Pixelnauts.net

In 1985, cartoonist Alison Bechdel drew a comic to convey an interesting little metric to help her determine whether or not a particular movie is worth seeing. In, The Rule, two women are walking past a theater when one turns to the other and asks if she'd like to see a film. The second women responds saying that she will, but only if the movie satisfies three conditions: (1) There has to be at least two women in it who (2) talk to each other about (3) something besides a man. Of course, none of the films qualify, so the two continue along their way.

I think it surprises no one to say that twenty five years later, Bechdel's standard is still as relevant today as it was when it was originally written. What's more, as NPR reported in a piece on diversity in television, unfortunately (if unsurprisingly), the problems regarding the portrayal of women in today's movies is just as pervasive on the small screen.

With this in mind, I began to ask myself where exactly video games fit into this paradigm, but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't like the answer. Frankly, if we were to assume that movies and television reflect modern societies views regarding the role of women, then let's face it, by comparison, video games are stuck in the middle ages.

I could use this platform to go off on a tirade about the negative ramifications that the abhorrent, sexist portrayals of women in video games perpetuate  -- and I'd be right to do so -- but that isn't exactly the point that I want to make with this article; other people could do that far more effectively than myself. Instead, I wish to illustrate how this sad industry standard is actually hurting the growth potential of the games industry itself. That the argument I'll be making should by proxy serve to eradicate negative gender stereotypes just makes it all the more imperative! 

The games industry faces a hurdle that the film and television industry jumped long ago: perceptions of legitimacy. In addition to being accepted as sensible pass-times for people of all ages, movies and TV are also cemented in the culture as legitimate, creative outlets for artists. Conversely, public perception views video games as little more than toys; something that's okay for your 12-18 year old boy, but that's all. The implications are clear: so long as this misconception persists, the industry is doomed to creative paucity. It's really as simple as that.