Through looking into areas of Gender Representation such as the problems lying behind male and female characters, it has opened my eyes to the whole controversy surrounding the other key issues involved with gaming. I now know that the problems not only lay within the female sides of games, but also the male figures such as Duke Nukem, Kratos and Dante have a mental impact on players such as Larger Over weight players. Playing a game where the main character is huge with muscles can make the player feel bad for himself. But this is not apparent in all players.
Sometimes I see cases like this, the boy on the left could not possibly look like he loves games anymore.
I discovered that Henry Jenkins and Justine Cassell have created a powerful text analyzing the key areas in Gender Representation, they have improved my research and understanding when looking across media to search for sources. I looked further into reports created on 'WomenGamers.com' to look for information and female points of view, but i found this interesting article about gender bending by
Dr K. Wright. She made an online survey looking into why some male gamers choose to play a female character in games. She took the survey and got a feedback from 64 people and found that most of the results were similar within their answers. The only problem I can find in this article is that with most tests or enquiry's it is valid to not only show proof but make it a fair test. She did not look into why females choose to play as males within games. This could have raised a similar sort of answer and destroy her whole point. Not only does this raise points about how females are represented in video games, but I see it as a way of judging Male Players in the gaming world. I did not manage to find any sources for similar arguments from the male perspective, this would have been a great help into the battle of the sexes. I began this Archive from a non-biased point of view hoping to find texts regarding both male and female questions and answers to the gender representation within video games, instead as with most sources I tended to sway towards the focus upon female representation text as there are a wider selection of issues surrounding women with in the games culture, because games developers create games with a certain target demographic in mind. when creating these games from a semiotic analysis it is always good to build characters and environments using tell tale signs such as; 'Tomb Raider', Fantastic large open areas with full exploration to give it that obvious Explorer atmosphere, guns to provide an interest to players that like shooting, Lara's boots and equipment to show us that she will be travelling in an adventure.
Games like 'Red Dead Redemption', have a certain western theme; girls, burly/husky men, one on one stand offs, six shooters, cowboy hats and boots, horses and a burnt sandy environment. Fans will recognise these traits. Through the players having an interest in western movies we know that the women were always sassy and fragile in these types of films. These are all signs that people are familiar with. It will continue to happen in games but more so within films.
If games are the big culprit in creating stereotypical characters with large muscles big breasts and dirty attitudes. It is probably because the game industry has a smaller impact than film. Because of this, situations like the killing of Stefan Pakeerah will be blamed on video games and not film, even though film can have a larger impact of representation. The fact that Stefan Pakeerah had murdered his friend and had a copy of Manhunt in his bedroom, instantly the media point the finger at Rockstar North. I should have taken a deeper look into the cross between film and video game gender representation, there would have been easily the same amount of cases with the typical social constructs that build the characters that the actor/actress is playing, Maybe more of that in film. I see that there are more problems within the games industry, because it is mostly men creating the character from their brain, having the design elements at their finger tips allows the Creator a chance to escape the reality and create their own world. Where as within film the characters are dressed up to look the part but the person playing that role is often as pretty or butch as we see them on screen and there is nobody to blame for their typical creation. Like Kate Bekinsale in underwold.



It leaves me wondering that after all this if Tomb Raider was a Movie before the game would the title have attracted such media controversy over Lara as it has. As we all know there are people out there that look like the stars of games and film Directors are looking for them like Lara for instance with Alison Carroll.


bibliography.
http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/youthgenderconstruction/ accessed 21:24 26 april 2009
http://henryjenkins.org/2009/01/beyond_barbie_and_mortal_komba.html accessed 22:27 27 April 2009
http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Mortal-Kombat-Gender-Computer/dp/0262032589#reader accssed 27 april 2009
http://www.womengamers.com/articles/editorials/gender-bending-games-part-ii/ accessed april 28 2009
http://www.womengamers.com/articles/editorials/gender-bending-games/2/ accessed april 28 2009
Reference materials.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3936597.stm may28 2009
http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/agegate.html?ref=index.html accessed 28 may 2009
http://www.fantasymundo.com/imagenes/noticias/1375.jpg accessed 28 may 2009

Henry Jenkins (to the right) is the publisher to a famous book; 'From Barbie to Mortal Kombat'. Henry covered most issues within Gender representation at the early era of 3D Gaming around 1996 onwards. He covers areas around women that appear within early titles where the characters "rarely appear in them, except as damsels requiring rescue, or rewards for completing the mission."


Henry has placed a key point here within early games of the late 90's. But i'm not sure those points are so valid now, maybe in some cases we still see this, such as within a level in 'God of War' where you are rewarded with two females for sexual pleasure for reaching that level. But Herny and Justine, the co-writer of the book may have had a large impact within the gaming industry and made developers re-evaluate there game concepts. Games now such as; 'Tomb Raider', 'Perfect Dark', 'Metroid Prime' and 'Fable 2' all allow you to control a female lead character. What most games companys are doing is allowing the player to choose whether to play as a male or female lead role.
This book, published in 1997, still remains relied on for identification into gender issues in gaming. But ten years on, games have learnt, they have changed and most have become more exceptable to media conception. Females in most games do no longer appear passive, or objectified/ inferior to the male characters, which is why in games like 'Resident Evil 5' you can choose whether to play a male or female character, as previously mentioned.
Games have changed a lot over the last 10 years, and in another 10 years time they will have changed more than ever. But will Jenkins' views on gender representation still be valued?

Many games within the industry have the player control either a slim/athletic character or huge muscle man. Not often we see the Average man,
In Duke nukem, we play as a Male who has a sleazy overbearing masculine attitude portrayed through key identities like; his idiolect, his attitudes and feelings towards females. The fact he is a cold blooded killer. This is a characteristic often involved with male lead roles in games that we do not see in female lead roles. In exemption to games such as such as ' Many games within the industry have the player control either a slim/athletic character or huge muscle man. Not often we see the Average man, In Duke Nukem, we play as a Male who has a sleazy overbearing masculine attitude portrayed through key identities like; his idiolect, his attitudes and feelings towards females. The fact he is a cold blooded killer. This is a characteristic often involved with male lead roles in games, and not within female lead roles. There are games exempt from this like 'American McGee's Alice' The dark tale of Alice In Wonderland, although in this game, Alice is still not portrayed as a cold blooded killer, unlike Duke Nukem and other characters with the same characteristics such as Niko from GTA4 and James Earl Cash, featured in the famous game 'Manhunt'. There are games that feature female lead roles who do kill, like male charcters, but for a reason. This is conveyed through examples like 'Resident Evil 4 and 5' Where the lead characters are police, and 'Metroid Prime' in which the feamle kills creatures, not humans, to 'survive'.

There is always going to be contraversy surrounding the representation of females and males within gaming. With males being over masculine, and females, over feminine, and unlike most women in the real world. In resolution, games were designed to be surreal, as almost an escape from reality. Which is why it shouldn't be media inflicted that both male and female characteristics are over exargerated, as in most cases without these characteristics, the game wouldn't have the same appeal to target demographic like in the case of Duke Nukem.

Creating a Character

I am designing a character for my game, the cave.

http://thecave-progression.blogspot.com/

"kelly" (to the left), is not a main character but she will appear at some stages throughout the game.
Already i have come up with barriers with the design.
She is not a heroine type like lara croft or Nintendo's Perfect Dark; Konoko. But she will appear by your side in battle.

unlike lara, i have created Kelly as average as i can, i havn't made her ultra slim, or deliberately made her as a "sex sells" character.
She works as a sales assistant in the local garage of the town, and she is the main characters living partner.
With the male and female roles in the game, i am not creating anyone that posseses typical character traits, like; Big boobs, large muscles, thin slender bodies, etc.
I am trying to aim for a natural look.
Weather this is the right approach to take, for example many games sell well because the characters have a sertain target demographic, like Lara for example.

Gender Representaion in one picture.

This is a classic example of gender represeantion, although not in video games, this image shows, the lady sitting lower than the man, this could be refuring to the social status of the man, (being in a suit) or the working class of the lady, sitting doing the work wearing casual clothing.
"i'd ask the others to stay late but they have families". The speech shows how the man feels that the fact she has no family, she doesn't mean anything to anyone and she can stay behind working for the upper classes.

What Is Gender?

http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/will_the_video_game_industry_embrace_gender-specific_marketing

This Is a common view from The female perspective of lara croft, whom was created at the early age of 3D gaming when gaming was targeted mainly at men, plus was also the early age to escape from reality with games and create an alternate reality or world.
Lara croft in my eyes, all though seen as "playboy" figure by some females such as Jen Nedeau who wrote the article above. Lara is my female idol in the gaming world, not only did she turn my vision into the world of gaming, Tomb Raider had excellent music, fantastic visuals (at the time) and Lara was so agile, women like her we only see in gymnastics on tv or in films. So it was a really great idea to make lara like this, if she would be raiding tombs needing to dodge booby traps and jump huge gaps.

I would see no problem in making Lara Croft athletic. Lara Visits the jungle climate and she wears warm weather clothing nothing to restricting in her movements. She wears fully clothed winter garments in the later cold levels.
I think people will continue to moan about how people look in video games until they get an outcome where every character in the gaming world is either fat and or ugly, or a character of an alien species. It doesnt bother any of the male gamers when we have to play as a well toned, handsome looking male character. It's just there to make us recognise in most cases the Main characters role, and make surer we understand he/she fits into the gamng environment.