Listen to this podcast from The Guardian and answer the following questions.
To go to the original article - click here:
The Guardian, Tech Weekly special: women in games – breaking the boys' club
Inspired by the recent GDC in San Francisco, we discuss the depiction of gender in video games with three industry insiders
Start listening at 11mins 30. You can download the podcast to your phone/ipod or stream online.
Answer all the
questions 1-11 and if you want to stretch yourself (A/B) answer 12-14 as well. Answers can be typed up or hand-written and
most only need to be a couple of sentences.
1) What does the interviewee mean when she says
game developers gets to define what ‘normal’ is (with regard to
representation)? (11 mins)
2) What is
the relationship between marketing/advertising companies and the mainstream
audience of teenage and young adult male audiences? (13 mins)
3) Why
was ‘Mass Effect’ a good idea for representation, even if it didn’t work
fully? (15 mins)
4) They
comment on the idea that triple A
games are made for a global audience (i.e. to be sold around the world). Why do they think British games often didn’t get commissioned (made)? Link to who is represented in the games. (20 mins)
5) Summarise
a couple of points made about Lara Croft and people’s feelings towards
her. (22 mins)
6)
Do
you think there is a problem with the new Lara Croft game trailer making it
appear that she she is vulnerable and needs protecting - this includes an inferred sexual attack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkLAVSA_Wgc
7) Bioshock
Infinite – why is it a good game in terms of content and themes? What is a problem with the female
representation? (appearance,
playability, damsel in distress) (27
mins)
8) Do
you believe the media needs to have more positive role models (characters) in it
& why? Try to link to female
representation.
9) What
do they mean by the idea that female characters don’t have enough agency in a
game? Give an example to support your
point.
10) (At 39
mins) What percentage of women work in the games industry? What impact do you think this has on the
diversity/variety of characters being developed?
11) How much
less money do women earn in the industry?
12) HOTs - What
do they mean when they refer to the ‘machismo’ work culture of the gaming
industry?
13) HOTs - How
can games change? Anna Anthropy has
written a book called ‘The rise of video
game Zinesters’, what does it recommend should happen/could change?
14) HOTs – a
couple of summarising points. (from
47.00)
