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Katelyn Johnson
Professor Ellis
English 102
May 4 2015
Rejection Leads to Change for Women in Video Games
Video games have been around for the past five decades allowing the industry to
develop into what it is today. Journalist like Adrienne Shaw,Chris Suellentrop, Nick
Wingfield emphasizes how the industry's currently has been undergoing issues with
women working in the gaming industry lacking diversity among the studios. Discussing
the rejection women have dealt with in the past and future. Stephanie Fisher, Alison
Harvey, and Sandy Kobin explained that the door opened in indie games for women
leading to better opportunities. Leading females in the field like Amy Henning, Lucy
Bradshaw, and Jade Raymond discuss the reality of the gaming world and working in
the men dominated workforce. Along with the leading women there are leading female
characters like Lara Croft, Lighting, Elena Fisher, and Bonnie McFarlane changing how
women are viewed in games for years. I believe that women are still rejected by the
male dominated industry of video games. Seen as unproficient, unequal and given
limited opportunities not only within the companies but in the actual game themselves,
even so the industry is changing.
The video game industry has been a male dominated field with majority of
players being male as well. For the audience to shift the games must be open to new
leads and ideas that reflect positively on both male and females. Shaw determines:


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The demand for minority representation in video games often focuses on proving that
members of marginalized groups are gamers. The audience of games was mostly men
making lead male character ideal. Today more women are gaming bringing up the
importance of female characters in games and how they're seen. Most female
characters are seen as innocent, weak, unintelligent, and the damsel in distress. Shaw
believes: Those invested in diversity in video games must focus their attention on the
construction of the medium, and not the construction of the audience as such. For
games to become more diverse the game consent itself needs to change not the people
who play it. Attacking the problem at its source is what can be done by allowing new
roles for women not only making them equal but seen as powerful, intelligent, and
overall great. Developers have the choice to create a reality that does not exist, for
players enjoyment yet when it comes to women its seems dated and a reality that
represent our culture reflecting negatively.
The video game industry rejected most women in both the development of the
game and its characters. Developers had little to no diversity amongst their studios
leading to unbalanced games. What started in the companies followed into the games
themselves. Doors were not opening to women and women were open to gaming
because of the representation of characters used for females. Characters would have
the stereotypes of how women are seen in society. Appealing to men with model
bodies, little clothing, and overall innocence. Suellentrop brings to our attention: Video
games are not always welcoming to women. The female role in video games is to be
the damsel in distress . . . Considering women have created, or contributed to, scores of


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video games. In the beginning games were meant for a male audience and continued
to be that way. Adding female workers to the company does not mean the audience will
change because the games are still the same. Although women have been working in
the game industry their voice seems to never be heard. Some of the most original
games in recent years have been made by women. Games like Tearaway being one of
Sonys leading hand-held Vita games of the year was developed by the indie company
Media Molecule lead by female director Siobhan Reddy. Tearaway introduced male and
female character both playable and chosen by the player at the beginning. Both
characters are similar in appearance which you can see in figure 1. Having similar
looking characters that are different genders in a game is a rare yet rewarding plus
allowing players to choose.

Figure 1


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Even though games have been developed by women they usually are not recognized
for their work. Wingfield reports from Wall Street Journal the threats of women trying to
make it in games. Wingfield introduces Anita Sarkeesian, feminist cultural critic
explaining the death threats for challenging the stereotypes of women in video games.
Game developers see her as a threat because of her following. Wingfield brought the
point that the audience of gaming is changing faster than the developers with culture
norms and views. The companies seem set in there ways not ready for serious change
because it may not sell. Wingfield states: Still, game companies have made some
progress in their depiction of women in games. Companies seem to get the idea when
more women are being hired to better positions making a difference in games. Now the
audience of game has gained a huge following of both men and women.
Companies are becoming more welcome to diversity but it's slow so indie game
development has been a new solution. Women are starting their own studio creating
their own games and selling by starting kickstarters for a big communities of gamers.
Some of the indie companies have even got the attention of big developers like Sony
Entertainment. Fisher and Harvey reveal the work Sony has been doing to help indie
companies succeed by selling the game and funding them. Sony sought out to open up
doors to new ideas and female lead roles in video games. Sony later opened a
scholarship program called G.I.R.L for women wanting to get a degree in games. With
new doors opening women are finally getting the chance they have wanted yet issues
still appear. Harvey comments: Being indie is no way translate to being inclusive.
Rather, a great deal of values and meaning associated with going indie. Indie games


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are low funded and usually a small team. When a studio is low funded the team has
little to work with yet some how using creativity and a lot of work the outcome is
amazing. Indie games have made a serious mark on the gaming world just recently
especially for women. Female developers start their own company to create indie
games allowing freedom to create whatever they please. Because indie games have
allowed certain freedoms female character have been entering the world as a strong
leads. Problem with all of these female lead characters have to later be changed to
male to actually sell. When a game comes out with a strong female player there is a
high risk that the game will not sell. Reason for this is because players dont want to
play a girl thinking she is weak and not fitting. Some companies have the luck of
working with big studios like Epic Games, Sims Studio, and Infinity Ward which allows
the game to be advertised to an already existing fan base. In the end it all comes down
to who you know and what will sell.
There are few female characters that have managed to work there way to the top
of the charts through time. Lara Croft lead character from the Tomb Raider series is one
of the most iconic female characters in the gaming world. Developed by Core Design
and published by Eidos Interactive. The first game was originally released in 1996 for
DOS, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. After 9 released games having the most recent
being in 2014 Lara Croft has made a serious impression on developer's view on female
characters. Lara Croft personality was adventurous, confident, intelligent and overall
fighter. She represented everything female players wanted in a character, even so Lara
Croft had to appeal to the male audience still because they still made up majority of


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players. With this in mind Lara Croft had an interesting outfit showing more skin and
emphasizing on certain body features on her body. It wasnt until the most recent Tomb
Raider game Lara had a realistic body and outfit which can be seen in figure 2.

Figure 2
Now Lara Croft was not alone there were others who gave video game equality and
diversity hope. Lighting from the Final Fantasy Series broke ground by splitting apart
from the main series to be in her own based upon popularity among players. Lightning
is a major character in the Final Fantasy XIII series, now serving as the lead player
character in Final Fantasy XIII, and the sole protagonist of Lightning Returns: Final
Fantasy XIII. She also has similar traits to Lara Croft both being fighters. For such a big
series split to create a secondary story involving Lighting as a main character was risky
but paid off releasing it to a huge fanbase. Not only was lead female characters making
a difference but secondary characters like Elena Fisher from the Uncharted Series and
Bonnie McFarlane from Red Dead Redemption. Both of these female character were
headstrong, intelligent, and independent. Elena partnered up with main character


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Nathan Drake throughout the series to uncover lost treasure facing difficult decisions
every corner. Nathan was always seen as the hero but even he made mistakes. Elena
would not hesitate to call him out on his bad choices seeing him as a equal no more.
Elena even determined serious actions taken in the game. Bonnie did the same for
John Marston a troubled thief trying to clean up his past taking place in the wild west.
Bonnie would not give sympathy for John and instead made him work and earn his
place. All of these character had their own unique traits but they all were fighters in the
end which reveals a message that the developers are changing. What it comes down to
is time and change, companies had to take risk in order to change.
Now it was not just male developers taking these risks, leading women in the
video industry were responsible for some of the biggest series in the industry. Amy
Henning former writer and creative director for Naughty Dog is one of the most well
known leading women in the industry. In her experience she didnt seem to have a
difficult time working with mostly men. Every now and then she would have to check in
about certain appearances for characters but it was rare.
"Usually it has been men who gave me the opportunities I have had. I
think this is a young enough and progressive enough industry that there just isn't
any of that. But that doesn't mean her perspective as a woman doesn't come in
handy on design teams dominated by men, including on Uncharted 2, which
features two prominent female characters. "There was an issue with breast size
sometimes. I would say to the modelers, 'Let's take it down. How about a C cup?


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Henning believed the gaming industry has a lot to change but it is young and the sexism
level for the company Naughty Dog is low and overall great company. Naughty Dog is
one of the top leading game companies which could possible influence other companies
to do the same in the future. Lucy Bradshaw is another leading women in the field being
the executive producer for Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts is responsible for the Sims
series which has over half of its players being women. Bradshaw enjoyed theatre and
role play which explains her development in the leading role playing game. All of her
success is owed to her passion for theatre and creating something new. Jade Raymond
former managing director for Ubisoft helped create Assassin's Creed Black Flag and
Tom Clancys Splinter Cell. Both critically acclaimed games for the character
development and story. All of these women did create amazing games but thats not all
they did. The opened up the door to a career that didnt necessarily welcome women.
To get to where they are they had to play by the roles of the male dominated industry
until they had the respect and power to make changes. Now the industry is welcoming
in most companies with the efforts of these women and many others.

I myself am wanting to take on the task of getting into the video game industry
which I understand the risks I am taking. Being a Illustration/Animation student I plan to
be a concept artist leading up to a art director. It was not recently that I knew what I
wanted to do with my life. I have been a fan of games since I was a kid not just
interested in playing but what goes behind it all. To get into the industry I have
researched and planned out what I need to accomplish. I will transfer to an Art institute
to fully develop my skills and make the connections I need. Taking advice and tips from


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past leading female developers I also started working on a game with a small group of
friends. Understanding that I will have to start at the bottom and work my way up to
really start making a difference is going to take time but I am prepared after looking up
to so many female role models in games.

Overall the Video game industry still struggles with battles of rejection and
diversity, and equality of women in the industry but with the help of many female
developers and support of big companies changes are already in progress. The gaming
industry is still young and has a lot to do, but with time and change it will get done.
There are more female gamers today than ever before and thats where it all starts.
Growing diversity amongst gaming communities, indie developers, and big league
companies. I believe progress has been made but we have only scratched the surface
of what is to come.


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Work Cited
---. Fisher, Stephanie Fisher, and Alision Harvey. "Intervention for Inclusivity: Gender
Politics and Indie Game Development | Fisher | Loading..." Intervention for Inclusivity:
Gender Politics and Indie Game Development | Fisher | Loading... Web. 4 May 2015.
---.Fritz, Ben. "How I Made It: Amy Hennig." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 07
Feb. 2010. Web. 06 May 2015.
---. Kobin, Sandy. "Business." Designing Women Focus on Video Games. Web. 4 May
2015.
---."The PS Vita Game of 2013 - Tearaway - Blog by Assassinita - IGN." IGN. N.p., n.d.
Web. 05 May 2015.
---."25 Greatest Female Video Game Characters Ever." List25 . N.p., 25 Nov. 2014.
Web. 06 May 2015.
---. Shaw, A. (2012). Do You Identify as a Gamer?: Gender, race, sexuality, and gamer
identity. New Media and Society 14(1): 25-41. DOI: 10.1177/1461444811410394
---. Suellentrop, Chris. "Saluting the Women Behind the Screen by CHRIS
SUELLENTROP." Matt Crowe S Blog. 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 4 May 2015.
---. Wingfield, Nick. "Feminist Critics of Video Games Facing Threats in GamerGate
Campaign." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 May
2015.
---."Women Really Click with The Sims." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2015.


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