Why #WomenAreTooHardToAnimate: Exploring gender and identity in communities of play Sian Tomkinson, BA(Hons) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia School of Social Sciences Media and Communication 2019 i THESIS DECLARATION I, Sian Tomkinson, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in this degree. This thesis does not contain material which has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. In the future, no part of this thesis will be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text and, where relevant, in the Authorship Declaration that follows. This thesis does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. Signature: Date: 29/08/2019 ii ABSTRACT Although around fifty percent of gamers are female, video games are still highly gendered as a male activity, and the industry often targets a majority male audience. The stereotype that women do not play video games, or only play certain kinds of games, makes the Gamergate event of 2014 particularly interesting. During Gamergate several women in the game industry were harassed online by gamers, including rape and death threats, to the extent that some had to leave their homes in the interest of safety. This thesis examines why gender is such a significant issue in the video game industry and communities of play, and produces the tensions that led to and were evident during Gamergate. Part of that examination involves the use of Deleuze and Guattari's work. Deleuze and Guattari are useful in part because their critique of philosophy encourages a shift away from the binary oppositions that typically appear to be at the root of this tension in game culture. Specifically, this thesis examines three questions, divided into three broader parts: (1) how gender is a factor in the content and production of video games; (2) the affects that video games amplify, and how they can impact identity; and (3) how these affects permeate and flow throughout communities of play. Part of what this thesis demonstrates is that so-called video game culture is constituted by a far more diverse range of people than what the industry has typically catered and produced for. Central to the production and consumption of games, and to the sorts of tensions that arose during Gamergate, is, I argue, what Deleuze and Guattari term ‘affect’. In this manner I argue that for some gamers, increased diversity of games, their producers, and their players have challenged their 'gamer' territory. Highly reliant on the gamer identity, they are resistant to new experiences and affects, and turn to destruction. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Part I .............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter One: Gamergate and Players............................................................................................................... 12 I. Gamergate .......................................................................................................................................................... 13 II. Players ................................................................................................................................................................. 21 A. Statistics .......................................................................................................................................................... 22 B. Play Theory and Preferences .................................................................................................................. 25 C. Society and Technology ............................................................................................................................ 31 D. Harassment ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter Two: Gender Representation in Games and the Industry ....................................................... 41 I. The Hegemony of Play ................................................................................................................................... 42 II. Female Characters in Games ....................................................................................................................... 51 A. AAA Games .................................................................................................................................................... 52 B. Indie Games ................................................................................................................................................... 57 C. Casual Games ................................................................................................................................................ 60 III. The Industry .................................................................................................................................................. 62 A. Change ............................................................................................................................................................. 70 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 73 Part II ............................................................................................................................................................................ 75 Chapter Three: Games as Assemblages ........................................................................................................... 76 I. Challenging Form and Content ................................................................................................................... 77 A. Semiology ....................................................................................................................................................... 78 B. Technology .................................................................................................................................................... 82 II. Assemblages ...................................................................................................................................................... 86 III. The Witcher 3: A Game Assemblage .................................................................................................. 105 A. The Game ..................................................................................................................................................... 106 B. The Creators ............................................................................................................................................... 109 C. The Players ................................................................................................................................................. 112 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 116 Chapter Four: The Production of Norms and Categories ...................................................................... 118 I. Refrains ............................................................................................................................................................ 119 A. Genre ............................................................................................................................................................. 122 B. Franchises ................................................................................................................................................... 127 C. Gamers ......................................................................................................................................................... 130 iv II. The Syntheses ................................................................................................................................................ 134 A. The Illegitimate Conjunctive Synthesis (Girls are just different from boys) .................... 140 B. The Illegitimate Disjunctive Synthesis (Since you’re a girl…) ................................................ 143 C. The Illegitimate Connective Synthesis (All girls like…) ............................................................ 146 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 148 Chapter