Feminist Designs in Gaming & Transmedia

What would feminist design games look like?

Patriarchy and power have always been found in a lot of video games found by players (Gray, Voorhees, & Vossen 2018 ). Some players out there are tired of seeing the male hero saving the day constantly or “damsel in distress” authors and experts like Gray, Voorhees, & Vossen 2018 would say. Many people have always wondered, what would feminist game designs look like, below are some examples:

1. It can look like an adventuring game, like Pokemon Go

Pokémon Go is a game created by Niantic Labs in 2016, an AR mobile game for catching Pokemon from real-life locations. The avatars in Pokémon Go are roughly the same, the women wearing ponytails only and the men wearing short hairstyles only, the hair color is changeable and the avatars are changeable too (Niantic Labs, 2022 ). Pokémon Go features a GPS and AR camera where players are encouraged to go outside to catch and battle Pokemon (Niantic Labs, 2022 ). The unisex design is often seen in this game because the game is more focused on the Pokemon players are catching than the players themselves, therefore there are no stereotypes or issues in terms of gender. Perhaps unisex designs were used to allow players to feel more competitive as Assuncao (2018) suggests.

Unisex fashion style is a common way to break gender stereotypes because it is not limited to one gender, which means the clothing can be worn by any gender a person identifies as (Assuncao (2018)).

(Image below from Pokemon Go from my Iphone)

2. It can look like a visual novel, like BTS WORLD

If you are a fan of K-pop music, especially BTS, and are a certified BTS ARMY (Adorable MC of Youth), and enjoy listening to their music, then this is the game for you!

BTS WORLD - by Netmarble is a visual-novel, story-based game by BTS and BigHit Entertainment company (BigHit now called HYBE Entertainment) on June 26, 2019, who wanted ARMYs to learn more about the members (BTS World, 2022). Enter BTS WORLD as the manager of the 7 members, as players help them through their debuting journey into becoming the most world-famous artists (2022). This visual novel game is open for all genders and for all ages, children, adults, and even the elderly, who want to learn more about BTS and their dreams. The game allows players to use BTS members’ cards to compete in the storyline scenarios and also to customize their favorite BTS member’s photos all while listening to their latest soundtrack. A lot of complicated topics were mentioned and explored throughout the storyline as the members overcome stereotypes, stress, depression, anxiety, and dieting (BTS, 2022). The game was structured so that players have a better understanding of how the artists came to be and how they overcame the obstacles that were thrown at them and allowed the players to relate to the real-life problems we face every day (BTS World, 2022). The story revolving around BTS is breaking gender stereotypes, such as dieting, it is not something only women struggle with, but men do as well. Toxic masculinity is often advertised and found in a lot of video games and even mobile games in the past, according to Gray, Voorhees, & Vossen (2018). This idea that a perfect man exists, is a strong white adult who represents a hero in every game (Gray et al. 2018), but what makes BTS game different is that the hero is the player themselves. The player is helping the 7 BTS members debut and is learning more about how the members came to be a band, this bond is formed between the player and the members, and it strengthens over time as the game progresses. Even though the game focuses on the 7 BTS members, the player is often addressed as “Manager Nim” meaning Manager Mr or MRS or your in-game name BTS World (2022). This means the game does not assign the player a gender, and respects what the player identifies as. Many recent mobile games are removing the assigned gender role for the player (Assuncao, 2018). Both BTS World and Pokemon Go have already done this by not having this feature at all. This is a great first step games should take when a new player joins the community. (All In-Game images from my phone)

3. It can look like a Fashion game, like Love Nikki Dress Up Queen

Love Nikki Dress Up is a story chapter and dress-up competition by Elex and Tencent Games that was released in December 2016. The game’s heroine is Nikki, whose goal is to become the queen of stylists and save Miraland from an unknown disaster. Players navigate through the game as Nikki, playing storylines, and event quests and meeting other stylists along the way (Elex, 2022 ). This game is open to all genders and heavily focuses on the world of fashion. There are many suits in this game and clothing styles, which feature fashion from various timelines also genres, and styles in Love Nikki. Not all clothes are modeled to look fairytale-like or cute-like as some people may consider, there are other styles that Love Nikki effectively has designs for players to try out and compete for. For example, there is a Unisex category for the clothing search section, featuring unisex clothes and also navy, army clothes for players to wear on their Nikki avatar. The clothes in the Unisex category range from light gray to other light colors but also dark colors, and are usually plain (Elex, 2022). Clothes from the Navy and Army clothing categories are mostly in dark green or colors you would often see in military attire for both men and women (Elex, 2022). Each of the unique designs of the suit expresses different colors and qualities to the corresponding nation, and how clothing doesn’t necessarily determine one’s gender or sex (Elex, 2022). There are also different skin tones that can be changed obtained from free logins or purchased from the suit set, meaning Love Nikki is not just welcoming all genders to play, but also other cultures and races, and that a person’s race or gender should not determine if they should play this game or not. Not many games have a female heroine, it is often the male who is the hero of the game and who has the power to make a change to their fate (Gray et al, 2018 ). However, in Love Nikki, the game focuses on the players themselves and their fashion choices, how they perceive fashion, and their design idea,s and also the competitiveness of dressing well for the right competition or event.

(In-game image from my phone)

Perhaps these games above are what some feminist games would look like. There are also many other feminist design games out here, that are breaking gender stereotypes and allowing everyone to play all while in a sense, promoting equality.

Acknowledgments and Reference

CMNS 455 Project and Professor Kirtz

Assuncao, Carina. (2018). Is Pokémon GO Feminist? An Actor-Network Theory Analysis.

Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. 3. 10.26503/todigra.v3i3.78.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325826573_Is_Pokemon_GO_Feminist_An_Actor-

Network_Theory_Analysis

BTS World (2022). BTS WORLD - Netmarble [offical website]. NetMarble Corp. & TakeOne Company. South Korea: BigHitEntertainment, HyBe. Retrieved from:

https://btsw.netmarble.com/en/home

Elex (2022). Love Nikki Dress-Up Game [Google Play]. Retrieved

from:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elex.nikkigp&hl=en_CA&gl=US

Gray, Voorhees, G., & Vossen, E. (2018). Introduction: Reframing Hegemonic Conceptions of

Women and Feminism in Gaming Culture. In Feminism in Play (pp. 1–17). Springer International

Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90539-6_1

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90539-6_1

Woods, O. (2021). The territoriality of teams: Assembling power through the playing of

Pokémon Go. Mobile Media & Communication, 9(3), 405–421. Retrieved from:

https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157920968867

Week 11 Process Post (CMNS 455 & Pub 101 term)

Transmedia, Henry Jenkins's Term

The term, transmedia refers to storytelling, specifically fictional storytelling across all media platforms, as defined by Henry Jenkins (Renninger, 2015; Kebinbrittenlauren,wordpress.com, 2013). Transmedia is also a term found in communication courses and media contexts. From a communication student perspective, storytelling in new media continues to change and has different formats and designs.

Incorporating Transmedia in Websites and Blogs

There are many different publics and counter-publics (Renninger, 2015). Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and even Wattpad and A03 are all social networking services. Tumblr, Wattpad, and Ao3 are unique because it is more in the storytelling field. Being in the storytelling, blogging, and fanfiction world myself, the transmedia storytelling format is an interesting expansion to look at. Transmedia is also found in various video games and films.

Fandoms that are cool to be part of BTS Armys, NCTzens, Genshin Impact Travelers,

Reference:

Renninger, B. J. (2015). “Where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind” : Networked counterpublics in a polymedia environment. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1513–1529. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530095

Kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com. (2013). “Pokemon as transmedia storytelling”