Pixelnauts.net

In order for the video game industry to grow into exciting and as yet unknown directions, the focus has to be on cultivating creative minds -- that is, those creative minds that aren't already sold with the idea of a video game as a legitimately creative medium. And the first step towards achieving this end is changing how a full half of the world's population is portrayed.  A dramatic shift from the caricatured manner in which it currently portrays women isn't just the right thing to do from a cultural standpoint, it's the financially smart thing to do. Look at it this way, in spite of the stigma it carries, the video game industry already rivals the film industry in terms of revenue, imagine the potential growth the industry faces when it's not just "gamers" looking forward to the next big blockbuster, but Grandma and Grandpa as well.

So to fix this little problem, I've decided to take a page from Bechdel's book and come up with a set of guidelines that game developers should follow if they want what's best for themselves and the industry. It goes something like this: developers must make games that (1) include a normal proportioned woman who (2) is not relegated to the role of love interest or support and (3) does not draw attention to these facts.

Let's break it down, shall we?

Step one deals with the most glaringly obvious sin of which the industry is guilty, and I think, if pressed, any gamer could immediately come up with at least ten offenders. Because of this ridiculous tendency to hyper-sexualize women, the games industry oftentimes seems more akin to the porn industry than it does to the film and TV industries. As such, it shouldn't be surprising then when the image of a big breasted, scantily clad, badass is the stereotype that people think of when asked about how they see women in games today. Now, as I said, it's not necessary to expound on the idea about how the negative and unrealistic images of women reinforce the notion that women are merely objects. I think everyone can agree on that. What should be stated though is that so long as this ridiculous image remains synonymous with women in gaming, the industry can never hope to attract a wider, female included audience away from the SFW, low key, relatively neutral titles like Tetris, and Bejeweled, and towards the next big gaming narrative -- a shift that must be achieved if games are ever going to be taken seriously.

Now before the gamers among you cry foul and claim that not all women fall into this sexist and exaggerated stereotype, I would remind you that one, this doesn't matter. What matters is what the public perceives, and what they see and what gamers see are often at odds. And two, it's simply not enough that female characters be just normally proportioned in order to be given equal and fair treatment. Which leads into the next caveat...

The second step in my modified 'Bechdel Rule' states that games must develop roles for women that extends beyond merely love interest. Even in games that I truly love, the women are all too often merely a counter point to the male hero. Just like when applying Bechdel's test against movies reveals how difficult it is to find a film where the female roles aren't limited to talking about men, so too do I struggle to find a game where the woman is not either one, simply support and/or love interest for the main, male protagonist, or two, if in the case where a female is in the lead role, is not in some way involved with a man. How can the industry convince female, casual gamers and non-gamers to play if the women in the games are relegated to such minor and often clichéd roles?