GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VIDEO GAMES ANQI LIU ADVISOR: MISO KIM AUGUEST, 2019 This thesis is presented for the Master of Fine Arts degree at Northeastern University Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Information Design and Visualization, in the Graduate School of the College of Arts, Media and Design of Northeastern University August, 2019 [ 3 ] TABLE OF CONTENTS [ 1 ] Abstract ------------------------------------------- 05 [ 2 ] Introduction ------------------------------------------- 07 [ 3 ] Research Questions ------------------------------------ 15 [ 4 ] Literature Review ------------------------------------ 17 [ 5 ] Concept Framework And Proposal Concept Map ------------------------------------ 26 [ 6 ] Case Study Background Of Game Industry ---------------------- 27 M1 Rules ----------------------------------- 37 M2 Rules ----------------------------------- 40 [ 7 ] Discussion And Next Steps Discussion ------------------------------------- 75 Future Work ------------------------------------- 77 [ 8 ] Bibliography ------------------------------------------ 79 [ 5 ] [ 1 ] ABSTRACT Over the past ten years, video games This thesis explores how female stereotypes have become one of the most popular forms conveyed through popular video games of entertainment across young generations. have changed over the past ten years. The According to research reports, more than author uses visualizations to demonstrate 80% of American households have computers the changes in female character clothing, or other game consoles and consumers spent outward appearances, and features, $30.4 billion on the video game industry in including the percentage of skin exposure. 2016 (Entertainment Software Association 2017 P4). Half of the American parents play The author determines the top games with their children. Video games are twenty games of the past ten years according thus a significant part of people’s lives and to the IMDb and compares the number of their characters play vital roles that gamers playable female and male characters in these can control. This control can have certain games. The results examine whether female implications when gender roles and stereo- stereotypes have changed. types in video games are considered. Game designers and players seem to accept a ste- The author selects ten female characters reotype about female characters and female aged 16-50 from each years’ top games. The players, as the games are played mostly by body shapes and skin exposure percentages males. According to a study by DeWall (2005), of these characters is analyzed using Adobe a professor of psychology and the Director of Photoshop. Data on the width of hips, shoul- the Social Psychology Lab at the University of ders, and waist, as well as leg length, reveals Kentucky, female stereotypes have three sub- if there is any change in groups: homemaker, professional, and sex appearance over time. object (Deaux, et al 1985; Eckes 1994a, 1994b; Six and Eckes 1991). GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VIDEO GAMES [ 7 ] [ 2 ] INTRODUCTION The rise of the big data industry in Ten years ago, researchers found out recent years has led people to pay attention that most video games target male players as to the story behind the data. Data is not just the main player group (Cassel and Jenkins, a number or a pattern of words. An image is 1998; Provenzo, 1991). Analyses of video also data. Usually, we deal with numerical game content have found female video game data to tell the story through various types character portrayals to be infrequent and of charts, maps, and keys. A large amount sexually objectified (e.g., Beasley & Collins of image data is difficult to process. When Standley, 2002; Dietz, 1998; Heintz-Knowles aggregated, image data can be difficult to & Henderson, 2002). The most common goal work with. This particular study presented in these games is to rescue a princess or special challenges when developing the data another woman character. Female characters set. This study required a designer to clean either need a male character’s help or appear the information within the image, such as in supportive roles to the male characters. the extra background, classify the image, and This place the female characters in games as simplify the image shape. This paper simpli- the weaker group or as the factors that satisfy fies and merges a large amount of data and male player’s needs. tells the story behind the data with clear vi- While some games have female main sualization. For large amounts of image data, characters, those same characters are often the classification and simplification process non-playable. For example, Princess Zel- are standardized to present a clear picture of da is the main character and namesake for the phenomenon behind the image data. To the game Zelda, but players cannot actually analyze the differences, the author compares control that character. Instead, players can old items against new items. This research control a male character named Link whose paper combines data cleaning, simplification objective is to always save Zelda. This is a and comparison methods to create a new typical scenario where players operate a male method to visualize image data. “hero” character to save a female character. [ 8 ] | INTRODUCTION | GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VIDEO GAMES Another example is Super Mario who rescues perfect character is very common in games. Princess Peach in Super Mario Brothers. In This is also a good ideal for the game. De- James D. Ivory’s (2009, 107) article he states, signers expect this setting to have a positive “Consistent with the findings of previous impact on the player. studies, female characters were found to be Things that cannot be realized in underrepresented and proportionally more reality are realized in the virtual world, for often sexualized in comparison to their male example in MMORPG game players can dom- counterparts.” James finds out that when inate and challenge other players that they players post their reviews on gaming blogs, can’t do in real world. Kuss DJ. mentions that players talk about male characters’ ability or “Reputation and admiration from the gam- mechanics, and female characters’ outfit and ing community for gaming achievements are body shape. However, female character body further key factors motivating players to keep stereotypes have changed in recent years playing.” (Kuss DJ. 2013) Players escape the due to social and educational reasons among real world and create another life in virtual others. Now, there are more diverse female world. Depends on Yee’s research “Immersion characters who appear in video games. in the game is denoted by discovery, ie, ex- The elements in video games often ploring the game and “hidden” game content, exaggerate the needs and ideas of people in role-playing via one’s avatar, customization real life. The protagonist is very brave and of one’s online character (such as sex, race, smart, such as Link in Zelda. He has been profession, appearance), and escapism, ie, given a lot of fighting and life skills by game playing in order to avoid real life (Yee N. designers. He is a kind person who helps 2006 772-775) This is why more people are others and saves the world. In 19 main series attracted to the game world. Today, as the Zelda games, Link saved Princess Zelda and game industry is rapidly rising, the status of Hyrule 19 times. This almost perfect char- female characters does not keep up with the acter does not exist in reality. Because of changes of the times. Female characters are people’s pursuit of good things, this almost weakened in the game—objectified. Howev- ANQI | INTRODUCTION | [ 9 ] LIU er, these stereotypes of female characters By collecting 200 game characters over the have existed in video games for a long time. past ten years—playable and non-playable, “Lesiure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge female and male, game types, and non-hu- Lizards” from the late 1980s, the final goal man—we discover the changes in the de- for main character, Larry Laffer, is having sex signers’ and players’ perceptions of female with different woman. On that game, female character abilities. By comparing game sales character as a trophy. male character solves in recent years, the relationship between the the problem and try to get the best girl. number of female characters and game sale is easy to see. Most researchers, like James D Ivory, use simple line graphs to express the rela- tionship between playable and non-playable female characters. Most researchers use line and bar charts for quantitative data analy- sis. Additionally, they calculate the average and slope to see future trends. There is no cross-comparison of game data with another field, such as comparing game sales to the number of female characters,comparing with female characters’ clothes style with real hu- man clothes style. Different fields of data may show some different trends. The body shape and appearance of female characters reflect developers’ inher- ent impression of women. This paper would collect images of 3D female models and concept art renderings of ten female charac- [ 10 ] | INTRODUCTION | GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VIDEO GAMES ters each year—one hundred in total. Most of clear. In data visualization, there is a small the female characters had hyper-real bodies amount of image and numerical data avail- in the games and some characters had outfits able for cross-comparison. Other image stud- that were unfit for the game background ies mostly compare and contrast the same and context. Male characters tend to appear character’s multi-year changes. The most “normal” and fully clothed, yet female char- famous one is Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. This acters are shown in revealing dresses on the research paper’s visualization was inspired same screen. For example, an armored male by Lara Croft’s visual work. Cross-comparing character walks in with a female character number and image data of female characters who wears a short Japanese uniform skirt. over the past ten years provides more infor- Street fighter is a good example to talk about mation to draw conclusions about the body here.