too much critical analysis crowding what is important, which is the game experience.
Gendered design goes both ways, though dancing and fitness games are aimed towards women to attract them to the industry, they are gender-specific (to women) in the same way that many current mainstream games are (to men). Persuading women to become gamers shouldn’t mean that at the same time the male populous is being shunned, allowing developers to settle for making casual-type games for new technology as this seems inappropriate. This means, games that developers need to target all types of personality and not just the so-called ‘pink’ or ‘macho’ varieties. It also requires us to make characters that aren’t the norm either, meaning less damsels in distress, weak personalities and real-life appearances. More diverse games may provide us all with a de-gendered playing field and with this type of environment the singling out of a persons sex will not be an issue. Currently, girls-only clans risk segregating themselves from the gaming community.
If home environments foster and encourage play in the masses, the younger generations of boys and girls may learn to play together and transform gaming into an acceptable female venture. It is important to recognise the potential of gender equity in gaming on the Wii console regardless of it not being the console of the ‘serious gamer’. It is an excellent way to encourage new types of people to engage with games. If masculine genres are being created by men and they cannot provide for the requests of the female gamers, then it is high time that women take a stronger leading role in the development and design of games.
Chapter 2 – Women as developers
The previous chapter looked at how women have finally got their foot in the door of game play. This chapter will take us deeper into how women gamers became a paradox in the first place and why the female gender became a minority. To do this the chapter will look at the development of earlier technologies and the reactions of these past women and juxtapose this with women in the current gaming environment.
This dissertation will not be looking into the character representation or the depiction of male or female characters within games, but the people beyond the game; the players themselves and the character creators. There is always a lot of controversy surrounding gender and video games. It is a very delicate matter that is often either ignored because of a fear of feminist revolt or dismissed along with the stereotype that ‘women do not play games’. Feminism often spawns from the endemic sexism that revolves around modern gaming. This is mostly due to the games industry being essentially organised and influenced by men. Fortunately, this is not a constant, but merely the result of an industry that has developed by patriarchal culture and not necessary as a slight on women or to actively exclude them. As history foretells, women will strive to become a part of the gaming industry, subsequently they will be integrated and no longer viewed upon as the paradox.
When looking outside of the games industry and perusing through the histories of the gender and technology relationship, similarities can be seen between this and the smaller scale relationship between women and gaming. Sadie Plant (1998) discusses the ‘Genderquake’ in the 80 and 90s over Western culture; where gender and sexual conformities were suddenly coming under question and stereotypes of men and women became unstable. This would become the long awaited gender revolution that would result in the changes of relationships, education, understanding and overall lifestyle that was the norm. She writes that no one-thing was the trigger for this sudden upheaval of social and economic conventions, but that gender was at the core of it all. It was a defiance of the social norms with the beginning of a new techno-culture. Increased integration of computers and machinery into the workplace meant a reduced need for physical strengths. It demanded ‘intellect, speed and enhanced communicative skills’ and the evolving types of skills that would be needed to suit a new technological era (Plant, 1998).
It is possible to draw comparison between the Genderquake of the 80s and 90s and the current resolve of the games industry as a whole at the moment. Previously, the games industry may not have been an attractive enterprise for women looking to get into a computer driven work place. Synonymously with pre- technological influx of the 80 and 90s, the early years of the games industry entailed of lots of people crammed into small rooms, glued to computers, working long days and with little funding. In 2002, the Women in Game Development mailing list conducted a study of potential female game recruits for the games industry. The general concurrence was the worry over extended overtime and crunch time that they would need to undertake (Graner-Ray, 2004, p. 155). This shows that as late as a decade after the Genderquake, there were still concerns over work settings of the gaming workplace for women. These were not desirable working conditions and certainly not an organised, intuitive, well networked environment that women are more inclined towards.
Nowadays, the games industry is more established as a fully fledged powerhouse in business and media. It is still a very immature industry in comparison to cinema and other performance agents, though it has yet to reach its prime, and with fast expanding technological advancements it will be forced to grow alongside them. Men would like to maintain their roles within the industry, women want to break into the industry, but what they both have in common is the longing to diversify and expand what is still a very underdeveloped media. It would be easy to say that forcing an equal split between the genders in the workplace would equate to better games, but after looking at other cases of heterogeneity in the work place it is noticeable that allowing a natural movement of gender diversity amongst developers would be wise.
Women are some of the biggest consumers and in modern times they have their own personal incomes and make up 46% of the total game purchasers (ESA, 2010). The question is no longer ‘how can women be attracted to gaming?’, but ‘how can female developers be attracted to the games industry?’. Whilst games companies continue to be lead solely by men there will be no chance of diversifying the types of games on offer to game consumers. As Bryce and Rutter affirm, ‘the gendering of computer gaming is consistent with the reinforcement and reproduction of societal gender roles, and the gendering of particular leisure activities’ (Bryce and Rutter, 2002, p. 244). There is a social conditioning of women not to enjoy or partake in technology and therefore games; play or development.
To consider the social anxieties surrounding women in games, it is important to define gender and look once again at the more one tracked stereotypes. When ‘gender’ is discussed it is imperative to note that this is not just a word exclusively to determine biological sex types, it covers physicality of the body, sexual orientation and social expectations. Gender is made partially of ‘performance’. That is 'socially constructed sexualities' imposed within modern culture. Brian McNair refers to the split in gender representation in relation to increased sexualisation in culture. He points out that ‘characteristics that represent masculinity and femininity, sometimes referred to as ‘performances’,’ and that this pertains to ‘learned, ascribed qualities signified by speech and behaviour patterns, modes of dress, and other markers which are conventional rather than biological' (2002, p. 3). When considering the differences between all of these gender attributes and relating them back to gender in game design, a picture begins to form of the types of subjects that will be influenced as a result of diverse gender input.
Feminism prompts the equalisation of social and economical rights of women to those of men. As a movement it stems from the minoritisation and oppression of the female gender in a culture that was previously ruled by these values. Unfortunately, these are not reliable values to attest the value of gender in the industry as they promote too much conjecture. On the other hand, it is important to consider these different view points to get a more rounded perspective on the matter. In relation to gaming, feminism is discussed in terms of the industry being a very one sided, male oriented world. Encouragement of women within this industry is often undervalued as a contentious liberal ‘attack’ on the industry. Technology should be considered outside of cultural defined gender restrictions, as progressive production deserves a progressive mindset.
In conjunction with female gamers, there is heightened tension over potential sexual harassment with female developers. In recent news a professional gamer from Capcom’s Cross Assault (2012) show, Aris Bakhtanian,s was willingly filmed for a full week on an online live stream sexually harassing another professional gamer, since she was the only female present, Miranda Pakozdi. The camera, which he was operating, focuses on her feet, legs and breasts as he judges each part of her physical appearance in a discriminatory fashion, quipping ‘I wonder how you smell’(Crossassaultharrass, 2012). These videos went on to outrage male and female viewers from all walks of life. What made the situation worse was that this woman was actually a member of his own team of which he was the coach. Sexism aside, this was a blatant disregard of team ethic and comradeship. Miranda Pakozdi has since resigned entirely from the team, forfeiting all of her professional matches because she felt far too uncomfortable remaining.
Later, Bakhtanians justified his behaviour, saying ‘sexual harassment is part of a culture… if you remove that from the fighting game community, it’s not the fighting game community’ (Bakhtanians, 2012; cited in Klepek, 2012). The Cross Assault (2012) show was the first fighting game reality television show of its kind, hoping to attract a wider audience by giving live footage available for viewing across the globe. The unfortunate fact that in the initial stages of the show such an acceptance was shown for the sexual harassment, with neither the other gamers nor Capcom doing anything to defuse it, reflects badly on the games industry as a whole. Currently, it is a painfully true fact that sexual harassment is deeply rooted in the allowance of the misogynistic nature that used to be the foundation of gaming, but it is not true that to take this away would detract from gaming experience. If this was the case, then as the industry ages, it will leave itself no room to develop whilst it continues to hold onto real world stereotypes and shuns minorities to protect the small community it has built for itself.
It is a nice idea to promote gender equity in games, but this instance proves how underdeveloped the games industry and its user base still are. These are common occurrences and whilst games are attracting more and more women, those types of games that encourage online or social interactivity are daunting and consternating a potential and very viable consumer base. It is the responsibility for the games industry, as well as the gaming community to take a stand against intolerance such as this in games. This rejection of women in gaming is very real and this is just one example that was made very public. This is not an isolated case, as shown by the Fat, Ugly or Slutty website (2012) and if women continue to stay out of the limelight, whether from the fear or pressure of being a ‘woman in gaming’, women will continue to be seen as a paradox.
Diversity is important in any industry and especially in interactive media, but as seen previously the games industry has a long way to go. In her blog post, In which I don’t try to write like a man, Margaret Robertson (2011)– the ex-editor of Edge game magazine – talks about how she felt clever because she actively tried to stop herself becoming a ‘target’ in her line of work. Her strategy included not doing the following: wearing dresses or heels, ‘coming to the defence of other women on the receiving end of abuse and threats and dismissals,’ ever referring to sex or talking or discussing being a woman ‘or anything dumb and feminist like that’. She is not a developer, but as a game journalist she is an important member of the game industry. In this article she openly discusses her inclination to ‘self edit,’ in the hopes of not receiving a backlash of gender-oriented abuse. She says that she is ‘actually scared. Actually worried that I’ll terminally undermine my credibility’ (Margaret Robertson, 2011) by doing something that may be deemed overtly ‘feminine’. Here is yet another direct example of the reasoning behind the lack of women in the industry.
Robertson’s article was inspired by another writer and the head of games at Screenpop, Mark Sorrell. It in fact inspired a number of articles across some of the more distinguished gaming media websites such as Kotaku, Reddit and Edge. It was entitled ‘Dear Men, Please Listen. Love Man’ and the reason that it caused such a great response was due to it being a male point of view reflecting from seeing the impact of other mens’ behaviour towards women in the gaming communities. He continues by saying, ‘the more diverse your team, the more diverse your products’ (Sorrell, 2011), arguing that different ideas and slants on genres will equate to better profit after reaching wider audiences.
Sorrell and Robertson both make reference to the fear of attracting any sort of negative attention within the industry; this is a sad fact that needs to be addressed. Sorrell concludes that ‘if the people just aren’t there for you to hire, make damn sure you’re pressuring everywhere you can to ensure that these people do exist in the future’ (Sorrell, 2011). By having an influential male, writer speak out with such understanding is a progressive feat, but one voice does not stand out against the many that shout against it. Without a sense of normalcy of women in games, they will always be viewed as a foreign presence.
This paper has looked at gender and sexism and the reasons behind the lack of women working in the games industry and the belief of the lack of women playing games. It has also considered the types of things that the industry must overcome, to implement the type of diverse game environments that will help it to evolve into something better. One way this can be achieved is for the game industry to become female-friendly to potential applicants, this means making it approachable and breaking down the gender barriers that may put them off. The most visible way to do this is to scrap the old age ‘sexually oriented themes and provocative ‘booth babes’ at the various professional gatherings and conferences’, these will only act as a way to repulse women and says ‘BOYS ONLY’ (Graner-Ray, 2004, p.150).
Another way to attract potential female candidates for work placement is through the education the candidates and training project managers for more efficient integration of new employees. Graner-Ray (2004) suggests looking at university level candidates for a range of new abilities and fresh concepts and opinions, as well as seeking long term employee investments by supporting and working with female organisations to promote video game development as an appropriate career opportunity in later life. Furthermore, ‘advertising for interns in non-traditional areas such as Radio, Television, Film or English departments’ (Graner-Ray, 2004, p.154) will promote a more diverse work space in which interns can get a look into the industry and a ‘first hand look into the possibilities for females in the industry’(Graner-Ray, 2004, p.153). This will benefit all involved as it offers interns work experience whilst the company gets the opportunity to trial run some potential employees before they hire them into the workplace.
When women join the workplace it means that companies will need to accommodate them if they wish to retain them. As suggested before, the biggest concern for women is the ‘crunchtime’ that often occurs in this deadline-driven industry. The best way to deal with this is to educate the current workforce to cut down on extended hours in the workplace. If more efficient project management is taught, ‘this will prevent the scheduling problems for which the game industry is famous’ (Graner-Ray, 2004, p.156). It is essential though that these ‘benefits and policies be maintained… as well as human resources policies’ being implemented and supported. All of these benefits to women joining the industry would likewise affect the men that are a part of the workforce already. The result of this is that the ‘entire employee base is happier, suffers from less burn-out, and is therefore more productive – regardless of their gender’(Graner-Ray, 2004, p.161). If workers are less stressed and comfortable in their place of employment, then they are more likely to make better company assets. The easier it becomes for women to integrate into this industry, the more likely it is to attract a more positive social reputation and the less likely it will be for women in games to be a paradox.
In conclusion, this chapter has shown that through existing sexist behaviour and social acclimatising women have acquired an ‘underground’ status, where they are not recognised as a part of the player or developer populace. Women are still ‘juggling family, education and work’ (Plant, 1998, p.39), but hopefully with better production management and better time scheduling, the games industry will offer a much more attractive work prospective for women in the future. Whilst the gaming industry continues to ignore the issues surrounding gender, it is likely to result in a revolutionary turn over similar to that of the Western Genderquake of the 90s. Through progressive thinking and educating the gaming and working communities these issues can be addressed.
Games are a rapidly changing medium and diversifying the workforce can only have a positive effect on game development, offering new ideas and new ways of thinking. If the industry does not begin to attract women into gaming, then there will be fewer interested in following this enthusiasm through to a career in games development. The fact that sexism and racism are still rife within the gaming community has a negative influence for female gamers and developers alike. By showing that this will not be tolerated in the community and trying to reform these culturally ordained impositions the industry will begin attracting a female workforce. Teaching all generations of potential gamers and workers that this can be an accepting community is something that is vitally needed to evolve the games industry. This can only be achieved by those that are already a part of it and it will start with people coming to an understanding that women in games are no longer a paradox.
Chapter 3 – Diverse development: a case study of Journey
The growing numbers of women in gaming mirror the growth in the workplace from the 1970s onwards; slow but speedily increasing. The fact is, as mentioned before, increasing numbers of women are connecting with games and becoming more active in significant roles. When looking at the commercial structure within the industry, the connection between women and unorthodox games is noticeable, for example, Shannon Copur is an associate producer for Maxis working on more ‘family oriented’ games such as the expansive Sims (2000-2012) titles (Graner-Ray, 2004, p.161). Kim Swift was the lead designer for the innovative Portal (2007) game, which was highly praised for its in-game instructional methods. Amy Hennig is the video game director and script writer who worked on the now prestigious Uncharted (2007) series. It is obvious just from these few examples that women are beginning to make a difference in the industry.
Another influential woman in computer game development is Robin Hunicke. This chapter will delve into the world of the company at which she now works, Thatgamecompany. It deals specifically in diverse gaming. It will focus on a case study of their most recent game release, Journey (2012), and how this game has been created as a result of diverse development with the intention to broaden the horizon of design.
This dissertation has previously discussed mainstream games as a male dominated space within the development community. Currently, there is less opportunity for creative investigative design because certain game genres are seen as prerequisite. With that in mind, it can then be argued that independent companies may offer the opportunity for further exploratory development; the perfect environment for women to incubate their ability for risk taking. Thatgamecompany is a small independent company comprised of just twelve people, but despite this two of the core lead developers are female and all of them are from assorted backgrounds and work experience. Game development for Journey (2012) was led by Hunicke, a female designer and producer. Independent games are often unorthodox and not restricted by mainstream subject matter. They allow for the more casual, artistic style works, as well as the more extreme themed games.
The aim of Thatgamecompany is to make 'abstract, artistic, accessible games' for everybody (Hunicke, 2011b). To see how they achieve this type of game experience it is possible to look at Journey (2012). During its development, Hunicke mentions that ‘collaboration is key… [the] gaming community is hugely influential on the development... it is important to listen to and love your user base so that they can impact the product’ (Hunicke, 2011a). This means, that by closely working with what players need from a gaming experience and looking at 'the full spectrum of games' that were popular in the market, the team was able to conceptualise something new and 'accessible' to both genders and 'present something outside of what is normal' (Hunicke, 2011b).
Journey is a cooperative, exploratory, discovery game. The intention was to take the 'peaceful and uplifting feelings' from their previous games, Flow (2007) and Flower (2009), and 'bring this into an online play space to change the way it felt to play together' (Hunicke, 2011b). The game focuses wholly on aesthetics and the ‘journey’ made is an emotional one that sympathises with the character who is androgynous with unknown origin making it appealing to people from all walks of life. Co-founder of Thatgamecompany, Kellee Santiago, says ‘we begin by asking what is the mood or emotion we want to express’ (2011; cited in Stuart, 2011), this is clear from the comfortable visual and audio queues that guide the player through their personal emotional exploration.
Unlike a lot of mainstream games, in which the player is placed in the role of a powerful character whose action play a vital role in the great scheme of things, Journey is about the smallness of your existence. It aims to ‘make people think about the smallness of humanity and how important we are as there are so few of us in the universe’ (Hunicke, 2011a). The lack of power the player has, in comparison to the environment, is reflected throughout the game. It is most noticeable in the use of environment, the music and the game mechanics. There is very little use of music in the game, it is used for dramatic effect, emphasising the power of the environment around you which you have no control over. Most of the diegetic sound emanates from the character and the environment and begin as very delicate and soothing noises. As the game progresses the sounds build to a crescendo and the colours brighten to add to the visceral experience.
There are also very few physical actions the player can make; simply walking, looking and singing. Jumping is also a possibility, but only after the environment imbues the power on the character. Journey offers a tactile world in which to utilise what little options are available. These include friction on uphill movement, wind-repelling areas to indicate non-traversable gameplay areas, guidance characters and distant objects and lights to guide the player. The environment is crucial to the gameplay; the sea of sand set the emotional tone of the journey, whilst the mountain in the background is the focal point of the game representing the journeys end. The huge chasms give a sense of scale and added emphasise on the ‘smallness’ of the player. As a single player game, the experience makes the player feel very small and lonely as they cross the barren plane with scattered gravestone shaped rocks that symbolise the path towards your goal. The game is very good at using visuals and audio to enforce the aesthetic response players receive along their 'journey'. As described in chapter one, women enjoy the experience of empathy within games, but developers tend not to draw inspiration from this unless they have the intention of creating a ‘pink’ game.
Journey effectively offers an empathetic, exploratory, experience, not only through audio and visuals, but also through narrative. There is no written or spoken story, it is presented through a series of hieroglyphic images throughout the journey. This elusive storytelling stimulates the imagination. Having very little to go by allows players the space for intuitive experiential play. Considering that women prefer more organised, intuitive and networked working conditions, its is understandable that these qualities would reflect into the way they play. When looking at the future of game development it will be important to design 'software which includes intuitive, logical and easily learnable game mechanics' (Graner Ray, 2004; cited in you are what you play) that are deemed more accessible to women gamers. Journey offers this opportunity and shows that a diverse workforce offers a healthy environment for fresh ideas and new genres to enter into an essentially new culture, without being overtly feminine in design and therefore not putting off the potential male audiences.
Journey overcomes the social boundaries that are often inflicted by gender that usually mean that games are not 'socially rewarding for females to identify' with (Griffiths, 1997; cited in Heeter, 2004 p. 235). There is the opportunity for cooperative play without the requirement to play cooperatively. The player can chose to wander away from their partner or to continue journeying with their new found acquaintance. There is no way to connect to a specific person; those people you meet are randomised and once the two of you split apart, there is a possibility that you may never see them again. This type of optional cooperation enables people to express themselves in the way they want to. Allowance of expression, denotes 'how technology and the arts are beginning to fuse together' (Reddy, 2011; cited in Stuart , 2011).
Cooperative play is something that is indicative of what female players require in the future. Unfortunately, as shown before, online games are catalysts for abusive behaviour that often repulses the average female consumer base. ‘Digital worlds are great importers of content from the real world, including negative social constructions such as racism and sexism,’ (Flanagan, 2005, p.1) in the case of games, this could be put down to the bad marketing of games alongside the commercialisation of the racist and sexist behaviour. Thatgamecompany recognised that 'moral values don't apply to people in an online space, you have to build a feeling and connection between people from the ground up' (Hunicke, 2011b). They therefore removed all direct forms of communication. Devoid of textual or verbal exchange, players must resort to investigating and creating ‘a more sophisticated way of communicating' (Hunicke, 2011b). Through the removal of direct human contact and the use of an androgynous character Journey creates gender-negative space. By doing this it quashes any possibility of sexual harassment and creates a safe play area. The vast uninviting desert setting encourages people to connect with one another to attain the sense of companionship and players can use the sing mechanic to find their own ways to interact.
Cassell and Jenkins offer us the important question of the future of gaming, ‘do we encourage girls to beat boys at their own game, or do we construct a girls-only space?’ (1998, p. 34). From the points raised in this paper, the answer to this is arguably neither. Thatgamecompany succeeded in creating a 'collaborative zone between isolation and forced cooperation' (Hunicke, 2011c) within Journey. Exploratory games such as Journey and diverse places of employment will encourage without enforcing a presence of women in the industry, preventing further resistance from the male gaming and developing communities alike. By making 'abstract and artistic' (Hunicke, 2011b) games, diverse working environments will continue to promote progress in the types and styles of games. Thus, with the competitive nature of the games industry, other companies will begin to follow suit.
Ultimately, Journey is a ‘game that forces you to think… [it] changes how you think about what games might offer’(Hunicke, 2011a). It is the preface for the types of communication, exploratory play and experimental development that will be imperative for the evolution of games; which is still a fairly new medium. This game is stripped down to the very bare minimum in terms of what you can do and in its visual and audible aspects. It allows for full focus on the aesthetics of communication and personal response, which are predefined as some of the goals for the future of technology as well as gaming.
Conclusion
In the eyes of the current industry, girls playing games alone is still deemed a paradox. It is still assumed that 'girls cannot play video games' and therefore do not. Before the influx of networking and technological improvements, it was traditional to believe that the gaming space dominated by men sparked no interest in the female population. Now with the increase of online communication and ease of connecting people, this is proved not to be the case. Through this, there is now a concurred awareness between female gamers and women are beginning to accept that it is ‘socially rewarding’ (Griffiths, 1997; cited in Heeter, 2004 p. 235) to be a part of the community. A lot of women want to be accepted as gamers, but like any minority, as they try to assert themselves in the male dominated field they segregate themselves from the gaming community.
With the increase in social networking and the accelerating expansion of technology alongside feminist persuasion, the industry has been forced to deal with the new demanding market created by women. The industry is still struggling to reach out to this new audience, but with careful advertising and collaboration with their user base in a similar way Thatgamecompany have done, they will achieve these goals. The untapped within game design is the chance to change the world of gaming. If women are not happy with the current array of games on offer, they can strive to take a role within the industry itself to make an impact. Integrating women as designers and managers, the industry may begin to blur the horizon and entwine male and female marketing together as one. To do this, games will need to be developed with a more diverse market in mind that will have a better comprehension of modern technology than those before. The male to female gamer ratio will not totally balance itself out from design decisions alone, it will also take a rethinking of the way people communicate in games in the same way that was explored in Journey.
In the past 20 years of the game industry, a lot of change has occurred with gender in the Western workplace. Women now have an integral economic standing in this new techno-culture and considering the great change in the working conditions of the gaming workforce, it is natural to conclude that a gradual increase of women will ensue. The increase of women in gaming will be a learning curve for both the industry and the gaming community. The fact that games are attracting a female audience is reassuring; it is a sign that modern gaming subverts gender stereotypes. Unfortunately, with the way the industry currently stands, attitudes towards women in games are still very insular.
Overall, the main way to change the idea of women in games as a paradox is to teach the gamers more about the community they are a part of. In turn, the game industry needs to be more experimental with its development and more thorough with educating people about games in a relevant and fresh way to create avant-garde gaming attitudes. There has always been the fear of the female minority encroaching on the male majority’s playing field. By making diversely developed games the norm, these worries will fade, allowing for a gender-negative environment that will encourage independent, artistic and divergent thinking for the future.
Journey (2012), shows that the collaboration of common male and female traits set the standards for the future of gaming. It has taken heed of the positive influence of this, showing that by offering equity, not equality in the games, stable integration of women into the industry is possible.
Harvard Reference
ASHCRAFT, B. 2008. Faith From Mirror’s Edge Fan-Designed For Asian Tastes. [WWW]. http://kotaku.com/5062933/faith-from-mirrors-edge-fan+designed-for-asian-tastes. (December 10th 2011).
ATKINS, B. and KRZYWINSKA, T. 2007. Videogame, Player, Text. Manchester: University Press.
BAKHTANIANS. 2012. In: KLEPEK, P. 2012. When Passions Flare, Lines Are Crossed. [WWW]. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/when-passions-flare-lines-are-crossed-updated/4006/. (February 28th 2012).
BRYCE, J & RUTTER, J. 2002. Killing Like a Girl: Gendered Gaming and Girl Gamers' Visibility. Tampere: Tampere University Press. pp. 243-255.
BRYCE, J. and RUTTER, J. 2003. Gender dynamics and the social and spatial organization of computer gaming. In: HEETER, C. Do Girls Prefer Girl-Designed Games? pp. 1-15.
BUNGIE. 2010. Halo: Reach. [DVD-ROM]. Microsoft Game Studios.
CARLESS, S. 2006. Breaking: Nintendo Announces New Revolution Name – ‘Wii’ [WWW] http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=9075. (December 5th 2011).
CASSELL, J. and JENKINS. H. 1998. From Barbie to Mortal Kombat. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
CASTELL, S. and JENSEN. J. 2007. Girls and Gaming: Gender Research. “Progress” and the Death of Interpretation. Situated Play, Proceedings of DiGRA – Digital Games Research Association 2007 Conference. pp.769 – 771.
CROSSASSAULTHARRASS. 2012. Day 1: Sexual Harassment on Cross Assault.
[online video]. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SLDgPbjp0M. (28th February 2012).
DICKEY, M. 2006a. Girl gamers: the controversy of girl games and the relevance of female-oriented game design for instructional design. British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 37 No 35, 785–793.
DICKEY, M. 2006b. In: VERMEULEN, L., VAN LOOY, J., DE GROVE, F. and COURTOIS, C. You Are What You Play? A Quantitative Study into Game Design Preferences across Gender and their Interaction with Gaming Habits. p. 3.
EA CANADA. 2010. Madden NFL 11. [DVD-ROM]. EA Sports.
ELY, C. 2010. In: LEWINSKI, J. S. 2010. Will women and games ever get along? [WWW]. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/will-women-and-games-ever-24618. (14th October 2010).
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION. 2010. Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. [WWW].
http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_Essential_Facts_2010.PDF. (December 9th 2011).
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION. 2011. Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. [WWW]. http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2011.pdf. (December 9th 2011).
FARRER, T. 2008. ‘Mirror’s Edge’ Producer Found Sexed-Up Fan Version Of Heroine ‘Depressing’. [WWW]. http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/25/mirrors-edge-producer-depressed-by-sexy-fan-verision-of-faith/. (December 10th 2011).
FLANAGAN, M. 2005. Troubling 'Games for Girls': Notes from the Edge of Game Design. Changing Views: Worlds in Play, Proceedings of DiGRA – Digital Fames Reseach Association Conference 2005. [WWW]. http://www.digra.org/dl/db/06278.14520.pdf. (14th December, 2011).
FRAG DOLLS. 2011. about us. [WWW]. http://www.fragdolls.com/index.php/gamer-girls. (May 12th 2011).
GAMELAB. 2003. Diner Dash. [CD-ROM]. PlayFirst.
GRANER-RAY, S. 2004. Gender Inclusive Game Design. Massachusetts: Charles River Media, INC.
GRIFFITHS, M.D. 1997. Computer game playing in early adolescence - Youth & Society. In: HEETER, C. Do Girls Prefer Girl-Designed Games? pp. 235.
HARMONIX MUSIC SYSTEMS. 2011. Dance Central 2. Harmonix Music Systems.
HUNICKE, R. 2011a. In: DESIGN3CHANNEL. 2011. design3 - Interview with Robin Hunicke of thatgamecompany. [online video].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkJnXxBEq0. (December 11th 2011).
HUNICKE, R. 2011b. Thatgamecompany's Journey. GameCity6, Nottingham. October 26th 2011.
HUNICKE, R. 2011c. In: STUART, K. 2011. Robin Hunicke on Journey, AI and games that know they're game. [WWW]. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/dec/06/journey-preview-robin-hunicke-interview. (December 6th 2011).
HUNICKE, R. 2011d. In: STUART, K. 2011. Game changers: the women who make video games. [WWW] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/08/women-videogames-designing-writing. (December 8th 2011)
IBRAHIM, R. 2011. Gender Issues in games. University of Southampton. February 18th 2011.
KANE, P. 2004. The Play Ethic. London. Macmillan.
MAXIS. 2000. The Sims. [CD-ROM]. California: Electronic Arts.
MCNAIR, B. 2002. Striptease Culture: Sex, media and the democratisation of desire. Oxford: Routledge.
MULVEY, L. 1975. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In: BRAUDY, L. and COHEN, M, eds. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford UP, pp. 833.
NAUGHTY DOG. 2007. Uncharted. [BLU-RAY DISC]. Sony Computer Entertainment.
NIELSEN. 2011. Play Before Work: Games Most Popular Mobile App Category in US. [WWW]. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=28273. (December 14th 2011)
NINTENDO EAD. 2005. Nintendogs. [CARTRIDGE]. Nintendo.
OFCOM. 2011. A nation addicted to Smartphones. [WWW]. http://media.ofcom.org.uk/2011/08/04/a-nation-addicted-to-smartphones/. (December 10th 2011).
PERKINS-GILMAN, C. 1898. Women and Economics. In: PLANT, S. Zeroes and Ones. London: Fourth Estate Limited.
PIPEWORKS SOFTWARE. 2010. Zumba fitness. [DVD-ROM]. London: 505 Games.
PLANT, S. 1998. Zeroes and Ones. London: Fourth Estate Limited.
REDDY, S. 2011. In: STUART, K. 2011. Game changers: the women who make video games. [WWW]. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/08/women-videogames-designing-writing. (December 8th 2011).
ROBERTSON, M. Lookspring: In which I do not try to write like a man. [WWW]. http://lookspring.co.uk/in-which-i-dont-try-to-write-like-a-man.(December 17th 2011).
SANTIAGO, K. 2011. In: STUART, K. 2011. Game changers: the women who make video games. [WWW]. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/08/women-videogames-designing-writing. (December 8th 2011).
SORRELL, M. 2011. Beware of the Sorrell: Dear Men, Please Listen. Love, Man. [weblog]. http://www.bewareofthesorrell.com/2011/12/dear-men-please-listen-love-man.html. (December 17th 2011).
SULER, J. 2004. The Online Disinhibition Effect. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7 (3), pp 321–326.
THATGAMECOMPANY. 2012. Journey. [ONLINE DISTRIBUTION]. Sony Computer Entertainment.
THORSEN, T. 2010. Wii sales near 71 million, DS almost 129 million. [WWW].
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6261400.html?tag=recent_news;title;1. (December 10th 2011).
TREYARCH. 2010. Call of Duty: Black Ops. [BLU-RAY DISC]. Activision.
UBISOFT PARIS. 2011. Just Dance 3. [DVD-ROM]. Ubisoft.
VALVE. 2007. Portal. [CD-ROM]. Valve Corporation.
VERMEULEN, L., VAN LOOY, J., DE GROVE, F. and COURTOIS, C. 2011. You Are What You Play? A Quantitative Study into Game Design Preferences across Gender and their Interaction with Gaming Habits. Think Design Play, Proceedings of DiGRA - Digital Games Research Association 2011 Conference. pp. 1-20.
Bibliography
CASSELL, J. and JENKINS, H. 1998. Chess for girls? Feminism and computer games. In: G. Cassell & H. Jenkins, eds, From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: gender and computer games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
EASTIN. 2006. Video Game Violence and the Female Game Player: Self- and Opponent Gender Effects on Presence and Aggressive Thoughts. [WWW]. http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/video-game-violence-and-the-female-game-player-self-and-opponent-gender-effects-on-presence-and-aggressive-thoughts-eastin-2006/. (May 11th 2011).
GERE, C. 2008. Digital Culture. 2nd edn. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.
HARAWAY, D. 1991. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge.
POOLE, S. 2000. Trigger Happy. London: Fourth Estate.
GRIMES, S. 2003. “You Shoot Like A Girl!”: The Female Protagonist in Action-Adventure Video Games. Level Up Conference Proceedings.
KAFAI, Y. B. 1994. Minds in play: computer game design as a context for children’s learning. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
KENNEDY, H. and DOVEY, J. 2006. Game Cultures Computer Games as New Media. Open University Press.
VICENTA-MESTRE, M., SAMPER, P., FRIAS, M. and TUR, A. 2009. Are Women More Empathetic than Men? A Longitudinal Study in Adolescence. The Spanish Journal of Psychology. 12(1). pp. 76-83.