Proof of Concept

How the Development of Video Games and

Consoles has Affected the Subject of Genders

Dissertation Enquiry
I want to look into how the changing of video games and their
quality and realism has affected genders in video games, I
mostly want to look towards the positives about how there are
main characters who are female and how they have progress
such as Tomb Raider which has a game series and possibly
Resident Evil.
I also want to look into male characters and how they are
portrayed for the growing female audience and how this
growth has changed things in games for good/bad, has it
been making male characters more sexualised like it had
done for women.

Key Themes/Issues

Female Characters
Male Characters
Female Representation
Male Representation
Appearance
Quality
Software?
Graphics

Audience
Past vs Present
Changes
Realism of games

Big Books
Female video game characters and the male gaze
- Joseph M Hoswell

Representation of females and how the male gaze aected their character
development

Women and Gaming: The Sims and 21st Century Learning

- By J. Gee, Elisabeth R. Hayes

Talks about how women are leading the trend of design in games.

Eects of the sexualization of female characters in videogames on gender

stereotyping, body esteem, self
- Elizabeth Morawitz

How it aects the behaviours and attitudes.

Big Books
A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players
- Jesper Juul

We used to think that video games were mostly for young men

Gaming at the Edge : Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture
- Shaw, Adrienne

Video games have long been seen as the exclusive territory of young, heterosexual
white males...

Journal Articles
Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game
Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims
- Gabbiadini, Alessandro

Looks at the sexualised male characters of current games and how there are these
stereotypical roles for males and females
From Damsels in Distress to Sexy Superheroes
- Alicia Summers & Monica K Miller

Looks at how the portrayal of women has changed (games and magazines) and
how portrayals can aect gender behaviours and attitudes
No More Excuses: Using Twitter to Challenge The Symbolic Annihilation of
Women in Games
- Nina Huntermann

The representation of female characters in video games has been a point of

criticism since the 1980s arcade era

Documentary

The dark side of gaming: the females fighting back - BBC Three
Gaming. Its a boys' club. Or is it? Despite making up over half of all gamers,
women receive three times as much in-game abuse as men, with rape and death
threats being commonplace. We meet the gamers, developers and
journalists calling out sexism in the industry, fighting against the trolls and making
their voices heard.

Websites
https://feministfrequency.com/tag/tropes-vs-women-invideo-games/
http://www.polygon.com/2017/1/2/14130114/best-videogame-women-2016
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/
2014/feb/19/video-games-need-more-women-femalecharacters
http://www.polygon.com/features/2015/7/10/8925285/thereconstruction-of-lara-croft-rise-of-the-tomb-raider

Figure 1: Lara Croft Turnarounds of Leather Jacket outfit

Figure 3: Evie Frye Turnarounds

Figure 2: Lara Croft Turnarounds of Expedition outfit

I have chosen figure 1 and 2 for the reason that they are from the same video game in the series
of tomb raider. Both outfits from amongst many other which are similar are modest like clothing
created to match the weathers and task and not simply just for the idea of the male gaze.

Illustration List

Figure 1 : http://www.tombnews.com/2015/12/22/crystal-dynamics-releases-three-gearup-guides-from-rise-of-the-tomb-raider/
Figure 2 : http://www.tombnews.com/2015/12/22/crystal-dynamics-releases-threegear-up-guides-from-rise-of-the-tomb-raider/
Figure 3 : https://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-CA/news/164-229369-16/assassins-creedsyndicate-victorian-legends-costume-turnarounds