All in a day's work

"Extending Corneliussen's [2008] study of the gender disparity of World of Warcraft Non-Player Characters (NPCs), this paper examines the relationship between sex and profession of NPCs in in the same game. Because NPCs are understudied to date, we attempt to show where and how normative frameworks are, even if unintended, working very much to marginalize women. Our primary focus is to determine if stereotypical associations between types of jobs and the bodies that are depicted performing these jobs are being reinforced. Our findings show that while there are male and female NPCs for all professions, they are not equally represented. There is no statistically significant pattern linking gender and profession, however, males still make up approximately two thirds of the NPCs associated with a `job' within this particular gameworld. There seems to be subtle hierarchies at work within the distribution of professions within World of Warcraft. For example, ideas of gender in the field of medicine have been transposed into the gameworld through the use of some male first aid NPCs having the title `Doctor', and yet the title given to a female trainer of the same profession is `Nurse'. Ultimately, we argue that there are other forces, influences and processes to consider when examining a sociotechnical system like World of Warcraft, including player preferences and conditioning, the fantasy lore upon which the game draws (as well as produces) and the general presentation of gender roles in the larger sociotechnical context."

Frontiers in Psychology, 2013

The objective of the study is to present and discuss attitudes, perceptions and opinions about sexism and gendered play in the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMO), World of Warcraft. Through the use of an online survey which includes both multiple choice questions and open-ended questions, the research discusses the major themes and findings expressed by the World of Warcraft forum users (N = 294). The descriptive statistical findings presented are derived from the multiple choice questions. Within the sample, the results reveal that sexism is a contentious topic in the World of Warcraft community. 63.6% (n = 75) of female respondents reported experiencing sexism within the game. 27.5% (n = 44) of male respondents and 45.3% (n = 53) of female respondents believe that sexism is a problem in the game. Overall, 64.4% (n = 183) of the respondents reported sexism as a non-issue in the game. Themes surrounding the topic of sexism experienced within the game are presented based on frequency of homogenous responses. Based on the multiple choice questions and the open-ended questions, the research argues that sexism and gendered play in gaming should be studied more closely, as the results reveal that many MMO players are affected negatively by it.

differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, 2017

2020

Unpublished paper presented at the PCA/ACA National Conference.

This paper expands upon Gary Alan Fine's study of fantasy-role gaming (FRPG) groups and examines gamer and game misogyny, specifically in the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) games formerly published by TSR, Inc. TSR reinforced the male homosocial world of FRPGs, and the net effect of this culture was the marginalization of women gamers and designers, despite TSR's public statements to the contrary. This paper analyzes the height of the game's popularity in the late 1970s and 1980s, specifically the relationships between among sexism and the corporate culture and artistic representations of the company's early years. Games designers Gary Gygax, Jeff Perren, and Dave Arneson created Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and founded Tactical Studies Rules in 1974, later TSR Hobbies. The company published formal rules in 1977 for D&D and later a more detailed version, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D), as well as the trade publication Dragon

Gender Representation in Video Games: God of War, Tomb Raider and Horizon Zero Dawn, 2020

In order to effectively analyze the dynamics of gender in video game culture, it is imperative to understand the current climate of gender portrayals in modern video games. Content analysis provides a

2020

The role of gender in the design of technologies has been a topic of growing importance in fields such as interaction design, HCI, and games. Understanding that technology development and usage practices emerge within the cultural processes, the authors propose in this chapter a discussion about the notions of traditional femininity, its relation to video games, as well as new approaches to female representation. It is also assessed the cultural understanding of gender, sex, and sexuality, as well as how these notions may influence the players experience. The issues discussed and briefly analyzed here point to a production and regulation of gender by technologies such as video games. Therefore, the goal is to assess how gender notions and relations influence the design and use of games in terms of visuals, narrative and sociability.

Online Gaming in Context: The Social and Cultural Significance of Online Games, 2011

Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture, 2008

Video games in virtual worlds serve as reference points in negotiations of socially efficacious meanings. Therefore they entail the potential either to reproduce and affirm or to challenge traditional concepts of identity. This article presents findings of an in-depth content analysis of three role playing games with a male avatar belonging to the Gothic-series that was published between 2001 and 2006. Focal points of the examination were issues of gender and sexuality, how they are incorporated in narrative, interactions and rules of the game series, and how they are being discussed on fan sites and player forums.

Proceedings of DiGRA, 2022

This paper focuses on how a games' characters and story reflect changing cultural norms in the period during which a game series was developed and released. This is done through qualitative evaluation of the Dragon Age series (2009-2014) and compared to two other game franchises with similar release dates and production location: the Mass Effect Trilogy (2007-2012) and the Uncharted series (2007-2017). Stories reflect cultural and societal norms of the periods and places that crafted them, providing a unique avenue of second-person stories, containing bits and pieces of their creators and their sociocultural biases. Using these digital games as artifacts and texts of focus, a change in social and cultural values and norms of modern society appears when evaluating and comparing the content of previous games in a series to the current ones, as these works reflect the environment in which they were created.